Ask a graduate of U of Cincinnati's M.S. in Physiology program (SMP) anything!

I saw a similar thread by a Boston GMS grad, and with the number of PMs I get from those of you interested in UC's SMP, I figured this might be a good idea. I welcome your PMs, but I often get a lot of the same questions, so hopefully answering them "in public" will save some of that redundancy. Of course, if there are personal situations or stats that you want to keep private when asking a question, by all means PM me.

For a general overview, I put an entry for the UC program in the Rate Your SMP thread, so be sure to take a look at that first if you have general questions. Here is the direct link to that post: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7899766&postcount=124

Good luck in all of your apps, be they for SMPs or med school

GloryofGreece said:

i am thinking about going through this program. Can you talk about your workoad? I know it is immense, but how many hours a day do you devote to each class?

Also can you talk about each med school class you took?

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As just stated by Mondo, I did talk about each class in my Rate the SMP post...click on the link in my original post and go to Question #2. Not much to add to those descriptions, unless you have some very specific questions about each course.

When it comes to hours/day, I can tell you what I did and it could mean absolutely nothing to anyone else. Your study habits are your own and you can't really mimic anyone else's. Nevertheless, my workload (and hours/day) probably doubled compared to college. These are all medical courses being taken simultaneously. On average, I spent between 4-6 hours a day (not necessarily all at once) studying during "low periods" -- defined as many weeks before an exam. That starts to increase as each exam week gets closer. During cram week (notice I said week, not cram day/night before)...you pretty much spend all day studying, since your class load tends to be a little lighter that prior week. There will be studying on weekends and holidays as well...those days are over. Think of those as "catch up" days, since you're not getting any new material. They are invaluable!

Now don't get me wrong...there is time for fun and relaxation, provided you manage it correctly. Other than those cram weeks, you could go out several nights a week and personally, I made it a rule that Friday night and Saturday night were off-limits for studying. But there will be some sacrifice, so be prepared.

yettus said:

I have a question about applying before you start the program. I know that you waited to apply, but maybe you will still know the answer.

I would like to finish my secondaries before classes begin in August, but I don't know what to tell schools about my letter from Dr. Banks. I want the schools to hear from him before they consider my application, but I don't know how to make sure that happens if I send my secondaries in before I receive a letter from him. What have students in this situation done in the past?

Thanks very much for your help!!

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Hmm.. Well, Dr. Banks generally sends update letters after each exam week (if you ask for it). The first one will have your grades from each exam (and thus, in each class). The second one will have the cumulative grade at that point, etc. This year, the first exam week ends on Oct 2 according to my med school schedule. That's awfully late to send in secondaries. As far as I know, nobody in my class did it this way. They sent in their secondaries, and then had him send the letters after. You could always email each school's dean of admissions or the adcom office and mention your situation. Give them a heads up about your participation in this program and when to expect his first letter. Just make sure you do well on that first exam set so that he has something good to write!

Mondo11 said:

How does the application cycle work if you apply while you're in the program? Do the med schools see that you're doing the program and wait until you are half way done/done? Or is it better to apply after you are completely finished with the program (better chance?)?

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That's the million dollar question. As someone who waited, I can only tell you my reasoning, and then you can decide if you agree or not. First, the app cycle works pretty much the same way. Med schools only see what you tell them in AMCAS and on the secondaries. Therefore, you need to mention somewhere that you're taking this SMP and give a quick overview of it. If you put down the program in AMCAS as current/future coursework, you need to assume that the person reading it may not know the M.S. in Physio program at UC is a special masters program. Therefore, it needs to be conveyed to the adcom directly via the secondary or even a separate email/letter.
I was able to incorporate it into my PS, since I was a reapplicant and wanted to explain what I had done to improve my app. The dilemma you have if you apply while in the program is that while you can try that in your PS, you can't really say you have actually improved your app until you have the grades to back it up (which obviously you won't at that time).
Anyway, as I mentioned in my last post, Dr. Banks (the program director) will send update letters to your schools for you while you're in the program. The first one will contain a description of the SMP and your current grade based on the first week of exams. Subsequent letters, when you ask for them, will contain your cumulative grade up to that point. Some schools, from what I gather from classmates who tried this, will take these and continue to look at your app. Some schools will wait until you've completed more of the program...one guy was waitlisted at a school while they waited for his last set of grades. He still did not get accepted.

