Is the Georgetown SMP worth it?

[gocalbears2012]

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Hi there,

I recently graduated from UC Berkeley in Molecular and Cell Biology with honors. Currently, I'm re-applying to medical schools. However, I applied REALLY late in the cycle (two days before the deadline) and got one interview and was eventually wait-listed at Nevada. I also received secondaries from all the UCs I applied to, which is where I really want to go.

I was accepted at the Georgetown SMP, but I was told by my pre-med counselor that it wouldn't be as helpful as finding a job and volunteering since my GPA was high enough (cumulative 3.7, science 3.6, upper div science 3.9). I scored a 33 on the MCAT as well (B-12, P-12, V-9) I also got a job offer at this medical imaging company, where I will be working primarily with doctors (mostly dental surgeons and radiologists) as a software specialist. The job requires a strong background in science and human anatomy, as I will be looking at a lot of CT scans to plan dental implants. It's an industry job, however, which makes me hesitant.

I wanted to know people's thoughts on the program, especially from those who have completed it already. I understand that for this program to be worth it, I need to score in the top 10-15% of the med school class, OR at least be getting a 3.8 GPA at the end. I feel like I could be strengthening other aspects of my application (i.e. getting a job? volunteering on the side?)

Thanks guys!

 

[InquisitiveDoc]

i think your efforts might be best utilized in strengthening other aspects of your application. If your ECs are just as strong as your GPA, then it seems as though time was the only deterrent. In that case, you may be able to beef up that part of your application to demonstrate "well-roundedness" (so not a word, but you get my drift). The industry job can always be paired up with good clinical volunteer experiences.

 

[gridguy]

As a member of the class of 2011 who was recently accepted to a reputable medical school, I would discourage you from attending the SMP simply because it is designed to address an area that you are already strong in - namely GPA. However, if you were to attend, you would be in great shape to get into GUSOM as they seem to accept SMP students with the most flattering sets of credentials.

 

[korealize]

As a member of the class of 2011 who was recently accepted to a reputable medical school, I would discourage you from attending the SMP simply because it is designed to address an area that you are already strong in - namely GPA. However, if you were to attend, you would be in great shape to get into GUSOM as they seem to accept SMP students with the most flattering sets of credentials.

Have you heard of anyone getting straight-accepted into GUSOM with a lower-end sGPA, like 3.0 when entering, but with a strong performance in the program (top 10-15%)?

 

[gocalbears2012]

As a member of the class of 2011 who was recently accepted to a reputable medical school, I would discourage you from attending the SMP simply because it is designed to address an area that you are already strong in - namely GPA. However, if you were to attend, you would be in great shape to get into GUSOM as they seem to accept SMP students with the most flattering sets of credentials.

Are my chances of getting into GUSOM only high given that I score within the top 10-15% of the medical school class?

From your experience, how difficult was the SMP curriculum? I read the syllabus they provided and I have a background in most of the topics from previous courses I've taken at Berkeley. I understand that these are medical school courses, however, which is why I'm terrified.

 

[QQm]

.

 

[gridguy]

Have you heard of anyone getting straight-accepted into GUSOM with a lower-end sGPA, like 3.0 when entering, but with a strong performance in the program (top 10-15%)?

No, however I did not make a serious effort to learn the credentials of my classmates. There is very little transparency when it comes to this kind of thing. I do recall being surprised by how well some of my former classmates did in the SMP that were NOT accepted (but it seemed like they all had bottlenecks, such as a terrible MCAT subsection score, that probably kept them out). However, it seems like if you do well enough (ie 3.5ish and above) you will get into medical school somewhere.

To a certain extent, Georgetown indirectly handicaps your odds when you apply.

-accepted with scholarship - great shot at GUSOM if you do well
-accepted without waitlist - good shot of getting in somewhere during the SMP year, great shot year after if you do well
-accepted from the waitlist - long shot of getting in somewhere during the SMP year, good shot year after if you do well
-not accepted - long shot of getting in anywhere, regardless

 

[gridguy]

Are my chances of getting into GUSOM only high given that I score within the top 10-15% of the medical school class?

