GPA enhancement programs: SMPs, postbacs et al...June 2009 List

[DrMidlife]

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For Harvard Extension, you can't have previously taken the pre-reqs. There might be some other small misplacements (I didn't go through the entire sticky), but it's otherwise a great list.

I don't think that's correct. It looks to me like the ability to take classes isn't in question with some prereqs already on board, but sponsorship or the diploma might be.

Advanced elective courses are also available if you already have a science background but wish to enhance your credentials. Through the program you may apply for sponsorship in your pursuit of graduate admission and, if you qualify, a Diploma in Premedical Studies.

That said, the links in this sticky are aging rapidly and anybody who wants to volunteer to do an update is welcome to. I'm in an SMP and don't have time.

 

[snipermonkey]

applying to true SMPs soon.
idk if i can get in...
all my applications are ready, taking the MCAT again in january.

i guess i should apply to regular SMPs as well since
the true SMPs are so competitive...?

 

[deleted248403]

applying to true SMPs soon.
idk if i can get in...
all my applications are ready, taking the MCAT again in january.

i guess i should apply to regular SMPs as well since
the true SMPs are so competitive...?

Is there a legit question in here? Or are you just rambling?

 

[Jsilbs]

edit: pretty much all my questions were answered by the FAQ

 

[atoothdoc]

🙂 Any one provide a list of Post-bac Programs that works for pre-dental too ?

Thanks a million ! 🙂

 

[jkchang10]

hey everyone, was wondering if I could get some help..

I currently applied to lots of med schools for this past year (27) and I'm still in the running for about 16 but I haven't heard a peep from any of them yet. So I'm starting to think of back ups and I was looking into the Special Masters Programs...

According to AMCAS:

cGPA: 3.72
scienceGPA: 3.5

I did have two withdraws (biochem and orgo 2) though I retook both and got B+'s. I did get a C+ my senior year in Eukaryotic Cell Structure, and a B- in Immunology. I did well in my other classes for the semester but earned a 3.58 and 3.53 GPA my two senior year semesters. So a tiny downward trend =(

My biggest problem with my app is that I got a 29O the first time i took the MCAT and then got a 28S the second.
P 7(7) V 12(11) B 10(10)

My extra currics are not bad, volunteering at the hospital, ER, specialty clinic, in the Medical Examiner's office (so shadowing too), as well as leadership positions on campus. OK letters of rec.

I also applied later in the process than most (verified in mid august, finished most secondaries between sept, oct, and beginning of nov).

I'm currently registered to retake the MCAT in May so I hope to study well and do much better! I graduated last spring with a bachelors in microbiology and I'm currently a full-time research intern for a biomedical company.

I've applied to SMPs at Georgetown, Tufts, USF (Florida resident), loyola, and NYMC. Are there any others you guys would recommend? Should I apply any Post-bacc?

I was thinking Cincy, Boston, toledo and temple, maybe RFU or EVMS?

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[DrMidlife]

Unfortunately it appears you will be in the majority of applicants: the 55% who do not get in.

Allow me to present a couple of facts.

First fact: the only MCAT sections that correlate with future success on board exams are verbal and writing. This is something adcoms usually know.

Second fact: there is no standardized exam at the end of an SMP. This means that by doing an SMP, you don't gain an asset that demonstrates standardized test performance.

Allow me to share three things that I think are true.

First opinion: your MCAT verbal score is keeping you out of med school.

Second opinion: the verbal section on the MCAT is the most difficult to improve, particularly if English is your second language.

Third opinion: you should spend a couple thousand dollars working with a tutor just on the verbal and writing sections, and you should probably spend a year doing it. If you did this and got a 10VS on a retake, I would call that a worthwhile and inexpensive success.

Compare:

Option 1: spend a couple thousand dollars and a year to get another couple of points on verbal, and then you probably get into med school

Option 2: spend about $50k and a year to prove something that isn't in question (class performance), and then you probably get into the host med school (true only for SMPs that accept tons of their own SMP students such as Cincinnati, EVMS, Temple).

Neither option is a guarantee that you'll get into med school. Either way, I expect you will not be ready to reapply until June 2012. That said, I hope you get a late and happy surprise this year, and that you don't have to do any of the above. But if you get lucky, please consider doing independent, unassigned work with a tutor on your verbal comprehension skills.

Best of luck to you.

 

[jkchang10]

Im assuming the last post was for my question. I just want to say thank you dr. Midlife for your help and I really appreciate the advice. I think it will be very useful to any others coming to this post with questions concerning that particular situation.

That being said, I think you might have misread my post. Also I may have not been as clear as I should have been with my post and I apologize for that.

My MCAT score is: 2009 (retake in 2010)

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: 7 (7)
VERBAL SCIENCE: 12 (11)
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE: 10 (10)

So I actually received a high score of a 12 in verbal. It is my physical science section that is low. When I retake the MCAT in May I plan to improve that section.

