Well thank you for this reply! I was going through this thread and your reply helped a lot! In India the graduate schools for biomedical sciences are understaffed and have poor educational standards. Medical school is the only way of getting a good graduate education when it comes to biological sciences. But I _always_ wanted to be a research scientist. I love developmental and cellular biology! I am applying for a PhD this year. I honestly didn't think I would rank low because I am an MD. And like you just out of med school I don't have experience to apply for a post doc /fellowship and i think a structured program will help me.