If you don't have an above 3.0 GPA, can you still get admitted to an SMP program?
admission to SMP program
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The expeience of posters on this board is that you need a very high MCAT if you have less than a 3.0, but it is still possible if you have over a 2.75. Below that and the only programs that will accept you are the ones with very low (less than 50%) success rates, and feeder programs for Carribbean schools.
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You can get admitted to the Georgetown SMP if you have below a 3.0, but like perrot said you need a high MCAT score to compensate.
I want to emphasize though that at the G-town SMP it is hard to get admitted with less than a 3.0 because if you have less than that, the SMP program has to request a waiver from the graduate school to let you in. The graduate school that the SMP program operates out of has a requirement of 3.0 or higher to be admitted, so the SMP program has to follow that. From what I hear they can definitely get a waiver and if they request it, it is usually granted, but not a for sure thing.
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Thanks guju, you're very welcome!! 🙂 I am so glad that it has been helping people with these tough decisions, and learning more about the SMP....
Happy holidays!
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I have a friend in the Rosalind Franklin SMP and he says people with below a 3.0 cumulative GPA and below a 30 on the MCAT have been admitted to the program, so it possible...
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I'll ask him again later today, but he told me there was someone with a 23 who was in the program. Rosalind Franklin has a linkage with the Illinois Institute of Technology, where if they have above a 3.0 in undergrad they get admitted into the SMP. As for the success rate, his word not mine, he was told 75% of the kids who do the program get into medical school. I don't know if that means to RFUMS, or to any school including other allo, osteopathic, and the Caribbean. I think an acceptance rate of 75% is too high to be true... But basically the administration at RFUMS told him during orientation was that what they looked at as an indicator of success at their medical school was your performance in their program. Therefore, if you do really well there (GPA> 3.5), the give less regard to your previous GPA and MCAT score. To me this is logical, the best indicator of success in their medical school is success at their medical school.
So basically, if you have a 23 and 2.5, you will not get in. But if you have a 2.75 and 29, it seems like you should give RFUMS a try. Obviously, the higher the GPA/MCAT, the greater your chance of getting in. And even with those low stats, as long as you perform well, you have a high likelihood of getting in.
The program is very difficult, my friend says that ten people have already dropped out. Perhaps these are the people will the lower numbers. The program will definitely test your mettle. I'll ask my friend later today about the people that got in.
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I don't agree with that
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It's also possible to survive terminal cancer and win the next seven Tours de France. Should you PLAN on being such an anecdote? At your peril.
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I agree that the higher your numbers, the greater the likelihood of your admission, and if your numbers are below a certain point, you won't get in. My only point was that the cutoff seems a bit lower at RFUMS. I know schools like GTown won't even let you in with a sub 3.0, and that SMPs are for people who would otherwise be good candidates with GPAs >3.0, but that damaged their numbers in such a way that they cannot bring them up quickly enough to be a competitive applicant in a reasonable amount of time.
My only point is that it seems to me that Rosalind Franklin has more lenient admissions standards than other SMPs, and that they weigh your performance in program moreso than your GPA and MCAT score, which mean if you have a lower GPA and MCAT, but you do well in their program, you can indeed get into their medical school. I understand that at other programs this doesn't happen at all, and in your experience GujuDoc, you've seen people will great numbers get the interview and not get in.
I know this is different from MOST SMPs, and it is a risk. I think comparing it to winning the Tour de France after surviving cancer is a bit much. Not every single school has the exact same criteria by which they evaluate it's SMP students. I agree that it seems to RFUMS has apparently let people in with numbers that should not have gotten in. I don't know all the stats, but I think if you have a 2.75 and 25 you should apply and see. I'm not saying you'll get in, but I think you have a chance and do not equate it to say mailing in an application riddled with profanities and hope to get in. A 2.75 for admission in SMP isn't that great a deviation from what is considered a normative GPA to get into an SMP on these boards. I've spoken to the adcoms at Tufts who has told me students will less than 3.0 cum GPA have gotten in, but YES they had above a 31 on their MCAT.
I am not trying to be argumentative, and I wouldn't give out useless advice. I just think if the OP has less than a 3.0, they should consider applying to RFUMS and see what happens...
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