So with these things cleared up, what should i do? Does a SMP make sense for me? If so which ones (as per my OP).

Thanks for the help!

 

[tobeatrev]

Im assuming the last post was for my question. I just want to say thank you dr. Midlife for your help and I really appreciate the advice. I think it will be very useful to any others coming to this post with questions concerning that particular situation.

That being said, I think you might have misread my post. Also I may have not been as clear as I should have been with my post and I apologize for that.

My MCAT score is: 2009 (retake in 2010)

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: 7 (7)
VERBAL SCIENCE: 12 (11)
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE: 10 (10)

So I actually received a high score of a 12 in verbal. It was my physical science section that is low. When I retake the MCAT in May I plan to improve that section.

So with these things cleared up, what should i do? Does a SMP make sense for me? If so which ones (as per my OP).

Thanks for the help!

I guess I'll chime in.

Verbal certainly ain't your problem. The low physics is. You could do an SMP and spend a lot of money or possibly do some serious work in the meantime in the physics realm to try and bump it up a couple of points which will likely get you some acceptances provided you APPLY EARLY next year.

IMHO that's what hurt you the most, provided everything else was looking good because your GPA is fine.

I'm in an SMP and I'd say your GPA would be on the rather high side, all things considering. But if you take the MCAT again and can't budge that 7...maybe an SMP could help you.

Just know that doing an SMP is a lot of money (not so much at USF if you're a FL rez like you say) with the potential of a lot of reward. Have a bad test or bad semester and you've just fallen on your own sword (so to speak).

Good luck with whatever decision you choose.

 

[jkchang10]

Thanks for the advice tobeatrev!

I'm registered to retake the MCAT one last time in May and I'm really focusing on improving my physics (I know I can bring it up for sure)..

I thought my GPA was okay as well but after posting on here a couple people said that the downward trend in my GPA coupled with my low grades in immunology and eukaryotic cell structure in my senior year was really bad. They said i "needed major damage repair".

Thats why I thought of an SMP, it would allow me to show medical schools (maybe with an update letter or something) that I can do well in upper level science classes/med school classes...

The other reason is that I don't have a plan for next year while I reapply, so I figured an SMP would 1) be a plus that I can write on my AMCAS app to stand out a litttle more and 2) be a *possible* insurance to that particular school

to be honest, cost is not a serious issue... but it seems like most people I've spoken with don't think I need to do a SMP. If that's true, what should I do? Thanks!!!

 

[DrMidlife]

Im assuming the last post was for my question. I just want to say thank you dr. Midlife for your help and I really appreciate the advice. I think it will be very useful to any others coming to this post with questions concerning that particular situation.

That being said, I think you might have misread my post. Also I may have not been as clear as I should have been with my post and I apologize for that.

Oops, my bad. We do get a fair amount of traffic here with folks who have a low verbal and think an SMP will fix it. Which obviously hits my most opinionated nerve.

But I think the situation is not substantially different with PS as your weak section. The difference is that it's probably a problem you can solve by this coming June.

I thought my GPA was okay as well but after posting on here a couple people said that the downward trend in my GPA coupled with my low grades in immunology and eukaryotic cell structure in my senior year was really bad. They said i "needed major damage repair".

I don't think that's good advice. I think it's typical pre-allo neurotic paranoia.

Thats why I thought of an SMP, it would allow me to show medical schools (maybe with an update letter or something) that I can do well in upper level science classes/med school classes...

The other reason is that I don't have a plan for next year while I reapply, so I figured an SMP would 1) be a plus that I can write on my AMCAS app to stand out a litttle more and 2) be a *possible* insurance to that particular school

to be honest, cost is not a serious issue... but it seems like most people I've spoken with don't think I need to do a SMP. If that's true, what should I do? Thanks!!!

OK, if you do an SMP, for the purpose of keeping yourself busy and for the purpose of getting a leg up on med school, and you're not taking on $50k student debt, then sure. Why not.

But don't start an SMP without finishing it. The case we tend to see here is:
1. student doesn't get in, so they start an SMP and reapply
2. student gets into med school early in the SMP
3. student wants to quit the SMP
This is just a waste of time and money and it keeps somebody else from getting into an SMP. Plus you can't just quit, you have to get permission from the med school that accepts you (all acceptances are conditional on such things).

There's a whole world out there of other things to do: get a job, travel, learn to play the piano, learn French, go backpacking, etc. All things considered, I'd prefer to see you do something that helps set you up to have a healthy emotional and physical life during med school, rather than doing an SMP.

Best of luck to you.

 

[CalAlum]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to try my luck asking some questions here since this thread has been so helpful thus far.

I finished my undergrad last May 2010 and have been planning to apply to postbaccs/SMPs for this following year (as well as applying to med schools in June). I have been doing so much research on these programs for the past year and I'm still not sure which program would be the best for me in terms of my goal of matriculating into an allopathic school.

My cGPA was 3.29 and my BCPM was around 2.8 or 2.9. I have a few C's in OChem and a couple of upper div classes. And my most recent (2nd) MCAT score was 33S.

