Question about SMPs

[FSUUndergrad]

I read on the Georgetown website that students taking their SMP would be taking first year courses with med students and would have a better chance to get into med schools based on their scores that year. Does that mean that once they do get into med school they have to retake those courses or do they start as second year med students?

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[spicedmanna]

I read on the Georgetown website that students taking their SMP would be taking first year courses with med students and would have a better chance to get into med schools based on their scores that year. Does that mean that once they do get into med school they have to retake those courses or do they start as second year med students?

From my recollection and general impression, most schools will require that you retake most, if not all, of these courses; you do not usually get to bypass MS1. However, since you've already taken them, they'll be just that much more manageable when you retake them as an MS1.

 

[TheGalvaniFrog]

For some med schools you can place out of certain classes if they deem the curriculum to be a match, but you still have to be there for 4 years and pay the full tuition. Georgetown has a discipline based curriculum, where subjects such as embryo, histology, physiology are taught separately. If other schools have their classes organized in similar way, you may get some classes exempted.

 

[FSUUndergrad]

Also, what kind of conditions would a med school accept you with? Would you be waitlisted until they recieve your SMP scores or will being in an SMP be good enough for them to accept you?

 

[spicedmanna]

Also, what kind of conditions would a med school accept you with? Would you be waitlisted until they recieve your SMP scores or will being in an SMP be good enough for them to accept you?

Well, I don't know if anyone can say. It depends on the rest of your application, and schools will consider everything together when deciding to interview and accept. Your SMP is just another facet of your entire package, which includes your UGPA, your MCAT, your EC's, your LOR's, your essays, your interview, etc. In other words, it's not by any means an automatic in by itself, but only another one of the many means by which you can distinguish yourself and hopefully put yourself over the top for an interview and then an admission. I'm sure you'd want to apply after getting some grades in from the SMP, however, since your grades will help the adcoms decide your suitability for medical school; it is one of the means by which they can compare you, since you are taking some actual first-year classes and graded on the same curve as the medical students. If you are not that strong after the interview, they may wait for the rest of your grades to come in. Who knows for sure?

 

[tacrum43]

Also, what kind of conditions would a med school accept you with? Would you be waitlisted until they recieve your SMP scores or will being in an SMP be good enough for them to accept you?

You should try asking this in the post-bacc forum for a better response. However, I've been through Georgetown's SMP, so I'll try to can answer the questions you've asked so far.

For most schools, you do have to retake the courses you take in the SMP. If you go to Georgetown med the next year, you do not have to take them again because you've already done well in those exact same classes. I know that GW gives credit for the histology class, and maybe a few others give credit for one or two classes, but most schools don't.

Some people (a few) were accepted to schools early in the year, before any of their SMP grades came out. For others, their interviews/acceptances did not come until after they had received grades for the first semester. Note that Georgetown med does not start to interview SMP students until after they have completed the physiology course, in the second semester. I think a lot of people were put on waitlists after their interviews (including some at Georgetown med), but a good number of those were eventually accepted to a school somewhere.

Hope that helps.

 

[relentless11]

I read on the Georgetown website that students taking their SMP would be taking first year courses with med students and would have a better chance to get into med schools based on their scores that year. Does that mean that once they do get into med school they have to retake those courses or do they start as second year med students?

Most schools that I've talked to say they will deal with it on a case-by-case basis. As someone stated, they'll look to see if the material is comparable or not. Chances are, you will end up retaking the class, or serving as a TA for the class. I've taken many of the 2nd year med school curriculum here at UC Davis (general path, systemic path, pharmacology), and all the school's i've talked to only said they'll view it on a case-by-case basis.

I do now that you DON'T start as a second year med student because there are MANY other things in addition to just "biochem, molecular bio, physiology, anatomy, etc" in the first year. There's usually some doctoring class, and most schools will probably have some kind of patient contact during the first year anyway. Therefore you will have to take doctoring, and all that other stuff as a first year anyway.

Also, what kind of conditions would a med school accept you with? Would you be waitlisted until they recieve your SMP scores or will being in an SMP be good enough for them to accept you?

Depends on the school. Short of having some kind of admissions agreement, SMP grades will be dealt the same way as a graduate program (ie: your SMP GPA is reported on AMCAS in your graduate GPA). There isn't any magical admission to a school if you complete an SMP. An SMP is what it is, a "Special Masters Program" for taking med school classes to making you a BETTER APPLICANT. Not as a short cut for getting into medical school.

Although the Georgetown SMP does have the prestige, it is ultimately up to the med school you are applying to decide if your work is worthy of an admission. Grades are usually what gets your foot into the door, and the interview gets you into med school.