My take on it is this. I dont' know if you are a reapplicant or not, but regardless, you don't feel comfortable with your current stats to apply right now to med school without doing an SMP. If I had applied to med schools while doing the SMP, my AMCAS would only show the lackluster undergrad grades I had....grades that led to no interviews during my first application cycle the prior year. I would be applying with the same failed application until I could get some SMP grades under my belt...but by that time (first exam week isn't until end of September), schools with rolling admissions would be farther into their pools...why wait for me with lackluster undergrad grades to begin with? Furthermore, there was no guarantee that I would do well enough on that first set of exams to make them look twice...and frankly, some people didn't do as well as they would've liked on that first set. That's a huge risk to take, because if you bomb the first set of exams, you have at least another month or more until the next set to bring up your grade and then send an update to schools...even further along in the cycle.

See where I'm going with this? Lots of risks and unknowns. However, if you wait like I and several others did, you have a whole year of medical and graduate coursework under your belt (with enough time to bring up a bad first exam set) and you can report your complete progress to schools when you apply that following year. I was able to show true improvement over my undergrad performance. Yes, it's a gap year...but you can devote your time fully to the process (yet another point...do you want to be filling out secondaries and scheduling interviews with all the studying you will be doing?). The gap year can also be used to improve your app while applying...research, medically-related employment (which is what I did), etc.

It's a tough decision and there are lots of things to consider. Money, time, life goals (not sure how old you are, but even an extra year of waiting can be too much for some people...understandable)... For me, I was not sure I wanted to go through this process a 3rd time, so I waited, lined up all my ducks in a row, and then applied after I completed the program...with success! The same was true for others who did what I did. At the same time, several people got accepted while doing the program, so success is possible both ways.

GloryofGreece said:

oh thx...

i was wondering what would you suggest to an undergraduate student do to prepare for the courses at UC? Is there any class that we can take to make life just tiny bit easier?

would you suggest reading the books beforehand?

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Definitely don't read any books beforehand. You probably won't need most of them. They give you all the info you need in each class syllabi. See how those work first when you're in the program, and if you feel you need supplements, then look into the books. There's no point in pre-studying for any of this stuff...you won't know exactly what to study or in how much detail to go into.

As for classes, your pre-med classes are going to be fine...that's all they will expect you to have done. Remember, these are actual med courses that you're taking right alongside 1st year med students. So, if there are any classes that you feel will help you in any med course anywhere, then no harm in taking it. Having seen some biochem before may help. Same could be said with physiology and histology. My biology degree program in college had me taking a lot of those courses anyway. My advice with college coursework overall is that you should take anything and everything you want once you get the med school prereqs out of the way...it is your absolute last chance to take non-biomedical or just plain old fun courses. I minored in history and took fun classes like criminology.

Mondo11 said:

Thank you, I agree with you fully..my undergrad grades are way below par for med schools but just enough for SMP's..even though I got good EC's its def not enough to apply..I will be graduating in the spring and hopefully will start an SMP in fall 2010...UC is one, if not the top choice of where I would like to attend for graduate work..currently studying for the mcat and planning on destroying it..

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Good luck. Yeah, control what you can right now...destroy that MCAT!

damhoff said:

are you sure the first exam week ends oct 2? really hoping its not the week following. I"m in a wedding 8 hours away on oct 3....

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Yup, Sept 25, 28, 30, and Oct 2nd are the exam dates according to the preliminary schedule I saw. The first exam week is relatively light in that it's spread out like that. The other exam weeks are not...

Ohio SMP said:

Hey Peds! Thanks for helping us answer these questions. I was just wondering how the classes are curved. Is it like at Georgetown where you get a B if you are above average and an A if you are in the top 10 percent (I heard it's pretty normal for Georgetown people to get a 3.1 or 3.3 even if they did well in their classes).

