Post Bacc, SMP, MCAT?

[Godolphins1992]

Hi,
I have a 3.15 GPA and a 503 MCAT (~27 old score) and am applying to school now. I plan on applying to a large amount of medical schools (MD and DO), but am mainly focusing on getting into a Post Bacc or SMP school. I have a few general questions:

1. Should I take the MCAT a second time?
2. What are the differences between a Post Bacc and an SMP?
3. What are my chances of getting into any medical school? a decent Post Bacc program?
4. What can you do with a completed Post Bacc degree if you don't get into medical school?

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[Goro]

I can't sugar coat this, but unless you live in a lucky state (like KS or LA), or are a veteran or URM, or have some killer ECs or a compelling life story, you're not getting into MD schools with those stats.

You're fine for many, but not all DO schools. You'd be rejected at mine, and CCOM, for example.

So what do you want to do? If MD, then yes, you need to retake the MCAT and ace it (> 510)


1. Should I take the MCAT a second time?

An SMP is a post-bac, but not all post-bacs are SMPs. the latter are programs that mimic med school curricula and are essentially auditions for med school. A post-bac is any program that is for either career-changers (giving you the pre-rec coursework) or for GPA repair. These can be an extant program, or DIY.

2. What are the differences between a Post Bacc and an SMP?

See above. The median GPA for med school acceptees is 3.7 and for MCAT it's 31 on the old scale. For DO it's ~3.4-3.5 and ~26+
3. What are my chances of getting into any medical school?


Chances are fine. These programs are a dime-a-dozen.
a decent Post Bacc program?

Go to grad school and get an MS, then consider a career in Biology (lab or clinical tech; research ass't etc., or perhaps teaching.
4. What can you do with a completed Post Bacc degree if you don't get into medical school?[/QUOTE]

 

[Godolphins1992]

I can't sugar coat this, but unless you live in a lucky state (like KS or LA), or are a veteran or URM, or have some killer ECs or a compelling life story, you're not getting into MD schools with those stats.

You're fine for many, but not all DO schools. You'd be rejected at mine, and CCOM, for example.

So what do you want to do? If MD, then yes, you need to retake the MCAT and ace it (> 510)


1. Should I take the MCAT a second time?

An SMP is a post-bac, but not all post-bacs are SMPs. the latter are programs that mimic med school curricula and are essentially auditions for med school. A post-bac is any program that is for either career-changers (giving you the pre-rec coursework) or for GPA repair. These can be an extant program, or DIY.

2. What are the differences between a Post Bacc and an SMP?

See above. The median GPA for med school acceptees is 3.7 and for MCAT it's 31 on the old scale. For DO it's ~3.4-3.5 and ~26+
3. What are my chances of getting into any medical school?


Chances are fine. These programs are a dime-a-dozen.
a decent Post Bacc program?

Go to grad school and get an MS, then consider a career in Biology (lab or clinical tech; research ass't etc., or perhaps teaching.
4. What can you do with a completed Post Bacc degree if you don't get into medical school?

[/QUOTE]





So if I'm applying to get into a DO school, would you recommend taking the MCAT again to compensate for the low GPA or should I apply as-is so I don't get a lower score?

 

[Goro]

Here's a list of DO schools (kindly provided by user3) and their median GPAs and MCAT scores. I do not think that you will have much luck with the ones in bold. My own school may or may not be on this list. Your MCAT is fine; you'll be better off simply retaking any F/D/C science coursework.


Touro-Ca: 3.49/3.42/30.4
Touro-NY: ~3.4/30.8
CCOM: 3.59/3.53/29.5
AZCOM: 3.48/3.44/29
DMU: 3.63/3.57/28.3
RVU: 3.63/3.59/28.11
UNTHSC-TCOM: 3.60/3.49/28
NYITCOM: 3.6/28 (2013)
MSU: 3.59/28
COMP: 3.58/3.56/28
UNECOM: 3.55/28
RowanSOM: 3.54/3.48/28
LECOM-B: 3.53/3.45/28
Touro-NV: 3.5/3.4/28
NSU: 3.49/3.40/28 (2013)
KCUMB: 3.63/3.6/27.6
OU-HCOM: 3.64/3.58/27.37
MU-COM: 3.62/3.56/27.33
CUSOM: 3.6/3.5/27
KCOM: 3.59/3.51/27
PCOM: 3.5/3.5/27 (?)
LECOM-E/SH: 3.48/3.35/27 (2013)
SOMA: 3.45/3.34/27
PCOM-Ga: 3.4/3.5/27 (?)
PNWU: 3.45/3.36/26.84
COMP-NW: 3.63/3.58/26.28
OSU-COM: 3.66/26
WCU: 3.5/3.4/26 (2013)
ACOM: 3.4/26 (2013)
VCOM (all): 3.6/3.5/25.36
LMU: 3.43/3.35/25-26
WVSOM: 3.4/3.4/25 (2013)
KYCOM: 3.50/3.41/24.6
LUCOM: 3.4/24
Burrell COM: ?







So if I'm applying to get into a DO school, would you recommend taking the MCAT again to compensate for the low GPA or should I apply as-is so I don't get a lower score?[/QUOTE]

 

[GreenDuck12]

So if I'm applying to get into a DO school, would you recommend taking the MCAT again to compensate for the low GPA or should I apply as-is so I don't get a lower score?[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]


Your stats are below the average for all of the schools on the list. The thing with averages is that some students who have stats below the average get in and some students with stats above the average get in. Medical school admissions are difficult enough to predict even for someone applying to schools with above average stats. No one can tell you one way or the other what you should do

The better question for you might be to evaluate your own profile i.e. why your GPA is a 3.15, and why you scored a 503. For the GPA, is it because of a couple challenging classes with low grades, or are a majority of your grades in the B range? Was one section of the MCAT weak, or are there multiple areas. Ultimately, you have to decide what you are willing to do to give yourself the best chance at pursuing medicine.