I’m in my first year in an Anatomy & Cell Biology PhD program, and I’ve quickly realized that research is not my thing. The completion time for the degree is averaging 6 years at the moment, and unfortunately the program does not offer a 2-year masters. My thought is that it would make more sense for me to leave now and explain in my personal statement and interviews that my heart is in medicine, and not in research. I have degrees in Biology and Psychology from undergrad, and I was pre-med all the way through. I took the MCAT 3 times (25R, 25O, 24R). My current science GPA is 3.6 and my overall GPA is 3.58. I had lots of extracurriculars in undergrad, a semester’s worth of volunteer experience at a local hospital, and 3 years of tutoring/teaching experience in human anatomy and general chemistry.
I still want to go to med (DO) school, especially so since I’ve now realized that research is not an avenue I wish to take to further pursue medicine. What do you think my chances are getting into some osteopathic schools? Especially if I leave the PhD program after 1 year?
Also, I recently got accepted into a 2-year MS program in Physiology. I could transfer there, graduate much sooner, boost my MCAT score, and continue to gain volunteer/clinical experience. Would that scenario fare any better with AdComs?
Thanks for your input!