What is considered a good GPA while you're in the Cincinnati SMP? Do most people get a 3.7+ in the program or a much lower GPA? Do you know the median GPA of people who are in the program? Also are students who were in the program the year before (who are now medical students) going to be counted in the grade curve?

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The grading system is based on percentage of points. If you get 95 out of 100 possible points, you have a 95%. Each class has it's own scale, either a range of percentages or minimum percentage score (for example, in medical biochem, if you get at least an 85%, you are guaranteed at least an A-). Microanatomy had a straight scale (89.5% and above was an A, 79.5% and above was a B, etc).

You SMPers get a letter grade based on your percentages in each class...since you are graduate students and need graduate GPA. Med students' percentages are not applied to a letter grade scale, instead they are given honors, high pass, pass, fail. You will be able to tell schools (and Dr. Banks will include it along with your ranking in your update letters), which one of those you would've gotten had you been a med student. For example, if you got an 87% in biochem, you have an A- as a grad student. Had you been a med student, you would've gotten a high pass. All the med students, including former SMPers are counted, but that doesn't hurt you at all. If every one of you get 87%, you all get an A- in biochem, just like if all med students got 87%, they would all get high pass. It's not that crappy curve like you had in undergrad...

Hope that makes some sense.. Honestly, don't worry about the intricasies..just do as well as you can and shoot for A's (honors). I would say 3.7 and above is your goal. That's a good GPA.

As for all those stats you asked about, I have no clue. We didn't share our GPAs with each other for the most part. Maybe Dr. Banks compiled some of that and can tell you, but I don't know. I just know that most everyone said they did well once the program was over and out of everyone who applied to med school in my class (either while in the program or after it was done), only one person has yet to get accepted somewhere, and that person is on two waitlists at the moment. Not too shabby for a 3 year old program.

damhoff said:

Of those who go through the program and do not get into medical school, is this almost always a case of poor performance while in the program or does it seem to be something else keeping them out?

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Hard to say of course. As I just mentioned in a previous post, I don't know everyone's GPA in my SMP class, but everyone seemed to do well...or at least said they did. This process is unpredictable and great applicants get rejected all the time...so whatever factors are at play in those scenarios, they are probably at play here when it comes to SMP grads. Maybe they didn't interview well...maybe there's not enough ECs...maybe the MCAT score isn't good enough. All this SMP does for you is help you make up for a lackluster undergrad GPA (provided you get a great GPA here of course).

Been getting a few PMs about when you can apply for the next cycle. Applications usually open at the end of the calender year (Nov-Dec), and go until June 1st of the next calender year. When I did it, I applied in February I think...got accepted about a month later. Check the website closer to the time to see the exact date, I don't think they've decided yet.

There are 28 spots and in the past couple years they've gotten well over 300 applications (expect that number to keep increasing as the notoriety of the program keeps growing like it has).

Lastly, I hope the following list addresses questions about which med schools have been "friendly" to SMP grads from UC.

UC SMP grads, since the program's inception, have gotten at least interviews to the following medical schools (I marked which ones I know for sure also accepted at least one UC SMP grad...whether they decided to go there or not):

University of Cincinnati (accepted student)
Wright State Univ (accepted student)
Case Western Reserve Univ (accepted student)
University of Kentucky (accepted student)
University of Toledo (accepted student)
Tufts University (waitlisted)
Uniformed Services (military med school) (accepted student)
Univ of Maryland
Georgetown
Creighton (waitlisted)
Medical Univ of South Carolina (accepted student)
St. Louis University
Ohio University (accepted student) - DO school
Pikesville Univ (accepted student) - DO school
Albany Medical College (accepted student)
SUNY Upstate
SUNY Downstate
EVMS - Eastern Virginia Medical School (accepted student)
UCLA (waitlisted)
Univ of North Carolina (waitlisted)
East Carolina University
Univ of Rochester (waitlisted)
Drexel (accepted student)
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (accepted student)
New York Medical College (accepted student)
New York University College of Dentistry (accepted student)
NOVA Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine (accepted student)
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine-GA (accepted student)
University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (accepted student)
University of Calgary - Faculty of Medicine (in Canada) (accepted student)
Tulane University School of Medicine (accepted student)
Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University (accepted student)
Ohio State University School of Medicine (accepted student)
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (accepted student)
University of Virginia School of Medicine (accepted student)
Wayne State University School of Medicine (accepted student)
Western University of the Health Sciences - DO school






I'm confident in its accuracy, but as I get more updated info, I'll edit it. UC's SMP will prepare you for just about any med school, trust me. Many decide to attend UC med anyway, but they often have other acceptances or at least waitlisted schools to choose from.

