Georgetown SMP Application Thread 2019- 2020

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usctrojans24 said:
Thanks but I've seen this but do GUMC and GTDT take the same exams? Is it just on a delay or something?
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They take the exact same exams. GTDT's schedule is one week after GUMC's because they rely on lecture capture.
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a-robit said:
They take the exact same exams. GTDT's schedule is one week after GUMC's because they rely on lecture capture.
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Wouldn't it just be more advantageous to be part of GTDTs schedule so you get more time to study for exams?
 
usctrojans24 said:
Wouldn't it just be more advantageous to be part of GTDTs schedule so you get more time to study for exams?
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It doesn't really work like that. Orientation starts a week after GUMC, so you're just a week behind on everything.

As a former GUMC SMP student and current med student, I would advise you go to GTDT if you need a more hands on and structured experience, more clinical exposure, and/or more volunteering. At GUMC, most SMP students and med students don't go to class. We just watch lecture capture after the fact or use other study resources. It's very unstructured other than a few mandatory group sessions here and there. I probably only had to go to class a few times a month.
 
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DocJanItor said:
It doesn't really work like that. Orientation starts a week after GUMC, so you're just a week behind on everything.

As a former GUMC SMP student and current med student, I would advise you go to GTDT if you need a more hands on and structured experience, more clinical exposure, and/or more volunteering. At GUMC, most SMP students and med students don't go to class. We just watch lecture capture after the fact or use other study resources. It's very unstructured other than a few mandatory group sessions here and there. I probably only had to go to class a few times a month.
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Yea personally I already have the volunteering and all stuff taken care of. How often do you have to go to class to take exams? And do you see your SMP classmates a lot? I live in Northern VA (30 mins away) I was considering moving to DC ...
 
It's a little different now because they changed the curriculum from my SMP year to my M1 year, but I believe they still do exams once every 2 or 3 weeks. I didn't see my SMP classmates nearly as often as I see my med school classmates. Some of them live together and they get pretty close, but if you're living in NOVA and you can get to class without much trouble then you're probably fine. I knew people who lived in Maryland and I lived in south arlington until M1.

Living in Georgetown is expensive but convenient. The issue with driving to class is that there's no parking on campus and street parking can be hit or miss.
 
a-robit said:
I did GTDT, and I really enjoyed the flipped learning sessions. The learning style is much more independently driven, in that you really get out of class what you put in. If you do a good job staying on top of material, then the flipped sessions serve to test and reinforce what you know, and help inform you of what areas you need to brush up on. I personally do not get a whole lot out of sitting in lecture, since I tend to space out occasionally, and the material moves so quickly in lectures that I find myself lost! Besides, my engineering background's taught me that I work much better in small groups, and the learning style at GTDT facilitates that.

I really enjoyed explorations. You don't get to decide what you do, but the experiences span a huge range of things ranging from police/fire department ride-alongs, volunteering in soup kitchens, all the way to shadowing various doctors. I felt that it helped give context to all of the physiology I learned in class, and it reaffirmed my desire to go to med school. GUMC students are free to pursue opportunities on their own, but GTDT has a day every week blocked out for rotations. Additionally, it's much easier getting shadowing via someone advocating, scheduling, and jumping through bureaucratic hoops for you versus cold-emailing doctors at hospitals yourself. Generally, GUMC has non-mandatory class 4-5 days a week, versus 3-4 mandatory class days for GTDT. The experiences helped inform me of some of the issues patients deal with at every level from community, to emergency services, all the way to the physician-patient relationship.

If I were to do it again, I would do GTDT in a heartbeat. I really loved the close relationship with faculty that I had, and I felt supported by my peers and professors. For housing, the GTDT campus has unparalleled bus and metro access. I had classmates live as far as Ballston and Bethesda, but I also knew people who lived a little closer in Shaw, H St NE, and Chinatown. You mostly just have to shop around and find a place that works for you.
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wow thanks so much for answering! Also, did you apply to GUSOM? and if so, did you feel like it set you apart from others in terms of things to talk about in your GUSOM statements/interviews?
 
hiyhiy said:
wow thanks so much for answering! Also, did you apply to GUSOM? and if so, did you feel like it set you apart from others in terms of things to talk about in your GUSOM statements/interviews?
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I did apply and was admitted to GUSOM. I felt that it set me apart in the way that I had a better idea of what I was getting myself into with regards to medical school, and how the school's mission statement was actually carried out. GUSOM definitely puts an emphasis on their secondary essay, and I feel that being able to adequately show why Georgetown is the right school for me was important to receiving the II and acceptance.
 
