Considering leaving med school for genetics/bioinformatics PhD...would I have a chance?

Graduate School
1

As the title says, I’m considering leaving medical school to pursue a genetics/bioinformatics PhD. What would my chances be? How bad will the med school things hurt? What tier of schools (if any) would I be competitive for?

GPA: 3.77 (low-tier state school)
GRE: none yet (MCAT was 94th percentile)
Research: 2 years genetics (1 late author paper in big journal, 1 national conference, 1 undergrad conference), 1 year molecular bio (1st author paper in undergrad journal), clinical (2nd author paper, 2 posters)
Awards: Dean’s award for most outstanding senior bio major, undergraduate research grant
Should have two strong letters of recommendation from professors I did research under.

2

Your chances would probably be pretty good. I doubt your situation is that unusual. You will need to figure out which programs interest you. PhD program application has more to do with matching your research interests with what is going on and available at respective schools.

3

Given you have some research experience, this is something that is possible. It depends a lot on the quality of your experience and your research interests and fit with the departments you’re interested in.

4

@pm3220 - Welcome to the Forum. I agree, you should have an excellent chance of getting admitted to a program. The medical school time won’t hurt.