CURRENY SMPers- program delay med school interview

[davematthews]

I saw a little talk about this subject on a few posts... Can this program work against you in that it delays your application? ie you finish secondaries in July but wont be considered until October

I would imagine it is dependent on the school in question and also the strength of the candidate-- any info would be great.

Thanks...

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[imrep1972]

I saw a little talk about this subject on a few posts... Can this program work against you in that it delays your application? ie you finish secondaries in July but wont be considered until October

I would imagine it is dependent on the school in question and also the strength of the candidate-- any info would be great.

Thanks...

DM, I would say that, it definitely can work against you in some ways. As an example, I was interviewed at Pitt in September - literally their first week of interviews (don't ask me how...) Interview seemed to go allright, but then they said they wanted to wait to see my grades before they made a decision on me. By the time I could send them my grades (almost February) they had just about filled their class and I wound up on the wait list. So, I went from being one of the first people they interviewed (and presumably having a VERY good chance of getting in) to being waitlisted. That was tough.

Also, most of the interviews you will get will come late in the cycle (I had five others and all mine came in April). This means that in many cases you will be interviewing either for a waitlist, or for one of a VERY few open slots.

Having said all that, the fact is, if you take care of your responsibilities in this program (i.e. perform your best) you will get more interviews than you have had before, and you will get accepted/waitlisted more than you have before. Almost everyone I know in our program had more interviews this year than ever before (including me - I had zero last year and six this year) and they generally got on more waitlists (vs. being declined outright) and probably at least half of our class is going to be accepted this year.

So yes, you may be at a disadvantage at any one given school, but the program *generally* gives you such a leg up overall, that you have a good chance of still being successful regardless.

If for whatever reason you aren't able to get in this year, you have a REALLY good chance the following year.

 

[gusmp06]

EXACTLY. That's why it is called a "two-year program", if you read the FAQs of the website.

 

[Instatewaiter]

The timing of the program can work against you. In most likelihood you will get an interview no earlier than January (when grades come out). This will not matter in the least if you have done exceptionally. If you have done just ok you will be at a severe disadvantage. Whats worse, is that next year, you will be competing with the 1st year kids that did exceptionally and could be passed over again. So do well.

Look at it this way, if you weren't acccepted in previous years and you don't improve you qualifications (SMP, research etc), you will be an even less appealing candidate than you were before. The SMP programs at the various school will no question improve your chances of getting in, and once in you will have an easier time than you classmates.