How many SMP applications?

[ssquared]

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Hi-

I'm currently applying to a bunch of SMP's, and I was wondering how many people normally apply to. I've got a 3.17 GPA (argh, it will be a 3.2 when I graduate!), a 31R MCAT, a bunch of volunteering, campus-wide leadership, and 3.5 years and two summers of research experience. Good LORs. How many of these programs do people normally apply to? I was thinking around 10-12, but I wasn't sure if maybe I should be applying to more. Any suggestions?

 

[nanaschool2000]

Hi-

I'm currently applying to a bunch of SMP's, and I was wondering how many people normally apply to. I've got a 3.17 GPA (argh, it will be a 3.2 when I graduate!), a 31R MCAT, a bunch of volunteering, campus-wide leadership, and 3.5 years and two summers of research experience. Good LORs. How many of these programs do people normally apply to? I was thinking around 10-12, but I wasn't sure if maybe I should be applying to more. Any suggestions?

10-12? There are that many SMPs? In my opinion, five to six is enough. YOu have a great MCAT score. GPA is above 3.0 too. I would save some money instead of spending all on SMP apps.

BTW, where are you planning on applying to? As far as I heard, G-Town, BU, Drexel, Loyola, Univ of Cinn, and EVMS are the most well-known SMPs.

 

[tacrum43]

I agree. 3 is probably ample, especially if you apply early (before March).

 

[chowchilla]

based on old posts on sdn, most people apply to 4~6 programs. 10~12 is just waaaaaay too much. i've only applied to two programs.

because of personal circumstances, i had to take cost into consideration and figured that if i don't get into these two smps, i might as well work for a year and take part-time science courses to bring up my gpa, and maybe volunteer some more, and try again.

 

[ssquared]

Ok, ok, maybe 10-12 is too many. I just have no idea what the acceptance rates of these programs are and I don't want to get rejected from everywhere because my backup plan is really quite unappealling (living with the parental units...)

I was going to apply to:
Drexel
Duquesne
EVMS
Georgetown
Loyola
Med U Ohio
NYMC
Penn
Tulane
U of Cinicinnati
VCU

I had BU, Mt. Sinai, and UConn on there but for assorted reasons I decided to drop off those. Maybe I should just cut it down to the ones relatively nearby, being G-town, VCU, EVMS....I was just curious what other people thought (FWIW, I applied to a ton of colleges, too....)

 

[Maxprime]

Is Duquesne a post-bacc or SMP? I didn't see an option to get a degree.

I'm narrowing down my list, but I am sending out a lot of apps as well (unfortunately). I'm thinking GT, Tulane, UC, BU, & a 2 year program @ my state med school. I think Toledo looks like a good program, but can't get much info on it (haven't look too much). I think that NYMC also looks rather promising - is it a 1 year or 2 year? They said they are "flexible about credit for 2nd year classes" or something like that.

I only have a GRE, so unless told otherwise, I don't think I can apply to Loyola MAMS.

You have better stats than me, I would consider narrowing the schools down since you will probably have a lot of choices. I'm taking more of a carpet-bombing technique. Are you using anything like interfolio? I can't imagine asking someone to write 5 or 6 LOR's for me now & then 15 for med schools - does everyone use a service like that?

 

[ssquared]

I'm using Interfolio for recs, but I had to have individual letters as well because some of the schools are quite picky about having signed letters in an envelope included with the rest of my app. I plan on having the profs just update the letter at the end of the semester for medical school as opposed to grad school and then upload the new ones to interfolio. I like the idea of having them on file so I can use them for job apps and that sort of thing as well.

Dusquene's program is a post-bacc, not an SMP. I would prefer to have a degree as opposed to a certificate, but I'm trying to apply broadly.

Also, I'm pretty sure NYMC is a one year program. I'm trying to only apply to those because I don't want to wait too much longer to start med school.

 

[nanaschool2000]

Ok, ok, maybe 10-12 is too many. I just have no idea what the acceptance rates of these programs are and I don't want to get rejected from everywhere because my backup plan is really quite unappealling (living with the parental units...)

I was going to apply to:
Drexel
Duquesne
EVMS
Georgetown
Loyola
Med U Ohio
NYMC
Penn
Tulane
U of Cinicinnati
VCU

I had BU, Mt. Sinai, and UConn on there but for assorted reasons I decided to drop off those. Maybe I should just cut it down to the ones relatively nearby, being G-town, VCU, EVMS....I was just curious what other people thought (FWIW, I applied to a ton of colleges, too....)

