Possible SMP for me?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

RecyclingBinh

Class of 2014 hopeful!
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2008
Messages
878
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone,

I might become a reapplicant this cycle and was looking at a few SMP/post-bacc programs.

I narrowed it down to these so far:

Tulane
Tufts
Universty of North Texas
Drexel
Georgetown
Creighton

So far, only Tulane offer an actual MS degree which will help later on. UNT offer a Masters in Medical Science which won't help much. But these schools offer really high acceptance rates into medical schools.

So my question is...which school's program is best, has the best chance for medical school acceptance, and is best overall? I'm really confused right now and would like to get a head start on the apps before I'm too busy to do anything. Thank you.
 
Without your statistics its impossible to make a recommendation
 
Did you see this list? http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=640302

The programs you list don't have much in common. We need to know your GPA and MCAT to make a recommendation.

So far, only Tulane offer an actual MS degree which will help later on. UNT offer a Masters in Medical Science which won't help much.
Incorrect that Tulane is the only "actual" MS degree. Any SMP will give you an M.

You can get an "actual" traditional masters degree, or you can do a program that is designed to get you into medical school. Gotta pick.

But these schools offer really high acceptance rates into medical schools.
Right, that's what they were created to do.

So my question is...which school's program is best, has the best chance for medical school acceptance, and is best overall? I'm really confused right now and would like to get a head start on the apps before I'm too busy to do anything. Thank you.
Depends on your stats, whether you're willing to go DO, whether you're URM, and any constraints (location etc).

...has about 4 one-year masters programs, all very different.
...is too new and changing too fast to cite stats
Universty of North Texas
...is a DO school
...see Tulane
Georgetown
...yep, the defacto standard
Creighton
...is an URM program
 
So far I'm really interested in the Tulane MS in Cell & Molecular biology program. If I want to enter in Fall 2010, I should wait until it opens for next year right?

The UNT program gives a Masters in Medical Sciences but people said it is not as valuable as a MS. I can't get a real career with a Masters in Medical Sciences? The MS in Cell & Molecular biology is more valuable?
 
No need to get pissy.

The OP's stats:
MCAT Score: PS 12, VR 7, BS 11, P
BCPM GPA: 3.09
Overall GPA: 3.36

In your shoes I'd do 2 things:
1. Figure out how to get another few verbal points, and retake. You only get one more retake, so make it count.
2. Do an SMP that's designed to get students into medical school and has no other purpose. Get over the need to have a "value" other than a med school admission.

So far I'm really interested in the Tulane MS in Cell & Molecular biology program.
Why?
If I want to enter in Fall 2010, I should wait until it opens for next year right?
Most SMPs open October or later for the following fall.

The UNT program gives a Masters in Medical Sciences but people said it is not as valuable as a MS. I can't get a real career with a Masters in Medical Sciences? The MS in Cell & Molecular biology is more valuable?
Get over the "real career" and "not as valuable" stuff. Medicine is the "real career" and an admission to a US MD school is the "value."

Do an SMP if you want to get into med school. Do a traditional masters if you want a traditional masters. If you try to get both you'll likely get neither.

Best of luck to you.
 
The M.S. you get from Georgetown can be useful in a ton of settings as well. So can a master's in medical sciences. I don't get what a masters in cell biology would have over either of these. Feel free to explain
 
what are you talking about? My MDApp is there for everyone to see. It has my stats.

Didnt see it - sorry. and not a lot of post-bacc people have the MDApp or make it easier for people by actually posting their stats in the thread.

After all, you are looking for advice - it helps if you make peoples lives easier...

But thank you DrMidLife for posting the OPs stats

My $0.02 is the verbal 7 is going to really hurt you to the point where it would be worth retaking the MCAT
 
Hi everyone,

I might become a reapplicant this cycle and was looking at a few SMP/post-bacc programs.

I narrowed it down to these so far:

Tulane
Tufts
Universty of North Texas
Drexel
Georgetown
Creighton

So far, only Tulane offer an actual MS degree which will help later on. UNT offer a Masters in Medical Science which won't help much. But these schools offer really high acceptance rates into medical schools.

So my question is...which school's program is best, has the best chance for medical school acceptance, and is best overall? I'm really confused right now and would like to get a head start on the apps before I'm too busy to do anything. Thank you.

I'm surprised you didn't consider the SMP from the University of Cincinnati. It's pretty new but it's got a good-track record if you look it up online. Also, if you stay in Ohio to do the SMP, you can officially be considered an Ohio resident when you apply to the state medical schools here (lots of in-state friendly medical schools around here).

Regardless, I definitely agree with what everyone else said about retaking the MCAT and scoring 2 points higher on the MCAT verbal. Even for SMP, the selectivety has gone up and you'd definitely need a 30+ in order to be competitive.
 
Top