Deciding on which SMP is best for me. GT or EVMS

[mdtobe1111]

(Sorry accidentally posted in the wrong forum -- will be transferring other's responses below in case someone else is in a similar situation)

Been reading as many threads as possible about different SMPs and low-gpa threads and have decided on going to an SMP next year. SDN friends - need your help in assessing which SMP is best for me!

Some info about me:

• CA resident, graduated from undergrad about 3 years ago with a low ugrad/sgpa 3.3 for both
• 31 on MCAT (expiring next year .. yikes!)
• Went to a certificate premed program last year and did not kill it as I hoped I would - bad first semester, 4.0 second (overall gpa 3.4) -- would really like the chance to demonstrate that my first semester at the program was not representive of the student I am now and that I can definitely cut it in medical school. Learned a lot about myself and my study habits unfortunately too late in the first semester. Definitely understand the amount of hard work that is required in the SMPs and am willing to put 110% in
• Decent EC - 400+ clinical hours, abstracts presented at national conferences, good leadership experiences, decent amount of volunteering
• Applied this year and got 0 interviews

I've been accepted to Georgetown SMP and EVMS MM and cannot decide. Been researching both schools for the past few months and I feel like as soon as I lean towards one school, I read about the other school making me change my mind. I would definitely pick Cinci SMP but am waitlisted (so just sending updates for now; going to be frustrating waiting until June to see where I stand on the waitlist). I have friends in both GT and EVMS who successfully matriculated to med school the following fall (GT MD for my friend at GT SMP and another allopathic MD for my friend at EVMS MM).

Georgetown:
Pros -

• Well known/ respected program so I'm hoping some lower tier schools will hold off on rejecting me right away and wait for first semester grades to be sent in
• Seems to be well organized (as opposed to the certificate program I completed last year)
• I really like that it is block schedule (cumulative final for physio was NOT the business at my certificate program)

Cons -

• Large class (200)
• I heard it was ultra competitive
• The entire class seems very qualified - from my research, while a certain GPA in the GT SMP program will help you get an interview, once you are interviewed, acceptance is based upon your entire application (as it should be) so I'm afraid I'll fall short to students who have done big things in cancer research or whatever else these ivy league kids seem to have under their belt

EVMS
Pros -

• Smaller class size than GT
• Friend of mine who is graduating this spring says that the faculty is extremely supportive of students/ sending update letters to schools you are applying to (but with it being much less known than GT, would it even hold any merit?)
• Admin was very helpful in looking over my application and even asked why i was completing this program - said I should just apply to med school (yet EVMS sent me a rejection bleh)

Cons -

• Not the same "feeder" program it used to be *dammit*
• This upcoming fall, class is expected to be 70-80 students still competing for the same approx 30 seats that are historically given to MM (although NOT guaranteed)
• EVMS introduced a 2 year program to their med masters (around 20) and they will also be competing for the same seats so it seems like now the competition is about 100 for 30 seats
• Have heard on several forums that EVMS's MM admin are not the most transparent
• There is a possibility of them changing their curriculum which worries me - problems always arise first few years after curriculum changes
• Since EVMS is shifting away from being a small SMP that feeds into their med school into more of a larger SMP that is trying to send its students to other med schools, now would be a good time for them to cut down on the "30 seats" that are traditionally given to the MM program (or am I being overly paranoid?)
• Not a VA resident

Always grateful to the SDN community.. I appreciate all input, comments, and suggestions. Thanks in advance!

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[mdtobe1111]

@GrapesofRath posted the following:
Youll get better responses on this in the post-bacc forum but here is what I can tell you

1) G-town isnt desgined to get you into their host MD school. It's designed to get you into an MD school in general. It is hard as hell and youre stats are average for the people in it. But they are well established and have "feeders" to other lower tier MD's. Almost half their grads who get into MD schools go to either G-town, EVMS, Drexel, GW, NYMC and one other lower tier Im forgetting. So the schools you should be targeting will know how to evaluate your G-town performance. There's a clear standard that defines success and if you achieve it youll be rewarded.
2) EVMS on the otherhand was designed to get people into EVMS specifically not so much other programs. So it doesnt have this established reputation and track record of getting grads into other lower tier MDs. Really search on here DrMidLife EVMS SMP and all she's written about it. There are tons of threads on it and she has detailed the changes its gone through the past few years. Basically yes, they take a far lower proportion of SMP grads into their host school all the while not having that reputation and history with other lower tier MDs G-town has. Not a good combination.

G-town to me is the easy pick. It'll be brutal but bottom line is the majority of grads get into US MD schools. When youre an SMP student all you can ask is if you do well youll be rewarded. G'town allows you to say that with much greater certainty than EVMS and all the turmoil and recent changes going on there.

