Should I even do an SMP?

[HopefulandScared]

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So currently I am a post bacc student who got a lot of c's and c+'s in my prerequisites probably around 5. I am taking a year of classes around 40 units and I should have about a science gpa of 3.4 by summer of 2016. I am planning on taking the mcat in January so if I wanted to apply early to medical schools I can. I'm averaging around the 85th percentile hoping to take that up to a 90-95th percentile. So if by the cycle I have a sgpa of 3.4, a cgpa of 3.6, MCAT of 90th percentile, and a post bacc gpa showing an upward trend and a gpa of 3.8 should I apply to medical schools or should I wait to complete an SMP and then apply to medical schools. I want to go to an MD school.

I am not a URM but am a disadvantaged student and a GA resident. I went to a top 20 private university and graduated with honors in psychology. I have great EC's, tons of shadowing, clinical experience, research, and both clinical and no clinical volunteering hours.

Thanks for your help.

 

[papi21]

Just do it honestly. Its not going to hurt and if you didnt, you will regret it.

So currently I am a post bacc student who got a lot of c's and c+'s in my prerequisites probably around 5. I am taking a year of classes around 40 units and I should have about a science gpa of 3.4 by summer of 2016. I am planning on taking the mcat in January so if I wanted to apply early to medical schools I can. I'm averaging around the 85th percentile hoping to take that up to a 90-95th percentile. So if by the cycle I have a sgpa of 3.4, a cgpa of 3.6, MCAT of 90th percentile, and a post bacc gpa showing an upward trend and a gpa of 3.8 should I apply to medical schools or should I wait to complete an SMP and then apply to medical schools. I want to go to an MD school.

I am not a URM but am a disadvantaged student and a GA resident. I went to a top 20 private university and graduated with honors in psychology. I have great EC's, tons of shadowing, clinical experience, research, and both clinical and no clinical volunteering hours.

Thanks for your help.

 

[ZedsDed]

Just do it honestly. Its not going to hurt and if you didnt, you will regret it.

Caution before diving into an SMP is smart. If OP underperformes in an SMP she will be dead in the water. I have a feeling she might regret that more.

OP, with a 3.4/3.6 and a 3.8 postbacc I don't think you need an SMP. Though I suppose it wouldn't be absurd on its face to do an SMP, provided you kill it.

You're thinking about the MCAT all wrong. Whether or not you do well on the MCAT decides whether or not you go to med school. A poor MCAT score is not remediated by a strong performance in an SMP.

 

[deleted248403]

Just do it honestly. Its not going to hurt and if you didnt, you will regret it.

this is terrible advice.

See Zeds post for why

 

[Akech]

Caution before diving into an SMP is smart. If OP underperformes in an SMP she will be dead in the water. I have a feeling she might regret that more.

OP, with a 3.4/3.6 and a 3.8 postbacc I don't think you need an SMP. Though I suppose it wouldn't be absurd on its face to do an SMP, provided you kill it.

You're thinking about the MCAT all wrong. Whether or not you do well on the MCAT decides whether or not you go to med school. A poor MCAT score is not remediated by a strong performance in an SMP.

I think it might be a little absurd for OP to do an SMP, considering the risks and costs involved. OP your GPA is high enough that, contingent on a decent MCAT score, you have a good shot at low/mid tier MD schools. The post-bacc contributing to your upwards trend only helps more. Since you seem to have all of the 'required' EC's in place, if you really want to take another year before applying to medical school, I recommend continuing research and chasing a first/second authorship on a publication. You can work full time at a lab, or pursue a Master's program for graduate level research and teaching experience. This will not only help you get into medical school, but greatly aid you in applying to residency programs as well.

 

[deleted248403]

I think it might be a little absurd for OP to do an SMP, considering the risks and costs involved. OP your GPA is high enough that, contingent on a decent MCAT score, you have a good shot at low/mid tier MD schools. The post-bacc contributing to your upwards trend only helps more. Since you seem to have all of the 'required' EC's in place, if you really want to take another year before applying to medical school, I recommend continuing research and chasing a first/second authorship on a publication. You can work full time at a lab, or pursue a Master's program for graduate level research and teaching experience. This will not only help you get into medical school, but greatly aid you in applying to residency programs as well.

As someone who just went through the match, I would say 95% of residency specialties won't care if you have a masters. Especially one thats an SMP.

If you are going to say a research-heavy residency and you did a PhD - then that's diff. But a SMP is a pretty useless degree for the most part.

 

[darkeon]

Hellz to the no (to the SMP)

 

[Akech]

As someone who just went through the match, I would say 95% of residency specialties won't care if you have a masters. Especially one thats an SMP.

If you are going to say a research-heavy residency and you did a PhD - then that's diff. But a SMP is a pretty useless degree for the most part.

I agree with you on the Master's. I was more emphasizing the importance of doing grad-level research and getting your name on a pub. But yeah, SMP's are for getting you into med school; the degree itself is worthless.