From your experience, how difficult was the SMP curriculum? I read the syllabus they provided and I have a background in most of the topics from previous courses I've taken at Berkeley. I understand that these are medical school courses, however, which is why I'm terrified.

The curriculum is easy insofar as any question on any exam can be answered within seconds if you had access to your notes, which of course is never going to be the case. The volume of content is large and you are competing against some very bright, talented medical school students. Be prepared to be humbled.

 

[soon2bedoctor]

No, however I did not make a serious effort to learn the credentials of my classmates. There is very little transparency when it comes to this kind of thing. I do recall being surprised by how well some of my former classmates did in the SMP that were NOT accepted (but it seemed like they all had bottlenecks, such as a terrible MCAT subsection score, that probably kept them out). However, it seems like if you do well enough (ie 3.5ish and above) you will get into medical school somewhere.

To a certain extent, Georgetown indirectly handicaps your odds when you apply.

-accepted with scholarship - great shot at GUSOM if you do well
-accepted without waitlist - good shot of getting in somewhere during the SMP year, great shot year after if you do well
-accepted from the waitlist - long shot of getting in somewhere during the SMP year, good shot year after if you do well
-not accepted - long shot of getting in anywhere, regardless

I didn't know that the Georgetown SMP handed out scholarships. What kind of stats do you need?

 

[gocalbears2012]

Thanks for your input so far. It's been helpful.

Are you saying that the exams are memorization based?

 

[DrMidlife]

Are you saying that the exams are memorization based?

Memorization is part of it, also conceptual understanding and an ability to compare/contrast/isolate/prioritize information.

In SMPs and in med school, the exams cover a fairly mind-blowing amount of content. Different schools do things differently, but for example, at EVMS, we have 3-4 classes going in parallel, with 3-4 lectures or labs per day, usually 60 powerpoint slides per lecture and a dozen-page handout per lab, with supplemental textbook readings. We have about one small group session per week, maybe covering a particular disease, and that's another exam target. We usually have one 60-100 question multiple choice exam per week, where each exam covers maybe 12-20 lectures across maybe 3-4 weeks. Unlike undergrad, the exam schedule is coordinated across all classes. You can sometimes bring a calculator to an exam, and sometimes charts are provided for reference (such as which codons make which amino acids).

An example of an exam question: "A 42 year old woman, 10 weeks pregnant, presents with fever, abdominal tenderness, swollen extremities and severe headache for the last 4 days. This is her first pregnancy and she has not traveled outside the country in the last year. She works in a daycare and is prone to sinus infections. Lab work shows increased white blood cell count but no other significant values. Which of the following are critical concerns for this woman's baby?" (Answer list includes 5 potential birth defects.) After all that, you have to remember which embryonic systems are developing at 10 weeks. There will be 3 answers which are fairly correct, and you have to pick the most correct one. If Down syndrome is listed, you're screwed, because you have to decide whether a genetic problem counts as a "critical concern" or not at 10 weeks.

(The above is a fictional example intended to demonstrate the exam-time ambiguity you have to fight through. You can't assume the question is well written. If you find a question to be ambiguous, you have to choose whether you're going to spend the time and energy to fight it after the exam.)

Best of luck to you.

 

[gridguy]

Thanks for your input so far. It's been helpful.

Are you saying that the exams are memorization based?

It's mostly memorization. I felt memorization was more heavily emphasized for the grad school classes than the med school classes.

 

[gridguy]

I didn't know that the Georgetown SMP handed out scholarships. What kind of stats do you need?

The scholarships are for about $5,000 and there are very few of them. I would imagine that the recipients of these scholarships probably do not need to attend the SMP in order to get into a good medical school.

 

[filthyd]

Have you heard of anyone getting straight-accepted into GUSOM with a lower-end sGPA, like 3.0 when entering, but with a strong performance in the program (top 10-15%)?

