Is a MPhil/MSci worth the money?

[sat0ri]

So I've been accepted to Oxford and Cambridge MPhil programs in Pharmacology and Chemistry respectively. I am still waiting on funding decisions, but I'm not overly optimistic about this. Since I'm considered international, the programs would cost about 30K but 12K for living, to a total of about +/- 40K USD. (I do spend about 12K for living in the USA, so I'm not sure how much weight i should give that). I've heard pretty some pretty strong opinions that this is not worth it, and I'm pretty convinced that I should not take these offers without funding. However, I'd like to get some 3rd part, anonymous feedback just to be certain.

Sorry if this is an obvious question (or violates policy on this forum). To give some context, I dropped out of high school (so I thought a good-name university might repair my record) and decided to pursue a medical doctorate (MD) when starting college. However when joining research labs, particularly chemistry labs, I realized how much I enjoy this work and have been gravitating towards research, so now I'm leaning towards MD with strong basic science focus or MD-PhD combined program. So, this means I will likely end up with about 125K to 250K in student loans after med school, meaning 40K seems like a "drop in the bucket" and being able to repay loans as a physician is typically not a major problem. Also, having an impressive masters might help me get into a better research-oriented university. Also Also, I love the research (synthetic chemistry for anti-cancer compound) and I would like to be able to travel, so that's make this decision a bit more difficult for me as well. My heart wants to go, but my brain says it's not reasonable without funding.

I would love some opinions and advice regarding my situation.

[St Andrews Lynx]

I'm not sure that a Masters degree would add that much.  Especially if you have research experience already from your undergrad time. Personally, I'd always go where the money is.

It's perhaps a stupid question of me to ask - but are you sure about the MD route? Do you have medical experience and does it excite you as much as the chemistry research does? Something like a biomedical PhD might solve your issues of funding (because they would pay you), be less challenging that a combined MD-PhD course...but still allow you to make an impact in the world of medicine and do the research that you enjoy.

[sat0ri]

On 3/10/2016 at 5:23 PM, St Andrews Lynx said:

I'm not sure that a Masters degree would add that much.  Especially if you have research experience already from your undergrad time. Personally, I'd always go where the money is.

It's perhaps a stupid question of me to ask - but are you sure about the MD route? Do you have medical experience and does it excite you as much as the chemistry research does? Something like a biomedical PhD might solve your issues of funding (because they would pay you), be less challenging that a combined MD-PhD course...but still allow you to make an impact in the world of medicine and do the research that you enjoy.

Thanks for your reply.

So I do have a good amount of research experience from my undergrad, I think I'm guilty of being drawn in by the prestige of studying at OxBridge. (I dropped out of high school, went to CC, then uni, so a school like that would "validate" my past struggles--not excusing, just explaining).

So the MD vs PhD vs both thing is something that I'll still a bit torn over, though MD was my initially leaning and has since been the "front runner" of what I want to do. I suppose one of the reasons why a Masters appealed to me is I could test exactly which one I was leaning towards. So yes, a biomedical / transnational science PhD strongly appeals to me.

I do have substantial clinical involvement experiences, including volunteering at free clinics, disabled individuals, at hospice, and employment as a medical scribe at a high acuity trauma center. I definitely love the clinical aspect of it, because even though in a utilitarian sense a PhD probably helps more people (if they help cure some disease for example), with the MD you get the very real, tangible sense of helping others. Also, there is a bit more stability in the job--I hate trying to "sell myself" on applications to schools/scholarships, and I imagine applying for grants could be particularly stressful to me. With MD, once your in med school, there is much more certainty in your life There is a pretty well-delinated path of med school -> residency -> attending with a "quantitative yield" (so to speak) between each step, so once you're in med school your career is pretty much waiting for you at the end of it. The MD-PhD is supposed to be a happy compromise, but it certainly isn't without problems either.

I think I know it probably doesn't make sense to spend 50K USD on a master's degree no matter what school it was completed at, but I'm having trouble fighting the temptation.

[sat0ri]

Also, just to add, though I imagine that applying for grants could be an incessant stressor, I will say that my experiences in clinical setting surprised me with how depressing and tragic medicine is.

One other final thing, I definitely am becoming more aware of my age (20's) and I realize these career paths are some of the longest, so that's beginning to weigh on my conscious as well.