Anyone Loyola MSMP Alumni?

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Thisisthelife

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Hi, I was just accepted to this program and I wanted to get some info from those of you who have actually completed it. Anyone? I searched the threads but there is nothing.

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Congrats! I'm curious about this program too. I was rejected today, but accepted everywhere else I applied (Cinci, Georgetown, BU MAMS, Loyola MAMS, Tufts). I can't find much info about this program on SDN, and it would be interesting to see how it compares to the more widely known SMPs. It may help my med school app for me to find out if their admissions criteria has a different emphasis than the programs that admitted me, or if my app has some kind of flaw that the others chose to overlook (besides my obviously low GPA).
 
I was just accepted too. I spoke to the program director on the phone and she said that they hand-pick people with a lot of community service because that is a big focus for their medschool. So that might be something you are missing. She also wanted me to basically confirm that I would attend if accepted, maybe they just thought you weren't going to attend.

Also, their website shows some fairly impressive statistics especially if you apply after the program. 15/17 going to MD school one year, 22/25 the next. However, average stats seem to be quite high too, average cGPA>3.5 MCAT at about 31. My MCAT is about there, GPA a little lower but my thinking is that for every ~3.3-3.4 GPA person they take they must be taking someone with a 3.7/31 which would obviously make the program's medschool acceptance rate look much better. Probably still gonna choose this program over BU because of class size and cost.

Would like to hear from alumni as well but small class size presumably makes them hard to find
 
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I was in the program last year and am now a first year med student. The decision to do a postbacc came after a very unsuccessful first round of applying to med school. My stats were pretty similar to the program average (GPA a little lower, MCAT a little higher), but my major concern was that my academic profile was turning away schools. I had all the other checklist items (research, volunteering, leadership, etc.), but a bad first year of undergrad was really pulling me down. If your concern is helping your GPA and showing medical schools that you can handle the basic science material of medical school, then I think the program is great.

Pros: Small class size so you get to know everyone and can talk to the professors after almost every lecture. The material is basically first year med school slowed down which will give you a leg up wherever you go. The professional development stuff can be helpful with the application process (especially if you wait to apply until afterwards, I assume).

Cons: They have the guaranteed Loyola interview for the year after, but if you're applying the same year there is not a strong connection between the program and the admissions office (we had 32 total, ~16 applying, only 2 got interviews at Stritch). My two favorite professors seem to have retired from the program (going off of the website). One of them was the original program director and his replacement was one of the worst lecturers in the program (IMO). The mentorship from a faculty member is a bit exaggerated (I met with my mentor once during first semester and never again).

With regards to the educational experience and having a solid example of excelling with medical school caliber material I would definitely recommend the program. With the turnover after my year, I can't really speak to the administrative/overall feel of the program anymore.
 
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I was in the program last year and am now a first year med student. The decision to do a postbacc came after a very unsuccessful first round of applying to med school. My stats were pretty similar to the program average (GPA a little lower, MCAT a little higher), but my major concern was that my academic profile was turning away schools. I had all the other checklist items (research, volunteering, leadership, etc.), but a bad first year of undergrad was really pulling me down. If your concern is helping your GPA and showing medical schools that you can handle the basic science material of medical school, then I think the program is great.

Pros: Small class size so you get to know everyone and can talk to the professors after almost every lecture. The material is basically first year med school slowed down which will give you a leg up wherever you go. The professional development stuff can be helpful with the application process (especially if you wait to apply until afterwards, I assume).

Cons: They have the guaranteed Loyola interview for the year after, but if you're applying the same year there is not a strong connection between the program and the admissions office (we had 32 total, ~16 applying, only 2 got interviews at Stritch). My two favorite professors seem to have retired from the program (going off of the website). One of them was the original program director and his replacement was one of the worst lecturers in the program (IMO). The mentorship from a faculty member is a bit exaggerated (I met with my mentor once during first semester and never again).

With regards to the educational experience and having a solid example of excelling with medical school caliber material I would definitely recommend the program. With the turnover after my year, I can't really speak to the administrative/overall feel of the program anymore.

How successful do you think the program was in helping your GPA and ultimately getting people into medical school? You mentioned that you applied before the program and are a med student now so I'm assuming it worked well for you but were you significantly more successful in getting interviews? Also, do you have an idea of how successful others were, particularly those that apply afterwards?

Lastly, was there a lot emphasis put on volunteering in the program or was volunteering really just up to you? The program director really seemed to emphasize it over the phone.
 
It's a 24 credit program, so your GPA can raise as much as that will allow. It's certainly possible to get a 3.8-4.0 GPA in the program. It's hard for me to really measure the effect of the program on my interview invitations, because I had applied and completed most of my secondary applications before the program even started. It seemed like 3-5 was a normal range of interviews for people last year. I haven't really stayed on top of the progress for people waiting to apply, but that comes with the guaranteed Stritch interview, where you could certainly point to your record in the program and connections to the faculty as evidence of your fit.

Volunteering was not highly emphasized while I was there. Just the opposite, we were told over and over that we should be focusing almost solely on class. There was a nice volunteering opportunity provided in the area that many of us took advantage of, but that constituted about one weeknight every two months due to the interest level. Again, the necessary caveat is that she wasn't program director while I was in the program and already seems to have changed faculty members and returned to a smaller class size, so other aspects may be different as well.
 
What were the schedules like? Was it possible to work during the program? I have a really good 15-20 hour gig which I would like to continue if possible because it's a strength to my med school application.
 
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