Enroll in an SMP the year before I apply to medical schools?

[C5b6789]

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It seems like most students apply to both SMPs and MD/DO schools at the same time, presumably so that they don't have a gap year after their SMP.

The problem is that I'm not going to be ready to apply to medical schools next year, but I am able to submit a few applications to SMPs (my MCAT is in Spring 2014).

As long as I do research or scribing or some sort of productive activity while applying to med schools, is it going to hurt me to take a gap year after an SMP?

Some things that worry me, for example, are whether I'll be missing out on the interviews the med school extends to some their own SMP students. Thanks for the help.

 

[The Helpful Aye Aye]

Not all SMP's get you into medical school the same way. Some have a high matriculation rate into the host medical school, such that there's no benefit to delaying your application if you would be satisfied going there. Bigger SMPs can afford to take only students that already have high stats, meaning that they're not friendly to same-year apps from people who need significant GPA redemption. Most programs do not fit cleanly into either category.

....good luck!

 

[DrMidlife]

Bunch of problems here.

1. Most students do NOT apply to SMPs and med school at the same time. There's not really anything normal or measurable about doing an SMP. Some people apply to med school during the summer months before they start an SMP. Some people start their SMP with a plan to wait to apply to med school until after they finish the SMP. Your strategy very much depends on your stats, the SMP, the SMP host med school, the completeness of your application, and your home state. I've written at length in this forum about how to think about SMP strategy and I recommend spending at least a dozen hours reading posts here from folks who have recovered from your situation.

2. If you have a low GPA, you don't get to set your schedule for getting into med school. A gap year is the least of your problems.

3. You can't get into a good SMP that starts in fall 2014 by taking the MCAT in spring 2014. SMP applications open in Oct/Nov/Dec. See item #2. If by "spring" you mean March/April, then you're not getting your score back until after all the good SMPs have closed applications. Can you get away with this? Maybe. Should you plan on getting away with this? No. Take your time fixing your academic problems, and do rigorous MCAT prep so that you get your best possible score on one and only one try.

4. There is no downside to not being in school constantly. The average med student is 23-24. That means on average people take 2 years off after undergrad. Let's review what on average means: it means that a lot of people take more than two years off.

5. In general you are expected to account for your months/years by being involved in a productive or enriching experience. That means being in school, having a job, traveling, volunteering, or otherwise always having a productive main purpose.

6. How an SMP-hosting med school handles interviews for its SMP students varies dramatically by school. "Missing out" on host school interviews by waiting to apply until after you finish your SMP is likely to be a good strategy, because you presumably have a MUCH IMPROVED APP after you complete the SMP.

7. There are huge differences in strategy if you're targeting DO, vs if you're targeting MD. If you're willing to go DO, then save yourself some time and focus on DO strategy.

Best of luck to you.