Can someone clarify for me?

[1358]

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When the program sites (mostly speaking of BU and Tufts) state that most students do not apply until after completion of the program, do they mean they do not apply until after completion of the courses or the thesis?

I am planning to apply to both of these programs, and I wanted to apply after the completion of the courses (so the first year). Is this what most students do, and are they successful?

 

[Solard]

I'm lookin at applying to tufts next year too. I think they mean after program completion (including your thesis). The stats I've seen state there is an %87 acceptance rate to med schools after the program. From what I've heard and read, waiting to apply until completing the program is not necessary--a lot of people apply while they're in it and just keep schools updated with their semesterly progress. Good luck with your application!

 

[1358]

Thanks! I do not really want to take a gap year between SMP and med school, so I think I will be applying during the program. Thanks again for your response!!!

 

[darklabel]

Thanks! I do not really want to take a gap year between SMP and med school, so I think I will be applying during the program. Thanks again for your response!!!

Should be noted who succeed this way usually already have borderline stats (3.3 - 3.4, 28+). If you're just hovering above 3.0 and/or your MCAT is in the 20s, I would suggest taking a gap year, but its up to you what you want to do.

Good luck!

 

[DrMidlife]

+1 to darklabel's post, but I'd add that there are plenty of SMP students with quite good numbers (3.5, 30+) who were previously waitlisted at their home state schools. These are the ones getting acceptances while they're in the SMP.

If you're doing an SMP because your app is weak, you have to complete the SMP before your app is less weak. You don't get any credit for enrolling in an SMP - you have to succeed in the SMP. If you're in an URM program or Temple, you have an advantage at the host school, but other SMPs are weakening their linkages or never had any.

More to the point, if you're doing an SMP, you're not in a position to choose your med school acceptance timeline. GPA redemption can't be scheduled with any confidence or fidelity.

Best of luck to you.

 

[RegisBioMedMS]

Check to be sure that your program excuses interview absences before you apply during the school year. I do see students get interviews based on enrollment in our program (which is a structured MS post-bac, not an SMP, to be clear), but they won't get acceptances until the school has seen their first semester grades and the med/dental/pa schools definitely do want to see that the program is successfully completed before matriculation.

The other thing to consider is that the application and interview process is really time consuming and can put the crunch on your time in an intensive post-bac year. It is possible, and about 1/4 to 1/3 of our students do it each year, but you will need to work harder than your classmates to balance it all and you don't want to risk your GPA.

 

[GorgeousBorges]

If you're doing an SMP because your app is weak, you have to complete the SMP before your app is less weak

I don't think I agree with that. I know many people in last year's Cinci SMP class who have gotten multiple med school interview invites after sending in grade updates in December. And that doesn't even take into consideration the 27 people that University of Cincinnati med school interviewed from the program, sixteen of whom were accepted.

Should be noted who succeed this way usually already have borderline stats (3.3 - 3.4, 28+). If you're just hovering above 3.0 and/or your MCAT is in the 20s, I would suggest taking a gap year, but its up to you what you want to do.

If your MCAT isn't 28+, you're going to have a hard time with MD schools regardless of anything else, and your next step should probably be to improve it if at all possible.

I'm not a big fan of waiting until after an SMP to apply to med school. You never really know how close you are to getting into med school until you apply. Some risks are worth taking, and the potential payoff is huge: a year of your life.

 

[deleted248403]

I don't think I agree with that. I know many people in last year's Cinci SMP class who have gotten multiple med school interview invites after sending in grade updates in December. And that doesn't even take into consideration the 27 people that University of Cincinnati med school interviewed from the program, sixteen of whom were accepted.

One program doesn't break a good overall strategy. Iagree with Midlife... if Cincy is the exception, then great. But everywhere else its pretty solid advice.

You never really know how close you are to getting into med school until you apply. Some risks are worth taking, and the potential payoff is huge: a year of your life.

Yes, yes you do know how close you are. I don;t even know how to respond to that given how wrong it is.

A year is very small in the overall scheme of things - work in your career field for 35 or 36 years.... does that make a difference? No. Its the big thing they talk about in residencies - who cares whether its 5 years or 7 years for residency? If you really love neurosurgery (for example), why would you not take the extra 2 years over a general surgery residency to do it? Is doing 35 years of general surgery going to bring you more satisfaction than 33 years as a neurosurgeon? No. So, a year is nothing. 2 years is nothing.

 

[DrMidlife]

I don't think I agree with that. I know many people in last year's Cinci SMP class who have gotten multiple med school interview invites after sending in grade updates in December. And that doesn't even take into consideration the 27 people that University of Cincinnati med school interviewed from the program, sixteen of whom were accepted.

Interviews aren't acceptances. The point here is to look at the 50% of Cincinnati SMP students who don't go straight into med school. If they applied during the SMP year because they thought being enrolled in an SMP was all they needed, they were wrong in a very preventable way. The cost of waiting to apply until you have your best possible app is lower than the cost of blowing an app year.

 

[GorgeousBorges]

Interviews aren't acceptances.

21/27 who were applying got into med school last year. 16 went to UC's med school. Many of the people that went to UC's med school were accepted by other schools. That's not 50% of people who didn't get in. That's less than 30%.

Admittedly, I don't know very much about the people who didn't get in and who are reapplying. But those seem like good enough odds to make it worth your while.

I understand that this may not be the case for other programs. The average Cinci student has a 33 and a 3.3, so certainly there are a few coming in each year who don't need the program. I don't dispute that all SMP's have the most impact after the program, but a lot of medical schools seem receptive enough to grade updates that a calculated risk may be worth it.

 

[FormerPhysicist]

The average Cinci student has a 33 and a 3.3, so certainly there are a few coming in each year who don't need the program.

I agree with you about same year applications, but I think this part is the key qualifier for that application to be a good idea. There's likely a big difference between someone applying from Cincy's SMP (arguably the top SMP around) with a 3.3/33 and someone from, say, one of Drexel's programs with a 3.0/27.