Ohio SMP said:

That's a sexy list of schools 'bro I think there was also someone who was accepted to OSU 3 years ago and someone got accepted to UVA for this year's class.

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Very possible. Haven't talked to anyone from the 1st class or this current class in awhile, so I'll try to confirm those and add them to the list

Ok, got some updated information and made some major changes/additions to the list of schools on post #17

Ohio SMP said:

Hey Peds, sorry to bother you but I have a couple of questions about when our status change at UCCOM when we get accepted to the SMP program at the University of Cincinnati. I'm trying to get a log-on account and UCCOM e-mail so that I can get the financial aid office to process my FASFA. Do you know around when the the program will give you a student account and when the Financial aid office will return with a determination of loans? I've been trying to get in touch with the financial aid office but that's been very hard because I don't have a student ID account. You wouldn't happen to know how soon we'll be getting our own e-mail and logon account after we get accepted?

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Hey, you know it's been so long and I just don't remember the timing of it all. I got the finaid stuff earlier...before school started. I believe you get your account activated after you're registered for classes, which occurs during orientation week I think. So that week is the time to take of that stuff. I would call Karen....she can more or less handle any administrative issue that you may have and has plenty more resources than I do to find answers to those questions. Seriously, she took care of us like we were her children, and she always came through. Get to know her very well!!

medapp3 said:

Hey Pedsbro,

I was just wondering what format the tests are (I imagine multiple choice, but that its different for the histology lab though?).

Also, how many students from your class got into the UC COM? It seems like there is no linkage but it many get in regardless (I couldn't find a thread where you've answered this, but Im sure you've answered it alot)

thanks alot

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Sorry guys, been on vacation for the last 3 weeks. Tests are multiple choice with the exception of the histology portion of Microscopic Anatomy. That is fill in the blank mostly.

I've mentioned this many times, but out of all the people in my class who actually applied to med school (either during the program or after completing it), I think only one or two have yet to get an acceptance. There is no "linkage." Many got into UC, but several got acceptances at many other schools and simply decided to choose to attend UC (see my huge list on a previous post, you can't miss it).

dapmp91 said:

what kinda GPA and MCAT do you need to get into the program?

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Bare minimum to be competitive these days is nothing lower than a 3.0 GPA and a 29-30 MCAT (with the intention of retaking). This is my opinion, nothing official. Everyone is looked at on a case by case basis, so it's best to discuss your own situation with Dr. Banks or another member of the SMP adcom.

Keep in mind not everyone in this year's class applied while in the program, but of those that did, many got accepted here at UC (5 or 6) and almost everyone else who applied is on a waitlist. Every year will have some people who will wait til after the program is finished to apply to med school. A couple of students from this year's class were accepted at other schools. The long list of schools I have on post 17 includes the first year, my year, and this year's SMP students.

I mentioned minimums of 30 and 3.0 gpa. That means if you have less than that, with the increased competitiveness of UC's SMP, you will not have a good chance of acceptance (especially that GPA). Obviously, you want higher than that...and your MCAT is the one thing you can improve once you graduate from undergrad. The avg MCAT score is going up among the whole premed population, so a median of 32-33 for last year's class isn't all that surprising to me to be honest. 30 used to be the magic number for med school admissions...I think that's going up to 31 or 32 now and in the future.

I will say SMP admissions is a bit more straightforward than med school admissions. I think "chance" is less of an issue in SMP admissions (while it's a huge factor in med school admissions). EC's and life experiences still count for a lot though in SMPs and can make up for stats that are closer to those minimum, unofficial "cut offs".

