Hi guys,
I'm proud to be a part of the first year of the G2SMP program (the ABS program has been around for a year already). This has been the hardest and most productive year of my life and I'm loving it so far. I'm not sure if I can fit in everything that there is to be said in this post so I'll list some pros and cons and a little bit about our class.
Pros:
1) Our advising support is INCREDIBLE! We don't need to worry about registering for classes or planning anything except for studying and keeping in touch with our medical schools. The faculty and staff are extremely supportive.
2) Small class size. Since we have such few students (21), we all know each other really well.
3) Our small class size also makes it easy to study together and since we're not graded against each other, the atmosphere is noncompetitive.
4) The Prince William campus of GMU has very few other programs and there is a lot of quiet space to study. We also have 24 hour access to the building and our own study room.
Cons:
1) Scheduling- Our schedule isn't fully set yet, our next class starts on Monday but our schedule isn't up for it yet. It makes it a little difficult to schedule flights and buses but if you're going to be in a program like this, you're not really going to travel much anyway.
2) Scheduling of rooms- We start earlier in the semester than GMU classes. Sometimes GMU forgets that, and we end up being locked outside of our room or having to switch rooms because it was double booked. This has only happened a couple of times and it'll probably be fixed by next year.
3) There isn't really much to do in Manassas. This could be a good thing, because it keeps us from being distracted.
4)The chairs are squeaky. Like REALLY squeaky.
About the program:
Not sure if this should be in the "Cons" but the classes are HARD. I guess most SMPs are pretty difficult, though. This year, we have 21 students, but next year's class should be a little bigger. We run about a week behind the Georgetown SMP and Georgetown MS1's. Most of the Georgetown lectures are screen captures but there are a few live ones as well. We also have full-time TA's who hold reviews after lectures and before exams. The school year starts in August and ends in June.
I hope this helps! If you're serious about working your butt off next year, then definitely apply.
Feel free to ask me any questions except "What are my chances?". I can't answer that because I would be of no help. I will say that our class has a variety of GPAs, MCATs, and undergrad schools.
-ramnation