Yes, this definitely does happen. I got in this year, and my science GPA was 2.9. I would say that you need to beast the program though.

 

[smiley27]

Yes, this definitely does happen. I got in this year, and my science GPA was 2.9. I would say that you need to beast the program though.

Filthy can you share what your cgpa was/is? Those of us with low (<3.0) gpas would be interested to know how GT perceives those with low cgpa's but strong smp performance?

I got the impression from here on sdn that BU MAMS still considers your cgpa even after a strong smp performance and despite a strong showing will not be accepted. Whereas other smps like RFU seem to place most, if not all weight on the smp performance.

Do you know or have heard of people getting into gt med with <3.0 gpas but strong smp performance?

 

[IrishCogs]

Filthy can you share what your cgpa was/is? Those of us with low (<3.0) gpas would be interested to know how GT perceives those with low cgpa's but strong smp performance?

I got the impression from here on sdn that BU MAMS still considers your cgpa even after a strong smp performance and despite a strong showing will not be accepted. Whereas other smps like RFU seem to place most, if not all weight on the smp performance.

Do you know or have heard of people getting into gt med with <3.0 gpas but strong smp performance?

I'd also like to hear from former students on this topic. I met with Amy Richards yesterday and she stressed that strong SMP performance is weighted heavily against a poorer cGPA. However, the MCAT score is also still highly considered.

 

[CPIstan]

I'd also like to hear from former students on this topic. I met with Amy Richards yesterday and she stressed that strong SMP performance is weighted heavily against a poorer cGPA. However, the MCAT score is also still highly considered.

Oooooh, Irish drops the Amy Richards

 

[gridguy]

Yes, this definitely does happen. I got in this year, and my science GPA was 2.9. I would say that you need to beast the program though.

Congratulations - that's quite an accomplishment! I think the current crop of applicants would love to hear the details. Good luck going forward!

 

[IrishCogs]

Oooooh, Irish drops the Amy Richards

Just sayin!

 

[EGDemu]

No one wants the truth anymore lol. Everyone should go to the GUSMP, it's fantastic!

 

[smiley27]

Seems like GT held up their end of the bargain. You got the 3.5 and you got interviewed. You got into med school. What more could you ask for? Were you expecting harvard or hopkins after a mediocre performance in the program?

 

[CPIstan]

Do NOT attend the SMP. It is a scam. Basically, Georgetown realized that their main auditorium had 150 empty seats and decided to sell them at 50k each. Throw in some time filling "grad" classes and a bogus "research" paper and you got a 10-month masters program. The paper is simply a review of articles, yet the school claims it as a justification for the MS designation instead of an MA.

It does not help you get into GUSOM. They are decreasing the spots offered to SMP's each year. They give out 48 interviews, and accepted ~28 the year before me, ~17 this year. They claim interviews are given to anyone with a GPA above 3.5, but I know of students with 3.6-7 who didn't get interviews. Grades are fit into med student curve (which is actually good for us because SMP's scored higher on nearly every exam). Top 10% = A + A-. So a 3.5+ GPA is quite challenging.

The program staff are nice, but largely useless. They don't care about helping you get into the med school you want, just any medschool that will take you so that they can pad their program stats. They even have Caribbean school speakers come and try to sell you seats. They claim ~90% get into medschool, but this covers multiple years after the SMP, not just the year you are in the program. Also, despite what Amy Richards claims, doing well in the SMP DOES NOT offset your poor college performance, sorry.

We were denied access to the patient interview skills class (which did not involve patients but simply practice among students). No dissections either, which is fine, but they claim that you get access to the anatomy lab to "follow" the med students dissections. We got in the anatomy lab only once each test, and some for tests we were denied access completely, because "we would probably mess things up" even though we would be tested on the same material. They make it very clear that you are 2nd class to the med students.

Material is easy but the tests are poorly written and unbearably vague. Multiple professors, so you have to guess which one wrote the question, then try to guess which answer he/she would find to be the "best" out of multiple correct answers. Professors often contradict each other. I would say 70% memorization, 30% luck.

