Medical Need advice- post bacc vs smp

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I am currently trying to decide between an smp and a DIY post bacc.

My cGPA is a 3.5 and my sGPA is a 3.0, however I only took the pre-reqs. I did an interdisciplinary degree in neuroscience so my undergrad was heavily research based and self designed and a lot of my classes don’t have the BCMP designation. Could be a blessing though because it would only take about 30 credits to bring my sGPA up to a competitive level for DO.

My Mcat is a 506. I took it before I was ready and I’ve been thinking about taking it again and have been scoring higher in my practice tests

I found out about Smp’s really late in the game so I applied really late and so far have been waitlisted at Georgetown, waitlisted at tufts, and accepted to LECOM-E. Still waiting for BU and LECOM-B.

I really have no guidance or anyone to talk to about this but I am just trying to decide if I should do a cheap post bacc then apply to Smp’s in a more timely manner next year or if I should take the LECOM acceptance with the linkage. I don’t want to totally rule out MD just because ultimately i do want to specialize in ob/gym or gas but I would definitely still be happy with DO and would be willing to work harder to get a spot in one of those. Just not sure if attending LECOM MMS will helps for other DO schools too or if I would be fine with just a post bacc.
If you'd be content with a DO acceptance, I don't feel you'd need an expensive SMP. A cheaper do-it-yourself postbac taking classes you prefer at your own pace can get you where you want to be.

For the best chance at an MD-affiliated SMP, you'd do better with a higher MCAT score and a string of recent As in upper-level science (the same DIY postbac can serve that purpose), but note that without high performance in the competitive, science-intense, set-curriculum SMP (like, GPA 3.7+) you may not get an MD acceptance. With a 3.5+, DO is still possible, but it would have been possible without the SMP, too..

Neither OBGYN or Anesthesiology would be precluded pathways with a DO or MD degree, but you do need to perform competitively on the exams required for entry. If you have the potential to get your MCAT 5 points higher, implying good test-taking skills if you try hard, those should not be a problem for you.

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