Does anyone know what the community life is like? Are SMP students close or does everyone mostly do their own thing?
 
TripleHBK said:
Does anyone know what the community life is like? Are SMP students close or does everyone mostly do their own thing?
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It really depends. From what I've seen, everybody generally finds their own group of friends, but no one is cutthroat. The M1s set the curve, so how well your SMP classmates do has no bearing on your own grades.
 
a-robit said:
It really depends. From what I've seen, everybody generally finds their own group of friends, but no one is cutthroat. The M1s set the curve, so how well your SMP classmates do has no bearing on your own grades.
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A-robit do you mind sharing your stats? and how you did in the SMP?
 
usctrojans24 said:
A-robit do you mind sharing your stats? and how you did in the SMP?
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uGPA 3.5, sGPA 3.22, MCAT pre-SMP 33, MCAT post-SMP 519, SMP GPA 3.95, chemE from top 10 university

FWIW, grades aren't everything. Your entire application is still important. As others in this thread have pointed out/corrected me on, you do not need a 3.7+ or whatever to get into med school/GUSOM. Having a high SMP GPA helps, but it by no means gets you in if your app is overall not where it needs to be.
 
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I will like to PM you as well, a-robit. We have very similar stats and I am trying to decide on this program and a few others. Thanks!
 
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Is it true that program coordinator Amy doesn’t even work from campus. She is somewhere in Seattle probably working from home. So, only contact via email. Those who attended can confirm? Who is your primary contact then once you start classes?
 
Gill_97 said:
Is it true that program coordinator Amy doesn’t even work from campus. She is somewhere in Seattle probably working from home. So, only contact via email. Those who attended can confirm? Who is your primary contact then once you start classes?
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Yeah, she works out of Seattle but is on campus quite often. It works because she attends events at schools on the west coast.

Amy is basically in charge of getting you in, then Dr. Mulroney and others take care of you while you're there. Believe me, you'll have no shortage of people to contact or opportunities to talk to them. They're very receptive, encouraging, and helpful.
 
Gill_97 said:
Is it true that program coordinator Amy doesn’t even work from campus. She is somewhere in Seattle probably working from home. So, only contact via email. Those who attended can confirm? Who is your primary contact then once you start classes?
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She's actually moving to DC for this upcoming class!
 
beautifuldaytosavelives said:
Has anyone been accepted to this program with a sub-500 MCAT...Feeling pretty hopeless right about now.
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A SMP is not the appropriate program for you if you have a sub-500 MCAT (or really any MCAT that is not competitive for MD schools). You do not need to pay $80,000 for MCAT prep.
 
Hey! Accepted and deposit paid.
Anybody have advice on housing/transportation?
 
beautifuldaytosavelives said:
Has anyone been accepted to this program with a sub-500 MCAT...Feeling pretty hopeless right about now.
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I'm gonna be honest with you, a sub-500 MCAT doesn't really bode well for success in the program even if you were accepted. I've had classmates who were accepted without MCATs/with low-ish MCATs who struggled in the program. SMPs are typically designed with GPA repair in mind, and every student that doesn't get into med school a few years out of the program reflects poorly on their reputation.

If I were you I would sit down, analyze your approach, and put some additional effort into a MCAT retake, since a sub-500 score is usually indicative of content gaps.
 
Have any reapplicants had success with this program? Recently just got accepted, but with a 3.5/>513 mcat and total rework of my essays, I’m not sure if this would be worth it. But at the same time, I want to make sure I get accepted next cycle
 
golgi body said:
Have any reapplicants had success with this program? Recently just got accepted, but with a 3.5/>513 mcat and total rework of my essays, I’m not sure if this would be worth it. But at the same time, I want to make sure I get accepted next cycle
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I mean with a 3.5 and 513 you have a good chance of being accepted to a mid/low-tier MD or any DO school. The best that the SMP could do for you is slightly elevate your chances at an MD school, but it's pretty high risk. If anything were to go wrong, your med school chances would be over. It's also like $80-100k that you don't necessarily need to spend.