Anyway, I would stay away from this program unless you have gone through the application cycle twice already. They are very good at cherry-picking the applicants who will likely get into medschool, regardless if they attend the program or not. Take another year, volunteer and retake the MCAT.

My stats:
undergrad GPA 3.4, MCAT 33
just finished the SMP, 3.5GPA = "top" 48, given interview for GUSOM, rejected GUSOM
accepted to a US medschool I don't really like.
-$80k

Eep!

*runs away shrieking

 

[EGDemu]

Everyone should go to the GUSMP, it's fantastic!

 

[smiley27]

Ouch on the mediocre performance comment lol but really, getting A's or high passes in med courses is not as easy as undergrad A's. Considering if you get B's, or a couple B-'s, or even a C (all of which are passing grades for the GUSOM students) you will not be above the required 3.0 to graduate the program. Less than a 3.0 and you don't get a masters, and your hopes of ever getting into a medical school are over.

And they did not hold up their end of the bargain. They said anyone with above a 3.5 would get interviewed. This did not happen to some of my friends who got 3.6+, which was better than my GPA. That is not fair, even if it was beneficial to myself. They also advertised that 25-30 people from SMP would be accepted to GUSOM, which also did not happen and they may take even fewer next year, so applicants should be weary if GUSOM is one of their main reasons for doing the SMP.

And I did not expect to get in to a top tier school. However, I did expect to have more interviews this cycle than the first time I applied, which I did not. Chances are that if I had simply applied again without doing the program, I would have ended up at the same result. Its just not worth the money.

Anyone else have questions?

What have you got against them? Are you the student ambassador advocating fair treatment for your whole class? You got into med school with a sub A- average. You have mostly B's on your transcript. Why should you be so entitled? Beggars can't be choosers man.

 

[EGDemu]

Everyone should go to the GUSMP, it's fantastic!

 

[DrMidlife]

Do NOT attend the SMP. It is a scam.

In what way, exactly, were you scammed? Were you led to believe you'd get into Gtown med? Were you led to believe you'd get into a school you liked? In what way were you led to believe this?

Did you read about the program, on SDN or in the Yahoo group, before you chose it? I'm asking this because the years-long threads here and in the Yahoo groups cover all of this in great detail. I am not surprised by anything you have listed as a complaint. Clearly you're not happy, but your vitriol devalues your message.

It seems very odd to me that you view getting an MS, a Gtown interview and a US MD acceptance as a scam. You did an SMP and you got into med school. That's the point of an SMP - the only point of an SMP. Again, what led you to believe something more magical than getting into med school, if you worked very hard, would happen to you?

Everything you're listing as bad about Gtown is exactly the same at other SMPs. The classes are hard, getting A's is very difficult, instruction isn't stellar, exams are confusing, staff is marginally helpful, results aren't guaranteed. Did I miss anything?

You're complaining about being "denied access" to patient interaction. When did anybody ever say you were getting access to patients in an SMP? You were also denied a free pony - is that also a problem?

Look. Seriously. What did you expect. You paid for a 2nd chance at med school. You got into med school, and you're not happy. I don't get it.

Best of luck to you.

 

[EGDemu]

Everyone should go to the GUSMP, it's fantastic!

 

[soon2bedoctor]

Do NOT attend the SMP. It is a scam. Basically, Georgetown realized that their main auditorium had 150 empty seats and decided to sell them at 50k each. Throw in some time filling "grad" classes and a bogus "research" paper and you got a 10-month masters program. The paper is simply a review of articles, yet the school claims it as a justification for the MS designation instead of an MA.

It does not help you get into GUSOM. They are decreasing the spots offered to SMP's each year. They give out 48 interviews, and accepted ~28 the year before me, ~17 this year. They claim interviews are given to anyone with a GPA above 3.5, but I know of students with 3.6-7 who didn't get interviews. Grades are fit into med student curve (which is actually good for us because SMP's scored higher on nearly every exam). Top 10% = A + A-. So a 3.5+ GPA is quite challenging.