Here's the bottomline for all of you to remember when decided whether an SMP is for you: SMP programs want to be successful and that is measured by how many of their graduates eventually go onto med school. Therefore, they are going to pick candidates who already have a strong foundation and are right on the edge of the med school acceptance threshold. They don't want big projects, which is why if you are well below a 3.0, you have too much ground to make up...far more than an SMP can or is willing to help you with. And of course they expect you to have a good MCAT score already, with or without the intention to retake and improve on it (remember, UC's SMP offers no MCAT prep). You are coming in with sub-par GPAs from undergrad already. The best way (although not the only way) to prove to SMPs that you are capable of something better is doing very well on the MCAT, which is independent of your undergrad grades. The typical SMP student has a pretty good to great MCAT score and a lower undergrad GPA, as well as the other things you need for med school admissions (ECs, good LORs, etc). If you have low numbers for both, you just aren't as appealing to SMP programs.

Looking Glass said:

There's no official linkage, but keep in mind that we'll be taking some courses taught by faculty members at UCCOM, so they'll see us in class everyday and if we honor their class, they'll put it in our update letter. That'll go a long way towards convincing the adcoms that we're capable of handling the courseworks regardless of which school we went to or what major we picked.

Also, I agree that SMP admission is more straightforward and numerically based. For Cincy, I don't think they have to any kind of admissions quota that they have to fill - so it's more likely that you'll be accepted based on your MCAT and GPA rather than state residency or undergrad colleges. Since the program doesn't interview applicants and will provide you with recommendation letters, you're not going to be rejected because of bad interviewing skills (something that medical schools take seriously).

In any case, this is a great program for "borderline" candidates (those with good GPAs and excellent MCATs) but may not be ideal for candidates who have sub-3.0 GPAs or low MCAT scores who need more remedial work to improve their numbers. Last time I talked with Dr. Banks, applicants who get accepted to the program have MCAT scores similar to those of the medical students but slightly lower GPAs.

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Although this basically repeated most of the things I already said, a few clarifications. Although Cincy does take a good amount of OOS'ers for being a public school, it does take state residency into account (trust me!). On that subject, and others, I strongly recommend talking to Dr. Manuel (Asst Dean of Admissions) when it comes time to apply to med school (for those of you that are already in the next SMP class).
Also, the update letter is nice and all, but you need to do well in the med classes...the equivalent of honors or high pass (A's to B+, depending on the course). The grades, not the letter, are what convinces adcoms (after all, letters are always subjective in the end).

This whole idea of "linkage" is a phenomenon invented in this SMP forum, I swear... People look at how many people end up going to UC after doing this program and automatically assume it's linked. Not true. This happens for the reason I've stated in other posts. While people in the program do get offers from other schools, it's natural that most would want to come back here. After all, you would've taken 3 courses that you'll get to take again, you know the school, a lot of the faculty for the 1st year courses, and you know the city. That's quite an advantage to have over other incoming med students.

Anyway, I think these particular topics of been covered extensively enough for the moment... Keep asking questions though. I'll be starting school soon, but will continue to check this as often as I can.

For those who are applying to med school now: If things start going badly for you early in the process, it might be worth your while to start checking out SMPs sooner rather than later and even apply to a few. As i stated before, the year I applied, I sent in the UC app in Feb after getting the last of my med school rejections and got accepted in March I think (it's been awhile...). However, the program has become even more competitive since then, so apply as early as you can.

For those of you starting the SMP in a few weeks: Good Luck! Get to know a few med students (there will be several former SMPers from my class and this year's class in there), so that you can get any materials that they may have. Sometime during your orientation or the week after, you'll get to ask some former SMP grads some questions about the program in person, without any faculty around so you can be candid in your questions. Like here, ask them anything and everything...it will be anonymous and you'll get a wide range of opinions on any given topic.

tigress139 said:

Hey Pedsbro, I'm about to start the SMP in a few days. I'm not in Cincy to actually check out apartments, so I've made plans to rent out a studio in Oakley. Now I'm having second thoughts because it seems like most people in the program are living in the Clifton Gaslight district. I'm a female who will be living alone so I just wanted to make sure that I'm safe, but at the same time I don't want to spend too much time commuting. Do you have any advice? Thanks

