Do I stand a shot at a good SMP program or should I do some other Post-Bacc?

[pritomd]

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Do I stand a shot at a good SMP program? In engineering @top 25 with a 2.99 GPA (will be >3.0 by the end of the spring, but those grades won't be submitted to the SMP..I think my junior/senior GPA is 3.5+ or something though), 4 years of volunteer experience at 2 different (non clinical) places, 3 years of research experience (1 year in lab A, 2 years in lab B), Shadowing experience, 2-3 student organizations, 1 with leadership role

I will be taking the GRE soon, but let's assume I score competitively. MCAT will be done next spring so if there are any other programs that only take MCAT scores I'll use that for those, but I'll be applying mainly to GRE-accepting programs.

Do I stand a shot to get into a good SMP? I'm worried about my GPA since it seems like most people applying are 3.2+...and mine is below 3.0....I'd like to go to Georgetown or BU, do I stand a shot?

1 key thing that worries me: I have a 2.85 sGPA, a couple science classes with C's and 1 with a D..these were before I started my upward trend in GPA).

Should I bother applying to SMPs? what other type of post-bacc programs should I attempt? if I do a pre-med post bacc (can I even do those since I already took them?), will I have to postpone an SMP till after this premed post bacc is done or do you think I could apply to med schools after the post bacc?

Just looking for some input in some options after graduation. Thanks in advance for any help.

Ps-does biomedical engineering count towards sGPA at all? namely, I had to take a physiology 1 and 2 and a cell/molec bio class through the BME department..

 

[DrMidlife]

Getting into an SMP is one thing. Being ready for med school is another thing. I suggest that you need more bake time.

Keep in mind that "postbac" is a fairly useless term. All it means is more undergrad after you complete a degree. Programs like Bryn Mawr and Goucher seem like they own the word "postbac" but they address the needs of a very small group: people with really high GPAs who need to finish the prereqs and will keep the med school acceptances over 99% for these programs. I suggest that saying "more undergrad" is better than saying "postbac."

Because you haven't completed your degree yet, you should strongly consider extending your "prebac" career. If I were in your shoes, I'd want to spend more time in undergrad, demonstrating to myself that I'm ready for med school, by getting a bunch of A's in a bunch of hard science classes. And I'd also expect to still need an SMP.

An SMP that will let you in, with your current numbers and absent MCAT, is not going to set you up to get right into med school. You'll have at least one more gap year if you get into such a program.

The timing just isn't going to work for you to get into a good SMP for Fall 2011.

I suggest the following schedule:
1. Extend your undergrad career by a year, maybe by adding a minor. You don't have to stay at the same school if they won't let you stay.

2. Take another year of all hard science and get as close to 4.0 as possible.

3. Aim to take the MCAT next September. It's not too early to start prep now. Plan to take the MCAT once, having done the best possible prep for the best possible score. If your practice test scores are not above your goal, you're not ready...and your goal needs to be 32+ (above average).

4. Aim to apply to SMPs next November-February. Apply to good SMPs that publish their success rates, such as Gtown, Cincinnati, EVMS, etc.

5. All along the way, nurture relationships with faculty and with mentors, and take advantage of opportunities to learn and learn and learn about the practice and the business of healthcare.

Best of luck to you.

 

[pritomd]

Hmm interesting. So even if I got into an SMP and completed it well, it would still be risky based on what I left behind with my undergrad to apply to med schools? Or is the "bake time" you reccomend more for myself as a student in preparation for med school?

What I'm thinking is to apply to SMPs, but also postbacc programs (I cannot do a 5th year at my university) like Georgetown PBPM in order to retake the science classes and get as close to a 4.0 as possible (which would land my GPA at around 3.3 or so if I calculated it right, so yeah, I'd still need an SMP next year like you reccomended) just in case I can't get into a SMP or masters program (like Georgetown CAM..Mississippi College, etc).

 

[DrMidlife]

So even if I got into an SMP and completed it well, it would still be risky based on what I left behind with my undergrad to apply to med schools?

Exactly. To go straight into MD school from an SMP, imho with a sub-3.0 you would need to be at a program like EVMS, Cincinnati, Temple, RFU - where the SMP is very tightly linked with the med school, and your seat in the host med school is effectively yours to lose during the SMP. Unfortunately these programs are all competitive enough that I don't think you'll get in, but there's no harm in trying.

By contrast, the huge SMPs such as Gtown, Tufts, Boston, Drexel (which are also competitive) don't put a large number of their SMP students straight into the host med school. Which means you lose the host-school advantage of an SMP - other schools have no obligation to respect the work you do in an SMP over the work you did in undergrad.

Or, you might get lucky, particularly if your MCAT is above average (32+).

Or is the "bake time" you reccomend more for myself as a student in preparation for med school?

Yes, by "bake time" I mean that I think you should spend more time getting undergrad A's before you take on med school coursework (such as you'd take in an SMP). If you do more undergrad, and you get your science GPA up over 3.0, and you get a great MCAT score, then you have so much more choice in where you can go, plus then you'll be ready.

What I'm thinking is to apply to SMPs, but also postbacc programs (I cannot do a 5th year at my university) like Georgetown PBPM in order to retake the science classes and get as close to a 4.0 as possible (which would land my GPA at around 3.3 or so if I calculated it right, so yeah, I'd still need an SMP next year like you reccomended) just in case I can't get into a SMP or masters program (like Georgetown CAM..Mississippi College, etc).

Read the program pages carefully. Gtown PBPM won't take you if you've done most of the prereqs. Look at programs like UT Dallas which specifically allow you to do retakes in addition to more upper div science.

I think Gtown CAM would be a mistake - you'd spend a bunch of money there to not get into med school because of your undergrad GPA. Unless you're a Mississippi resident, Mississippi College would be a mistake.

Let me break this down a little more: at some med schools, they want to sit down with you during interviews and go through your transcript line by line. You have to explain every grade less than a B. As I've said elsewhere, this feels like having a large dumptruck full of dog poo backed onto you, when you have C's and D's and F's and W's. Separately, you have to get the admissions committee to buy your story about why your GPA doesn't indicate your capabilities, and then the executive committee member has to be willing to fight for you over better qualified applicants. I think it's a good strategy to make that excom's job as easy as possible.

Hopefully we'll get somebody else to come along and vote on all this. I'm just one voice here.

Best of luck to you.

Edit: do you know what a DO is? Worth looking into.

 

[Haplo]

I can vouch for this advice, as someone who spent some more "bake time" rather than graduate. I raised my GPA, got another major, and took the MCAT. By all means, get as many undergrad classes in to raise/buffer your gpa as possible. Grad classes in SMPs count separately, not factoring into amcas gpa's.

The advice about doing a linked program is spot on, there are no guarantees in traditional smp's. Also consider DO or reputable caribbean (i.e. St georges) schools; I can tell you I had the apps ready to go if the whole USMD school thing didnt work out. Even after a good year in an smp you will struggle to get school interest. I would modify drmidlife's advice about the MCAT to 35+ with your gpa if you have your heart set on USMD schools. I was in similar circumstances to you, and would have had no luck without this caveat, even after georgetown smp.

AMCAS advice: if the course title had "bio" in it on your transcript, might as well list it as bio. Is the auditors think it doesnt fit, they change it (but most likely wont).