Research and other such scholarly activities complement your academic record. It is hard to get into a top-notch medical school without some research experience. Your research experience doesn't have to be all hard science. It can be a scholarly project or independent study. This is one activity that all applicants should pursue. It is an alternative pathway in medical science, and admissions committees consider students with research experience as more competitive. You can look at it this way. If you decide to specialize in any field in medicine, for instance, during your fellowship most programs provide opportunities for their fellows to participate in 1-2 years of full-time research in the laboratory. This applies for fields like cardiology, neurosurgery, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, and oncology to name a few. Just remember that the admissions committee does not expect all their applicants to like their undergraduate research. In other words, if research was the best thing that ever happened to you, that's great, but if you hated it, it won't hurt you. Try to avoid telling the admissions committee what they want to hear as well. A common mistake for M.D. candidates is to write about how great research is and spend the majority of their personal statement saying so. Well, if research is so great, why are you pursuing a M.D. program? Why not a Ph.D. program or M.D.-Ph.D. program? Basically, do some research, write about it, but don't use "my love for research is why I want to be a physician" theme.

The important thing is to do your best with your experience and learn from it. If you can get your name published so much the better, but that is not necessary. One of the things you should do is show your research advisor that you can complete your work competently and with little supervision. Doing summer work at a research institute such as the National Institutes of Health or such other agency can be a big plus. Make sure you use your summer vacation time wisely. Admissions committees also look at how you spent or misspent that time. Working with somebody who is nationally known in his/her field (e.g. a Nobel Prize winner) can also be a big bonus. Seek these people out and ask for a small project. Complete this project well and you will probably be asked to do other things. Take initiative and strive for excellence.

Research opportunities are found every where. Look at your school and at local research institutions. All it takes is a phone call and perhaps a letter of interest, and labs may offer you a summer position in their lab. Ask to participate in a small project. Read up on the research and techniques and try to do well. If you show that you can handle it, your mentor will mostly likely allow you to assume more and more responsibility. That would be ideal since you'll now increase your chances of working on a significant project and perhaps contribute as an author on a publication. Furthermore, inquire about research opportunities at other schools. Some departments have at least 5 undergraduates rotate through the summer. I've seen the same ones returning year after year! That's what you're aiming for too. Working in one lab, rather than in several, will be most advantageous. It doesn't matter what the project is, but you'll gain significant knowledge and expertise in that field. In addition, you'll gain the trust of the mentor who would later be the most important person writing you a letter of recommendation for medical school.

In summary, try to be involved in research. This is one extracurricular/employment opportunity that will significantly help increase your competitiveness.

Going for a combined degree such as MD/PhD is a big commitment. If you are interested in research and/or academics as a career this may be the best way to go. The skills you learn in the PhD program will help you for the rest of your career. There are two key things to consider when applying to MD/PhD programs: funding and your faculty advisor. Most med schools that support medium to large MD/PhD programs will give you excellent clinical training. If you are considering a PhD, at the minimum you should get full funding while doing the PhD part of the program, med school funding is more difficult to obtain. If you are lucky (and a research star) you could obtain an MSTP fellowship which will cover both med school and grad school tuition and give you a stipend to live on. There is a similar fellowship (MARC) for underrepresented minorities. Apply and don't sign up for a school until you get a firm commitment for some kind of funding. The second key item is to find a faculty advisor as early as you can since this may speed up the PhD part of the program considerably.

Try to attach yourself to somebody that is well respected in the area you want to pursue and make sure this is somebody you can trust and work with for several years. During college make sure you start doing research early and try to get as many publications as you can. Look for a mentor that can recommend you strongly for your contributions to his/her lab. The best thing is to start early and to pick a field you like and feel passionate about - this will make your research more pleasant and meaningful. You should also be aware that the interview schedule for MD/PhD candidates is twice as brutal as for regular candidates. You will apply to both programs in the same form, but you will be evaluated by people in the department you apply to, a committee that decides MSTP funding and medical school admissions people in most cases. At minimum this will mean 4 interviews in one or two days, with possibly as many as 10 different interviewers getting a crack at you. Make sure you know your research inside and out and can explain it clearly since everyone will ask you about it.

The combined degree program may allow you to expand your horizons and learn more than you thought possible.