If I were you I'd work on your application (essays, shadowing, volunteering, etc), make sure I'm applying to the right schools, and practice interview skills.
 
DocJanItor said:
I mean with a 3.5 and 513 you have a good chance of being accepted to a mid/low-tier MD or any DO school. The best that the SMP could do for you is slightly elevate your chances at an MD school, but it's pretty high risk. If anything were to go wrong, your med school chances would be over. It's also like $80-100k that you don't necessarily need to spend.

If I were you I'd work on your application (essays, shadowing, volunteering, etc), make sure I'm applying to the right schools, and practice interview skills.
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I received a couple waitlists and I believe my undergrad grades are the reason why. Although my gpa isn’t terrible and I was able to achieve an upward trend, I have a lot of Cs and Bs early in my prereqs which is my reasoning for considering the smp.
 
golgi body said:
I received a couple waitlists and I believe my undergrad grades are the reason why. Although my gpa isn’t terrible and I was able to achieve an upward trend, I have a lot of Cs and Bs early in my prereqs which is my reasoning for considering the smp.
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If you have a few waitlists, I would do what @DrJanltor suggested. Getting to the interview stage is a big screen, and people are notoriously bad judges of their own interview performance. This program is difficult and expensive, and definitely a bit of a hail-mary pass.
 
a-robit said:
If you have a few waitlists, I would do what @DrJanltor suggested. Getting to the interview stage is a big screen, and people are notoriously bad judges of their own interview performance. This program is difficult and expensive, and definitely a bit of a hail-mary pass.
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I agree. However, this is my second app cycle and I didn’t receive a single II from any of my state schools (there are a lot and it’s not CA), which tells me something is wrong with my application. I want to do anything I can to ensure my third cycle will be successful.
 
golgi body said:
I agree. However, this is my second app cycle and I didn’t receive a single II from any of my state schools (there are a lot and it’s not CA), which tells me something is wrong with my application. I want to do anything I can to ensure my third cycle will be successful.
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Would it be possible to meet with admissions from any of the school's you are waitlisted at? I did that at my state MD school and they told me my application was competitive except for my sGPA...and my sGPA also has a frowny face trend, my words no theirs lol. That is how I even began to consider a SMP.

Your MCAT is just above the median for MD schools (and it goes up every year), if admissions says your GPA is holding you back I think a SMP is perfect for you. It is much better to do a SMP when you have a proven MCAT than a low MCAT and low GPA.
 
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What are the chances of getting in this program off of the waitlist?
 
Has anyone from the waitlist received any information?
 
Does anyone know if this program is helpful for someone with both a cGPA and a sGPA around 3.6 and a 509 on the MCAT? I was debating between this program and a post-bac and I saw on previous threads that this program is geared towards people with higher MCATs.
 
I would say retake your MCAT and you should be fine. Remember, med school admission isn’t just GPA & MCAT. Work on your ECs. Become a volunteer firefighter. And work on your writing. Those things would set you apart from others.
 
thunderstruck said:
Does anyone know if this program is helpful for someone with both a cGPA and a sGPA around 3.6 and a 509 on the MCAT? I was debating between this program and a post-bac and I saw on previous threads that this program is geared towards people with higher MCATs.
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With a 3.6, I don't really think that you need GPA repair. I would just give some time to studying for a MCAT retake, and work on the other aspects of your app.
 
thunderstruck said:
Does anyone know if this program is helpful for someone with both a cGPA and a sGPA around 3.6 and a 509 on the MCAT? I was debating between this program and a post-bac and I saw on previous threads that this program is geared towards people with higher MCATs.
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A SMP is a hail mary. You aren't down by a touchdown with 10 seconds on the clock. Drill the field goal from 513+ yards out and you'll be good.

Please excuse the horrendous analogy 🙂
 
What format did you guys use in the "Extra-Curricular & Avocational Activities" and "Post-Secondary Volunteer, Part-Time & Full Time Employment" sections for Option B of the Supplemental Material? Is it safe to assume AMCAS formatting or something similar to a CV?

Thank you and good luck to y'all!
 