This year I'm taking an EMT class, working as a tutor, and volunteering at the local hospital to supplement the shadowing, international work, research, and other various ECs I did in college.

Could anybody offer any advice on what kind of post bacc programs would suit my needs the best? In my opinion my weakest area is my GPA so I want to do an academic booster or SMP. Initially I wanted to do the GU SMP but now I'm not so sure because of the low linkage rate. I'm also considering Tufts and the Drexel DPMS and UC Consortium (I'm not an underrepresented minority but I can qualify for economically disadvantaged) but I know the URM programs are insanely difficult to get into.

Any responses would be appreciated! Thanks for you help.

 

[mrcharlie]

Hi,

So I apologize if a lot of my questions may sound repetitive but I would love to have some advice on my current situation as well:

I am working full time as a research assistant for the past 2 years in interventional radiology after i screwed up my undergrad gpa and realized it wasn't good enough to apply for medical school, so I went with research. As much as I love the research I am doing now, the more medicine I see, the more interested I am again in the field of medicine so I have decided to try and enhance my undergraduate gpa through a post bacc or smp. I would like to get started in Fall of this year if there are still programs with spaces available at this time.

I'm a CA resident and maybe in state residency may help with the programs in CA? or are out of state programs better?

Thank you in advance for any advice. It is truly appreciated. 🙂

 

[DrFLAGATORS]

Which schools have good linkage into the MD program?

I am currently applying to Gtown, U Cinci, EVMS, Tufts MBS, Boston, Temple ACMS (I know Temple has conditional acceptance). Does RFU and VCU have good linkage?

I am also applying as economically disadvantaged for Drexel DPMS

Thanks for your time and I apologize if I am repeating questions on this post.

 

[DrMidlife]

Thank you in advance for any advice. It is truly appreciated. 🙂

1. Have you already taken the prereqs?
2. Have you taken the MCAT, if so what did you score?
3. Roughly what is your cumulative undergrad GPA?

 

[DrMidlife]

Which schools have good linkage into the MD program?

I am currently applying to Gtown, U Cinci, EVMS, Tufts MBS, Boston, Temple ACMS (I know Temple has conditional acceptance). Does RFU and VCU have good linkage?

I am also applying as economically disadvantaged for Drexel DPMS

Thanks for your time and I apologize if I am repeating questions on this post.

I suggest reading through this forum's school-specific threads, and the SMP reviews, for this information.

 

[mrcharlie]

1. Have you already taken the prereqs?
2. Have you taken the MCAT, if so what did you score?
3. Roughly what is your cumulative undergrad GPA?

1. I graduated with a BS in Biology, so I believe I do have all the prereqs done.

2. I have taken the MCAT, with a 27R

3. My cumulative undergrad GPA is around 3.02 ( low I know)

Thank you for any help!

 

[DrMidlife]

1. I graduated with a BS in Biology, so I believe I do have all the prereqs done.

2. I have taken the MCAT, with a 27R

3. My cumulative undergrad GPA is around 3.02 ( low I know)

Thank you for any help!

I suggest some-to-all of the following:
1. Go DO or Caribbean. After doing all of the below, you still might need to go DO or Caribbean (55% of applicants to MD schools get rejected every year, and they mostly don't suck.)
2. Take enough additional undergrad (such as a 2nd bachelors degree) to get your GPA up to a more reasonable level. You can't really get better than 3.3 by doing this, but if you were able to do a couple years of hard upper div science and get maybe a 3.8, that would matter.
3. Get at least 5 more points on the MCAT if you want to try for MD.
4. Look into SMPs. There aren't any in California.
5. Go big. Think about walking away from school for a few years in order to do the Peace Corps or something similarly hugely humanitarian. This doesn't absolve you of working on GPA/MCAT, but it helps your story.

See the low GPA thread (the one with more than 300k views) for additional conversations that are almost exactly like this one.

Best of luck to you.

 

[420]

I suggest some-to-all of the following:
4. Look into SMPs. There aren't any in California.

How are SMPs different from WesternU's or Touro's Masters of Medical Science in cali?

 

[DrMidlife]

How are SMPs different from WesternU's or Touro's Masters of Medical Science in cali?

An SMP puts you through much of the first year of med school to prove you can do med school. That means you're in class with med students (or as with Drexel you watch video feed of the med students' lecture) taking the same exams. I listed 14 programs of this type at the beginning of this thread. As yet there are no programs at DO schools that are integrated with the first year medical school curriculum, although you may be able to take a med school class or two.

There are tons of one year grad programs that are also designed to get you into med school, from Loyola to Johns Hopkins to Western to Barry. Loyola is a solid bet. Johns Hopkins is a solid bet if you don't really have any GPA damage. Western is a solid bet if you want to go to Western. Barry, um, is pretty easy to get into.

By the way, Touro says that participation in its masters program helps improve cumulative GPA, which is false. Grad/undergrad are not mixed in GPA calcs.

