pls help - need to make an immediate decision on SMP Georgetown

[PartyAnimal]

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Got accepted off waitlist at G-town SMP, stats are:

cGPA of 3.45, sGPA of 3.6, MCAT:33, nontrad with multiple years of work experience in finance/consulting. Decent letters and pretty good ECs.

I know for a fact that if I go I will do well due to 3.8 GPA when I came back to finish half of the pre-reqs at my university. Only drawback is cost. Let me know your thoughts? Thanks. 🙂

Option A:

Do the program

Options B:

Volunteer and Job

 

[ShabNasty]

Got accepted off waitlist at G-town SMP, stats are:

cGPA of 3.45, sGPA of 3.6, MCAT:33, nontrad with multiple years of work experience in finance/consulting. Decent letters and pretty good ECs.

I know for a fact that if I go I will do well due to 3.8 GPA when I came back to finish half of the pre-reqs at my university. Only drawback is cost. Let me know your thoughts? Thanks. 🙂

Option A:

Do the program

Options B:

Volunteer and Job

You want MD I'm guessing?

 

[alsaire]

It depends where you want to go. With those stats and the strong 3.8 gpa after taking several years off, you're in good shape for adcoms to value the later half (the 3.8) much more strongly than your earlier grades. On the other hand, if you're aiming higher, like higher mid-tier, upper-tier med schools, it may be beneficial for you to do the SMP if you can prove to med schools that you can actually handle the course work. As a non-trad, it probably looks even better that you've already come back to do the pre-req course work and done well.

One thing's for certain though, the work done for pre-reqs in university is *not* comparable to medical school level work. Pre-reqs are, for the most part, all lower-divs and not tremendously difficult. Many people come out of SMPs saying that it was the hardest year of their life. I understand that the stress coming from knowing that this is their last shot makes up a part of it, but you would be doing yourself a disservice by underestimating the difficulty of an SMP.

My personal recommendation is that you don't need to do this SMP. You may want to consider just taking extra classes at a nearby college (extension, a regular post-bac program) etc., volunteer, and work.

Either way, best of luck to you!

 

[PartyAnimal]

You want MD I'm guessing?

Yes, that's what I am aiming for.

 

[PartyAnimal]

It depends where you want to go. With those stats and the strong 3.8 gpa after taking several years off, you're in good shape for adcoms to value the later half (the 3.8) much more strongly than your earlier grades. On the other hand, if you're aiming higher, like higher mid-tier, upper-tier med schools, it may be beneficial for you to do the SMP if you can prove to med schools that you can actually handle the course work. As a non-trad, it probably looks even better that you've already come back to do the pre-req course work and done well.

One thing's for certain though, the work done for pre-reqs in university is *not* comparable to medical school level work. Pre-reqs are, for the most part, all lower-divs and not tremendously difficult. Many people come out of SMPs saying that it was the hardest year of their life. I understand that the stress coming from knowing that this is their last shot makes up a part of it, but you would be doing yourself a disservice by underestimating the difficulty of an SMP.

My personal recommendation is that you don't need to do this SMP. You may want to consider just taking extra classes at a nearby college (extension, a regular post-bac program) etc., volunteer, and work.

Either way, best of luck to you!

Thank you for that response!

 

[johnnyscans]

I don't think you need an SMP. I think you need to bolster your application, take additional upper-level science courses, and strengthen your ECs.

Did you apply this cycle?
What ECs do you have? How much clinical exposure?
I really think you have a shot at acceptance now if you were to apply broadly and early. Hopefully you have an interesting story as to why you ended up in medicine.

SMPs are usually viewed as a do-or-die last ditch effort to gain acceptance to medical school. They are viciously tough; if you've only taken the core pre-reqs (Bio 1/2, Chem 1/2, Orgo 1/2, Phys 1/2) you are going to be in for a rude awakening.

 

[PartyAnimal]

I don't think you need an SMP. I think you need to bolster your application, take additional upper-level science courses, and strengthen your ECs.

Did you apply this cycle?
What ECs do you have? How much clinical exposure?
I really think you have a shot at acceptance now if you were to apply broadly and early. Hopefully you have an interesting story as to why you ended up in medicine.

SMPs are usually viewed as a do-or-die last ditch effort to gain acceptance to medical school. They are viciously tough; if you've only taken the core pre-reqs (Bio 1/2, Chem 1/2, Orgo 1/2, Phys 1/2) you are going to be in for a rude awakening.

So by "pre-reqs" I meant that from 01/12-06/12 I took a full 2 quarter load of upper division biology classes. Endocrinology, Cell biology, Advanced Physiology, Organic Chemistry Lab, Bio Lab, Metabolic Biochemistry, Nutrition, integrative medicineand more physiology classes.

I applied this cycle, applying broadly and working on secondaries already. Clinical exposure could be stronger definitely as I have 2 main clinical exposure experiences which probably total up to 200 hours max. Thanks and let me know your thoughts on next steps?