Is Gtowns program really crazy?

[yalla22]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I've been doing some investigating and from what I've learned, Georgetown's program sounds NUTS. Competing against med students and trying to get A's with a group of people all trying to do the same...wow.
What is it really like? I'd love to hear about peoples experiences-good and bad. How much harder is it than undergrad? Do you enjoy your experiences at all? How hard is it to get an A?
😕
Thanks!

 

[verbalassasin]

All I will say is you should never doubt yourself. You may be in a class with me, and we all may be gunning for an A, but it is not to say you do not understand the material any less than I do. I wish all of you luck, just dont doubt yourself, know that you can compete with anyone. If you doubt yourself you have no buisness what so ever, ever putting on a white coat to care for some one elses life. Good luck guys, I am pulling for all of you.

 

[Kazema]

And remember, 1st year med students have had the same preparation you have had. Being a med student doesn't magically grant them some special source of knowledge that post-bacc students don't have - you may be at a disadvantage because they've done better than you have in the past but this is your chance to show that you are as good as they are!

Good luck!

 

[Phil Anthropist]

I have some friends that think, "You have to beat the med school students' curve?! OMG!!! I'm never going to be able to do that! I'd rather finish a year in the Caribbean than take my chances dropping all that money on a postbac!"

One big difference is that you're not taking all of the first year medical school courses. You might take most of the medical school courses, but not all. If you had to take the entire Boston University, Georgetown, Rosalind Franklin, Drexel, UMDNJ, or EVMS first year courseload I'm sure the programs would be significantly harder. I'm sure the SMPs are still pretty hardcore, but remember to keep things in perspective.

 

[lightnk102]

As Phil mentioned, you're only taking half the load of the regular med students. Also, Georgetown isn't unique in this aspect. Most SMP's are set up the same way. Good luck!

 

[jackbnimble]

I have some friends that think, "You have to beat the med school students' curve?! OMG!!! I'm never going to be able to do that! I'd rather finish a year in the Caribbean than take my chances dropping all that money on a postbac!"

O........

 

[DrHuang]

meh...its not that bad...its sorta like undergrad premed classes all over again

 

[exmike]

i would venture to say its actually easier than some undergrad courses because the information is not as detailed, rather, there is just more information. Then time management becomes a larger factor. While the grading is curved, it almost always ends up that you need a 90 or higher to get a flat A. The lowest I remember being a flat A in a med course was something like 88%, meaning a 85-86% wouldve gotten you a A-. So its really not that crazy.

 

[jscarpachio]

All I will say is you should never doubt yourself. You may be in a class with me, and we all may be gunning for an A, but it is not to say you do not understand the material any less than I do. I wish all of you luck, just dont doubt yourself, know that you can compete with anyone. If you doubt yourself you have no buisness what so ever, ever putting on a white coat to care for some one elses life. Good luck guys, I am pulling for all of you.

You're at UCSD now? Did you make it to SD through the SMP program at Gtown? If you don't mind me asking, what was your undergrad GPA and MCAT score when applying to med school?

 

[exmike]

You're at UCSD now? Did you make it to SD through the SMP program at Gtown? If you don't mind me asking, what was your undergrad GPA and MCAT score when applying to med school?

There are a small number of students in the GU SMP program that could easily have gotten into med school, but chose to do the SMP to boost their resume. Each year a handful of students go to "top tier" med schools coming out of the SMP.

 

[verbalassasin]

I did not do the SMP, I went straight from undergrad to UCSD SOM. I posted here because the OP seemed to be doubting himself. I wanted to lend words of encouragement. Look guys there is nothing impossible. If you are lacking in MCAT and GPA make it up else where in your app. My friend had a much lower GPA and MCAT then me he was in the low 20's nd under a 3.0 but he got 3 interviews and was accepted to 2 schools. He had an awesome personal statement, and extracurriculars up the ass. You will never know untiil you try, and if you try and are rejected then you have opened up avenues for a reaplicant program. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[kenshinoro2004]

If you are scared of competiting with medical students, how will you ever do it when you are in medical school. I would relish the chance to kick some med butt while not even in med school. Just do your best, it'll work out if you have the ability required..if not, think about dentistry or pharm or something else.

 

[HoyaMax]

As some of the other people have mentioned in this post, the most difficult aspect of the SMP and other Post-Bacc programs is time management. You are not only taking a similar course load as the first-year med class, but you are also applying to medical school. In applying, you are going through all the hoops that is required (i.e. secondaries and leaving town for interviews, etc...). I currently am a SMP student, and one of my roommates is a first-year, and I can say from experience, that the adjustment to the medical school enviornment was quite similar (except he came home everyday with the wonderful smell of the preservatives from Gross) as there are graduate/non-med school to make up for the credit difference.