Best of luck to you.

 

[deleted248403]

Perhaps u should realize though that this is school dependent. At FIU for instance, they just collapse graduate GPA onto ugrad GPA regardless of what amcas says.

So perhaps Tuoro's own policy is such that they do this too. You always think that the way amcas is presented is how all schools look at it. But I've learned one thing, and that is how amcas presents GPA and how schools actually look at it are two different things.

Some schools will be more forgiving with a strong upper trend even if it is graduate coursework and not ugrad postbac. Some schools will not. Some schools will collapse the grad onto ugrad as at FIU.

it is really dependent on the school.

it might be school dependent to a degree, but I think a lot more follow the AMCAS style then FIU's.

Thus, I think midlife and others are justified in giving advice based on the majority of schools as opposed to the minority of schools. Now, if someone asks about FIU or a school that does such calculations then the advice differs.

I just dont think its common place to do the non-AMCAS style calculation.

 

[maeii]

Hello everyone,
I'd appreciate if anyone could give me advice. I need to remedy a low gpa.
My question is, does it matter if I do an SMP such as BU MAMS or go for a master's program such as IUPUI? I know an SMP is taken with actual med students, but I've emailed a couple med schools in my state (lol cali lol) and from the replies I've gotten, it seems (one directly said) that all grad programs are equal in their eyes. So it might be better to save a bit of money and go for a less expensive grad program.
Does this make sense?

Thanks in advance

 

[Innokus]

Although the schools you talked to stated that all grad programs are equal in their eyes, you should choose the program that best fits you for your needs. If you need to really fix your gpa, you should choose an SMP which will let you take med school classes. That is the best way for you to prove to the admissions committee that you can handle the rigors of medical school.

From what I've been reading on here, it appears that upon reapplying you should mention it specifically in your personal statement about how you overcame your obstacle of a low gpa by applying yourself in a program which allowed you to take medical school classes. Grad classes are not the same as med school classes and are not comparable.

Also, IUPUI lets you take grad classes and not med classes like true SMPs such as BU, Georgetown, Drexel, and others like it. I suggest, like others on here will, that you choose the program that offers the highest amount of med school classes. It would be even better for you to be in class with med students for direct comparison.

http://www.med.uc.edu/physiology/MS-program.htm

If you look at the benefits of the UC program, you'll see that students take the same classes and exams as the med students and you'll be ranked against current and past students. Their curriculum also states that students take the same labs and group exercises. That is the type of program you are looking for if you need an SMP.

 

[BioStudent01]

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in getting some advice on my situation. I am a Junior at Washington University in St. Louis with below a 3.0 cGPA and sGPA. I am planning on taking the MCAT in August after doing self-study this summer with Exam Krackers. I went to talk to one of our PreMed Deans yesterday and was given advice to do a year of additional science classes (around 30 units) after I graduate and then apply June 2013 into med class 2018. If I run some GPA projections with this excel spreadsheet I have I can see the following happening:

Graduate from WashU with approx 3.12 cGPA and 3.03 sGPA
(after 8 semesters and summer coursework)

Then, do 30 units of science coursework in year-5 at another University and raise to a 3.39 cGPA and 3.33 sGPA
(I have 8 "A" credits from a community college in St. Louis for an EMT class I took, which I am throwing in the mix above (so, really, 38 credit total of "A") However, I would need to check to see if that class, as classified as EMT 121 Emergency Care, would count in the BCPM)

All the GPAs above are for AMCAS, however I am a Texas resident and TMDSAS doesn't count +/- grades, so it would be the following for Texas med schools:

Graduate from WashU with approx 3.23 cGPA and 3.06 sGPA

Then, same as above...3.41 cGPA and 3.35 sGPA

I did pretty positive projections, so give a cushion...what if those numbers turned out to me more of 3.35/3.30sci for texas (3.34/3.28sci for amcas)

Other pertinent info:
Excellent LORs expected, research experience since freshman yr, potential Thesis, campus involvements, shadowing, Texas resident, good MCAT expected, solid personal statement

My questions:
1) How does one decide between SMP and a 5th yr of additional college work and what does my current situation mesh with? (How do you decide for my case whether improving a 3.0ish UG GPA or shifting to building a graduate GPA would help more?)
2)I would love to go to UTSW--does that interest direct my attention along some other path for this upcoming gap year? Should I go to UTD and try to network/research at UTSW at same time?
3)Does anyone know about the EMT credit possibility for counting toward BCPM? How could I check?
4)I have to show all transcripts from all schools I ever did anything at, right?
5)If I were to apply June 2013, should I do even more coursework during that summer and potentially the Aug-Dec 2013 semester cycle? Do I need even more boosting?
6)When I look at the MSAR, the GPA averages are slightly scary, however as a WashU student we have been told that our difficulty level shifts things a little. Thoughts on that?
7)What GPA and MCAT should I have in mind moving forward from my position as a goal/need?
8)Any other advice? I just want to be the strongest applicant possible (really want UTSW) for my situation and with applying June 2013. So many options out there, but what to do?

