3.3-3.4c and 3.2s. Advice on which Post bacc/smp to choose?!

[bmonster]

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I'm graduating with about a 3.3-3.4 overall GPA and about 3.2 science GPA. i'm taking my MCAT in July and i'm just looking into improving my chances for medical school (MD). I've come across programs such as certificate programs, SMP, and post baccs. The ones i was looking at are USC, Georgetown/George Mason Advanced Biomedical Sciences Certificate, and UPenn Specialized Studies Program. American was also an option as well! Anyone have any insight on these? Maybe which would be better for someone in my situation?

Also, the Georgetown/George Mason said i would complete the 20 credits and transfer them to Georgetown and then take 1 semester at Georgetown to receive a Masters in Physio. Georgetown is actually one of my top schools i'd love to go to so i'm just unsure which route to take.

Oh, and the USC program is the only one that i would take Med School Classes in.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks again!

 

[elusiveCHILD]

If you got a 30+ MCAT score and have a diverse body of extracurricular activities ( i.e volunteering, research, and shadowing) you have a very good shot of getting into state school or even a private school. However, programs that you mentioned above are truly what you make of it. George Mason ABS program is an academic enhancer while UPENN's Specialized Sciences program doesn't have much structure but allows you to take undergraduate courses at Penn. However, you will have to decide if you want to take graduate/ medical school classes to enhance your academic career. As we both know, the average to medical school is a 3.5, however that does not include the range of scores accepted into medical school. If I were you, I would focus on beasting the MCAT and apply broadly. If you don't receive any love from medical schools this current cycle than you should look into SMP/post-bacc programs. Best wishes!

 

[deleted248403]

If you got a 30+ MCAT score and have a diverse body of extracurricular activities ( i.e volunteering, research, and shadowing) you have a very good shot of getting into state school or even a private school. However, programs that you mentioned above are truly what you make of it. George Mason ABS program is an academic enhancer while UPENN's Specialized Sciences program doesn't have much structure but allows you to take undergraduate courses at Penn. However, you will have to decide if you want to take graduate/ medical school classes to enhance your academic career. As we both know, the average to medical school is a 3.5, however that does not include the range of scores accepted into medical school. If I were you, I would focus on beasting the MCAT and apply broadly. If you don't receive any love from medical schools this current cycle than you should look into SMP/post-bacc programs. Best wishes!

Bolded things are questionable - or just straight wrong.

A 3.3 with a 31 won't get you in many places considering the cGPA is over 1 STD Devs below average (which is a 3.65, not a 3.5)
And before you say "that means half of the class got under 3.65" - yes it does, but look up statistics and what a standard dev is then come back and chat.

A good year at UPenn with a solid MCAT (30 or above) will get you into an MD school provided you have good ECs, LORs etc etc

 

[elusiveCHILD]

Bolded things are questionable - or just straight wrong.

A 3.3 with a 31 won't get you in many places considering the cGPA is over 1 STD Devs below average (which is a 3.65, not a 3.5)
And before you say "that means half of the class got under 3.65" - yes it does, but look up statistics and what a standard dev is then come back and chat.

A good year at UPenn with a solid MCAT (30 or above) will get you into an MD school provided you have good ECs, LORs etc etc

How are those points questionable or straight wrong? I have heard stories on here and know people personally who had similar stats that were not URM that got accepted to medical school. But to each its own.

 

[deleted248403]

How are those points questionable or straight wrong? I have heard stories on here and know people personally who had similar stats that were not URM that got accepted to medical school. But to each its own.

Well you got the cGPA average wrong for MD matriculants wrong - so there is one thing; and the other one was questionable.... so uh, thats how

Stories with n=1, don't over power the published stats of AAMC; nor should one ever base thousands of $$ and years on a story of a friend of a friend of someone on SDN

 

[bmonster]

Bolded things are questionable - or just straight wrong.

A 3.3 with a 31 won't get you in many places considering the cGPA is over 1 STD Devs below average (which is a 3.65, not a 3.5)
And before you say "that means half of the class got under 3.65" - yes it does, but look up statistics and what a standard dev is then come back and chat.

A good year at UPenn with a solid MCAT (30 or above) will get you into an MD school provided you have good ECs, LORs etc etc

thank you for the feedback! i do have some EC's such as shadowing surgeons, volunteering at a doctors office, working at an Urgent Care, and a summer internship at the NIH in maryland. So would you suggest the UPenn program over Georgetown/George Mason Post Bacc and USC SMP?

 

[ramnation]

Are you looking to apply for next Fall or the one after that?

 

[bmonster]

Are you looking to apply for next Fall or the one after that?

