Just briefly glanced over the last page or two. I'm an alumni of this post-bac program when it used to be called the Special Sciences program- finished all my coursework in 2008 and applied in the 2008-09 cycle. I know that my advisor is long gone (Grace Hershman) and that they have new people running the show. That being said, having gone through the application process and also knowing a bit more about what my medical school does in terms of admissions, I'm going to say a few things about whatever the Special Sciences program is called now (not the career-changing one).
1) Linkages are helpful but not essential. As has been noted before, there are quite a few qualifying criteria to be eligible. Don't come to this program just because of the linkage. The same things that qualify you for linking are usually the same things that make you a more successful applicant (MCAT and GPA cutoff for instance). Come here because you've decided that this program is the best opportunity to get your GPA up, have a strong basis for your MCAT and pick up recommendation letters. If you happen to qualify for a linkage, that makes the whole process easier, but don't bank solely on it. Even the Pre-Health folks (the ones who were actual career changers and taking the pre-requisites) had a comparatively hard time linking.. it doesn't really make things easier- it makes things quicker, but only if you're qualified.
2) Regardless of who the advisor is, you need to do your homework and be proactive regarding the application process. They're there to help you to choose courses, put together a committee letter for your application, and give you information about application deadlines and the such. The administration had been helpful a lot of the time but there were other times where they were not. You know yourself the best- be realistic but not pessimistic, and always get second opinions from current medical students or from SDN. In the end, you get out what you put in. Talk to admissions directors on your own too- thats how I found out about the next point:
3) I should add that if you are a Michigan resident, you should check in with Wayne State SOM to see if they still have their policy of counting only post-bac cGPA/sGPA when evaluating your application. It's the biggest reason why I decided to do a post-bac instead of a SMP. It worked out even though I did not end up attending- WSU was my first interview and I had my acceptance in hand on October 15, the first day they are sent out. So it's worth checking to see if they still do it.
4) If they still do the Clinical Research in Emergency Medicine class with Dr. Judd Hollander, it's worth doing for at least one semester. Actually was a nice break from studying since you could do shifts in the morning/afternoon, and you get to be in a clinical setting. And Dr. Hollander must have written me a decent letter of recommendation, since I got in, so it's worth doing it for that.
5) Working during the day is not a problem at all if the vast majority of classes are still at night. Work in a research lab, be a barista, work as a food vendor on Spruce Street, whatever gets the bills paid. But make sure you prioritize classes first. That's why you're doing this program to begin with.
6) And now, the never-ending debate of SMP vs post-bac. It's tricky. I had a 3.4/3.4 or something like that when I finished the post-bac program. That's still well below the average accepted GPA. I had a good MCAT score and an organized application which I thought helped a lot.. but I really think it was the track record of a full year of A's that helped the most. I certainly don't regret doing the post-bac because Philadelphia is a fantastic city, I made friends with a lot of great people and I ended up with multiple interviews and acceptances. I really don't think it would have worked out better doing a SMP. Once you get into medical school, that master's degree isn't really all that useful. It comes back to the GPA number. All schools recognize and understand what undergraduate GPAs mean, but I think the SMPs are trickier and probably really understood only by those schools with direct knowledge/experience of SMPs and their graduates. I'd suggest that if you can't get both of your GPA indicators above or around 3.4 by the time you apply, I'd go with a SMP. I remember seeing some regression curves from the AAMC or something like that where the distribution of GPAs of accepted students started dropping below 3.5, and it made a big drop around 3.35 or something. If you're interested, I would look for some more specific data on that. It might even be in the MSAR. Do your homework, be smart and you'll do well.
