SMP: gateway to MD or just wasted time to DO

[mhabibul]

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I have been trying to figure out something but have found alot of conflicting information. I am leaning towards applying to a SMP program (Stats: cGPA: 3.37 sGPA: 3.01 MCAT: 28Q). With the hopes of attending an allopathic medical school. But I keeping reading some discouraging posts that many SMP grads just end up going to DO school. If thats the case then I am pretty sure I can get into a DO school with numbers I have now.

I would like to know what else you have to do in order to get into an allopathic school after taking a SMP?

I don't mind going to DO school, but seems like a waste to take another year for an SMP for no reason.

 

[Looking Glass]

I have been trying to figure out something but have found alot of conflicting information. I am leaning towards applying to a SMP program (Stats: cGPA: 3.37 sGPA: 3.01 MCAT: 28Q). With the hopes of attending an allopathic medical school. But I keeping reading some discouraging posts that many SMP grads just end up going to DO school. If thats the case then I am pretty sure I can get into a DO school with numbers I have now.

I would like to know what else you have to do in order to get into an allopathic school after taking a SMP?

I don't mind going to DO school, but seems like a waste to take another year for an SMP for no reason.

I would really recommend that you retake your MCATs and score above a 30 (preferrably a 35+) if you are aiming for an MD acceptance. A high MCAT score will open a lot of doors. You're right in that an SMP can help people who have low 3.0 undergraduate GPAs get into an allopathic medical school, but those people have phenomenal MCAT scores, lots of clinical and volunteering experience, and very interesting extracurrcular activities, and did really well in the SMP.

There's nothing wrong with going to a DO school, lots of people in an SMP end up deciding on going into osteopathic medicine or change their minds and apply while in the program rather than taking another "glide year." That being said, if you've taken the MCAT 3x and can't raise your score beyond a 30, I think it might be best if apply to a DO school and an SMP and decide whether or not you want to take a DO acceptance or if you want to keep pursuing the allopathic option by doing an SMP and taking an extra year off. Just be aware that with your current GPA and MCAT, you will need to do absolutely phenomenal while in an SMP program in order to have a shot at an allopthic acceptance.

 

[mhabibul]

Thank you for the reply, looking glass. I don't mind going to DO school and have already submitted my application for them. Its just I am already taking a year off and would like to know if a retake of the MCAT and taking a SMP will be worth it to get into allopathic school or just more wasted time.

 

[AnthroMD]

mhabibul, I am right there with you (cGPA 3.35, sGPA 3.1, MCAT Jan2010). I am also wondering whether the high risk nature of SMPs is worth the time and $$ committment. Although from what I have researched, if you do get into an SMP and do exceptionally well there the school might extend you an interview invite, depending on where you do your SMP of course. Other schools just state x% of students eventually get into medical school.

Thank you for the reply, looking glass. I don't mind going to DO school and have already submitted my application for them. Its just I am already taking a year off and would like to know if a retake of the MCAT and taking a SMP will be worth it to get into allopathic school or just more wasted time.

 

[Looking Glass]

It's really your own decision as to whether you should do an SMP and try to get into an allopathic medical school or if you should just go DO. Many people with low scores (near 3.0 GPA) get into the schools that have the SMP but you're right, they had really high MCATs and did phenomenally well in the program. It really depends on how committed you are towards improving your application. Are you willing to retake the MCAT and score a 30+? Are you willing to spend 1-2 years in addition to the SMP in order to get in? Are you willing to study 40-60 hrs per week while in the program in order to honor your courses? If not, then apply and see if you can get into a DO program.

 

[Andres Ponce]

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[mhabibul]

Thank you all for replying to my post. So far what I have gathered is that I should retake the MCAT and try to get a 30+ score. And use the SMP to help boost my GPA and hopefully I will get into an allopathic school.

Keep the advice coming guys, the more information the better 🙂

 

[flip26]

SMP is a last resort, only to be done when you have done everything else you can to strengthen your GPA and MCAT.

As such, it is also a high risk / high return proposition. Do well in an SMP and it will open doors, but do badly, and pretty much all chances at med school will be crushed forever.