I am a recent graduate from college who graduated with a 3.6 GPA (science and overall) and a 511 MCAT. I applied to med school this year but did not get in. I am still on a few waitlists but I am losing hope. Right now, my options are to attend the Georgetown SMP or scribe full time. I think my clinical experiences are good ( a few summers working in clinical trials) but it seems like overall I am just an average candidate for medical school. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on what I should do. It seems like the SMP would be more of a guarantee to get me in to a school if I do well, but is it weird that I am thinking of doing it with a 3.6 undergrad GPA? I just want to make sure that I am filling gaps in my application. I have heard that if I scribe I may need to retake my MCAT to significantly change my application.
 
questions05281997 said:
I am a recent graduate from college who graduated with a 3.6 GPA (science and overall) and a 511 MCAT. I applied to med school this year but did not get in. I am still on a few waitlists but I am losing hope. Right now, my options are to attend the Georgetown SMP or scribe full time. I think my clinical experiences are good ( a few summers working in clinical trials) but it seems like overall I am just an average candidate for medical school. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on what I should do. It seems like the SMP would be more of a guarantee to get me in to a school if I do well, but is it weird that I am thinking of doing it with a 3.6 undergrad GPA? I just want to make sure that I am filling gaps in my application. I have heard that if I scribe I may need to retake my MCAT to significantly change my application.
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What is your sGPA? Did you get feedback from any of the schools you weren’t accepted at?
 
I was just accepted today. I’m surprised because I do have a low Mcat (506). Reading the comments are making it seem like it’s a bad idea to invest in this with a low Mcat. I was also accepted to LECOM which has a linkage. Is anyone in a similar situation? I’m not sure what to do.
 
Vlayton said:
I was just accepted today. I’m surprised because I do have a low Mcat (506). Reading the comments are making it seem like it’s a bad idea to invest in this with a low Mcat. I was also accepted to LECOM which has a linkage. Is anyone in a similar situation? I’m not sure what to do.
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506 isn't low, per se. It's low for MD but it is good for DO. I think the average entering the smp is about 510, so you're not out of range.

That being said, the smp should only be used for gpa repair. If you have a good gpa then you should absolutely retake the mcat without doing the smp. You will do better on the mcat after the smp regardless, but $70k+ is a lot of money for mcat prep.
 
DocJanItor said:
506 isn't low, per se. It's low for MD but it is good for DO. I think the average entering the smp is about 510, so you're not out of range.

That being said, the smp should only be used for gpa repair. If you have a good gpa then you should absolutely retake the mcat without doing the smp. You will do better on the mcat after the smp regardless, but $70k+ is a lot of money for mcat prep.
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My cGPA is a 3.5 which isn’t too bad, but definitely not MD competitive. 3.0 sGPA tho which is what needs repair. I got accepted to a DO smp with linkage I just don’t want to completely shut the door on MD because at the end of the day I do want to specialize.
 
Vlayton said:
My cGPA is a 3.5 which isn’t too bad, but definitely not MD competitive. 3.0 sGPA tho which is what needs repair. I got accepted to a DO smp with linkage I just don’t want to completely shut the door on MD because at the end of the day I do want to specialize.
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DO students still specialize! My best friend matched this year for cardiology in California! 🙂 The main difference is the beliefs. For matching its pretty much on how you do on your STEP exams!
 
Rs2dw said:
DO students still specialize! My best friend matched this year for cardiology in California! The main difference is the beliefs. For matching its pretty much on how you do on your STEP exams!
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DO students definitely still specialize but it is a gross simplification and pretty naive to say that only STEP exams matter. DO match rates for surgical sub-specialities are abysmal and that is after the self-selection of who thinks they are competitive enough to apply.
 
Vlayton said:
My cGPA is a 3.5 which isn’t too bad, but definitely not MD competitive. 3.0 sGPA tho which is what needs repair. I got accepted to a DO smp with linkage I just don’t want to completely shut the door on MD because at the end of the day I do want to specialize.
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I would recommend doing the DO SMP with linkage unless you want to retake your MCAT and are able to score 510+. If you don’t want to go the DO route just yet (and that is very understandable), then don’t be afraid to take an extra gap year and boost your MCAT and ECs.
 
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