i really don't wanna continue my research... but i said i will on my ps

[es19]

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when i was writing my ps, i said that i will be working on my honors thesis next year (meaning this and next semester)... i started my current project in summer. but now, i really have very little interest in my project, and my lab as a whole... what should I do? just suck it up, and finish what i started? i feel as if i am cheating if i drop it now. also, i'm pretty sure my interviewers will ask me about the project. it will look horrible if i say "oh that. i gave up already."
any advice?

 

[NapeSpikes]

If it was a significant portion of your PS, I'd say suck it up until after interviews. If you only mentioned it in passing, just drop it and consider it a Summer project.

 

[drmota]

i would absolutely go through with it. tweek it if you need to a little so you can get more into it. i really hated research. but i still did it for 4 years. and at interviews i'm gonna pretend like i wanna continue doing it in med school. whatev.
-mota

 

[QofQuimica]

when i was writing my ps, i said that i will be working on my honors thesis next year (meaning this and next semester)... i started my current project in summer. but now, i really have very little interest in my project, and my lab as a whole... what should I do? just suck it up, and finish what i started? i feel as if i am cheating if i drop it now. also, i'm pretty sure my interviewers will ask me about the project. it will look horrible if i say "oh that. i gave up already."
any advice?

What you should do depends on what the problem is exactly. Is it that your project is kind of stuck and not really advancing right now, so you're feeling discouraged? In that case, talk to your mentor and/or the grad students and post docs in the lab for advice about how to get your project moving forward again. Is it that you would rather do a different project, or work in a different lab? If these are the problem, then you should talk to your advisor about switching projects or labs. Or, is it that you do not want to do any research at all any more? If you just don't want to do any research whatsoever, then you really need to take some time to evaluate your goals and what you're wanting to do with your life. Yes, if you decide to stop doing the research, you are probably going to have a lot of explaining to do in your interviews. But, it may be better to explain your change of heart in interviews than it is to stay on in the lab if you know for a fact that you really don't want to be there, now or ever.

In any case, I suggest that you make an appointment to talk things over with your advisor so that s/he can help you figure out what you should do. Even if you have already decided to quit the lab altogether, you owe it to your advisor to tell him or her this in person.

 

[es19]

my project is not bad, and it's going well
it's my lab. my lab is good/bad depends on how u view it. first of all, my PI is almost never in the lab. i saw him only 3 times over summer, when i worked there full time (44+). we only had 3 lab meetings last semester, and this semester we just won't have any lab meeting at all. therefore, no pressure whatsoever about getting results etc. my graduate student doesn't get along the others in the lab, so my bench is basically isolated. i can't stand the weird situation. just imagine spending hours and hours in the lab, and not a word with others. there are other undergrads in the lab...we talk outside the lab, but somehow, not in the lab. what did i do to deserve this?
i'm not the super popular type, but i never ever get picked on anywhere...
i guess problems like this get magnified when i'm under stress w/med school admission process, family and school works...
thanx for all ur advices tho 😉

 

[cfdavid]

It sounds like a pretty "uptight" situation. Personally, I think it's o.k. to change your mind in order to do something that will be more healthy to it.

On the other hand, you will not want to speak negatively about how/why you "shifted gears". If it's not a huge part of your PS, then I'd do what makes you happy and realize that you can't control every situation. If it blows, then it blows. Move on. But, try to orchestrate a move that will add to your application somehow.

 

[Risa]

I'm not a fan of doing things because you're supposed to or because of how it will look or because of what people might think. If you're not personally benefitting from this work, then get rid of it! Don't waste time doing something that makes you unhappy or that you're not really getting something out of. I think honesty is key--when med schools ask, just tell them why it didn't work out, and then tell them all about the new exciting thing that you love and that you're doing in its place 🙂