<p>I'm a sophomore and I just got what I think is a really great research position with a professor of forensic anthropology. I just wanted some of you guys opinion on whether or not this will be helpful on my application.
-He got some human remains which were excavated from an archaeological dig in south africa.
-Some of my responsibilities will be to first clean, sort then analyze the remains.
-Its a huge time commitment as I have very little experience with the human skeleton(he knows this) and I'll have to do a lot of studying outside of my courseload.
-There was no mention of publishing opportunities (although I didn't ask and I don't know
So, does it sound like I'm doing meaningful work? Is this type of research relevant to med school? I still plan on doing the research cuz it just sounds freaking awesome, but I just want to know if it would be necessary for me to find other, more relevant research opportunities as well.</p>
<p>Here’s the key:</p>
<p>“…I still plan on doing the research cuz it just sounds freaking awesome…”</p>
<p>Really, that’s all that matters. If you like your project and get involved with it, then you’ll do good work and may end up published. At the very least I bet you’ll present a poster. You’ll also have the chance to work with a professor you might not get to work with otherwise, and in the meantime you might even learn about skeletal anatomy.</p>
<p>It’s never a good idea to do something just so you can check it off your to do list and add it to your resume. Why do cancer research or clinical research or biochem research if anthro research is what tickles your fancy? That just wouldn’t make sense. I’ve heard (I’m in the process of applying right now) that med schools care way more about your critical thinking/synthesis/thought process skills than the actual material you research. </p>
<p>If I were you, I’d jump on it–you don’t even know for sure that you’ll go to med school right now anyway, and working with human remains that no one else gets to work with seems like a pretty killer opportunity.</p>