My Educational Goals
How would this research experience help you to meet your educational goals? (approx. 250-300 words)
My educational goal is to enter medical school, and most schools search for applicants that have done research. The primary reason is that engaging in research shows that the applicant already has a high level of knowledge of performing in a lab setting, which I should earn if I want to be competitive amongst my peers. For instance, as an applicant, it is implicit that I learned how to maintain proper lab decorum, such as what to wear and how to dispose of different types of waste to avoid contamination of subjects. I would have also already learned effective group communication, which is vital to the successful and timely completion of an experiment. …show more content…
In the labs required for lower division courses, I could adapt to the structure of performing a different experiment each week well. I could have a clear understanding of new methods of experimentation introduced early into the semester to apply them together effectively in later experiments. This helped build a foundation that I could further apply to upper division labs such as Cell Biology, where I was expected to keep track of complex methods while aiding in student research. These courses also helped build my ability to function in groups, which led to me being able to finish labs and reports on time and in high quality. The main personal strength that I have that I feel will benefit a research team the most is my capability for self-direction. I can perform well on most projects individually and get to work without the prompting of another person. I work like this since it allows for projects to get started and thus finished faster, allowing for more time for revision. I apply this mentality to when I work with others, pushing my team members to complete assignments on time to avoid missing deadlines. Though I am of the mind to complete work early, I am also more than willing to ask if I work on anything else that needs to be completed. School coursework has built up my ability to learn new information and readily apply it, allowing me to adapt to and excel in new
My educational goal is to enter medical school, and most schools search for applicants that have done research. The primary reason is that engaging in research shows that the applicant already has a high level of knowledge of performing in a lab setting, which I should earn if I want to be competitive amongst my peers. For instance, as an applicant, it is implicit that I learned how to maintain proper lab decorum, such as what to wear and how to dispose of different types of waste to avoid contamination of subjects. I would have also already learned effective group communication, which is vital to the successful and timely completion of an experiment. …show more content…
In the labs required for lower division courses, I could adapt to the structure of performing a different experiment each week well. I could have a clear understanding of new methods of experimentation introduced early into the semester to apply them together effectively in later experiments. This helped build a foundation that I could further apply to upper division labs such as Cell Biology, where I was expected to keep track of complex methods while aiding in student research. These courses also helped build my ability to function in groups, which led to me being able to finish labs and reports on time and in high quality. The main personal strength that I have that I feel will benefit a research team the most is my capability for self-direction. I can perform well on most projects individually and get to work without the prompting of another person. I work like this since it allows for projects to get started and thus finished faster, allowing for more time for revision. I apply this mentality to when I work with others, pushing my team members to complete assignments on time to avoid missing deadlines. Though I am of the mind to complete work early, I am also more than willing to ask if I work on anything else that needs to be completed. School coursework has built up my ability to learn new information and readily apply it, allowing me to adapt to and excel in new