Thanks so much!

 

[nguyen1025]

I have a question if anyone could answer this. When the program says you're guaranteed an interview for the medical school above a certain grade cutoff, does that mean an interview for the year immediately following the 1 year smp? Or does it mean you would have to take a year off after the smp and then goto the medical school?

 

[gujuDoc]

I have a question if anyone could answer this. When the program says you're guaranteed an interview for the medical school above a certain grade cutoff, does that mean an interview for the year immediately following the 1 year smp? Or does it mean you would have to take a year off after the smp and then goto the medical school?

Depends on the program. What program are we talking about specifically?

 

[deleted212839]

I have a question if anyone could answer this. When the program says you're guaranteed an interview for the medical school above a certain grade cutoff, does that mean an interview for the year immediately following the 1 year smp? Or does it mean you would have to take a year off after the smp and then goto the medical school?

Usually an interview immediately that year
but I would look carefully into it to see.

 

[nguyen1025]

Depends on the program. What program are we talking about specifically?

Mainly just the ones that promise an interview, theres only so many. Tufts, Temple, Drexel, NYMC, Toledo - I believe this is all that guarantee an interview upon doing well.

 

[gujuDoc]

Mainly just the ones that promise an interview, theres only so many. Tufts, Temple, Drexel, NYMC, Toledo - I believe this is all that guarantee an interview upon doing well.

Hmm Tufts I'm not sure. i thought they encouraged, like BU, applying after the 1 year.

Gtown, which you didn't mention but guarantees top half of class get interviews is usually same year as SMP apps to med school.

Don't know much about Toledo, Temple, NYMC's programs. Drexel I believe is same as gtown.

RFU and EVMS which have high linkage programs usually mean same year apps.

I know you didn't mention those but you should apply to those as well as Cincinnati's program. Cincy has more same year apps too.

 

[gujuDoc]

Mainly just the ones that promise an interview, theres only so many. Tufts, Temple, Drexel, NYMC, Toledo - I believe this is all that guarantee an interview upon doing well.

I think EVMS and RFU its almost a given you get interview as long as you do decent in the program since they are high linkage.

I also believe Gtown has a guarantee that top 50% of the class gets interviews.

BU is the one that has no guarantee and Drexel IMS I'd be careful with because they guarantee such but there are things they don't tell you. Look up the Drexel IMS threads on here and you wills ee what I mean.

I'd be wary of that program. Of the ones you listed I would do tufts, Temple, or Toledo.

otherwise I'd stick to EVMS or RFU or Cincy because they have small class sizes and EVMS and RFU in particular usually get almost all of them into their med school.

 

[Daniel565]

I think EVMS and RFU its almost a given you get interview as long as you do decent in the program since they are high linkage.

I also believe Gtown has a guarantee that top 50% of the class gets interviews.

BU is the one that has no guarantee and Drexel IMS I'd be careful with because they guarantee such but there are things they don't tell you. Look up the Drexel IMS threads on here and you wills ee what I mean.

I'd be wary of that program. Of the ones you listed I would do tufts, Temple, or Toledo.

otherwise I'd stick to EVMS or RFU or Cincy because they have small class sizes and EVMS and RFU in particular usually get almost all of them into their med school.

Feeling a little unsure correcting someone with ~500X as many posts as me lol, but I think you made a typo. RFU says on their website they can fit ~100 students into their BMS program.

That being said, do you think that the semi-guaranteed interview for one school might not be all that? I say this cuz I'm feeling a bit nervous about how everyone keeps saying that <50% of the interview invites to most US med schools don't actually matriculate.

Thx in advance 🙂

 

[bludev505]

Can anyone suggest some specific programs or what type of program I need to be looking for (SMP or MS)?

I have been looking at a couple, not sure if I'm competitive or qualify for some:
Temple, Michigan (MS Physiology), Georgetown, Cornell, Case Western, Columbia (Nutrition), Boston U, Harvard Extension

Grades are AMCAS as for App cycle; not updated with Fall 2010 grades
Major: Biomedical Engineering, 5th year senior
cGPA: 3.44
sGPA: 3.34
MCATs: 25, 23, 28

Should have ~cGPA: 3.5 and sGPA: 3.45 by the end of this semester.

I have already taken/taking Genetics, Biochem 1 & 2, Immunology, Micro, Anatomy, and Physiology. [/edit]I received A's in all of these.[/edit]

Thanks in advance!

 

[xgalaxy00]

Hello all!

I am trying to decide which SMP programs to apply and go to, and I need your help deciding which programs are right for me! (or if I should do something other than a SMP)

Here's a little background info:
I have a 3.49 cGPA and 3.37 BCPM with a 30N (9V 10P 11B). I took a gap year and it is looking like it will be unsucessful. (I did not apply early or broadly enough 😳) I have well rounded ECs except most of my clinical experience I didn't do until my gap year. So, I'm applying for a second time (early!) and am planning on doing an SMP during this application cycle.

