i dunno, i am in it now and it seems to help marginal applicants very much. i think that the fact that you take medical school courses can really help, esp. if you get good grades. as to actual results, some of the alumni and the directors speak very highly of their rapport with several schools on the eastern seaboard. they seem to recognize that while ims students may be marginal in other ways, they have proven that they can take medical school courses and succeed. the director even stated once that some schools request from the ims office, a list of the top students that semester. as for me, well my grades got released 4 days ago, and i just got an interview invite (not the guaranteed one). i feel it is what you make of it, but the reason i came was that i felt doing well in first year medical school courses would be the best way to prove that i could do well in medical school as opposed to an ms in nutrition or something like that. nobody will hold your hand, but i have positive vibes about it, after only 1 semester here.