 

[Looking Glass]

I would really recommend that you retake your MCATs and score above a 30 (preferrably a 35+) if you are aiming for an MD acceptance. A high MCAT score will open a lot of doors. You're right in that an SMP can help people who have low 3.0 undergraduate GPAs get into an allopathic medical school, but those people have phenomenal MCAT scores, lots of clinical and volunteering experience, and very interesting extracurrcular activities, and did really well in the SMP.

I hate it when people say you should get a 35+ on the MCAT. That is just ridiculous advice. Considering only like 5% of the people that take the MCAT get that high of score, I would just aim for a 30 (which is about average for med schools across the country.) I think you could do an SMP and get into medical school but look for one that has a good matriculation ratio. I know for a fact EVMS doesnt even have a glide year and 20 out of the 23 people that were in the SMP got into a medical school the following year. Most of which got into EVMS. Good luck to all... and dont kill yourself over the MCAT you only need a couple more points to be competitive.

It's not a "hard" requirement to get a 35+ on the MCAT in order to get into an allopathic medical school. I'm suggesting this because based on the AAMC data, those who have the mhabibul's GPA (low 3.0-3.3) and scored 35 or higher MCAT stand a significantly better chance of being accepted to an allopathic medical school than those who scored at or below 30. Can you get into an MD school with a 32-34, definitely. I know many people in my SMP who've done that. In any case, regardless of whether or not you do an SMP, your MCAT will still need to be above average for the medical school to which your applying to because of your low GPA.

 

[Looking Glass]

Thank you all for replying to my post. So far what I have gathered is that I should retake the MCAT and try to get a 30+ score. And use the SMP to help boost my GPA and hopefully I will get into an allopathic school.

Keep the advice coming guys, the more information the better 🙂



Yeah no problem. If you feel like you can do better on the MCAT and score 30+ the next time, study for it over the next few months and retake it again in January. Hopefully, by then you'll have a few DO acceptance in hand and that'll take the pressure off your hands (you'd be amazed by how much you can improve once you know your future is set). If you do well on it, and want to try to get into an allopathic medical school, apply and do an SMP.

Just one more suggestion: if you do plan on doing an SMP, study your butt off. Spend 40-50 hours per week studying and reviewing the material. It is not easy, but for those who do well on it, it's defnitely possible to get into an MD medical school if you excel in it.

 

[Perrotfish]

Advice:

First and foremost: IF you have a DO acceptance in hand then go DO. It's the same thing as MD and you might not get another chance if you wait. Bird in the hand, especially when there's only one bird in the bush anyway.

Also: How 'high risk' an SMP is depends on the SMP. Research the program's record carefuly. Quite a few programs get up 80+% of their students into medical within two years. That really isn't much of a risk. Other programs get only 20% of their students into medical school. In that case you need to seriously consider if you wouldn't be better off just retaking some courses at the Ugrad level or even going Caribben

Then: Retaking the MCAT is a good idea only if you actually are scoring that at least a 32 consistently on practice tests. A bad performance could really, really hurt you here.

Next: This is my just opinion and others have disagreed with me, but I don't think you should spend a year or two trying to improve you application before you even apply to an SMP. I don't think it will help your post SMP application that much and I do think that the longer you wait the more you run the risk of life intervening and keeping you from ever getting to medical school at all . Apply to those high success rate SMPs starting now, and reapply every year of improving your application until you get in. Honestly if you apply broadly you'll probably get in somewhere on the first try if you have an even halfway decent app. And once you get into an SMP your performance in the program is going to overshadow everything else on your record to the point where your Ugrad grades are almost irrelevant, so it really doesn't matter if you have a 3.0 or a 3.4 ugrad GPA.

Finally: If you go the SMP route, plan on doing nothing but that with your life until you're done. Lots and lots of study hours.

 

[HurricaneSeal]

Personally the SMP has not been a waste of time for me at all! I am done with the first year of our SMP (the year of tons of classes) and am currently doing research for the second year while applying for the first time. Granted, since I haven't applied before, I don't have a perfect baseline of what would have happened to me without the SMP.

Regardless, I have already received acceptances to both osteopathic and allopathic medical schools and have several allopathic interviews coming up. During the interviews I have already been on, most of my interviewers made a point to comment on how I had "proven myself" and "shown that I definitely have the credentials" from my grades last year, even though I had a very poor showing in freshman year of college.

So bottom line- it's possible, but you have to work hard! (As other people have said).