Baylor SMART Program?

[omega_703]

How competitive is it to get into the program?

For those that have participated in the past, how was the experience? Was participation in the program an advantage when applying to med schools?

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[ryouland]

have you heard anything yet?

 

[ryouland]

To clarify:
About admission or rejection? Cause I haven't...

 

[CagedBird]

Yayy!! I did the program, it was AwEsOmE . It is competitive as more people apply each year. Have you all had prior research experience?-that definitely helps but is not the deciding factor. It took about 2 months for me to hear back (I think I heard back in April). I did call the office every now and then because I thought they forgot about me and whenever I called, they were very nice. I just wanted to know whether or not I was accepted but now that I think about it, I think that helped my application by showing interest. I was always told me that my file was still under review and then I got an email when I was accepted.

Baylor is a great place for research and medicine. They took good care of us in the program. They also have volunteer opps with parterning hospitals (TCH) so you can get some clinical experience in addition to the research.

As for applying to medical school and the benefits....any research you can do, no matter where it is done, will be a plus for your application. It is only a summer program so it is rare to get anything published (few people do get papers out) but you get a good research experience. It is more of a person-to-person basis. Just doing the program will not carry all the weight but if you have other factors (good stats, ECs)...it will be a definite plus
PM me if you have specific questions.

 

[IBM27AKA]

I did SMART this past summer (2006). It was a great experience. Dr. Slaughter and her staff is wonderful. It is a very large program so you get to meet so many other people from different backgrounds.

Houston is a great place to be in the summer if you like very hot weather. The research options are endless and you also can get to shadow. I loved the program and was glad I had the opportunity. Definitely apply. I am not sure how competitive it is. There were people from Yale and Stanford, but there were also people like from small liberal arts univeristies. Its no hurt in trying. I actually applied to several programs and chose the SMART program over Wash U 's BioMedRap program.

 

[blargh]

i'm going to be in the SMART program this summer... that's all i can say

 

[crimsonkid85]

i liked the SMART program when i went, but i definately didn't go to the endless seminars and socials. it's hard enough getting things done in 10 wks or so (i stayed for an extra 4 wks after the offical program ended) without having to leave an hour here and an hour there...

 

[move2west]

I applied and was accepted to the SMART program two years ago. It was not a very competitive program to get into at that time. They had spots for 10% of applicants (most programs have less than a 5% acceptance rate), and they probably accepted a lot more to fill these spots. They invite people very late, so they probably loose a lot of the very competitive candidates. When I applied, they did not start notifying until April 1. Most programs invite in Feb and early March; thus, they probably loose a lot of very competitive applicants. I signed my name away to another program the first week of March, so I did not have the option to do the SMART program. It sounded like it would be a good program otherwise.

In regards to applying to med school, research anywhere is probably helpful. If you work for a big name that gives you a great letter of rec, it is even better. Rumor has it that some schools supposedly favor students that participated in their summer research program. I do not know if Baylor does this with the SMART program. If you do get into the program, I would choose a lab that will give you the option to possibly publish. I did not consider this when I choose a program, and I definately regret it.

 

[TheElement]

I started looking at the program details a little late and they have these pages with an overwhelming list of skills with regards to research techniques, etc. It seems like I have almost none of them... (since I haven't done research). The deadline is fast approaching...do you guys think it's still worth it to give it a try in my situation?

 

[lolasmommy]

AHHHH The SMART Program (we were the SMART students!) anyway I attended the program in the summer of 06 and I had a blast. I think it was pretty competative you have to beat out students from all over the nation from schools like Duke, Yale, Princeton, etc. Send me a message and I'll give you a few survivor tips. I loved the program. I learned more than I expected. I managed to go to almost all of the seminars, talks, etc... its worth it. Its worth getting your foot in the door at Baylor if you ever intend to go back. Go BCM!

 

[blargh]

I started looking at the program details a little late and they have these pages with an overwhelming list of skills with regards to research techniques, etc. It seems like I have almost none of them... (since I haven't done research). The deadline is fast approaching...do you guys think it's still worth it to give it a try in my situation?

hmph, the smart program doesn't seem to have helped me with baylor, but IT WAS AN INCREDIBLY AMAZING EXPERIENCE. i didn't get to do the social stuff, but i loved my time there... did tons of fun research and shadowing. i vote for applying... there were several kids who had no experience there (but they got less desirable research projects)

 

[720606]

Yayy!! I did the program, it was AwEsOmE . It is competitive as more people apply each year. Have you all had prior research experience?-that definitely helps but is not the deciding factor. It took about 2 months for me to hear back (I think I heard back in April). I did call the office every now and then because I thought they forgot about me and whenever I called, they were very nice. I just wanted to know whether or not I was accepted but now that I think about it, I think that helped my application by showing interest. I was always told me that my file was still under review and then I got an email when I was accepted.

Baylor is a great place for research and medicine. They took good care of us in the program. They also have volunteer opps with parterning hospitals (TCH) so you can get some clinical experience in addition to the research.

As for applying to medical school and the benefits....any research you can do, no matter where it is done, will be a plus for your application. It is only a summer program so it is rare to get anything published (few people do get papers out) but you get a good research experience. It is more of a person-to-person basis. Just doing the program will not carry all the weight but if you have other factors (good stats, ECs)...it will be a definite plus
PM me if you have specific questions.

I did the SMART Program last summer and am going back this summer. I was just wandering as well if the program helps at all with admission to bcm for medical school.