Name: Premed’s Guide to Research | Extracurriculars Explained
Uploaded: 2025-11-12T18:36:40.000Z
Duration: 12 min 20 s
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An avid and proven passion for research shows admissions committees you're intellectually inquisitive and committed to advancing medicine, qualities all admissions committees are looking for.

Jubbal medschoolinsiders.com this is the third video in our new extracurricular series where we dive deep into extracurriculars to help you decide which ones are right for you.

Let us know which extracurricular you'd like to learn about next in the comments below.

Whether you're applying to medical school or residency, research experience will play a key role in your acceptance.

As schools look more and more to soft components to distinguished applicants, research has become a more sought after experience.

What are the benefits and drawbacks and how do you make the most of extracurricular research?

First, let's cover what types of research you can pursue.

Knowing the difference and your preference will help you find the position that's right for you.

Basic or bench research is performed in a laboratory and evaluates scientific questions from a cellular, molecular and physiological level.

This often consists of performing experiments on cells, tissues and an animals, which means achieving consequential results is labor intensive and time consuming.

However, it provides valuable insight into how research works at its foundational level and basic research is considered more impressive to admissions committees.

Clinical research refers to working with patients or patient data to answer a clinical question relevant to the current practice of medicine.

This research is more flexible and can often be completed with a computer, such as when performing a chart review, which makes it easier to publish quickly.

However, clinical research experience is generally not considered as substantial as basic research.

To find a research position, you need to have both an interest in the topics the lab is exploring as well as basic but necessary experience.

Searching for a mentor is usually the most difficult part of the process, but

most universities have a list of research labs you can find online.

Look for labs performing research you're interested in.

Choose a principal investigator you want to work with and email them directly.

A PI is essentially the leader of the lab and your future boss.

Your school may have a program in place where performing research earns you class credits.

If so, your college may have a set approach for contacting PIs who are a part of that program.

This is an ideal option as it means the PI will have plenty of experience working with pre meds in their lab.

You can also reach out to your personal contacts.

Do you have a friend who enjoyed their experience in a certain lab?

Ask their advice and check if you can apply to the same one if you've been particularly impressed by a professor, see if they have a research lab and reach out to them.

Look for someone who is supportive of pre med students.

Be sure to ask peers and upper classmates what they've heard about the PI and if they've worked with them before.

If the lab is not supportive of pre meds, you will not have a rewarding experience.

You may have to email several PIs before finding a position.

Always research the lab ahead of time so that you can express genuine enthusiasm about the work they're doing.

Ask questions about the role so that you know whether or not it's something you're really interested in and can fully commit to.

Some basic science labs will prefer that you have experience with certain techniques, from the basics such as pipetting and titration, to more complex ones like ELISA or pcr.

Your pre med prerequisite lab coursework will generally be sufficient to introduce you to the basic techniques, and

your PI or other research team can build upon the basics to teach you more advanced techniques.

We have full guides on medschoolinsiders.com that outline how to find an undergraduate research position and how to gain publications.

Links in the Description Next, let's talk about the benefits and drawbacks of extracurricular research, beginning with the good first, working as a research assistant grants you valuable experience.

It teaches you how to navigate the research space, set your own agenda, communicate with mentors, and

These are skills that will help you immeasurably throughout your medical education and future career, particularly during your clinical clerkships.

Research skills are also extremely translatable.

If you love what you did in undergrad, you can hit the ground running when you get to medical school and secure solid publications.

Even if you change the kind of research you're doing, you can still apply the same knowledge and skills.

Next, extracurricular research increases your chances of getting into medical school and residency.

Undergraduate research is a major component of medical school applications, and

strong research can work wonders for a student's competitiveness.

Getting actively involved in research shows admissions committees you're intellectually curious and interested in learning as much as possible.

Plus, unlike other components of your application, the publications and abstracts you earn in undergrad can and should still be included in your residency application applications.

Next, extracurricular research is a chance to gain publications.

While not necessary, a publication can be a huge benefit to your application, as publications are a quantifiable metric of your success as an Undergraduate if publishing is a priority for you, look for a lab that publishes frequently.

Find a PI with a proven track record of working with undergraduates and helping them get published.

Express your overall goals to your PI from the beginning.

Make it clear that, if possible, you would like to be published in some capacity based on their answer from Form a plan.

Moving forward, don't bring it up again until you have firmly secured their confidence and trust.

In addition to publications, you may have the chance to present your work at events and local or national conferences, which are excellent opportunities to practice your presentation skills and network.

There are many benefits to extracurricular research, but there are also some drawbacks.

First, experience is often required, and the kind of experience will depend on the position.

Most labs are looking for basic experience, such as a few biology and chemistry labs that are prerequisites for medical school.

If you have taken several prerequisites in biology, it's likely you already know your way around the lab, so you may be able to find a position.

Other labs will give you an entry position, starting you off with basic PCR technique and cell culture.

Not much will be expected of you and you'll mostly answer to the PhD students.

do not expect you will be able to get a research position without lab experience.

Next, Research opportunities are competitive.

The availability of research opportunities depend on where you live, the institution you're a part of, how many pre meds are vying for the spots, and

If you're from a large school with a notable research program, you'll be competing with several people for spots.

If you get a spot, you might be part of a larger team and have to compete for the attention of the principal investigator.

Ideally, the PI will be your primary mentor, so having to compete for their attention could hinder your experience.

On the other hand, if you're from a small school, there may only be a handful of labs available, which means several students vying for very few spots.

Next, finding a strong mentor can be difficult.

Unfortunately, just because a researcher is prolific with publishing papers doesn't mean they'll be a good mentor.

At the undergrad level, a solid mentor is more important than publishing papers.

Not only are you developing skills vital to succeeding in medical school residency and beyond, you also need a strong letter of recommendation.

Admissions committees will notice a strong letter from a PI.

Ask older students about their experiences in any labs you are considering to find out if the PI is supportive of pre meds.

Another drawback is that research research, especially basic science research, can be very repetitive.

Expect plenty of cell cultures, PCRs, iterative experiments, and plenty of the same tasks over and over again.

If you're stuck with a PI who does not get you involved, you may only develop a small skill set.

If they restrict you to one thing and one thing only, it's going to be a dull, unrewarding and deeply repetitive experience.

Lastly, research is filled with uncertainty.

You may get paid, you may get a paper, or you may get neither.

There's also no guarantee you'll have many opportunities to work with the PI one on one, which could compromise the strength of a letter of recommendation.

It's possible you'll get a great paper out of the experience and become an author, or you may only acquire lots of hours experience and hopefully a strong letter of recommendation.

With all of that uncertainty, how do you get the most out of extracurricular research?

First, choose a research experience you will enjoy.

Most options will be basic science research, which means your experience will likely be labor intensive and time consuming.

That's why it's so important to choose something you're genuinely interested in.

For me, that was a lab focusing on IBD since I had recently been diagnosed with Crohn's colitis.

If you choose a research experience on a whim or just to get a publication, the quality of your output will suffer and your lack of passion will be noticed not only by your PI but also by your interviewer when it comes time to speak about it.

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Premed’s Guide to Research | Extracurriculars Explained

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