Post Bacc or SMP?

[Se7enYears]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello,

I have been researching for weeks about post bacc programs and SMP programs. I am still unsure which programs offers better options and if I should choose SMP program over post bacc with my current standing.

I would love to hear some advice and information about what you would do in my situation. I am the first one from my family to pursue this path and I am struggling to find the better answer to my questions.

My current uGPA: 3.13 and sGPA:2.80 and first MCAT score was 484.

I am planning to graduate in May 2017 and I am retaking the MCAT in April.
My goal by end of May would be having uGPA:3.19 sGPA: 2.92 and MCAT: 510+ but 518 is my actual goal

The schools I have been looking at are...

VA:
VCOM - Post-Bacc Pre-Med Program
VCU - Premedical Graduate Ceritifcate Program (CERT)
Eastern Virginia - Medical Master's Program (1year or 2 years)

DC:
American University - Postbacc Premedical Certificate Program
Georgetown Univeristy - SMP -MS in Physiology
George Washington University - (wasn't sure which one was better) Graduate Certificate in Anatomical and Translational Science or Post-Bacc Pre-Medicine Certificate

PA: (need to do more research)
Temple University
PCOM
Drexel
ETC

If there are other schools you can tell me I would love to know! Please give me an honest feedback! Thank you for your time.

 

[gamieg]

I recommend doing well on your MCAT and looking into SMPs/postbacs with linkages. resilience is great, but truthfully your sGPA will hurt you a lot. it'll require at least a year or two of hard science classes (read: reinvention) for schools to believe you can handle the rigorous science curriculum of med school.

before the new grade replacement policy for AACOMAS came out, I'd definitely have recommended retakes and applying broadly to DO schools if your MCAT score comes out to be 505+. now, it's hard to say between postbacs or SMPs. I'd follow @Goro's advice and retake any non-passing grades but then focus on upper division science coursework.

 

[Funny_Current]

I did VCU's CERT program for the 2015-2016 year. Just got accepted to med school in December. Program is really hard but if you put in serious work for the year and get a 3.5+ and get a 28/505 on the MCAT you get a guaranteed interview. Lots of other CERT students who had 3.5 a 4.0 are having luck too.

You should def do a program that has a reputation for emulating the difficulty of 1st year medical school, and one which has MCAT prep. what happened that you got a 484? Def don't take it again till you are scoring consistently ~510. Honestly, unless you have your heart/mind set on a higher tier medical school, you don't need to get a 518. Don't put that kind of stress on yourself. Your GPA needs work, and if you can score even a 508, that's a 24pt increase, which is huge!

I don't know how strict the CERT GPA cutoff is, but it says minimal 3.0 on the website. EVMS has a 2 year masters program, but I don't know much about it. I was accept to both EVMS sand VCU CERT and I chose VCU because of the reasons above.

Hope this was helpful. If you have anymore questions about CERT feel free to PM me and I'll give you a lot more deets. Best of luck!

Edit: grammar



Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

 

[MrFixIt]

Be sure to check both cGPA and sGPA admissions requirements. I thought I'd read VCU requires >3.0 for both. Could've been a different program though.

 

[Se7enYears]

I recommend doing well on your MCAT and looking into SMPs/postbacs with linkages. resilience is great, but truthfully your sGPA will hurt you a lot. it'll require at least a year or two of hard science classes (read: reinvention) for schools to believe you can handle the rigorous science curriculum of med school.

before the new grade replacement policy for AACOMAS came out, I'd definitely have recommended retakes and applying broadly to DO schools if your MCAT score comes out to be 505+. now, it's hard to say between postbacs or SMPs. I'd follow @Goro's advice and retake any non-passing grades but then focus on upper division science coursework.

Thank you so much for your advice! I am actually depending highly on my MCAT score in April. This is do or die moment and I do not have any more fall backs (mentality wise). I would definitely look into a lot of linkage schools, but since I have taken so many credits, I was told to look at master programs like SMP at Georgetown University. What do you think of this idea?

 

[Se7enYears]

Be sure to check both cGPA and sGPA admissions requirements. I thought I'd read VCU requires >3.0 for both. Could've been a different program though.

I did hear that they want both to be higher than 3.0 but I am hoping they would still consider how close I am and maybe my MCAT score that I want to get will change their mind. If not what other schools do you recommend?

 

[gamieg]

Thank you so much for your advice! I am actually depending highly on my MCAT score in April. This is do or die moment and I do not have any more fall backs (mentality wise). I would definitely look into a lot of linkage schools, but since I have taken so many credits, I was told to look at master programs like SMP at Georgetown University. What do you think of this idea?

yeah, it's hard to pull that GPA up with a lot of units. do you mean you have a lot of science units too?

SMPs are akin to med school auditions, and as another poster mentioned above, there are those which guarantee interviews at their med school if you maintain a certain GPA in the SMP. I believe tufts does this too, but their tuition is horrendous.

if you don't have any non-passing prereqs, go for the SMP, preferably one with a guaranteed interview above a certain GPA or linkage program (not sure if there are any that actually guarantee admission above a certain GPA.. you might have to do some intensive research and invest in a spreadsheet.

good luck on the MCAT! kill that sucker and you'll make significant headway into your journey.

 

[Se7enYears]

yeah, it's hard to pull that GPA up with a lot of units. do you mean you have a lot of science units too?

SMPs are akin to med school auditions, and as another poster mentioned above, there are those which guarantee interviews at their med school if you maintain a certain GPA in the SMP. I believe tufts does this too, but their tuition is horrendous.

if you don't have any non-passing prereqs, go for the SMP, preferably one with a guaranteed interview above a certain GPA or linkage program (not sure if there are any that actually guarantee admission above a certain GPA.. you might have to do some intensive research and invest in a spreadsheet).

good luck on the MCAT! kill that sucker and you'll make significant headway into your journey.

I am a biochemistry major so Science GPA does go up much better as I take more classes but overall GPA doesn't fluctuate as much. All of my courses are a passing grade, but its just that they aren't that high.
What do you mean spreadsheet? and also, does intensive research as in bench work, etc?

 

[gamieg]

I am a biochemistry major so Science GPA does go up much better as I take more classes but overall GPA doesn't fluctuate as much. All of my courses are a passing grade, but its just that they aren't that high.
What do you mean spreadsheet? and also, does intensive research as in bench work, etc?

oh no, I mean do some intensive research into which SMPs have linkages or guaranteed interviews if you maintain above a certain GPA and compile all that into an excel spreadsheet. it's really labor-intensive and time-consuming because you have to dig through websites for each separately or contact them directly, but I think it's worth your time.