So far I have been accepted to Loyola's MAMS and RFU's BMS programs. Which one should I pick??? Also, should I apply to other SMP programs? Are there other ones that would be a good fit, such as Georgetown's, BU's, or U of Cincinatti, Tufts, or Temple? Does anyone know anything about these programs?

Any advice would be a huge help. Here is what I know about Loyola MAMS and RFU BMS (I am leaning towards RFU BMS):


Loyola MAMS

-One year MA in Medical Science
-A respected and well-known program (something to consider in light of admissions committees reviewing my app for med school)
-All classes are graduate classes taught by medical faculty, classes are independent of med schools classes and are not graded on a curve.
-Courtesy interview at Loyola med if I get a 3.5 or above.
-The school encourages students to submit an AMCAS AFTER completing the MAMS program and not concurrently. The school offers a committee letter of recommendation and advising services if I apply for the cycle after completing the MAMS program.
-I was told by a few different sources that the linkage to Loyola med is not very strong. The MAMS office claims to not have any statistic on how many students get accepted/choose to go to Loyola.
-The office claims that 80-90% of students end up in medical school sometime after completing the program (MD/DO)

Rosalind Franklin BMS

-One year MS in Biomedical Science with a certificate in Healthcare Administration and Management
-Med school classes are taken with medical students and are graded on the same curve.
-Grad school classes are taken online.
-The program encourages students to apply to med school concurrently with the program, but does not offer a committee letter of recommendation.
-The linkage to the RFU med school is strong. I was told by the office and by others that if students get a B average or higher (3.0+?) then acceptance to the program is "pretty much garunteed" as long as I am a good applicant in all other respects.
-Also, if I decide to attend the RFU med school, then I do not have to re-take the med schools classes that I took in the BMS program. Furthermore, I can take a few more graduate classes (online) along with the rest of my M1 courses and receive a 2nd masters degree. It would convert my certificate in Healthcare Administration and Management into an MS. (I think this would look great for residency)


Any help would be huge!!! Thanks 😀

 

[gujuDoc]

Hello all!

I am trying to decide which SMP programs to apply and go to, and I need your help deciding which programs are right for me! (or if I should do something other than a SMP)

Here's a little background info:
I have a 3.49 cGPA and 3.37 BCPM with a 30N (9V 10P 11B). I took a gap year and it is looking like it will be unsucessful. (I did not apply early or broadly enough 😳) I have well rounded ECs except most of my clinical experience I didn't do until my gap year. So, I'm applying for a second time (early!) and am planning on doing an SMP during this application cycle.

So far I have been accepted to Loyola's MAMS and RFU's BMS programs. Which one should I pick??? Also, should I apply to other SMP programs? Are there other ones that would be a good fit, such as Georgetown's, BU's, or U of Cincinatti, Tufts, or Temple? Does anyone know anything about these programs?

Any advice would be a huge help. Here is what I know about Loyola MAMS and RFU BMS (I am leaning towards RFU BMS):


Loyola MAMS

-One year MA in Medical Science
-A respected and well-known program (something to consider in light of admissions committees reviewing my app for med school)
-All classes are graduate classes taught by medical faculty, classes are independent of med schools classes and are not graded on a curve.
-Courtesy interview at Loyola med if I get a 3.5 or above.
-The school encourages students to submit an AMCAS AFTER completing the MAMS program and not concurrently. The school offers a committee letter of recommendation and advising services if I apply for the cycle after completing the MAMS program.
-I was told by a few different sources that the linkage to Loyola med is not very strong. The MAMS office claims to not have any statistic on how many students get accepted/choose to go to Loyola.
-The office claims that 80-90% of students end up in medical school sometime after completing the program (MD/DO)

Rosalind Franklin BMS

-One year MS in Biomedical Science with a certificate in Healthcare Administration and Management
-Med school classes are taken with medical students and are graded on the same curve.
-Grad school classes are taken online.
-The program encourages students to apply to med school concurrently with the program, but does not offer a committee letter of recommendation.
-The linkage to the RFU med school is strong. I was told by the office and by others that if students get a B average or higher (3.0+?) then acceptance to the program is "pretty much garunteed" as long as I am a good applicant in all other respects.
-Also, if I decide to attend the RFU med school, then I do not have to re-take the med schools classes that I took in the BMS program. Furthermore, I can take a few more graduate classes (online) along with the rest of my M1 courses and receive a 2nd masters degree. It would convert my certificate in Healthcare Administration and Management into an MS. (I think this would look great for residency)


Any help would be huge!!! Thanks 😀

RFU BMS. The reasons are in your post. That's all. Oh and the only one other then RFU BMS to consider for linkage SMPs is EVMS BMS not Loyola MAMS.

 

[Kaustikos]

Can anyone suggest some specific programs or what type of program I need to be looking for (SMP or MS)?

