Research can be a valuable part of the premedical journey and a great addition to the medical school application, but many applicants worry they’ll be asked about it in interviews and freeze.
Maybe your project was early-stage and inconclusive. Maybe your role felt small. Maybe you didn’t love the topic and are worried that it will show. The truth is, admissions committees aren’t expecting you to defend a thesis or present a Nobel-worthy finding. They’re trying to understand how you think, how you engage with scholarly work and how you grew from the experience. The way you talk about your research says just as much as the topic of the research itself.
Here are some practical tips to help you prepare for that conversation.
Know the “Why” Behind the Work
It’s easy to jump straight into the details of your methods or the number of hours you spent pipetting but don’t skip the big picture. Start by introducing the interviewer to what the study was about and why it mattered. Consider the 3 W’s:
— What was the broader question your lab or team was trying to answer?
— Who might benefit from this research?
— Why should anyone care?
Let’s say you were working on a study that looked at inflammatory markers in patients with diabetes. Instead of starting with, “I ran ELISA tests on serum samples,” zoom out first. You might say: “Our lab was trying to better understand the link between chronic inflammation and disease progression in type 2 diabetes, particularly in underserved populations.” Framing it this way helps your interviewer understand the value of the work and gives context to your specific role.
Even if you weren’t leading the study, being able to clearly explain its purpose shows that you were intellectually engaged and not just fulfilling a checklist item.
[Related:Primary Care vs. Research: Which Med School Is Right for You?]
Explain Your Impact, Not Just Your Tasks
After you introduce the project, walk the interviewer through your role. Be specific, but don’t get lost in technical jargon. Focus on what you contributed and what you learned.
For example, rather than saying, “I did Western blots,” you could say, “I helped the team quantify protein expression levels in cell samples using Western blotting. This allowed us to compare the inflammatory response between treatment and control groups.” In presenting the work this way, you show that you understand the reasoning behind each experiment.
Remember, you don’t have to overstate your position. Saying you assisted a postdoctoral fellow in running PCRs is perfectly valid, as long as you can reflect on what the experience taught you about teamwork, scientific inquiry and persistence in research.
If your work resulted in a poster, abstract or publication, that’s great! But don’t let the absence of a formal product make you feel like your work “doesn’t count.” Many meaningful research experiences never make it to print. What matters more is that you can describe how your efforts contributed to the bigger picture and how the experience shaped your thinking.
[READ: Everything You Need to Know About Medical School Interviews.]
Reflect on the Process
Most research involves failure, repetition and waiting. Talking about those moments often leads to the most honest and compelling responses. Sometimes data turns out not to be as useful as expected and sometimes the original hypotheses are disproven throughout the course of your research.
Use the experience to demonstrate qualities medical schools care about: resilience, curiosity, critical thinking, attention to detail and collaboration. Your interviewer isn’t grading your research; they’re listening for how you’ve grown from it.
Your reflections offer the chance to show growth — how you stayed curious when things didn’t go as planned, how you adapted your approach or how you learned to troubleshoot an unexpected problem. You might talk about the frustration of contamination ruining your samples or how your team had to completely redesign the study after an equipment failure. These aren’t signs of weakness, they’re opportunities to show resilience and adaptability.
Ultimately, your interviewer is most interested in what kind of learner you are. Do you take initiative? Are you open to feedback? Can you handle ambiguity? Can you work well in a team? These are the skills that matter in both the laboratory and the clinic.
[Read: How to Find a Medical School That Leads to a Research Career.]
Translate the Science Into a Story
Finally, the best interview responses strike a balance between clarity and authenticity. Practice explaining your project to someone outside of your field like a friend, sibling or grandparent. If they can follow along and stay interested, you’re on the right track.
Your goal isn’t to compress your lab notebook into a few sentences. It’s to tell a story. You might find it helpful to frame your research experience using the STAR method:
— Situation: What was the project’s goal?
— Task: What were you responsible for?
— Action: What did you do, and how did you do it?
— Result/Reflection: What came out of it, and what did you learn?
Remember, when it comes to discussing research in interviews, you don’t need to cure cancer to have something meaningful to say. Whether your role was big or small, whether your project succeeded or stalled, whether you loved research or didn’t, if you frame your responses well, it will still be a powerful part of your story.
More from U.S. News
Navigating Ethical Questions in Medical School Interviews
Med School Multiple Mini Interview: What to Know
The Medical School Admissions Cycle: A Month-by-Month Guide
How to Discuss Research in Med School Interviews originally appeared on usnews.com
