SMP vs. SGU for this Fall

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

sagtig

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Messages
226
Reaction score
1
Hey all... I would just like some advice... really don't know which route to take... here's some background

I'm 2 years out of undergrad, 23yrs old
attended Boston University
cGPA: 3.05
sGPA: 2.97
MCAT: 29M
lots of clinical research experience

I was accepted into Loyola MAMS, and SGU for August 2010
I was also waitlisted to Georgetown

I have to give in a thousand dollar deposit to SGU by April 9th to reserve my spot, and absolutely don't know what to do...

is the outlook for FMGs so bleak, that I would be best advised to sacrifice another 2 years, and near 50,000 dollars just to try to get into school in the states, or should I just make the most of my chances now, and go to SGU, study my bottom off, try to do really well on the USMLE, and hope for the best match from a foreign medical school

I guess I should add, I applied to some DO schools this year, and didn't hear back for an interview from any of them... so reapplying for next year without an SMP prob won't help me much in that department

any advice is appreciated and welcome, thanks for your advice

Members don't see this ad.
 
Do mams, if you're successful you'll have a good shot at a us acceptance.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Third vote for the SMP.

You got into a good SMP so you still have a chance at a US school.
 
+1 SMP. Loyola's a reputable program.

In your shoes I'd find out why DO schools gave me no love. Did you shadow & get a DO letter? Any reason to believe you've got a toxic LOR? How sure are you that your essay promotes you well?

Best of luck to you.
 
any advice is appreciated and welcome, thanks for your advice

How about this: do the SMP first and see how you fare. If you bomb the SMP, that's a pretty good sign that you're not cut out for medical school and that you might fail out of SGU or bomb the USMLE, in which case you'll be $200,000 in debt and unable to get a residency. Sure bombing the SMP means that you'll be $50,000 in debt, but it's considerably less debt than if you fail out of SGU.

On the other hand, if you do well in the Loyola SMP (+3.7) you have a drastically better chance of being accepted to an American medical school or to Loyola and so you don't have to go off-shore or risk not matching. Before you attend one of these carribbeans schools, prove to yourself that you're cut out for medical school. Do the SMP first and see how you fare.
 
Loyola's SMP doesn't include classes with med students, but it's still a good idea to see if it helps you get into med school.
 
I would personally do the SMP because your stats are roughly around the range that an SMP would be beneficial to you. Have you considered osteopathic medicine as an option?

Staying inside the United States definitely has its benefits in the future is the only thing I can say for certain. There are many students who are successful that have studied overseas and if your aim is to practice in the United States, the Caribbean schools offer the "best" overseas education from what I have read/seen due to their reputation in the US. The names usually thrown out in Caribbean schools would be SGU, Ross, AUC and Saba with SGU being the one people mention as being the most expensive but with the highest success rate at obtaining residencies back in the United States. It's really up to you and what you wish to do in the future and your concerns (time) but I would take the SMP. I would also look to retake the MCAT if you wish to apply to allopathic schools and work on getting that writing score to at least P. But that's just me.
 
Thanks for the advice,

I have decided to take it, and go to Loyola, unless I get into Georgetown or off a waitlist to Sackler
 
Thanks for the advice,

I have decided to take it, and go to Loyola, unless I get into Georgetown or off a waitlist to Sackler

Isn't Sackler in Israel? How would that be advantageous to attending SGU? Presumably, you would have the same issues (problematic access to federal loans, more difficulty matching to the residency of your choice)?
 
I have no idea about this matter but it seems to be a popular consensus among doctors, residents and from posts that I've read on SDN, if you wish to practice in the US, going international is already not a great idea and if that location isn't Caribbean (SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba) then you're making an even worse one.
 
I think Sackler is a bit more well-regarded among Us pds than the caribs.

There's a guy posting in allo who's a resident at Yale in anesthesia or something that went there.
 
Some residencies dont accept foreign medical grads regardless of the name of the insitution. Granted this is going to be really residency and specialty dependent
 
Top