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All the parts of Oakley that I've been in seem to be very nice and safe. It's not really known as one of those "bad" areas. It's right next to Hyde Park, which is also very nice and safe. So I think you're OK. A good number of people live in Clifton or the Gaslight District, while a lot still live in Hyde Park or Mt. Lookout, so don't feel left out! If you take the freeway (the 71), you can get to school in 10 mins. Surface streets might be more like 15 mins. When it snows/ices, you will of course have a longer commute, but so will everyone. So I think you're in a good situation. Try reading some online rental reviews about where your studio is though..you can live in a great area but still have a crappy apartment! Now if you're worried, have you looked at any openings in Clifton/Gaslight areas? If you know some fellow students already there, maybe they can give you an idea of how they like it and if there are any units available.

tigress139 said:

Hmm..well I know that Oakley and Hyde Park are considered some of the safest areas of the city, so that's why I decided to rent there...but what I didn't take into consideration was the time it would take to get to and from school. I guess I'm mainly concerned about the time I'll have to study. Looking at the schedule, classes run from ~9-4. Then I'll probably want to study until 9 pm, but from what the locals have told me (mostly landlords, lol), the area around UC is not a safe place to be at night. This will be different for me because I'm used to walking back from the library at 2 am after a long night of studying. I would go back to my apt to do it but I get easily distracted.

Do you have any suggestions on where to study? Also, am I sounding way too paranoid? I feel like I am!

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Ok, if you're commuting to campus and you park in Eden garage, you won't have to walk to your car off campus. Even walking to your car, you can have a classmate, or better yet, a UC police officer escort you...this is a service they offer. I've never felt unsafe in Eden Garage...

If you live around campus and would not drive to school, then yeah, you dont' want to be walking home alone that late in Clifton. So you have two choices. One, change your study habits. Chances are you will do this anyway!! Classes do not run straight 9-4 and every day of every week is a different schedule. You will have time to study in between classes and in the afternoons and weekends. The other choice is to arrange to study with someone that late and walk home together...preferably someone who lives in the same building. The latter choice is obviously tougher to arrange and still carries risk being out that late.

A 10-15 min commute to school is really not bad at all, and TONS of students live in the Hyde Park/Oakley/Mt. Lookout area. Also, there are neighborhood shuttles that are run by the school...many of the routes take them to nearby apartment communities. You'd have to look at the UC shuttle website to see the routes and see if they're near any of the apartments you're looking at closer to school.

I think you might be a tad bit paranoid right now, but that's totally understandable! Most of your studying habits are going to change...trust me! As for places to study, there is a wide variety of study areas in the new CARE building and in the MSB (Medical Sciences Building). The library is on the lowest level, and then you'll have study rooms on many of the floors. Also, the SMP students have their own room within the dept of Physiology on the 4th floor. Many SMP students study here, but if you need more privacy (and quietness), you'll want to go elsewhere. This room is also where you will have Histology lab. Lastly, as MS students, you'll have a key to the Physio department library and conference rooms, great evening study places that are exclusive to you grad students.

A handful would also go to the library on the Main Campus...there is a shuttle that goes back and forth between the Main and Med campus throughout the day.

Hope that helps...

Ok, so for all those asking me/wondering when the application cycle opens for 2010-11, this site will tell you all you need to know and also has the link to the online application, so bookmark it now.

http://www.med.uc.edu/physiology/MS-apply.htm

It will be opening sometime in December of this year; looks like an exact date hasn't been determined, so keep checking the site. A few things to take note of:

-You have to take the MCAT...GRE and other tests are NOT accepted as substitutes at this SMP.

-If you have not taken the MCAT but decide to apply anyway, your application will not be complete (a.k.a. not really looked at) until you submit scores (similar to what med schools do). Keep in mind it takes about 3-4 weeks after the test to get your results.

-Also like med schools, applying early can be a huge factor in this process. The word is out on Cincy's SMP and the number of applicants have been growing each year. So apply as early as you can and read all the application instructions carefully so yours doesn't get delayed.

