Different ways to get into Medical School

[AestheticGod]

I was thinking about the different ways to get into medical school and I was trying to see if I'm missing anything. I still think it's a bit funny how I never heard about these options from anyone before SDN.

So far I have these (Best to worst):
-Apply to MD (high GPA+Mcat .
-Go into a Post bacc program (for students who has not taken science prereqs in undergrad).
-Apply DO (mediocre GPA+Mcat and get accepted into DO).
-Go into an SMP programs (for students who already took science courses in undergrad, but didn't get accepted into MD or DO).
-Go to Caribbean (Worst case scenario if everything else is far from being an option).

For PostBac, i heard one can do it even if they took all their science prereqs in undergrad already, can anyone else confirm/deny this?


Am I missing any?

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[Pacna]

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[darkjedi]

why is postbac program 3rd

 

[AestheticGod]

why is postbac program 3rd

Wizard.

 

[AestheticGod]

Confirm/Deny?
Feeling kind of lonely guys.

 

[Syndicate]

Best/most cost-efficient option but hardest of them all: get admitted into a 6/7 year combined BA/MD or BS/MD program straight out of high school. Some don't even require a MCAT in college and as long as you maintain a 3.5, you're guaranteed admission

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

For PostBac, i heard one can do it even if they took all their science prereqs in undergrad already, can anyone else confirm/deny this?

I did an informal post-bac even though I took almost all of the pre-reqs in undergrad. There are formal programs designed for people who never took any of the pre-reqs but it is by no means a necessity to do a post-bac

 

[AestheticGod]

I did an informal post-bac even though I took almost all of the pre-reqs in undergrad. There are formal programs designed for people who never took any of the pre-reqs but it is by no means a necessity to do a post-bac

So informal and form are both equivalent in terms of competitiveness?

I figured if you already took the prereqs (given your GPA is above 3.0 at least), it's better for you to apply to an SMP program since they have a much higher rate of getting into medical school. I believe reading that half the students gets into medical school after first year, and 80-90% after 2-3rd year.

 

[maliro]

You could also take two years off and work to gain some more experience (great things to have things to answer interview questions/ secondaries) or get a masters in something that your interested in that would make you stand out as an applicant.

 

[darkjedi]

So informal and form are both equivalent in terms of competitiveness?

I figured if you already took the prereqs (given your GPA is above 3.0 at least), it's better for you to apply to an SMP program since they have a much higher rate of getting into medical school. I believe reading that half the students gets into medical school after first year, and 80-90% after 2-3rd year.

There are career changer postbacs and GPA-repair postbacs. The better formal ones are all career changer ones and tend to be quite competitive to get into.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

So informal and form are both equivalent in terms of competitiveness?

I figured if you already took the prereqs (given your GPA is above 3.0 at least), it's better for you to apply to an SMP program since they have a much higher rate of getting into medical school. I believe reading that half the students gets into medical school after first year, and 80-90% after 2-3rd year.

Informal just means I signed up for classes at my own discretion. I didn't need to apply into a program. I'm not really familiar with how hard the formal programs are to get into.

The reason people choose post-bacs over SMPs is because it allows you to raise your gpa if it's on the borderline between competitive and not so competitive. They aren't meant to link you into a certain medical school. SMPs are basically last ditch efforts to get into medical school for those with subpar scores and shouldn't be entered unless you absolutley need one. If you fail in an SMP, you are pretty much done. I would advise anyone with a gpa close to what they would need to enter DO or MD schools to opt for a post-bac over an SMP.

I can't really comment to those statistics. I believe they vary fairly widely between SMP programs.

 

[inycepoo]

Best/most cost-efficient option but hardest of them all: get admitted into a 6/7 year combined BA/MD or BS/MD program straight out of high school. Some don't even require a MCAT in college and as long as you maintain a 3.5, you're guaranteed admission

Efficient, maybe, but also giving up a large part of one's life that is important for intellectual and personal development. Life's not a race, and it's not all fun and games to rush both in only 6 years. Many students at such programs are somewhat unhappy with their position, especially at the 6-year programs. Very few schools now have a completely MCAT waived option. At most, you need to score >28ish.

I turned down multiple BS/MD programs for this very reason.