SMP or another year of undergrad?

[empty p orbital]

I am not in this situation, I'm only curious.

Hypothetical:

cGPA: 3.1-3.4
sGPA: 3.0-3.3

Ignore any possibility of applying this year if MCAT is really good or whatever.

Two choices:

A - graduate with BS as planned, get into 1 year SMP, work butt off and get all A's, then apply next year.

B - drag out BS by taking lots of extra graduate (500 level) classes as electives, get A's in them, graduate and apply next year.

What are the pros/cons of each choice. Ignore financial pro/cons.

Thank you.

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[ThaliaNox]

One thing to keep in mind is that an SMP is not going to take you without a decent MCAT. I would make that one of your priorities.

How high can you get your GPA with another year of classes, realistically? If it is not up significantly you might end up needing an SMP anyway. A GPA of 3.2-3.3 might work with a really good MCAT. (35+) Also, do you have a recent upward trend, or are you planning on turning things around starting now?

 

[empty p orbital]

For the sake of the hypothetical let's say that up until a year ago the gpa was barely above 3.0 and I've done really great since then.

Let's also assume I get into a SMP.

Basically I'm just wondering about the benefits of one vs the other, all other things equal. When is an SMP someone's best option and when is simply taking more undergrad work the best option?

 

[Catalystik]

With a cGPA of 3.1/BCPM of 3.0, a year of straight A postbac won't make enough of a difference. But a near-straight As (very expensive) SMP could get one's foot in the door of a med school. If the cGPA is more like a 3.4/BCPM 3.3, a year of (less expensive) postbac could put one in the ballpark of being competitive, assuming a strong MCAT score.