Getting restless...should i apply to postbac/SMP now?

[kdnysux]

Hey guys...been reading over your posts, and Id like to get some of your advice...im a second time applicant with 4 years of research experience. I had one interview this time around, and im still waiting for any decision on that. In the mean time, Im not sure if I should apply to postbacs/SMP programs just in case. Im interested in a program where i can take some med school courses and prove myself as a student. I think that's where my application falls short. There's a nice upward trend in my grades, and Im sure I can continue getting A's in an SMP program. Any thoughts/suggestions on a perfect program for me aside from g-town, drexel? Preferrably a one year program on the west coast with linkage...BTW, what's "glide" year?

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[jebus]

In the mean time, Im not sure if I should apply to postbacs/SMP programs just in case. Im interested in a program where i can take some med school courses and prove myself as a student. I think that's where my application falls short. Im sure I can continue getting A's in an SMP program. Any thoughts/suggestions on a perfect program for me aside from g-town, drexel? Preferrably a one year program on the west coast with linkage...BTW, what's "glide" year?

Yes, you should apply. Now.
I think g-town is the consensus pimp among SMPs but there are a few others that are good: Boston U, Mt. Sinai, Loyola, RFU, Drexel. Dartmouth, NYMC, and Tulane have programs, too, but I'm not entirely sure what the hell those are... You can find out more here I'm sorry, I don't think there are any with linkage on the Left Coast. That's a crying shame, too, ain't it?
Also, make sure your grades are the issue. Talk with some of the schools who rejected you and find out where the deficiencies are so you can address them. If it's grades, great, at least you'll know. If it's clinical experience (it might not be, I'm just saying) it would be nice to know that, too. Maybe it's your personal statement or your letters of rec.... There are a lot of variables to think about.

 

[tacrum43]

Preferrably a one year program on the west coast with linkage...BTW, what's "glide" year?

They're aren't any SMP's with a linkage to any West Coast schools. Sorry. They are a few post-bacc programs (like for UCSF and OHSU) but that's only if you're a minority or disadvantaged in someway.

A "glide year" as a euphemism for the year between the end of your SMP and the beginning of medical school. For example, if you went to an SMP this Fall, and didn't apply right away again this summer because you want to wait for your SMP grades to come out first, then you wouldn't apply again until the following summer, and so you would have a "glide year" inbetween without school. If a program takes two years though, then you might apply after your first year, and you would be going to school.

One of the big things that attracted me to Georgetown's SMP is that it is a one year (well, 11 month) program where you get a real Masters degree in one year, and they encourage you to apply right away. Several schools are familiar with Georgetown's SMP (which is the original and still best, IMHO), and so it is a boost to your application right away.