Applying to med school the summer before starting SMP

[axekilo111]

Is this advisable? What schools encourage you to apply to med school while you're in the SMP? Any people in a post-bac/SMP who have done this and want to give their thoughts? I'm wondering if it would be better to hold off on applying to med school until I've finished a year of SMP... but I just want to apply and see what happens instead of being scared of rejection. I have a 3.3GPA and 27MCAT(retaking in April). I have pretty good ECs, very good clinical experience, and am involved in research. I feel like if I can do better on the MCAT this April and do well at the beginning of SMP next year, I can save myself a glide year.

I remember reading that although while in SMP, you won't have your final class grades to send to med school, SMPs will send med schools your exam scores(relative to the med students) and that can be helpful in getting you interviews... is this true? Can any current SMP students confirm this and how helpful the exam scores were in getting you interviews to med school?

Thanks

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[braluk]

Absolutely. I did so, and applied early. Most of my other peers have also as well. Many schools will just request that you send grade updates as you get them. As for grades, I have been accepted to Tulane before I sent grades, so I suppose in that aspect sending grades for interviews wasn't necessary. However, EVMS had put me on a grade hold sometime in the fall. I sent a letter of rec with my grade report to them (as well as all other schools) and now have an interview lined up in February with them. I say apply to your schools (contingent on getting a 30+ MCAT), and apply EARLY. That is, have your primary AMCAS sent out the first week after its released sometime in early June and have all your secondaries done in July/August before your SMP starts.

 

[Instatewaiter]

I agree w/ Braluk. Send in the application early and finish the secondaries before SMP if you can.

Very few schools will flat out reject you w/o the grades from the SMP. Most will at worst put you on hold for grades. Some will give an interview and then put you on hold (before going to the Adcom) and others will put you on hold before the interview (with the interview being contingent on grades). Either way you are better off applying early so that when the grades are in everything moves quickly.

Also, each time I got exam grades back I e-mailed the dean of admissions at my top choice school just to keep them informed as to my progress.

 

[axekilo111]

Thanks for the replies, it's really helpful. Roughly what percentage of your SMP class went ahead and applied to med school while in SMP? Do you have a general idea as to how successful those people are in getting interviews at med schools?

Braluk, UC med school isn't showing you any love? Sounds like you're doing well in their SMP... just wondering since UC is one of my top choice for SMP

 

[braluk]

Hey Axe, I submitted my grade reports literally right before winter vacation started, so I can only imagine how backlogged their applications are. Id say around 90% of the students in my SMP applied to medical school prior to starting their SMP. So far, Id say about 6-8 or so have received interviews (out of my program of 18), some with multiple ones. Some also applied a little bit late so that may also explain why interviews have not gone their way just yet.

 

[imrep1972]

Thanks for the replies, it's really helpful. Roughly what percentage of your SMP class went ahead and applied to med school while in SMP? Do you have a general idea as to how successful those people are in getting interviews at med schools?

Braluk, UC med school isn't showing you any love? Sounds like you're doing well in their SMP... just wondering since UC is one of my top choice for SMP

Axekilo,

Just to add a bit to what Braluk said: I did GU's SMP. We had a class of 150 or so. I'd say probably 130 of them applied during the SMP year. It was *highly* encouraged that we do it. Probably 80-85 of us made it into med school during that year.

The *VAST* majority of us did not get interviews, however, until probably March/April/May. That's pretty standard for SMP programs. Schools that are familiar enough with them to want to interview students from those programs also know that if they can wait until those months, they'll have a lot more grades to evaluate a student with.

and if UC is like GU, the fact that Braluk hasn't gotten an interview there means nothing, yet. With as well as he is doing, I'd be very surprised if they didn't interview (and accept) him. However, again, they're very familiar with their own program. They probably won't give out those interviews until much later in the year. At GU, we didn't interview for our own school until after we finihsed Physiology, which was almost May.

 

[medanthgirl]

yup, definately do it. all you have to loose is some application money, and in this route that is a drop in the bucket. i was completed at the schools i applied to before i even started the program (i'm at university of cincinnati's physiology smp w/ braluk). i was complete by the end of july at my schools and didn't start the smp until august. i recieved one interview before the first test grades went out, and was wait listed at that school, and then was interviewed after my second test at UC, and was accepted just a couple days ago. needless to say i am very happy i didn't just assume there would automatically be a lag year!!!

some people will argue that oh, if you got an interview early, then u didn't need the post-bacc program, and i don't agree with that. being in an smp is 1)an acknowledgement that you had some academic weakness that you are working to better and 2) that you are dedicated to this process. study hard for the mcat, write essays for your secondaries over the summer, and work hard in your post-bacc from day one! Good luck!

 

[ilovescience]

those were all really helpful comments! i am starting the smp at evms this august, and I'm contemplating applying to med school this June as well...but what I'm worried about is grade cutoffs before secondaries...my gpa is a 3.24, 3.0 bcpm...is there a way i can find out with schools have a set gpa that you have to have in order to get a secondary? thanks.

 

[axekilo111]

how are you already admitted to evms for this august? I thought the SMPs haven't even started looking at apps yet

 

[ilovescience]

smp's are on rolling admissions (or the ones i applied to are, i believe). i applied to evms in october. my application was complete a few weeks ago, and i received notice of acceptance thereafter.