Sticky Situation with Research

[Cyclo]

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Hey everyone,

So I'm in somewhat of a difficult situation right now during the application process and any input would be appreciated!

I am midway through the application process. I have acceptances, but I also am awaiting feedback from one school I interviewed at and have two interviews in January. I am still a senior undergraduate, and I have been performing research in the same lab for two years now. My PI wrote me (I'm almost positive) a really great letter of rec that I have sent to every school I applied to, and he is also listed as a contact under my AMCAS work/activities.

However, I no longer wish to continue my research. I do not enjoy the work I do anymore (it is very repetitive and our system needs quite a bit of refining that I don't have the time to do), and my PI puts too much pressure on his undergrads to pump out unrealistic amounts of data.

My question is, would quitting my research at this point in the application process hurt me in terms of getting acceptances? He is listed as a reference, and I think he would be pretty upset with me if I quit, so I would hate to have him say anything negative about me because of that.

Thank you!

 

[CrimsonKing]

Hey OP, I had a very similar situation when I was in my senior year. I told my PI that I wanted to take the last semester off of research to spend more time with friends and family before medical school started up and consumed most of my time. He had no problems, and we're still in touch to this day.

Don't tell him you want to leave his lab because of something like his "unrealistic expectations", but just let him know that you want to do things a little bit differently before you start your next chapter in life. At the worst, this guy isn't going to write all of your medical schools and somehow sabotage your application, that just doesn't happen.

 

[byaaaaaaah23]

I can't imagine him taking the time to call up every school, especially not if you give him the reason suggested above. You could also say you want to spend more on your coursework this semester.

 

[235009]

I dont think this will have any negative consequences for you but i wouldnt be surprised if this professor never offers a research position to a premed again or refuses to write any more med school LORs until graduation.

I think you just need to be as gracious as possible with your departure. Give 2-4 weeks notice and offer to train your replacement. As someone said earlier dont be negative about the work or the expectations.

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[Amba]

I dont think this will have any negative consequences for you but i wouldnt be surprised if this professor never offers a research position to a premed again or refuses to write any more med school LORs until graduation.

He has been in the lab for two years. OP, do as the people above have mentioned. The PI won't hire any more pre-meds -- what?? In the two years I've spend in my lab, I've seen 4 or 5 undergrads come and go yet my PI is always open to new undergrads.

 

[235009]

He has been in the lab for two years. OP, do as the people above have mentioned. The PI won't hire any more pre-meds -- what?? In the two years I've spend in my lab, I've seen 4 or 5 undergrads come and go yet my PI is always open to new undergrads.

Coming and going is not the issue...it's the fact that OP got the LOR and immediately decided he doesnt want to finish up the year there. It's typical premed flakiness and shows that he was just doing it to check a box on the app. Professors typically prefer people who are looking at a career in research and have fallen victim to these kind of premed antics before...that's why SDNers always recommend keeping your premed aspirations a secret (or flat out lying about it) during a research interview

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[Jas1360]

He has been in the lab for two years. OP, do as the people above have mentioned. The PI won't hire any more pre-meds -- what?? In the two years I've spend in my lab, I've seen 4 or 5 undergrads come and go yet my PI is always open to new undergrads.

I agree, undergrads come and go quickly. At my school you usually sign a contract for one semester at a time.

OP, I am considering to not do my research next semester either. It sucks because I like my lab and the PI and I don't want to let them down. At the same time there are some great classes I can take but they will be very time consuming. I have to finish strong so I want to give myself plenty of time for school work, considering all the other responsibilities I have.

 

[Jas1360]

Coming and going is not the issue...it's the fact that OP got the LOR and immediately decided he doesnt want to finish up the year there. It's typical premed flakiness and shows that he was just doing it to check a box on the app. Professors typically prefer people who are looking at a career in research and have fallen victim to these kind of premed antics before...that's why SDNers always recommend keeping your premed aspirations a secret (or flat out lying about it) during a research interview

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That might be true at your school. My school is well aware of all the premeds but they highly encourage all undergrads to do at least one semester of research. That is probably why we fill out research contracts that include length of time and PI expectations.

He did not flake out right after he got the letter. The letter would have been written six months ago which means he completed a full semester after the letter was written. I see no reason he should not respectfully speak with the PI about his desire for his last semester. If the PI has a problem with that I'm sure he will tell him and maybe he would reconsider.

 

[Cyclo]

Hey OP, I had a very similar situation when I was in my senior year. I told my PI that I wanted to take the last semester off of research to spend more time with friends and family before medical school started up and consumed most of my time. He had no problems, and we're still in touch to this day.

Don't tell him you want to leave his lab because of something like his "unrealistic expectations", but just let him know that you want to do things a little bit differently before you start your next chapter in life. At the worst, this guy isn't going to write all of your medical schools and somehow sabotage your application, that just doesn't happen.

Thank you for the response, I really appreciate. I think I will do exactly that. And it is completely true, I am really looking to do things a little different and take things a little bit easier before I start the beast that is medical school. I do really enjoy research in general; there is just so much work to be done in my lab group, and my PI essentially treats undergrads like grad students in terms of their workload and goals, so I just don't know if I would have it in me to really give my best effort for my final semester.

I can't imagine him taking the time to call up every school, especially not if you give him the reason suggested above. You could also say you want to spend more on your coursework this semester.

I'm more so worried about if an adcom were to call or email my PI because I have him listed as a reference and how he would respond to that.

I dont think this will have any negative consequences for you but i wouldnt be surprised if this professor never offers a research position to a premed again or refuses to write any more med school LORs until graduation.

I think you just need to be as gracious as possible with your departure. Give 2-4 weeks notice and offer to train your replacement. As someone said earlier dont be negative about the work or the expectations.

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This has actually happened in my lab before. He will definitely hire more premeds, because they constitute like 75% of my major, so his choices are limited. And I am NOT just using my PI to check a lor box on my app.

I started my research because I was genuinely interested in pursuing a PhD in biology, but after a year I decided that it was not for me. I still stayed long after he wrote me a letter, and am just now considering leaving for many reasons. The system we use to prepare samples for assays is just flawed (it was developed by undergraduates before me who had no idea what they were doing and entirely screwed it up and did not document anything), so I have to do a major rehaul of that, which is incredibly time intensive. My PI expects me to do this rehaul while simultaneously pumping out massive amounts of data (which I have to present to him each week). And it's my last semester of undergrad! I am most definitely NOT just using him for a letter.

I agree, undergrads come and go quickly. At my school you usually sign a contract for one semester at a time.

OP, I am considering to not do my research next semester either. It sucks because I like my lab and the PI and I don't want to let them down. At the same time there are some great classes I can take but they will be very time consuming. I have to finish strong so I want to give myself plenty of time for school work, considering all the other responsibilities I have.

I feel ya. It does really suck. I am in almost exactly the same boat. I have to take a heavy courseload next semester as well, it's my last semester, research will add on at least 20 hours a week, and then right after that semester I'd be starting med school. I'm just questioning if it's worth it to really go balls to the wall this semester and potentially tire myself out before med school when I have the opportunity to take it easier.

 

[plumhill]

You can certainly leave, but you need to be tactful and gracious about it. Don't tell your PI you hated the work; just say that you'd like to take some time off. If you're in the middle of anything, make sure you wrap it up before you leave. If you are gracious about it, I highly doubt your PI would say anything negative to an adcom. Its perfectly reasonable to want to take your last semester off to have fun or do whatever else. However, we don't know what your PI is like. If you really believe he's the kind of person to be spiteful were you to leave, then just stick it out one more semester.