I have been looking at a couple, not sure if I'm competitive or qualify for some:
Temple, Michigan (MS Physiology), Georgetown, Cornell, Case Western, Columbia (Nutrition), Boston U, Harvard Extension

Grades are AMCAS as for App cycle; not updated with Fall 2010 grades
Major: Biomedical Engineering, 5th year senior
cGPA: 3.44
sGPA: 3.34
MCATs: 25, 23, 28

Should have ~cGPA: 3.5 and sGPA: 3.45 by the end of this semester.

I have already taken/taking Genetics, Biochem 1 & 2, Immunology, Micro, Anatomy, and Physiology. [/edit]I received A's in all of these.[/edit]

Thanks in advance!

Well, your gpa isn't bad in the sense that you need to do a true SMP, or it doesn't seem to be. I'd calculate what your gpa would be with taking a year of post-bacc courses and see if it'd get you into the 3.6 gpa that you should be aiming for. If not, then the best advice would be a true SMP/category 2 SMP. That would beef up your gpa and the courseload/work would look favorably on you. So, a Harvard Extension may not be the best option whereas the Columbia MS may better serve you. It all depends on what your gpa would end up being with the extension program.

 

[ILC123]

I'm looking for some advice on reapplying.

I'm an Ivy League grad in Biomedical Engineering, fluent in Spanish after 2+ years in the Peace Corps, and have lots of clinical experience and great ECs in college. My cumulative gpa is 3.2, and my BCPM 2.7. I've got a 30 with straight 10's on the MCAT.

I applied to 16 schools this year, 2 interviews and 2 waitlists. I plan to reapply, but I'm not sure what would be my best plan of attack. I know I need to improve my grades, but I'm not sure if I should do an SMP, a post bac, or just take some science classes (I need about 5 As to get the science grades over a 3.0). Is it worth it to apply right away again this year? Or do I need to wait and really improve my grades first.

I'd really appreciate any insight you all have for me!

 

[Kaustikos]

I'm looking for some advice on reapplying.

I'm an Ivy League grad in Biomedical Engineering, fluent in Spanish after 2+ years in the Peace Corps, and have lots of clinical experience and great ECs in college. My cumulative gpa is 3.2, and my BCPM 2.7. I've got a 30 with straight 10's on the MCAT.

I applied to 16 schools this year, 2 interviews and 2 waitlists. I plan to reapply, but I'm not sure what would be my best plan of attack. I know I need to improve my grades, but I'm not sure if I should do an SMP, a post bac, or just take some science classes (I need about 5 As to get the science grades over a 3.0). Is it worth it to apply right away again this year? Or do I need to wait and really improve my grades first.

I'd really appreciate any insight you all have for me!

Your GPA needs a lot of work atm. If you don't get in this year, don't reapply because you have a huge mountain to fight. I'd work on getting that BCMP gpa over a 3.0 and do an SMP. A post-bacc isn't even an option for you.

 

[kraskadva]

Hi,

I know this is an old thread, but if anyone's still paying attention, I was curious about the online programs listed.
I'm not in Kabul (or the army) but I am in Korea and won't be back in the states until next year.
Does anybody know how those programs are regarded by med schools? Everything else I've seen says stay away from online courses (which makes sense to me) but as those two were included in the list of other serious programs, I'd like to find out if they were different/acceptable and why.

 

[gujuDoc]

Hi,

I know this is an old thread, but if anyone's still paying attention, I was curious about the online programs listed.
I'm not in Kabul (or the army) but I am in Korea and won't be back in the states until next year.
Does anybody know how those programs are regarded by med schools? Everything else I've seen says stay away from online courses (which makes sense to me) but as those two were included in the list of other serious programs, I'd like to find out if they were different/acceptable and why.

I don't think its the same in terms of value as an in class one. I know some schools even ask that you list all online coursework on secondaries i.e. UF med for instance. I'd just wait til u are back in the states honestly. I'm not sure that a 100% online master's has much value.

 

[336]

Anyone have an opinion on the pros and cons of Tulane's Cell Biology Masters vs Drexel's IMS program for getting into med school.
Thanks

 

[kraskadva]

I don't think its the same in terms of value as an in class one. I know some schools even ask that you list all online coursework on secondaries i.e. UF med for instance. I'd just wait til u are back in the states honestly. I'm not sure that a 100% online master's has much value.

That's what I thought, which is why I was so surprised to see online courses even on the list. Dr Midlife seemed to have done her research, and I wasn't sure if there was something special about those programs. (There isn't, as far as I can see on their websites...)

I was planning on waiting till I got back anyway, though if I could get a head start that way I think it'd be great. But if it worked that way I guess everybody would do it 🙄

 

[gujuDoc]

That's what I thought, which is why I was so surprised to see online courses even on the list. Dr Midlife seemed to have done her research, and I wasn't sure if there was something special about those programs. (There isn't, as far as I can see on their websites...)