I was hoping for Fall of 2013, but i wasn't sure if that would be an option considering i would want to start a program this fall

 

[ramnation]

If you're set on starting med school in 2013 and you're POSITIVE that you can compete with (meaning top 10-15%) the med students, then I'd say the SMP is a better option. Only go that route if the rest of your app looks good too (though it looks like you have enough clinical experience. Other SMP options you might want to look at are the GUSMP itself and the GeorgeSquared SMP (which I'm in this year). If you want to apply to the G2SMP, I don't think you need to submit another app apart from the certificate program. Just call and ask the person answering, Ms. Kamara or Dr. Fox if your application can be considered for both programs.

If you are okay with having a glide year after you finish, it's honestly up to you. If your MCAT is getting old, you might have to take it in glide year. The ABS Cert. has MCAT prep built in. If it's pretty new or you prefer to study independently, the UPenn program looks great.

 

[HopesandDreams]

Can you take the MCAT any earlier? Unfortunately you've shot yourself in the foot a little bit IMO by taking so late. Not only will that mean you will be applying late for the fall 2013 md admissions, but that is also too late to apply to SMP's for 2012 which require an mcat. I'm not sure if the other post bacs require mcat, I haven't looked into those. Of course you should still try for 2013 MD admissions (assuming cost of applications isnt a big factor to you) but if I were in your position I would say be conservative and realize you may not get in. If you can still get into a post bac for next year w/o an MCAT make sure you do that.

 

[ramnation]

Whoops! I didn't notice you hadn't taken the MCAT yet. Do you have a GRE score? Some programs do take those.

 

[bmonster]

Whoops! I didn't notice you hadn't taken the MCAT yet. Do you have a GRE score? Some programs do take those.

Unfortunately i don't and a lot of people are saying to just take the MCAT! And i know i definitely screwed up by taking it so late because i spoke with Georgetown about the SMP and they said me taking the MCAT July 14th would be too late for admissions. The only SMP i could do is USC because they have Spring admissions but that's also cutting it close. I'm guessing my best option is a post bacc to enhance my GPA for the fall and apply for 2014? I don't want to spend so much money on apps if i'm going to be cutting it close! I just wasn't sure how med schools looked at post bacc and certificate programs in comparison to a Special Masters Program.

 

[bmonster]

Can you take the MCAT any earlier? Unfortunately you've shot yourself in the foot a little bit IMO by taking so late. Not only will that mean you will be applying late for the fall 2013 md admissions, but that is also too late to apply to SMP's for 2012 which require an mcat. I'm not sure if the other post bacs require mcat, I haven't looked into those. Of course you should still try for 2013 MD admissions (assuming cost of applications isnt a big factor to you) but if I were in your position I would say be conservative and realize you may not get in. If you can still get into a post bac for next year w/o an MCAT make sure you do that.

I know i definitely pushed it way too late but i had a ton of other things going on. The post bacc certificate programs such as the one at UPenn and ABS through Georgetown/George Mason don't require an MCAT which is great because i definitely meet the other requirements. I just want to make sure the program boosts my chances for med school since my uGPA is low! So would you suggest taking a program and having a glide year and applying for 2014? I definitely don't want to spend the money on apps if i'll be cutting it close!

 

[HopesandDreams]

I know i definitely pushed it way too late but i had a ton of other things going on. The post bacc certificate programs such as the one at UPenn and ABS through Georgetown/George Mason don't require an MCAT which is great because i definitely meet the other requirements. I just want to make sure the program boosts my chances for med school since my uGPA is low! So would you suggest taking a program and having a glide year and applying for 2014? I definitely don't want to spend the money on apps if i'll be cutting it close!

What state do you live in? Also, have you considered DO schools? I think in your situation you would be wise to consider them. Your gpa may be low for MD(assuming ur not URM, or have some crazy list of research publications) but still ok for DO to matriculate in 2013, basically it could save you 1 year if you get in to DO. Otherwise if you want to raise your gpa and try for MD georgetown sounds like the better option since they gave you the option to stay on for an extra semester and get a MS. Not that the MS really matters but I tend to think something is better than nothing, and also admissions may look more favorably towards staying active vs taking a glide year.

Either way I would say make sure you get the ball rolling, for sure get your apps and everything together for these programs ASAP and get your acceptances so you have options for this fall.

 

[deleted248403]

thank you for the feedback! i do have some EC's such as shadowing surgeons, volunteering at a doctors office, working at an Urgent Care, and a summer internship at the NIH in maryland. So would you suggest the UPenn program over Georgetown/George Mason Post Bacc and USC SMP?

taking the MCAT July 14th

This is really late for this upcoming cycle of MD applications too (fall 2013 matriculation), because u won't get your score back until mid-august, and you will no longer be an early-bird. With a low GPA, an early application is key.

Personally, I say you start UPenn in the fall, take a whole year of classes which you rock (3.7+), and then apply for Fall 2014 nice and early.

UPenn is a little cheaper than SMPs ($20k tuition as opposed to $40k), and if you still don't get any love - you can always do an SMP after. You can't really do a AE-program after an SMP without it looking really weird.

