Looked at your post history and saw you are not currently a PhD student and are considering MSTP vs. PhD to MD. Honestly, I strongly encourage you to apply MSTP. It will likely save you a lot of time, money, and frustration.
Thank you for the insight, I really appreciate it coming from someone who has actually pursued the route.
I was mainly considering this sequential path since I thought it might offer more flexibility and the opportunity to work with a PI on research I love.
I love research, but my gut tells me I want to pursue medicine and research from how rewarding I found shadowing, but right now I don't feel I have enough experience to back it up. At the current moment in time the only real exposure I have to medicine is 100 hours of clinical research at a hospital engaging and talking with patients (I am not sure if this counts as clinical), and 20 hours of shadowing. Additionally, my lab isn't clinically tied at all, it's predominantly engineering. I haven't taken the MCAT, but have a date set in April. As such, I don't know if, in the next three months, I can get together enough clinical volunteering, MCAT prep, and shadowing to apply for the next cycle in addition to working/classes.
Given I would be able to graduate this upcoming spring with my master's in Spring 2023. If I delayed applying anymore, it would mean possible entry two years from then in Fall 2025, and begin 8 years from there.
With the current state of my graduate work, if I were to switch from the master's track to the PhD, I could be aiming to graduate between Spring 2026/Spring 2027 (based on conversations with my PI and previous lab members).
As such, in some ways, I was thinking of the sequential path because of working on a project I like, with a lab environment I enjoy, and being able to spend more time to actually experience and determine if the medicine is right for me, while still advancing my career in research at the same time.
But as others have mentioned, there is a large financial barrier, and I was looking into programs like the LRP.
With that said, I will definitely heed your advice and continue to think about MSTP pathways as well. I just have a habit of getting overwhelmed with thinking about the future, and deciding to pursue a PhD or apply for the next cycle MSTP is all happening very quickly.
