Should I do an SMP? Please help

[doctorbob23]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey guys

I am in the process of putting in an application this application cycle and Im really half and half on whether I should do an SMP or not.

My school just opened one up and its only 6 classes next to the med students (my top choice) and they promise an interview if you finish with a 3.7 gpa.

My stats are

MD
cGPA: 3.08
sGPA: 3.3

DO (With grade replacement)
cGPA: 3.7
sGPA: 3.9

MCAT: 514 (Balanced)

I have 2 years experience in my current employment as a nurse in a cardio unit and have extensive shadowing and volunteer like 2 years of science tutoring and a year of playing guitar for my local nursing home.
BTW the low md gpa is for a few semesters freshman year with no direction and leaving the university and not dropping (got like 10 F's in my first few semesters). But my last 2 years after transferring back is a straight 4.0 (includes pre-reqs/upper level sciences)

I know for DO i am competitive but do you think an SMP is worth it for a shot at an MD or should i just bite the bullet and apply broadly everywhere. Do you think my application shows that I am ready for medical school or will an SMP be required to show them without a doubt?

Would appreciate any guidance and thank you so much.

 

[Goro]

I agree with my learned colleague 100%. Your fastest path to being a doctor is to go DO. But if you're boning for that MD, then acing an SMP is needed. There are MD schools that reward reinvention.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Without knowing that GPA info, we're pretty limited in what we can say. My guess is if your DO GPA is 3.7/3.9 and MD 3.1/3.3 you likely have a number of C's and lower that were retaken to A's(that MD schools averaged out to B's) In other words, you dont have alot of classes where you got A's on your first attempt even in your last two years. What state you are a resident of is also relevant: I would approach this differently if I were a resident of say Kentucky vs CA.

That MCAT score is strong at 91st percentile. The biggest questions you have to ask are a) Financially are you willing to bite the SMP cost b) Do you think you have what it takes to do well in an SMP? If you've only gotten A's in college on retakes, the answer might not be yes.

All I can give you is my opinion and how I would approach this. If you cant answer yes to the two questions above, the solution here is easy, no SMP. But if you can answer yes rather confidently, if I were in your shoes, yes I would definitely give consideration to an SMP, so I dont necessairly entirely agree with the sentiment above. I do think a strong SMP showing can change your MD outlook significantly and if the answer to the two questions above is a clear yes is worth giving real consideration to. To me personally, I could certainly potentially seeing it being a well worthwhile endeavor. However, this is entirely just one persons perspective, one with alot less experience than gonnif. If you do want to consider the SMP route, you have alot to think about before deciding if its the right call. And like I said the info about your grades the last 2 years matters; as an ex if you literally havent gotten a single A on your first attempt in a science class before my answer would change here.

 

[doctorbob23]

Thank you for your quick replies. My last 2 years includes about half of my retakes (I weaved 1 in there every semester while taking my pre-reqs). My pre-reqs including biochem and other upper division were A's. As far as trends it was 2 years of non-related courses like criminal justice and random science courses (That brought down my cumulative science to 3.3) and not even showing up and getting F's. Then an abrupt 4.0 change the last 2 years that has my pre-reqs.

I actually have only like 1 C my freshman year in a random nonscience course that i didn't even put effort. Its literally A or F's for me. And the F's were due to not dropping classes when i didn't show up freshman year.

My school awards a certificate after 1 year that has upper division courses very similar to their medschool courses FIU HWCOM. Do you think the particular med school will consider my application more favorably because I'm taking their post-bac? (I plan to take the post bac while applying this year). Or do you think I won't stand a chance until I complete the full year?

Also do you think where you do post-bac work matters? FIU just opened up this program but its done by its own medical school. Or do I have a better shot with those traditional SMP's. Im pretty confident ill do well in either (I'm comfortable in the sciences).

Thank you guys for all your insights. Its very appreciated.

 

[doctorbob23]

Traditional SMP? They havent been around long enough to warrant the term

Lol.. well yes.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Also do you think where you do post-bac work matters? .

The reputation and track record of an SMP at getting people into US MD schools certainly matters. Some schools are even confident enough in their program they actually let you account for how every one of their students did. Here's an example

Note they start out with 32 every year. You can count the number that dropped out by how many didnt gradaute
https://med.uc.edu/msinphysiology/alumni/meet-the-class-of-2015

A story from someone on here highlights all of this. There was a guy on here 2-3 years ago who did an SMP program, did well but had a sub 3.0 uGPA with a 38+ MCAT score. They ended up getting into 5 MD schools but there were several programs that rejected him and when he called to ask why they basically said they didnt know the SMP program he did was an SMP and thought it was an ordinary masters. Most said all decisions were final but there was actually one school legimitately even willing to reconsider his application and when they did ended up interviewing and accepting him after previously rejecting him. While just an anecdote, it highlights the importance of going to a reputable well known SMP(and this SMP was one Id heard of and has been around even).

 

[P0ke]

Traditional SMP? They havent been around long enough to warrant the term

Georgetown's SMP has been around since 1975. I'd say 40+ years is long enough to be considered "traditional".
https://smp.georgetown.edu

 

[EventualMD]

I did part of an SMP and didn't do too hot and can't really reasonably become a doctor anymore without racking up huge debt or taking on huge risks. Fortunately I had other interests and probably shouldn't have pursued medicine anyways. I would recommend anyone avoid doing an SMP unless they're really not competitive for anything, including DO, without it.

I honestly think a lot of pro-SMP posts here are written by people with an interest in promoting the idea. I think the benefit is very small for most people. A lot of people I spoke to who do admissions didn't even know what an SMP was. A quick look at my former classmates in an SMP, well after it was over, reveals very few people actually in med school currently. SMPs also include DO and Caribbean in their admission statistics so it's pretty cloudy with regards to how much it's worth. Finally, a lot of people do the SMP who were already competitive because they have nothing to do for a year and want a head start. Remember, correlation =/= causation.

I'm not saying it won't benefit you but I am saying that I don't think it's worth it for the vast, vast majority of people given the price tag, risks, and perceived importance by admissions committees.

 

[P0ke]

Most true SMP's accept a good number of students into their own MD program. I was fairly pissed off when some schools stated that my graduate GPA was lower than those other students. They don't know the difference between true SMP's (taking classes with and being graded against MD students), pseudo-SMP's (taking graduate school courses that "prepare" you for med school) and regular masters programs. There really needs to be some sort of master list so that med schools know not to compare apples to apples between different graduate programs.

I did part of an SMP and didn't do too hot and can't really reasonably become a doctor anymore without racking up huge debt or taking on huge risks. Fortunately I had other interests and probably shouldn't have pursued medicine anyways. I would recommend anyone avoid doing an SMP unless they're really not competitive for anything, including DO, without it.

I honestly think a lot of pro-SMP posts here are written by people with an interest in promoting the idea. I think the benefit is very small for most people. A lot of people I spoke to who do admissions didn't even know what an SMP was. A quick look at my former classmates in an SMP, well after it was over, reveals very few people actually in med school currently. SMPs also include DO and Caribbean in their admission statistics so it's pretty cloudy with regards to how much it's worth. Finally, a lot of people do the SMP who were already competitive because they have nothing to do for a year and want a head start. Remember, correlation =/= causation.

I'm not saying it won't benefit you but I am saying that I don't think it's worth it for the vast, vast majority of people given the price tag, risks, and perceived importance by admissions committees.