Need Advice: Should I do a SMP?

[Thor5421]

Hello,

I got accepted to SMP this past March and placed my deposit in already but is still on the fence on if I should attend.

The reason for this is because a student of the SMP program expressed their discontent with the lack of support from the faculty and that the requirements to be invited for an interview kept changing.

I already completed a postbac to improve my gpa and my gpa trend. They also had certain benchmark to receive an interview but I opt out at the end because I decided to push my MCAT back.

I am planning to retake my MCAT in August but I don’t know if I should bite the bullet and attend the SMP, which will start before I take my MCAT, or just focus on doing well on my MCAT.

My Current Stats are cgpa 3.52 and sgpa 3.31. I have around 1000 hours of clinical, only 16 hours of shadowing, 100 hours volunteering at a ER department, and only a handful of small volunteer hours. Because of my postbac and COVID, my past two years of extracurricular/activities are quite dry..

Thank you in advance.

 

[DocJanItor]

Anyone with a 3.5 cgpa doesn't need an SMP. Waste of time and money.

 

[Goro]

Anyone with a 3.5 cgpa doesn't need an SMP. Waste of time and money.

For MD, the OP's sGPA is the problem.

BUT, OP, how many hours did you take in your post back, and what is your GPA in the post bacc?

 

[DocJanItor]

For MD, the OP's sGPA is the problem.

BUT, OP, how many hours did you take in your post back, and what is your GPA in the post bacc?

I could see that, but an SMP is such a huge investment in time, money, and risk that I'd really only recommend it for people who absolutely can't get an acceptance anywhere or are dead set on doing an ultra competitive specialty like plastics, ophtho, ortho, derm, or vascular surgery. Even then, the stigma of DO is decreasing every year. The only concern is having a home program to give support to your residency application.

 

[Thor5421]

For MD, the OP's sGPA is the problem.

BUT, OP, how many hours did you take in your post back, and what is your GPA in the post bacc?

It was 27 credit and my gpa was 4.00.

 

[Goro]

I could see that, but an SMP is such a huge investment in time, money, and risk that I'd really only recommend it for people who absolutely can't get an acceptance anywhere or are dead set on doing an ultra competitive specialty like plastics, ophtho, ortho, derm, or vascular surgery. Even then, the stigma of DO is decreasing every year. The only concern is having a home program to give support to your residency application.

They're also useful for people with decent GPAs, but weak MCAT scores.

 

[Goro]

It was 27 credit and my gpa was 4.00.

You don't need a SMP. You're good to go.