Generally an SMP is a one year terminal masters hosted at a med school, where you do part of the first year of med school in class with the med students as an audition for med school. There are about 15 such programs. The sole purpose of an SMP is this audition and it has little to no value on a resume. An SMP is not an eraser and it serves as a last ditch effort after you've done everything else you can possibly do to improve your app. It's a risky and expensive option after you have produced a multi-year full time mostly-science very strong undergrad performance that has hopefully remediated your GPA into the 3.x range, after you have an above-average MCAT, after you have demonstrated a strong commitment to medicine through hundreds of hours of clinical activities. Some SMPs offer a 2nd year, for research or an MPH, during which you apply to med school. SMP students whose prior USMD app resulted in interviews/waitlists can apply again during the SMP; others are foolish to assume that mere attendance in an SMP is any kind of app asset and should wait to apply until after successful SMP completion.
USMD schools expect a very high SMP GPA and very strong LORs from the SMP. Regardless of your SMP performance, USMD schools will still apply autoscreens to your AMCAS uGPAs. While most students in SMPs are assuming that their work will result in a USMD acceptance, and will complain bitterly about the lack of transparency in the USMD admissions process, they fail to understand that USMD schools reject 60% of applicants every year and that an SMP doesn't change that one bit.
There are 1000+ colleges/universities in the US that will offer you a one year terminal masters, claiming to improve your application to med/dent school, without having any basis for that claim. These programs are thrilled when students call them an SMP, because low GPA premeds will buy anything.
There are similar programs at DO schools that are typically 2 years in length, where you are not expected to come in with a remediated undergrad performance or an above average MCAT.
A deep understanding of your options and odds as a low GPA premed can be found by rigorous study of the body of work on SDN from those who recovered and made it into med school. You can find this by searching SDN on "low GPA".
Best of luck to you.