And yes btw I agree that Cincinnati SMP is definitely your best option. Being able to establish Ohio residency after doing the program would really help you.

 

[mdtobe1111]

@piii posted the following:
The days of strong linkage programs are ending. Go to the school with the better reputation (GT>EVMS) and perform exceptionally: 3.7+ GPA, 33+ MCAT. Then target low-mid tier med schools.

 

[pluto82]

(Sorry accidentally posted in the wrong forum -- will be transferring other's responses below in case someone else is in a similar situation)

Been reading as many threads as possible about different SMPs and low-gpa threads and have decided on going to an SMP next year. SDN friends - need your help in assessing which SMP is best for me!

Some info about me:

• CA resident, graduated from undergrad about 3 years ago with a low ugrad/sgpa 3.3 for both
• 31 on MCAT (expiring next year .. yikes!)
• Went to a certificate premed program last year and did not kill it as I hoped I would - bad first semester, 4.0 second (overall gpa 3.4) -- would really like the chance to demonstrate that my first semester at the program was not representive of the student I am now and that I can definitely cut it in medical school. Learned a lot about myself and my study habits unfortunately too late in the first semester. Definitely understand the amount of hard work that is required in the SMPs and am willing to put 110% in
• Decent EC - 400+ clinical hours, abstracts presented at national conferences, good leadership experiences, decent amount of volunteering
• Applied this year and got 0 interviews

I've been accepted to Georgetown SMP and EVMS MM and cannot decide. Been researching both schools for the past few months and I feel like as soon as I lean towards one school, I read about the other school making me change my mind. I would definitely pick Cinci SMP but am waitlisted (so just sending updates for now; going to be frustrating waiting until June to see where I stand on the waitlist). I have friends in both GT and EVMS who successfully matriculated to med school the following fall (GT MD for my friend at GT SMP and another allopathic MD for my friend at EVMS MM).

Georgetown:
Pros -

• Well known/ respected program so I'm hoping some lower tier schools will hold off on rejecting me right away and wait for first semester grades to be sent in
• Seems to be well organized (as opposed to the certificate program I completed last year)
• I really like that it is block schedule (cumulative final for physio was NOT the business at my certificate program)

Cons -

• Large class (200)
• I heard it was ultra competitive
• The entire class seems very qualified - from my research, while a certain GPA in the GT SMP program will help you get an interview, once you are interviewed, acceptance is based upon your entire application (as it should be) so I'm afraid I'll fall short to students who have done big things in cancer research or whatever else these ivy league kids seem to have under their belt

EVMS
Pros -

• Smaller class size than GT
• Friend of mine who is graduating this spring says that the faculty is extremely supportive of students/ sending update letters to schools you are applying to (but with it being much less known than GT, would it even hold any merit?)
• Admin was very helpful in looking over my application and even asked why i was completing this program - said I should just apply to med school (yet EVMS sent me a rejection bleh)

Cons -

• Not the same "feeder" program it used to be *dammit*
• This upcoming fall, class is expected to be 70-80 students still competing for the same approx 30 seats that are historically given to MM (although NOT guaranteed)
• EVMS introduced a 2 year program to their med masters (around 20) and they will also be competing for the same seats so it seems like now the competition is about 100 for 30 seats
• Have heard on several forums that EVMS's MM admin are not the most transparent
• There is a possibility of them changing their curriculum which worries me - problems always arise first few years after curriculum changes
• Since EVMS is shifting away from being a small SMP that feeds into their med school into more of a larger SMP that is trying to send its students to other med schools, now would be a good time for them to cut down on the "30 seats" that are traditionally given to the MM program (or am I being overly paranoid?)
• Not a VA resident

Always grateful to the SDN community.. I appreciate all input, comments, and suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Full disclosure that as a current (soon to be former) GT SMP I am very biased:

I just wanted to address the issue of class size that you brought up with regards to the GT program. While the class size is large at the GUSOM campus there is also a sister campus called GTDT (Georgetown Downtown) with significantly smaller classes and therefore much more individual attention from the SMP faculty. I wanted to be literally in the classroom with the medical students as it is where I felt I would learn best so I cannot directly speak to some of the specifics of GTDT. However, they do just as well if not better on exams and in the application process.


As far as the odds of getting into GUSOM they are certainly better for an SMP than your average applicant however you are right in that the SMP is not a feeder program. That being said SMPs get in all over the country; some get into schools with higher rankings than GTown some with lower. Thus if your end goal is getting into the best medical school possible I truly believe that the SMP will probably serve you better.


All in all I would say that the GT program just leaves you with more options and as a GT alumni you have a very good shot at getting into EVMS anyways. I am simply not familiar enough with the EVMS program to speak to how competitive its students are as applicants and I’m sure its an excellent program, but I know form experience the GT program can open doors into med schools that would have otherwise never looked twice at your application.

