Dropping out of Masters?

[MedPen]

Thank you for the response. How long were you in the program before you quit?

 

I was in my PhD for about a year and a half. I didn't like it, I didn't feel it was going somewhere, I couldn't see a way to make it go somewhere so I quit.

 

For me, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. If you feel quitting is a good decision for you, do it. Don't let yourself be dissuaded by arguments like "it's viewed badly to quit grad school". People quit things all the time. Not everything is for everyone and it doesn't mean you're incompetent or unable to commit.

[momo555]

my biggest fear too was quitting Msc and how people would look at me.

I was very depressed in a lab environment that people called "weird" lab dynamic... favouritism was very heavy and not all grad students were treated equally... Anyway if it's only 4 months, you might be able to switch labs.

 

I had that option and so did many others.

Sometimes it just doesn't work between students and supervisor or lab, you might want to talk to someone in your department and professors to see what kind of other lab option is available. Better to be honest and not be miserable right?

[bloh]

I have done one successful experiment which doesn't sound like a lot, but from other people who have done similar projects I am in good shape (moreso out of luck) timewise compared to them. Most of my time has been spent 'reading' and trying to order what I need to order, find people to train me, find out where appropriate equipment is, etc. I think this has been my biggest struggle so far. I am in a fairly small group where everyone does VERY different projects and so whenever I go to do something a) there's nothing in the lab set up for such a task so I have to figure out how to set it up or find another lab to do it in and there usually isn't anyone readily available to train me. Of the few people in my group, many work from home (because they can), which I am finding to be a challenging and lonely environment. I am very nervous doing things for the first or second time by myself with little supervision and am used to being in a much larger lab environment where everyone did similar things and thus I had many people around to help me. I think I know what experiments to do and what direction to take my project in, but I am having a hard time bringing this to fruition. Am I expecting too much? Or is it reasonable for a Masters student to require a little more supervision?

 

Well there's your problem. You absolutely need to be put on the correct path to be successful. Some people can deal with failing experiment after experiment, but most people need some results to keep them happy.

 

Your supervisor should be your best friend in this case. Have a talk with them and come up with some solutions.

[Albertan10]

Thanks for all of your help. It was a very tough decision to make, but I decided that withdrawing from my Masters is what felt like the right thing to do. My heart just wasn't in it, and I was too unhappy to continue it for another 2-3 years.

 

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to apply to med school this year, or to hold off for another year? I am not confident I would get in, because my extracurriculars are not very strong (but my GPA and MCAT are competive, I believe). My only reason to apply this year would be that it could potentially be a good experience and make applying next year easier. Does anyone have thoughts on this? Would it just be a waste of money?

 

Thanks again for all of the comments and advice!

 

those are 2 reasons to apply this year. i would at least. i'll be starting a masters, and i will also apply as i think my GPA is competitive and i hope to increase my MCAT scores over the course of this summer.