The program staff are nice, but largely useless. They don't care about helping you get into the med school you want, just any medschool that will take you so that they can pad their program stats. They even have Caribbean school speakers come and try to sell you seats. They claim ~90% get into medschool, but this covers multiple years after the SMP, not just the year you are in the program. Also, despite what Amy Richards claims, doing well in the SMP DOES NOT offset your poor college performance, sorry.

We were denied access to the patient interview skills class (which did not involve patients but simply practice among students). No dissections either, which is fine, but they claim that you get access to the anatomy lab to "follow" the med students dissections. We got in the anatomy lab only once each test, and some for tests we were denied access completely, because "we would probably mess things up" even though we would be tested on the same material. They make it very clear that you are 2nd class to the med students.

Material is easy but the tests are poorly written and unbearably vague. Multiple professors, so you have to guess which one wrote the question, then try to guess which answer he/she would find to be the "best" out of multiple correct answers. Professors often contradict each other. I would say 70% memorization, 30% luck.

Anyway, I would stay away from this program unless you have gone through the application cycle twice already. They are very good at cherry-picking the applicants who will likely get into medschool, regardless if they attend the program or not. Take another year, volunteer and retake the MCAT.

My stats:
undergrad GPA 3.4, MCAT 33
just finished the SMP, 3.5GPA = "top" 48, given interview for GUSOM, rejected GUSOM
accepted to a US medschool I don't really like.
-$80k

I don't see why you're complaining about the program. You had a 3.5 GPA in the program with a 33 MCAT. While a 3.5 is certainly commendable, my understanding is that a 3.5 is basically the minimum GPA for an interview invite. According to the website "In most years, about 50% of SMP students who apply to GUSOM are interviewed." Thus, ~50% of SMP students have a 3.5 GPA or higher (please correct me if I'm wrong). Your 33 is only a little above the average of the SMP program which is 31.7. Thus, roughly 40% of the class had a higher MCAT than you (just an educated guess without standard deviation stats).

What makes you think that being at the ~50th percentile for GPA and ~60th percentile for MCAT will guarantee you a Georgetown acceptance?

Historically, only 15% of SMP students gain admission to GUSOM. Since you said 48 were interviewed, that means that ~100 probably applied to Georgetown. 17/100 is 17%. What you're stating doesn't seem off to me at all. You got exactly what you paid for.

They claim interviews are given to anyone with a GPA above 3.5, but I know of students with 3.6-7 who didn't get interviews.

From what I've heard, both the SMP GPA and MCAT are considered when looking at your application for interview. They almost exclusively look at your SMP GPA over your undergrad GPA. If students didn't get interviews with a 3.6-7, they probably did not have the MCAT scores to back it up.

I am not saying that this SMP is perfect. I think that they do inflate their stats with DO and foreign school acceptances. However, SMPs are risky by nature. You should have done more research and realized what you were getting into before you took the plunge.

 

[smiley27]

This person is ridiculous! Got into med school and still unhappy? I'm not surprised you didn't get in after being interviewed, you obviously have personal character flaws that were evident in either your application and/or interview.

Wow!!!! How ungrateful some people can be. Looks like Georgetown made the right decision in rejecting you.

 

[EGDemu]

Everyone should go to the GUSMP, it's fantastic!

Annnnnd I'm done, good luck all.

 

[CPIstan]

Everyone should go to the GUSMP, it's fantastic!

Annnnnd I'm done, good luck all.

Don't cave so easily.

Long story short, the point of an internet forum is to have a place where we can talk without fear of repercussions, political correctness, popularity of our opinions, etc.