I think all SMPs that you listed are good programs (well, there's no such a thing as bad SMP although I acknowledge that there are SMPs w/ better matriculation rate to med or other professional schools). I still believe that it would be better to narrow down the list. If I were you, I would apply to 5 schools. (three top choices, One SMP that I would have an okay chance to get into, One that you are confident that you will get in).

Personally, I would pick G-town, EVMS, UCinn, Loyola, and Drexel as my top choice. I heard many good things about these programs. I didn't get much info on Med U in Ohio and NYMC. Med U in Ohio's matriculation rate to med school is around 65% (what I heard from people on SDN). It seems lower than those five SMPs I picked as my top choice. Keep in mind that their tuition is like 40K a year.

I wonder why you took BU off the list. It seems like one of the most recognized SMPs. I'm just curious.

 

[Maxprime]

I'm using Interfolio for recs, but I had to have individual letters as well because some of the schools are quite picky about having signed letters in an envelope included with the rest of my app. I plan on having the profs just update the letter at the end of the semester for medical school as opposed to grad school and then upload the new ones to interfolio. I like the idea of having them on file so I can use them for job apps and that sort of thing as well.

Which ones are being picky? I emailed around but haven't gotten a lot of responses thus far. I really like the idea of Interfolio - I'm applying to research positions, SMP's, & med schools right now - would love to have one set of LOR's for all that mess.

Have you emailed all the schools on that list? If not, I'll post up whatever I hear via email.

 

[ssquared]

I wonder why you took BU off the list. It seems like one of the most recognized SMPs. I'm just curious.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a two year program, right? I also read that it has a 3.3 GPA minimum, a requirement that I don't meet.

But if I am wrong, please do correct me-it's hard to get info straight about some of these programs, and the BU webpage is not particularly helpful.

(Plus, I'm not too fond of BU's campus. Just personal preference...)

 

[Maxprime]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a two year program, right? I also read that it has a 3.3 GPA minimum, a requirement that I don't meet.

But if I am wrong, please do correct me-it's hard to get info straight about some of these programs, and the BU webpage is not particularly helpful.

(Plus, I'm not too fond of BU's campus. Just personal preference...)

One year & no set 3.3 requirement - confusing, no?

It is commonly done in 12 months (fall/spring/summer) - although I feel like the website doesn't explain that well. I think the reference to the 3.3 is an average or something (can't look right now) b/c I have spoken w/ people that got in lower than that.

Have you checked out the Medical Campus? I've heard it's new & fancy - just sucks it's in the middle of nowhere.

I'm on the fence about BU - seems like a class full of gunners going through a living hell.

 

[nanaschool2000]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a two year program, right? I also read that it has a 3.3 GPA minimum, a requirement that I don't meet.

But if I am wrong, please do correct me-it's hard to get info straight about some of these programs, and the BU webpage is not particularly helpful.

(Plus, I'm not too fond of BU's campus. Just personal preference...)

I heard it can be done in one year (taking classes for two semester + thesis during summer). GPA minimum is 3.0 (higher is always better). I dunno about this year though. All SMPs and Med schools seem like getting harder to get in because of increased # of applicants.

 

[ssquared]

I'm on the fence about BU - seems like a class full of gunners going through a living hell.

After going through undergrad with those types of people, that's reason enough to not even bother applying there.

Plus, working fall/spring/summer and then jumping right into medical school (well, hopefully) sounds pretty miserable. Ew.

 

[socal78]

After going through undergrad with those types of people, that's reason enough to not even bother applying there.

Plus, working fall/spring/summer and then jumping right into medical school (well, hopefully) sounds pretty miserable. Ew.

Why do you think that BU would have more gunners enrolled than other SMPs?

 

[Instatewaiter]

I had BU, Mt. Sinai, and UConn on there but for assorted reasons I decided to drop off those. Maybe I should just cut it down to the ones relatively nearby, being G-town, VCU, EVMS....I was just curious what other people thought (FWIW, I applied to a ton of colleges, too....)

I agree with the above posters that you should cut down the list from 12. Personally I think keeping it to Georgetown, EVMS, and VCU should suffice.

For their 'SMP' VCU tends to let in people with pretty lower stats so you could use that as your backup. They state on their website as low as 2.8 and/or 22 MCAT but they haven't updated the website for a few years now so it has probably increased a bit. That is the program that I did and it got me into med school (with a 2.8 no less).

 

[ssquared]

Why do you think that BU would have more gunners enrolled than other SMPs?

I don't-I was just responding to the comment made by Maxprime. I was just joking. I realize that anywhere I go will have gunners-I think they breed on science classes. 😛

 

[Maxprime]

Why do you think that BU would have more gunners enrolled than other SMPs?