Any other questions regarding general topics, please post them here if possible so everyone can see them and my answers. Thanks

bump... any questions? Application usually opens within the next couple months...Nov-Dec.

(bump) Applications are now open for 2010-11!

coat0023 said:

Do you feel like a 3.2 GPA (cumulative and science) and a 33-S on the MCAT are approximately in the accepted student range? I understand there is no certainty.

Also, do they recommend applying to the medical school before the program even starts in order to get into the University of Cincinnati? If you do well in the program and get in for the following year, do you start as an MS-2 or at least have some of the classes you passed count as credit?

Thanks in advance bud

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Assuming you have sufficient EC's, I think you're definitely in a good position with those numbers, so I would apply.

They don't have any official recommendation on when to apply to med school. You can apply at the same time you're doing the program, or you can wait and apply after you complete it. I've written extensively on this in this thread and others, including my review of the program (the link is on the first post of this thread), so check those out. With a 3.2, I personally would wait until after you finish the program...otherwise you would be sending in AMCAS with that GPA, which we both know is too low for most schools. And while you can send in updates, I've heard from a few of this year's SMP students that many schools prefer to see final grades in the med classes...which won't be finished til the following winter (i.e. too late). People who've gotten in while in the program generally had higher undergrad GPAs coming in... But it's always up to you and I would think long and hard about it and talk to whoever you need to.

Finally, if you get into UC med school, you won't get "credit' for the classes...you'll take them again and be an MS-1. That's what i'm doing right now and I'm ok with it. There was room for improvement and it just reinforces things you've already learned, which is great for the boards!! Plus, you don't take all the classes as an SMP student, so they can't start you as an MS-2 anyway. It's a unique "advantage" to have to be retaking some of these, so it's not bad at all. I have heard that some med schools will give you credit though...unfortunately I don't know which. Hope that helps

bump

DbDan said:

I atually just got off the phone with someone from UC today and asked about GPA requirements and if they would recommend applying with slightly less than a 3.0, upward trend and strong MCAT. In my situation (you can check MDapp profile) they said they strongly recommended applying, although that doesn't really mean anything.

Anway, the question I have is since the UC program establishes Ohio residency you are forfeiting your Ca residency. Did you try to apply to UC (california) schools after or do you think the lack of california residency would hurt your chances there? I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to make it into any of the UC schools anyway so just wondering. Do you think the Ohio residency is beneficial to your applications and did you in fact apply as a resident or use your california background?

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I kept my California residency for a couple reasons. I did want to give myself a fighting chance at getting into a Univ of Cali med school (despite the odds being stacked against me for being a reapplicant alone). Also, when I began the Masters program, it was my intention to return to Cali while re-applying to med school (as you can tell, I waited until I was done with the Masters before reapplying). What happened was that I ended up staying in Ohio and getting a job for that gap year while I applied again. In that year, I went ahead and began the process of becoming an Ohio resident for tuition purposes. BUT, that meant I applied as a Cali resident, so i was an out-of-stater as far as Cincinnati and other Ohio med schools were concerned. Initially that was cause for a little concern, but two things made me feel better. For one, UCincy takes a good amount of OOS applicants (esp from Cali). Even better was that I met with the Asst. Dean of Admissions and he told me that even though i was still technically a Cali resident, I had clear "ties" to Ohio having been here a year going to school and that they would definitely take that into consideration...sort of a third classification...in-state, out of state, and "ties to the state".

If you are not a Cali resident when you're ready to apply to med school, DO NOT bother applying to Cali med schools (other than private ones like USC, Stanford, or Loma Linda). It will be a waste of money and time...trust me, I tried twice, before and after the Masters and keeping my Cali residency. Hell, I went to UC Irvine for 4 years and their med school didn't even send me a stinking secondary!

My advice is that if you get into the Masters and you're OK with going to med school here in Ohio, especially UC, then seriously consider going for the Ohio residency. Good luck!

P.S. As for your stats, the GPA is on the low side, but if they told you to apply, then they must see some potential in there. IMO, it's worth a shot if you can afford it!