 

[bmonster]

What state do you live in? Also, have you considered DO schools? I think in your situation you would be wise to consider them. Your gpa may be low for MD(assuming ur not URM, or have some crazy list of research publications) but still ok for DO to matriculate in 2013, basically it could save you 1 year if you get in to DO. Otherwise if you want to raise your gpa and try for MD georgetown sounds like the better option since they gave you the option to stay on for an extra semester and get a MS. Not that the MS really matters but I tend to think something is better than nothing, and also admissions may look more favorably towards staying active vs taking a glide year.

Either way I would say make sure you get the ball rolling, for sure get your apps and everything together for these programs ASAP and get your acceptances so you have options for this fall.

I live in MI and just graduated from Michigan State, and i do know that Michigan State does have a great DO school, but i was hoping to do MD and kind of apply for DO as a last resort. I definitely feel like the ABS through Georgetown/George mason and UPenn would be my best option instead of USC. I haven't heard much on the USC program, even though it's the only one that allows me to take med school classes. Georgetown is one of my top schools i'd really love to go to so do you think ABS would be better in this case? Ahhh so stressful!

 

[bmonster]

This is really late for this upcoming cycle of MD applications too (fall 2013 matriculation), because u won't get your score back until mid-august, and you will no longer be an early-bird. With a low GPA, an early application is key.

Personally, I say you start UPenn in the fall, take a whole year of classes which you rock (3.7+), and then apply for Fall 2014 nice and early.

UPenn is a little cheaper than SMPs ($20k tuition as opposed to $40k), and if you still don't get any love - you can always do an SMP after. You can't really do a AE-program after an SMP without it looking really weird.

Yeah, i think my best bet is for 2014. I'm not in a rush anyways and i feel like it would be okay to enter as a 23 yo because i just recently turned 21. Have you heard anything on the USC program by any chance? or possibly American Univ in DC?

 

[deleted248403]

Yeah, i think my best bet is for 2014. I'm not in a rush anyways and i feel like it would be okay to enter as a 23 yo because i just recently turned 21. Have you heard anything on the USC program by any chance? or possibly American Univ in DC?

Nothing substantial which would scare me off

 

[SixStringPsych]

Robflanker probably has more insight than me, but based on the extensive research I've done I feel like I can chime in. I'm attending Penn's Special Science Program in the Fall, and the reason I chose it personally is because my sGPA is sub-3.0 and I am in need of taking extra undergraduate credit to boost that above a 3.0. So if you want to boost your sGPA further (how much it can go up depends on how many credit hours you currently have) then I say go for Penn.

But it's not only about taking extra undergrad courses, personally I chose Penn over just taking undergrad courses at a local 4-year school as a visiting student because Penn offers classes like Histology, Immunobiology, Cancer Cell Biology, classes that my undergrad nor other undergrad schools in my area offer. Though you don't get to take these classes with the medical students, Histology and Immunobiology are classes that you can expect to take during your first year in an MD program. So based on the research I've done into what looks favorable to ad comms, Penn was the best option for me because it allows me to get undergrad credit in classes that are way above the level that I've seen in undergrad. hope it helps me!

Just my 2 cents, everybody's situation is different.

 

[bmonster]

Robflanker probably has more insight than me, but based on the extensive research I've done I feel like I can chime in. I'm attending Penn's Special Science Program in the Fall, and the reason I chose it personally is because my sGPA is sub-3.0 and I am in need of taking extra undergraduate credit to boost that above a 3.0. So if you want to boost your sGPA further (how much it can go up depends on how many credit hours you currently have) then I say go for Penn.

But it's not only about taking extra undergrad courses, personally I chose Penn over just taking undergrad courses at a local 4-year school as a visiting student because Penn offers classes like Histology, Immunobiology, Cancer Cell Biology, classes that my undergrad nor other undergrad schools in my area offer. Though you don't get to take these classes with the medical students, Histology and Immunobiology are classes that you can expect to take during your first year in an MD program. So based on the research I've done into what looks favorable to ad comms, Penn was the best option for me because it allows me to get undergrad credit in classes that are way above the level that I've seen in undergrad. hope it helps me!

Just my 2 cents, everybody's situation is different.

hey thanks for the feedback! would you mind if i PM'ed you? i just have a few questions and figured i could ask you since you're currently enrolled in their program!

 

[deleted248403]

hey thanks for the feedback! would you mind if i PM'ed you? i just have a few questions and figured i could ask you since you're currently enrolled in their program!

He hasn't started yet, just so you know

I am a UPenn SSP alumni and am an MS-I, about to be an MS-II

 

[bmonster]

He hasn't started yet, just so you know

I am a UPenn SSP alumni and am an MS-I, about to be an MS-II

oh ok! then would you mind if i PM'ed you a couple questions? i just want to make sure i have everything figured out before i do anything

 

[deleted248403]

oh ok! then would you mind if i PM'ed you a couple questions? i just want to make sure i have everything figured out before i do anything

yup