Georgetown Special Masters Program

[ras61L]

hello,
i just wanted to see what people think or are hearing about the program? what do people think are the pros and cons of doing the smp to improve ones gpa?

thanks

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[ashkan33]

i don't think the GoergeTown(GT) special masters program falls along the lines of "improving your GPA". this is more like a application supplement. a strong one at that. from what i've read about it, it requires at least a 27 mcat score and a minumum 3.0 gpa. this is something you would want to do if you can't get in anywhere else and especially want to go to GT. the reason is: since many of you masters classes will be taken concurrently with M1 GT med students, most of your classes will matriculate if you get accepted to GT. and from what i hear, if you perform well during that year, your chances of accpetance are pretty good at GT. however, if you don't get in you may still apply to other schools and with this on your app, it shows more of a commitment on your part. the problem is: the classes you took don't transfer to the new school. i've thought about this myself and the only thing that turns me off is the cost(~$22,000) and that fact that your first two years of med school are going to be extended by an extra year. from what i hear, the masters program is no joke and is just as difficult as the first two years of medschool. hope that helps.

 

[BRUINGOLD]

Can someone list other programs that are similar to GT's??

I'd be interested in taking courses concurrently with med students esp with the bonus that if you do well, you have a good chance of gaining admission to the med school.

Also, anyone know if the UC's have such programs?

Thanks!

 

[ras61L]

thanks for all your input. does anyone know the level of difficulty to get A's in the program? are the classes that much harder than college classes; i'm at the u of chicago? also, i mean it seems pretty amazing that doing well this one year will essentially "erase" a poor undergraduate record and get me into georgetown medical school. i know there isn't a formal cutoff, but what do you think is the gpa you need to get in the program to get into georetown med? thanks for your help.

 

[antiveggies]

getting A's in the "graduate" classes is pretty easy, in the 1st year classes its just as hard as if you were in the 1st year medschool itself. hard. i finished the program 2 years ago and got A's in all the grad classes and B/B+ in the med classes (i kept missing cutoffs by 1 point ) . in the program you are graded directly against whatever the med students score. so if they average an 85% (which is pretty common) then 85% is about a B and then based on standard deviations is how u get to B+, A-, etc. if you earn a 3.5 by the end of physiology (1st class 2nd semester i believe) then u will earn an interview at gtown. on avg, they interview about 40-50 masters students and take from 15-25 of them into gtown med.
it is expensive, but it was a great choice for me personally because i earned a MS, lived in georgetown, and had a great experience to talk about in interviews. i had a 3.25 29Q entering gtown, and finished the program with 3.45 gpa. i did not get into medschool that year although i had several interviews and waitlist, but i did this year (1 yr later) which is not uncommon. about half of the masters people get accepted the yr they do the SMP, and about half 1-2 yrs following. im not sure specific numbers, but say 90/110 students accepted to medschool w/in 3 yrs is not bad.
if u bust your butt you will be fine. its not any "harder" than medical school, meaning expect to work pretty hard - especially if u want that gtown interview. if you want to know what its really like to be a med student (as far as the massive amounts of stuff u have to learn very fast) then this program will definitely show you. gtown is also a very well known/respected school and i felt that being able to talk about the program in my interviews helped me stand out as well as demonstrate my desire to enter medicine
i dont know about the other programs, but if u have questions about gtown ill try to help. they have a good website and yahoo forum that answers lots of stuff too

 

[uclamendoza]

Bruingold, I know of 2 programs that are similar:

1) Finch University/Chicago Med's MS Program in Applied Human Physiology - some classes are taken concurrently with first year med students

2) Drexel has a special medical program where you take some courses with first year med students. If you keep up a B average (I believe), you get an automatic interview withe the med school when you apply. My friend did this and got an interview this year from Drexel.

That is two programs that I know of. I also heard that there is something similar at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Hope this helps you out. Good luck!!!!

 

[ras61L]

thanks antiveggie for your advice. do you know if acceptance into georgetown med is based largely on your performance in the program. do you think that some of the interviews are "token" interviews where the undergrad record doesn't cut it but since they are doing well in the program they are given an interview that doesn't mean much? i guess my concern is that the program is simply a money making venture and that they people that they accept most likely would have gotten accepted without the program. my undergrad record is pretty bad (2.8 gpa with 30 MCAT) but i have 4 publications and presented a bunch of abstracts at national meetings. i am willing to work hard and know that i can make the grades, but i'm trying to gauge how much it will help me. thanks for all your input.

 

[antiveggies]

i dont think the interviews are "token" because you have to bust your butt to get that 3.5 in the first place. basically at gtown the SMP people are looked at separately and differently than the rest of the application pool for gtown. thats why they interview them so late, and why they take so many of them. that being said, i saw alot of my very qualified friends get interviewed and then rejected by gtown while some butt kissers got in. its just like any application, its so iffy/luck of the draw it makes u want to break stuff. if u get that 3.5 they consider u able to be a med student, the rest is all the personal stuff from the interview that decides who they take.
another thing to consider is that dr.myers has done alot of work to spread the word about the SMP program and what its students have to do. no 3.0 = no degree. all the major 1st year classes except anatomy and biochem (SMP does a biochem type class though its grad. school level) several schools know about and hold an unofficial preference/consideration for SMP grads knowing what they have already done at gtown (drexel, USUHS, NYmed, albany, jefferson, tufts, and many more) and if you put in the work, the entire SMP staff will go out of their way to help you get into medical school. be it reccomendations, essay help, which schools to apply to, mock interviews, they are there all the time and the door is always open.
these are just my personal thoughts on gtown, and i chose to do the SMP because it was a great city, a renowned university, i got to compete DIRECTLY against a very competitive class of first year students, and i earned a masters in one year which i know some of the other programs dont do (2 years or just some certificate thingy)

 

[TheKoman]

Hey antiveggies,

I think I was in your class or my brother was at least. Your in iowa? Is this EK Chaw! If yes or no, let me know anywayz. Its good to hear what happened to the other physios.