I was planning on waiting till I got back anyway, though if I could get a head start that way I think it'd be great. But if it worked that way I guess everybody would do it 🙄

which list? The group 1, 2, 3 MS programs or the official SMP list??

She is probably referring to the SMP aka USF IMS, the 15-20 person program in the official SMP list.

In terms of why this is listed, well it is one of USF's postbac programs but perhaps she was referring to the older programs. USF did revamping and changing of their program since the time of her list 2 years ago. In 2008 when I graduated from the US MSMS program there was no 100% online MS program. The program has changed many times in the last few years much like the USF med curriculum, esp. the first year curriculum. So what you know one year can very easily change the next year.

 

[kraskadva]

...the list in the opening post of this thread...

Category 4: Online programs (2 programs)
- You have a VERY good reason to not put your butt in a chair in a classroom, such as being in Kabul.
U of New England (UNECOM) - Online Post Baccalaureate Sequence Biddeford, ME
U of South Florida Online Masters - Master's Program in Medical Sciences: Health Sciences Tampa, FL

I do understand that things change and programs can come and go. I looked up both of these, and the USF online program doesn't seem to be there anymore-at least as far as I found with a quick run through their website- though their actually-in-class program is still running.
The UNE online program is still available, though I couldn't see what would distinguish it from any other online (and unacceptable to adcoms) program- again as far as I could tell with a quick run through their website.

 

[gujuDoc]

...the list in the opening post of this thread...



I do understand that things change and programs can come and go. I looked up both of these, and the USF online program doesn't seem to be there anymore-at least as far as I found with a quick run through their website- though their actually-in-class program is still running.
The UNE online program is still available, though I couldn't see what would distinguish it from any other online (and unacceptable to adcoms) program- again as far as I could tell with a quick run through their website.

Hmm oh so this is category 4. Well then that's not a SMP. its just another postbac program.

She listed it cuz its an option.

not because its the best as it is clearly not the best option.

 

[EnergyDrink]

My cGPA is <3.1. The first 2.5 years of college was a bit wasted, about 2.5 cGPA. After certain events blah blah I finished the rest of my stay with a 3.6 under heavy load of 400-level courses. I graduated with a 2.99 uGPA (similar BCMP).

I'm at Temple Med (MS) and I have a 3.97 GPA. 3 of my courses overlap with 3 of the ACMS program (Temple's SMP which offers automatic admission with X and Y).

Estimating my July MCAT from practice tests, a 32-34 is reasonable.

Since my uGPA is very low, should I consider SMP instead of medical school?

Also, is it normal to get periods of extreme confidence followed by absolute despair over admission?

 

[Kaustikos]

My cGPA is <3.1. The first 2.5 years of college was a bit wasted, about 2.5 cGPA. After certain events blah blah I finished the rest of my stay with a 3.6 under heavy load of 400-level courses. I graduated with a 2.99 uGPA (similar BCMP).

I'm at Temple Med (MS) and I have a 3.97 GPA. 3 of my courses overlap with 3 of the ACMS program (Temple's SMP which offers automatic admission with X and Y).

Estimating my July MCAT from practice tests, a 32-34 is reasonable.

Since my uGPA is very low, should I consider SMP instead of medical school?

Also, is it normal to get periods of extreme confidence followed by absolute despair over admission?

Yes, definitely do an SMP if you can. You're trying to make the best sales pitch to Adcoms that you're awesome. The SMP will basically display that you can get the grades, while MCAT will show the other portion of your academic/intellectual prowess. I definitely recommend an SMP.

 

[EnergyDrink]

Thank you.
My plan is to apply to to Temple Medicine since I'm already a MS student here. On top of that I'll be applying to several 1-year (10 month) SMP programs.

 

[pritomd]

Just a quick question - why are schools like VCU listed as a true SMP and not a category 2 school? Aren't the classes NOT the same as MCV students, but are grad classes (in fact, aren't the classes that ALL grad students take...ie biochem includes Biochemistry majors too)? I thought "true SMP" meant "take classes with med students"...but at VCU, you don't? 😕

 

[DrMidlife]

Just a quick question - why are schools like VCU listed as a true SMP and not a category 2 school? Aren't the classes NOT the same as MCV students, but are grad classes (in fact, aren't the classes that ALL grad students take...ie biochem includes Biochemistry majors too)? I thought "true SMP" meant "take classes with med students"...but at VCU, you don't? 😕

2 years ago I had the understanding that VCU put students through the med school versions of its grad science courses. As I understand it now, that's not true, but what I also understand now is that VCU can compete with any of the other programs at getting a low GPA student into its host med school. So "true SMP" is probably not a useful term (nor is "postbac") anyway. And the list is really showing its age.

Anybody who wants to take on updating the list is welcome to. I didn't ask permission when I did it.

 

[lithiumforce]

Hey everyone, just curious, how would the SMP path work for Canadians? I mean are we allowed to apply to these programs; do the same "promises" apply to us, etc? Can anybody shed some light?

thanks!