Is an SMP right for me?

[Spacecowboii]

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Hi all,

I'm about to graduate in the fall (2013) and currently my GPA is a depressing 2.93. I have 1000+ hours of shadow experience at a clinic with a doctor, I've worked with autistic children for ~3 months (I don't know if that will look good on my resume but hey maybe!) and I'm CNA certified.
I know for a fact I can increase it to a 3.0 by the end of this semester. My ultimate goal is Med School so I'm trying to figure out how to get in. I read about SMP's and it sounds like a sure thing for someone in my position; so I was wondering for those who have knowledge about it or better yet have gone through the program can you tell me if an SMP will guarantee you admission into a medical school? What kind of GPA do you need to obtain plenty of interviews with an SMP? If you guys have other suggestions I'm all ears!

Spacecowboii

 

[GorgeousBorges]

Hi all,

I'm about to graduate in the fall (2013) and currently my GPA is a depressing 2.93. I have 1000+ hours of shadow experience at a clinic with a doctor, I've worked with autistic children for ~3 months (I don't know if that will look good on my resume but hey maybe!) and I'm CNA certified.
I know for a fact I can increase it to a 3.0 by the end of this semester. My ultimate goal is Med School so I'm trying to figure out how to get in. I read about SMP's and it sounds like a sure thing for someone in my position; so I was wondering for those who have knowledge about it or better yet have gone through the program can you tell me if an SMP will guarantee you admission into a medical school? What kind of GPA do you need to obtain plenty of interviews with an SMP? If you guys have other suggestions I'm all ears!

Spacecowboii

What is your science GPA?

SMP's are good for people who have low GPAs that are still above 3.0, decent extracurriculars and most importantly high MCAT scores. If you can bump your cGPA and sGPA up to 3.0 and kill the MCAT, then an SMP would make sense for you if you can do well in it.

You can obtain plenty of interviews with an SMP with your GPA if you apply the year after the SMP and you did well in the SMP, provided that the rest of your application is solid.

Most SMPs are not guarantees, with the exception of Temple ACMS and Tulane ACP. But if you do really well in a program and the rest of your application is solid, it'll help your med school candidacy quite a bit.

 

[Spacecowboii]

What is your science GPA?

Currently as I stand it is a sad ~2.6 and by the end of this semester I know I can increase it at a high 2.7 low 2.8 (if that will help for future SMP programs I'd like to apply for)

SMP's are good for people who have low GPAs that are still above 3.0, decent extracurriculars and most importantly high MCAT scores. If you can bump your cGPA and sGPA up to 3.0 and kill the MCAT, then an SMP would make sense for you if you can do well in it.

I know I can bump my cGPA to 3.0 my sGPA might take a little longer to do that, do you suggest I continue undergrad until it is up to 3.0 as well? I haven't taken the MCAT yet but I am preparing for and am enrolled in courses to better prepare me for the MCAT. (can't take any chances lol)

You can obtain plenty of interviews with an SMP with your GPA if you apply the year after the SMP and you did well in the SMP, provided that the rest of your application is solid.

Most SMPs are not guarantees, with the exception of Temple ACMS and Tulane ACP. But if you do really well in a program and the rest of your application is solid, it'll help your med school candidacy quite a bit.

Thank you so much for clarifying this for me I greatly appreciate it! So if accepted into an SMP is it safe to say a competitive GPA to maintain within the program for interviews would be between 3.5+?

Spacecowboii

 

[GorgeousBorges]

I don't know how SMPs would look at an sGPA of 2.8. Maybe not well, but it probably depends on trend.

If you want to get into medical school during the year that you're in the program, you should choose an SMP with high linkage (EVMS comes to mind). SMPs do the most to help you get into their affiliated medical schools and this is particularly true for same-year application.

You might want to consider Wayne State BMS as well.

Just wondering, how did you shadow 1 doctor for a thousand hours?

 

[Spacecowboii]

I don't know how SMPs would look at an sGPA of 2.8. Maybe not well, but it probably depends on trend.

If you want to get into medical school during the year that you're in the program, you should choose an SMP with high linkage (EVMS comes to mind). SMPs do the most to help you get into their affiliated medical schools and this is particularly true for same-year application.

You might want to consider Wayne State BMS as well.

I was considering EVMS as well and I'll definitely look into Wayne State BMS 🙂

Just wondering, how did you shadow 1 doctor for a thousand hours?

Lol when I was a Freshman in college before my grandma passed I had to drive her to his clinic back and forth we eventually became friends and so one day I asked him if I can shadow him and he agreed; I always have Fri-Sun off so I usually went on those days and 4 ish years later I accumulated 1000+ hours 😛