SMP or Gpa boost during year of application

[Necr0sis713]

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So I submitted my apps for DO schools, but during the year (is this what they call the gap year) while I await acceptance I have two options:

SMP (Georgetown and Rosalind Franklin seem likely at this point)

Or doing retakes for recalculation.

Here is my situation: my GPA is pretty crappy. 3.26 science and 3.01 cumulative for aacomas. My Gpa is stuck at 2.75 (non-aacomas; amcas) so my MD days are over. This is even after getting 3.90 on my premed post bacc which consisted of the entire premed requirements, plus anatomy and phys 1 and 2, cell bio, all A's on my first attempt. I didn't do my post bacc to retake premed courses I did poorly on.

My Gpa is so low because simply didn't take school seriously and didn't seek guidance. Had I sought academic guidance, I would have been made aware of the importance of maintaining a good Gpa, and the fact that my academic record would be with me for the rest of my life. My mentality was C's get degrees, and all I needed was a degree.

My mcat scores are released July 19 so I know that doesn't really help. In that regard, I've been averaging 512 on my full lengths and got.a 518 on aamc scored the week before, so let's just say I get a 508-510 mcat to be conservative here.

I can pretty much either do an smp or retake courses I did poorly in (liberal arts stuff and some science related to music that still count towards my science Gpa. I would even throw in biochem 1 and 2 just out of interest. Retaking courses would boost my Gpa by a good .3 or .35, and my science by .2ish during my academic update


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[mathnerd88]

So I submitted my apps for DO schools, but during the year (is this what they call the gap year) while I await acceptance I have two options:

SMP (Georgetown and Rosalind Franklin seem likely at this point)

Or doing retakes for recalculation.

Here is my situation: my GPA is pretty crappy. 3.26 science and 3.01 cumulative for aacomas. My Gpa is stuck at 2.75 (non-aacomas; amcas) so my MD days are over. This is even after getting 3.90 on my premed post bacc which consisted of the entire premed requirements, plus anatomy and phys 1 and 2, cell bio, all A's on my first attempt. I didn't do my post bacc to retake premed courses I did poorly on.

My Gpa is so low because simply didn't take school seriously and didn't seek guidance. Had I sought academic guidance, I would have been made aware of the importance of maintaining a good Gpa, and the fact that my academic record would be with me for the rest of my life. My mentality was C's get degrees, and all I needed was a degree.

My mcat scores are released July 19 so I know that doesn't really help. In that regard, I've been averaging 512 on my full lengths and got.a 518 on aamc scored the week before, so let's just say I get a 508-510 mcat to be conservative here.

I can pretty much either do an smp or retake courses I did poorly in (liberal arts stuff and some science related to music that still count towards my science Gpa. I would even throw in biochem 1 and 2 just out of interest. Retaking courses would boost my Gpa by a good .3 or .35, and my science by .2ish during my academic update


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It's hard to say without an actual MCAT score.

 

[Necr0sis713]

Let's say I got a 508-510. I studied hard as hell for 5 months and did a million full lengths and averaged 508-512 every time


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[Necr0sis713]

Hmmm. I'm starting to really think boosting my GPA would be my best bet.


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[Dr.Kitty]

Re-taking courses and applying to DO schools would be your best bet considering your MD GPA would still be relatively low and possibly cut off automatically at many schools even if you were to be amazing in your SMP (which is way more difficult than re-taking courses). SMP is a huge risk. If you don't do excellent in it, your chances of ever getting in diminish completely.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

If you have already submitted there is no reason for an SMP. If you have a strong desire to help your GPA in prep of a re-app then retake some courses this summer or fall to boost it. IMHO if you score 505+ and have a 3.9 post bac GPA then you will have no need for another cycle

 

[Necr0sis713]

If you have already submitted there is no reason for an SMP. If you have a strong desire to help your GPA in prep of a re-app then retake some courses this summer or fall to boost it. IMHO if you score 505+ and have a 3.9 post bac GPA then you will have no need for another cycle

Great. Maybe I have a better chance too since I got 3.90 on my post bacc at my first attempt at a premed curriculum. Nailed the whole sequence in one shot.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Great. Maybe I have a better chance too since I got 3.90 on my post bacc at my first attempt at a premed curriculum. Nailed the whole sequence in one shot.

