Post-Bac or SMP?

[pnut]

Hi Everyone,

I could use some help re: SMP vs. Post-Bac in my particular situation:

1. Re-Applicant
2. cGPA: 3.4, sGPA: 3.2, 33mcat
3. Lots of clinical experience (volunteering and working in a medical office)
4. One summer of research

While I realize that a post-bac program will probably increase the GPA, I'm not sure if it will be enough to help me get into medical school next year when I apply. Perhaps a high SMP graduate GPA will be more beneficial, or will it be negated by the low undergrad GPA?

Thanks for your help! I've been tossing and turning over this decision for a while now

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[pnut]

Anyone?

 

[DrMidlife]

You can raise your cumulative undergrad GPA by taking more undergrad. Should you do this? Do the math to see what another year of undergrad at an achievable GPA will do to your cumulative. If this looks like what you want to do, then find a university that will let you take another year of undergrad. Examples: Harvard Extension, Berkeley Extension, UT Dallas.

And/or you can provide a demonstration of your academic capabilities that acts as a counterexample to your cumulative undergrad GPA by doing an SMP. Your GPA in this is, of course, supposed to be good, but the point of an SMP is to do the first year of med school to prove you can handle med school. Examples: Gtown, Cincinnati, EVMS.

In either case, consider that you will need to figure out whether your app is strong enough to reapply before you've completed additional coursework. You'll also want to watch the clock so your MCAT score doesn't expire.

I strongly suggest that you pick a few of the programs I've mentioned above, and read through the class threads about them, to get a better understanding of what they're for and how they work. The "low GPA" thread that has 300,000 views is also a great read.

Best of luck to you.