 

[deleted709753]

I would go to EVMS if I were in your shoes.

The gt alumni list has a lot of DO schools and Caribbean schools every year. For example, the 2016 list has 10 DO schools. This is coming from someone who has not done the smp, but has seriously considered it.

Not everyone in an SMP starts off on a level playing field. There are people that come in with already competitive applications, and they are the ones getting accepted to the host SMP and other MD schools. With your overall application, you're likely a middle of the road SMP applicant (this is just my opinion) and you would probably need a 3.7+ at gt to make yourself more competitive at md schools; this is purely speculation but probably not an unreasonable assessment. And I would guess that getting a 3.7+ at gt means doing well above the average compared to the med students.

Even though EVMS has increased its class size, to me it would be the safer bet if you're going for the MD, based off of them taking a large chunk of people from the MM program and the seemingly high chance of getting an interview.

"Is there a guaranteed interview for the EVMS MD program?
While there is no guaranteed interview for the EVMS MD program, the medical school makes every effort to interview all students who applied to EVMS and are not on academic probation. Every eligible student in the classes of 2014-2016 have been interviewed."

 

[N8.H.]

(Sorry accidentally posted in the wrong forum -- will be transferring other's responses below in case someone else is in a similar situation)

Been reading as many threads as possible about different SMPs and low-gpa threads and have decided on going to an SMP next year. SDN friends - need your help in assessing which SMP is best for me!

Some info about me:

• CA resident, graduated from undergrad about 3 years ago with a low ugrad/sgpa 3.3 for both
• 31 on MCAT (expiring next year .. yikes!)
• Went to a certificate premed program last year and did not kill it as I hoped I would - bad first semester, 4.0 second (overall gpa 3.4) -- would really like the chance to demonstrate that my first semester at the program was not representive of the student I am now and that I can definitely cut it in medical school. Learned a lot about myself and my study habits unfortunately too late in the first semester. Definitely understand the amount of hard work that is required in the SMPs and am willing to put 110% in
• Decent EC - 400+ clinical hours, abstracts presented at national conferences, good leadership experiences, decent amount of volunteering
• Applied this year and got 0 interviews

I've been accepted to Georgetown SMP and EVMS MM and cannot decide. Been researching both schools for the past few months and I feel like as soon as I lean towards one school, I read about the other school making me change my mind. I would definitely pick Cinci SMP but am waitlisted (so just sending updates for now; going to be frustrating waiting until June to see where I stand on the waitlist). I have friends in both GT and EVMS who successfully matriculated to med school the following fall (GT MD for my friend at GT SMP and another allopathic MD for my friend at EVMS MM).

Georgetown:
Pros -

• Well known/ respected program so I'm hoping some lower tier schools will hold off on rejecting me right away and wait for first semester grades to be sent in
• Seems to be well organized (as opposed to the certificate program I completed last year)
• I really like that it is block schedule (cumulative final for physio was NOT the business at my certificate program)

Cons -

• Large class (200)
• I heard it was ultra competitive
• The entire class seems very qualified - from my research, while a certain GPA in the GT SMP program will help you get an interview, once you are interviewed, acceptance is based upon your entire application (as it should be) so I'm afraid I'll fall short to students who have done big things in cancer research or whatever else these ivy league kids seem to have under their belt

EVMS
Pros -

• Smaller class size than GT
• Friend of mine who is graduating this spring says that the faculty is extremely supportive of students/ sending update letters to schools you are applying to (but with it being much less known than GT, would it even hold any merit?)
• Admin was very helpful in looking over my application and even asked why i was completing this program - said I should just apply to med school (yet EVMS sent me a rejection bleh)

Cons -

• Not the same "feeder" program it used to be *dammit*
• This upcoming fall, class is expected to be 70-80 students still competing for the same approx 30 seats that are historically given to MM (although NOT guaranteed)
• EVMS introduced a 2 year program to their med masters (around 20) and they will also be competing for the same seats so it seems like now the competition is about 100 for 30 seats
• Have heard on several forums that EVMS's MM admin are not the most transparent
• There is a possibility of them changing their curriculum which worries me - problems always arise first few years after curriculum changes
• Since EVMS is shifting away from being a small SMP that feeds into their med school into more of a larger SMP that is trying to send its students to other med schools, now would be a good time for them to cut down on the "30 seats" that are traditionally given to the MM program (or am I being overly paranoid?)
• Not a VA resident

Always grateful to the SDN community.. I appreciate all input, comments, and suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Message me if you're still deciding. I ended up earning a 3.9 in the SMP last year and I have some input since I was in your exact shoes last year.

I can be more detailed & frank in a message.