I've heard what you said about Georgetown's SMP said in the past, by others. In fact, here's a direct quote from another SDN member on why they chose to attend Tufts over Georgetown:

"I chose tufts for various reasons:
1) housing near Georgetown is EVEN MORE expensive than in Boston
2) Georgetown's class size is almost double Tufts
3) I have heard that while Georgetown has the name/prestige of being the original SMP it has gone down a little in quality. Like they're trying to pack in more and more people to make more money. Tufts is only 5 years old but is a solid program with a good med school name and decent prestige.
4) At tufts your entire first "semester" (half a semester really) is called Med Foundations I and you take the exact classes, professors and exams as the first year med school students. I don't know how georgetown's is.
5) Biggest reason for me: I have heard the advising at Georgetown is absolutely terrible. That the advisors don't get to know you, write generic letters and don't care at all about helping you get into med school. I can honestly tell you at Tufts my advisor has been amazing. There are some that are only okay and some that are great but only 7-8 students are assigned to each advisor and if you really want to make good use of them than they are open and willing to help you.

Oh and if I'm thinking right, the tuition at Georgetown is more as well.

Now this is of course a biased answer since I ended up at tufts and never experienced Georgetown. So take it with a grain of salt.

Btw I was accepted to Tufts in May and was waitlisted to Georgetown until they saw my updated MCAT score whereupon they accepted me but I had decided tufts."

In a nutshell, everything you complained about in your original post,
1. Advisers don't help
2. GTown trying to fill seats/make $
3. Gtown has gone down in quality
... is seen in the post I quoted, above.



And hey, guess what else, I'm applying to Georgetown, and having a Georgetown SMP alumni (that's now a physician) write me a letter of recommendation. LOLlingly enough, he didn't like their program, either. Will that stop me from applying? Probably not.

And to Dr. Midlife, I've been following this place since 2006 (yes, I remember you from back then), and I've seen you -- through the years -- chime in on all sorts of people's issues with your opinion, even when it's not welcomed, or needed. I'm of the opinion that not always voicing your opinion can be a good thing. One day, you're going to get your Waterloo. I won't be sympathetic to you when it happens.

 

[alsaire]

Ok guys, I'm an incoming Georgetown SMP student, and all this negativity has got me worried. Is there anybody here who could chime in from the opposite side of the fence to assuage my fears? It would be greatly welcomed... :\

 

[gridguy]

Ok guys, I'm an incoming Georgetown SMP student, and all this negativity has got me worried. Is there anybody here who could chime in from the opposite side of the fence to assuage my fears? It would be greatly welcomed... :\

Okay, I will try to, yet again, share my two cents. As a reminder, I was a member of the Georgetown SMP class of 2011. Here are my important stats to perhaps help you calibrate the value of my opinion.

BS in physics from a large Big Ten school - 3.13 overall, 2.93 science GPA
post-bacc at a large ACC school (19 credits) - 3.6 overall/science GPA
3.23 overall, 3.08 science effective undergraduate GPA

Before I enrolled at Georgetown, I had taken the MCAT 3 times

Year - PS - VR - BS - Total
2006 - 10 - 10 - 08 - 28R (65th percentile)
2008 - 11 - 10 - 10 - 31S (81st percentile)
2009 - 12 - 07 - 11 - 30R (77th percentile)

I earned a 3.47 GPA in the SMP (better in the graduate level classes than the medical school classes, due to the differences in the grading scale). Shortly after the SMP, I took my MCAT for the 4th time and did extremely well.

Year - PS - VR - BS - Total
2011 - 13 - 10 - 15 - 38S (98th percentile)

Ultimately, I was accepted to a large Big Ten school for medical school the year AFTER graduating from the SMP (NOT the same school as my undergraduate institution, which did not interview me) and will be starting in a month.

Is the Georgetown SMP worth it? In my case, absolutely. Because of my performance in the SMP and the score on my final MCAT (directly related to the study habits and knowledge gained while in the SMP) I was able to make into a reputable medical school.