I apologize if I offended anyone @ BU MAMS - didn't mean it as a negative thing. From what I've seen, it just seems like everyone in that program is extremely driven and that they work their @sses off. I think that's great, but if I'm looking for a group of people I can rise to the top 10% of to get into that med school, the last place I'd like to go is w/ hard-working, smart people.

To prevent any backlash, I don't mean to say that other programs aren't extremely difficult or that I'm even right about BU - it's just the feeling I get when I read their posts & such. If they let me in & they're my best option, I'm going - no questions asked.

 

[marinak]

Hi-ssquared, i'm also applying to nyumc and i'm pretty sure that their program is two years...in the second year, they're more flexible which classes you take, and you work on a thesis(literature or lab)-just wanted to let you know since you're interested in one year programs. also, does anyone have any more information(likes/dislikes, success, etc) about the nyumc program? I've searched the threads and can't find much.BU MAMS is 1 year master's-you can do a second year specialization, if you want. GOOD LUCK!

 

[braluk]

I started applying to SMPs without SDN so I ended up apply to about 7-8, which is alot, yes, but also gave me more options to weigh in terms of costs, housing, city, etc...etc... If you can afford it, like anything else, apply to more, lowers the risk of anything unforseen and gives you options to pick and choose- not to mention that you are exposed to a wider variety of schools whose essays you could probably reuse when applying to medical school 🙂 Just keep in mind to SAVE MONEY in the year before you apply because you'll need it for apps for SMPs AND medical school (I encourage students to apply in the same summer they plan to matriculate into an SMP). I think the costs for me in terms of applications for both SMP (8 or so apps) and med school (23 schools applied to + secondaries) and interviews (2) ran up to around 2000-3000 dollars. With my SMP cost of tuition (around 21,000), and cost of living (Im projecting around 8000-10,000) you can imagine how costly it can get. Thats why I figured if im going to spending a good chunk of change, I might as well spread out my applications to SMPs and give myself more options.

 

[braluk]

Ok, ok, maybe 10-12 is too many. I just have no idea what the acceptance rates of these programs are and I don't want to get rejected from everywhere because my backup plan is really quite unappealling (living with the parental units...)

I was going to apply to:
Drexel
Duquesne
EVMS
Georgetown
Loyola
Med U Ohio
NYMC
Penn
Tulane
U of Cinicinnati
VCU

I had BU, Mt. Sinai, and UConn on there but for assorted reasons I decided to drop off those. Maybe I should just cut it down to the ones relatively nearby, being G-town, VCU, EVMS....I was just curious what other people thought (FWIW, I applied to a ton of colleges, too....)

University of Cincinnati's acceptance rate, I would imagine for this year (heresay projection) is probably going to be around 10%. The program is designed for only 20 students and last year's (also happens to be its inaugural year) applications stood at around 150 (I believe). I would imagine that, with the exposure on SDN and to other colleges/publications around the country, that the number would go up to 200 and above for 20 spots.

 

[ilovescience]

you have an awesome mcat score. my undergrad gpa is around yours. i applied to three smp's, and so far i've been accepted to evms. i don't know what the acceptance rates are, but i applied really early. (i applied to evms and drexel's ims program in october and georgetown's smp last month when they started accepting applications). since the class size is around 20 students for evms, and i was already accepted, i don't think you should apply there if you haven't already. i'd look into boston's master's of arts program since they start reviewing applications this month and georgetown's smp...hope that helps! good luck!

 

[ssquared]

EVMS' deadline is April 1st....do you really think that they fill up their class before the application deadline? That seems self-defeating, given that they might get great applicants who are taking the spring MCAT.

Just wondering if maybe you had info the rest of us don't have 😛

 

[ilovescience]

Hi,

I actually have no idea, but obviously they do rolling admissions and their class size is much smaller than other programs...so I just think that you'd be going out on a limb applying while taking the spring mcat because then your application won't be complete until those scores come in. (They won't look at your application until it's complete). Also, when I emailed them last year asking when they are accepting applications, they said to submit whenever I am ready as soon as possible. Just because the deadline is still months away, doesn't necessarily mean they are holding out for later applicants. (They might, but I don't know). I'd call their admissions office to see how many spots have filled up or for more accurate information so that you don't waste your time/money. 🙂 Don't want to discourage you with wrong information! It's just my opinion.

 

[ilovescience]

ssquared--

I was fumbling through old postbac/smp threads and found this one on EVMS

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=273697

apparently, there has been lots of movement in waitlists for the smp 🙂. so good luck to you!

 

[mlcal06]

for people who have applied past years.. how competitive is it if you apply early?
how many did you apply to and how many did you get into?