intotheabyss

Thank you

To answer your question, no, you definitely do not need a publication to get into a good program. Once you have made it past the basic cut-offs for grades and GREs, and as long as you have solid references and a personal statement with no major sins attached, it comes down to research experience and fit. If you haven't already checked it out, this forum is a great resource: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=714255

This was my third time applying. First time was 2008 - 10 schools, one interview, no offers. Then 2009 - 10 schools again, nothing. I thought if I applied to different, less-competitive schools I stood a better chance - wrong. Don't make this mistake, kids. Less competitive schools, at least in this field, are still very competitive. I did not make enough use of that year to improve on my weaknesses. Anyways, third time was this year after some serious application upgrades - 5 schools, 5 interviews, one great offer. I'm older than I'd like to be starting a 5-7 year program, but this is what I wanted to do, and damn, I'm in.

I'm 33 and will be starting a PhD program this fall. I've used the past 2 years to gain as much research experience as possible. It was invaluable.