Is the Georgetown SMP worth it for everyone? Definitely not. The class size has swelled to nearly 200 students. That, coupled with the fact that reputable SMP-like programs are cropping up all over the country (eg Tufts, Michigan) means that Georgetown is accepting a lot of marginal candidates... marginal in the sense that even a great performance within the SMP may not be enough to get them into a US allopathic medical school - the standard by which "success" is measured. However, this cohort of students is likely getting into osteopathic/Caribbean medical schools so when Georgetown touts their high placement rates, it is quietly including schools that most of its applicants are hoping to trade up from. I am guilty of this - I would have considered my enrollment in the Georgetown SMP something of a failed business venture if I had "only" been accepted to an osteopathic/Caribbean medical school (the validity of this mindset probably should NOT be discussed in this thread). The bottom line is if you are coming off of the waitlist close to matriculation (like I did in July 2010) Georgetown is sending you a message that you will have a tough time getting into a reputable medical school even with the help of the SMP. I am extremely concerned that the SMP has not updated their alumni page - the class of 2010 list is the same as when I applied (meaning they did not update it to include students who were not accepted while in the SMP) and of course there is no information whatsoever about the class of 2011. This may be an indicator that placement rates aren't what they used to be and the SMP is doing their best to not draw attention to this fact.

I have also read comments that the advising is terrible at Georgetown. The only advice they have to give is "do well". The advisers really are not in a strong position, which is probably true at ANY SMP-like program. Really, SDN is the best source of advice. Overall, it was my personal experience that the advisers, including the SMP program director, were all very decent people that were perhaps stretched a bit too thin.

Insofar as getting directly into GUSOM via the SMP, I cannot comment with absolute certainty - I was only interviewed, possibly just due to having met a performance threshold. One thing that did disappoint me is that SMP program director made it absolutely clear that GUSOM would give no feedback whatsoever into the nature of their decision. I think it would have been very helpful to find out why I (and others) did not make the cut - the fact that the SMP program director was unable/unwilling to open these files is somewhat telling of the relationship between GUSOM and the SMP (probably something akin to master and servant).

Another point that I would like to make is that there are several inroads into GUSOM - the SMP, GEMS, CAMS and recently the GeorgeSquared program. The class size at GUSOM is not getting any larger at it simply must draw students from these programs in order to ensure their survival (an acceptance to GUSOM is the biggest carrot for most applicants). Because the SMP is the oldest, the number of applicants that are interviewed and accepted simply is not as great as it was 5 years ago.

Overall, the SMP is worth it more often than not. Do not enroll thinking that a 4.0 is possible, let alone your ticket into GUSOM. Also, for many (like myself) it is going to be a two year process - go through the program and then apply with your grades officially on your AMCAS. For me, my time in the SMP was the worst year of my life but I worked hard and achieved my goal. Consider this a cautious endorsement of the program.

 

[alsaire]

gridguy, thanks for the detailed profile for comparison, and congratulations on your acceptance! I had a question about your post.

I have also read comments that the advising is terrible at Georgetown. The only advice they have to give is "do well". The advisers really are not in a strong position, which is probably true at ANY SMP-like program. Really, SDN is the best source of advice. Overall, it was my personal experience that the advisers, including the SMP program director, were all very decent people that were perhaps stretched a bit too thin.

about the advising, you mentioned that people say the advising at Georgetown is terrible and that they were stretched a bit too thin, but despite these negatives, were they still helpful to some extent? Were they able to guide your application process in any way? Or did they basically only give you default information that you could have gotten elsewhere?

 

[Muhammad Fazal]

Hey there,
I am currently in my last year of undergraduate at a top 20 school
cGPA 3.1 and MCAT of 33P
Reason for low gpa is my first year which I royally messed up, been continuously improving since.
What do you think my chances of getting into a SMP program are? And if I do well in that what are the chances of getting into the medical school of that university and other medical schools in the states..
Thanks

 

[JSReed]

Hey there,
I am currently in my last year of undergraduate at a top 20 school
cGPA 3.1 and MCAT of 33P
Reason for low gpa is my first year which I royally messed up, been continuously improving since.
What do you think my chances of getting into a SMP program are? And if I do well in that what are the chances of getting into the medical school of that university and other medical schools in the states..
Thanks

There are about 5 million threads on this. You're a big boy, do your own research.