Not finishing my masters--bad idea?

[elephunt]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So, here's the deal. I work at a public university. Two years ago, I decided I wanted to go to med school. I was an econ and communication major as an undergrad, so I had to take all of the science prerequisites. However, I couldn't afford to quit my job while I was going to school. At the university where I work, you can only take 8 hours of course credit if you're working full time. In order to get around this restriction, my boss agreed to hire me into my old job at my old salary, responsibilities, etc., but reclassified me as a graduate assistant. The only catch was that I had to be admitted into a graduate program at the university. I quickly managed to get admitted to the Health Communication masters program for the spring semester, and everything was hunky dory. I finished my pre-req's, took some grad classes, did some research, etc. I'm applying to med school right now.

Here's the catch: I don't plan on finishing a masters degree, and my graduate advisor (as well as the rest of the department) knows that. But I keep seeing posts on SDN saying that adcoms frown upon applicants who don't plan to finish graduate degrees. Is this universally true? Can anyone comment? Anyone out there who has been in a similar situation, or knows someone who has been?

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Is there a pre-med advisor at your university that you can speak with? You may want to go with some official guidance on an issue like this.

 

[EvoDevo]

How hard would it be to finish? 'Cause yeah, *some* schools that I've contacted do look down on unfinished graduate degrees. Not all, but some. Which is why I'm busting my hump to finish now. Also, if you're like me and planning a "glide" year then having that MS or MA after your name also brings in increased $$$$.

Hope this helps.

 

[elephunt]

It would completely suck to finish. I could do it, but it would suck. And I've also already agreed with my graduate advisor that I won't finish--he actually came to me because he knew that I was originally planning to finish, and was concerned that it would be a bad idea because of the amount of work involved.

You're right, I should ask my pre-med advisor, but I'm wary of her advice...from past experience, she doesn't seem well informed. I would still appreciate any input from the notoriously all-knowing SDN crowd. 😉

 

[EvoDevo]

yeah, I would contact the schools that you're applying to and see what they say. Get the info straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.

Good luck!

 

[elephunt]

Good idea, EvoDevo. Thanks for the advice. Maybe I can persuade the admissions people to put a note in my file:

"Elephunt is not completing her graduate degree, but she was just in grad school as a convenience anyway, because she is shady, lacks commitment and doesn't ever finish what she starts. Please overlook this horrible flaw in her application."

😱 🙄