Any Adcoms able to comment on dropping out of a research based masters degree before medical school?

[deleted950958]

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My mental health has taken a sharp nosedive, mainly due to a toxic lab environment and a severe lack of support and passion for the subject. It started as a non thesis masters (SMP kinda) to boost my academics for med school, but an offer to do research came along that I felt I couldn’t pass up, and now I am essentially tied to research and a thesis to graduate. I know the only way I can get back on my feet is to leave the lab and the program but I am worried that the school I’ve been accepted to will rescind if I do. The only way I’m going to mentally make it through medical school is if I quit this masters. I am scared to call preemptively and ask and have them withdraw my offer. Are there any Adcoms on here that could tell me what their perspective on my situation would be?

 

[Moko]

My mental health has taken a sharp nosedive, mainly due to a toxic lab environment and a severe lack of support and passion for the subject. It started as a non thesis masters (SMP kinda) to boost my academics for med school, but an offer to do research came along that I felt I couldn’t pass up, and now I am essentially tied to research and a thesis to graduate. I know the only way I can get back on my feet is to leave the lab and the program but I am worried that the school I’ve been accepted to will rescind if I do. The only way I’m going to mentally make it through medical school is if I quit this masters. I am scared to call preemptively and ask and have them withdraw my offer. Are there any Adcoms on here that could tell me what their perspective on my situation would be?

Was your Masters listed on your application? If so, your acceptance may be contingent on your satisfactorily completing the Masters program. Only way to know definitively is to contact the medical school(s) directly. Simply discussing this possibility is not grounds for rescinding an acceptance. I would strongly recommend not using the reasons you listed here (sharp mental health decline, toxic lab environment, lack of support, etc) when explaining your circumstances.

Can you 'convert' your program back to a non-thesis Masters? If this will delay your completion until the next academic year, perhaps a deferral can be considered by the medical school if your acceptance is contingent on finishing the program? Good luck

 

[drgweeds]

Can you characterize your situation a bit more? What does toxic lab environment mean? Who is not supporting the project and what does support mean? Is it not being funded. And who is showing no passion? You, you’re PI, the department? Depending on the answers to these questions you may want to file some actions with the university. I’m curious as to what you mean by mental health too. Are you becoming depressed or are you just in a crappy situation? I ask because if you are just working through a rough patch in your education it shows resilience and this quality will serve you well later in life. But if you are feeling depressed or having bad thoughts, then you should certainly remove yourself as soon as you can. Unfortunately if it’s the latter, you may have some explaining to do to both your home institution and your medical program.