Honestly if I were you I would just be patient and see how the cycle plays out. I do think you have a good chance at acceptance. No need to spend money on retakes until it becomes later in the cycle and you have no interviews. If it gets to like November and you don't have any II then maybe start to plan some retakes for the winter semester.

 

[Necr0sis713]

Honestly if I were you I would just be patient and see how the cycle plays out. I do think you have a good chance at acceptance. No need to spend money on retakes until it becomes later in the cycle and you have no interviews. If it gets to like November and you don't have any II then maybe start to plan some retakes for the winter semester.

Well what i'm doing is just retaking in the fall, and doing Biochem 1 for fun.

 

[Necr0sis713]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I applied as URM hispanic, but i'm actually half hispanic half middle eastern. I didn't see "other" on the app so I couldn't list middle eastern, and that additional section is optional anyway. No harm done here.

 

[medschoolplease123]

I find it so strange how people with low GPAs get such high MCAT scores and the high GPA students do not get as competitive scores haha. Obviously there are some exceptions but I've noticied that thread, anyone else?

 

[redhope]

I find it so strange how people with low GPAs get such high MCAT scores and the high GPA students do not get as competitive scores haha. Obviously there are some exceptions but I've noticied that thread, anyone else?

That's because some smart a** people don't give a crap in college and only put in the work when they have to. This is called being lazy. Obviously an asinine idea if you plan on having a career in medicine, but it is what it is. On the other hand, you have people with bloated GPA's getting crappy MCAT scores because quite frankly, they went to crappy undergrad's with zero rigor. Having one and not the other rarely gets you into medical school, but I'd much rather bet on a student with a 38 or 39 MCAT to pass their boards than someone with a 3.8 or 3.9 GPA.

 

[medschoolplease123]

That's because some smart a** people don't give a crap in college and only put in the work when they have to. This is called being lazy. Obviously an asinine idea if you plan on having a career in medicine, but it is what it is. On the other hand, you have people with bloated GPA's getting crappy MCAT scores because quite frankly, they went to crappy undergrad's with zero rigor. Having one and not the other rarely gets you into medical school, but I'd much rather bet on a student with a 38 or 39 MCAT to pass their boards than someone with a 3.8 or 3.9 GPA.

Yeah of course but i mean like i dont mean to put people down but you have people with 3.0 or 2.8 gpa with 515+ mcat haha. That's crazy. Oh well. But yeah good job guys, i was just pointing it out for future applicants and undergrad students.

 

[Necr0sis713]

Yeah my university is known for being really hard, so I hope admissions takes that into consideration too.


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[hallowmann]

There's no harm in strategically retaking classes to boost your GPAs. You may not need them, and you may get in this year anyways. Also, it helps to retake classes in the fall and update the app in Dec/Jan, as that might even be enough to boost you over for additional interviews or may make the difference between a waitlist spot and an acceptance.

The whole point of the SMP is to get into medical school, so if you get accepted halfway through, you'll be wasting half of your tuition for an essentially meaningless program. It also doesn't help you with this app cycle, whereas strategic retakes in the fall potentially could. The other nice thing about it is that if you have an acceptance before the spring, you don't even need to worry about taking classes in the spring. You'll probably get accepted this year either way.

 

[Necr0sis713]

There's no harm in strategically retaking classes to boost your GPAs. You may not need them, and you may get in this year anyways. Also, it helps to retake classes in the fall and update the app in Dec/Jan, as that might even be enough to boost you over for additional interviews or may make the difference between a waitlist spot and an acceptance.

The whole point of the SMP is to get into medical school, so if you get accepted halfway through, you'll be wasting half of your tuition for an essentially meaningless program. It also doesn't help you with this app cycle, whereas strategic retakes in the fall potentially could. The other nice thing about it is that if you have an acceptance before the spring, you don't even need to worry about taking classes in the spring. You'll probably get accepted this year either way.

You guys have been very optimistic and I appreciate that. All I can do is hope for the best. I'm sure if I get a good MCAT score things will be in my favor, I just dread my old academic history (immature, lack of direction, the whole cliche) and it's been weighing me down a lot. My good scores with a premed curriculum should help, and I hope to give the impression that i'm just more competent in the sciences, found my true passion so I was motivated to try hard and actually enjoyed the material, and just found my niche, because evidently I can say I am.