SMP or Research Assistant Position?

[strivetosurvive]

Hi! I am new to this forum, so if I’m posting in the wrong place, truly my apologies. I just graduated this past May and have been pre-med but due to personal and health issues, graduated with a fairly low cGPA (3.3), and even lower sGPA (3.1), but with huge upward trend (talking nearly academic suspension to 4.0 haha). I took the MCAT unprepared and also ended up with a very low score (491). I wasn’t ready and should have voided my score, but I did not, but now have that on my record, I know I need to retake and succeed much better the next time. I plan on studying foundational topics again, doing FLs more regularly, and retaking after at least a year/several high, steady FL scores.

I have been told by the pre-med office at my undergraduate institution that my only luck for getting into medical school would be for me to do an SMP, especially with what happened with my MCAT. So, I applied to SMP’s, and heard back from one with an offer of admission, awaiting on 4 other schools. While very excited, I also heard back from a previous researcher with a surprise offer for a research assistant position at a renowned hospital/medical school affiliation. I have been published with them already, and I know that this position would also bring many more, with more patient interaction work as well. I currently lack patient interaction and shadowing in my medical school portfolio. Shadowing I was hoping to do during my gap year, and patient care interaction I was going to gain my EMT license for (I took the class, did well, just need to finish the exams).

Anyway, my parents are highly encouraging me to take the admission into grad school, and they’re very excited about it, as we all thought I wouldn’t get into any and this one came within a week of application submission. And while I’m also incredibly excited and grateful, grad school would be a huge move away from anything I know, and the research would be back where I went to undergrad. I love research, and don’t necessarily want more student debt. I wouldn’t be making a ton of money via this job, and may have to take another part time, but I enjoy academic writing/the team I would be working with/know I would get good experience and great rec letters. I’m just very torn, I didn’t expect to have to make decisions, as I knew my stats were super low/didn’t apply for any jobs, just got a surprise offer. Does anyone have any advice on which I should take? I see pros and cons to both. I’ve contemplated just doing the research job, and then applying to grad school/med school after, but wonder if I’m delaying school too much, as the position is a minimum of two years.

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[candbgirl]

Well you pretty obviously want to take the research job and that’s just fine. It may, in fact, lead you to a PhD rather than a MD/DO and that’s just fine too. Being a research assistant will do nothing for your med school application issues but it might clear your mind and help you realize you love research and want to make a career of it.
Applying to med school is tough and your application has several holes/problems. And each year only about 40% of all applicants are accepted anywhere. So that means nearly 60% of all applicants are outright rejected. I think it’s a good idea to do the research and not acquire more debt with a SMP. You have at least a year to think about it and decide if med school is your career path after all.
Good luck as you move forward.

 

[Goro]

I agree 100% with my wise colleague. OP, Right now your app is a black box and you have nothing to show that you are ready for medical school or a career in Medicine. You have several years of app building and can delay the SMP for last.

 

[strivetosurvive]

Well you pretty obviously want to take the research job and that’s just fine. It may, in fact, lead you to a PhD rather than a MD/DO and that’s just fine too. Being a research assistant will do nothing for your med school application issues but it might clear your mind and help you realize you love research and want to make a career of it.
Applying to med school is tough and your application has several holes/problems. And each year only about 40% of all applicants are accepted anywhere. So that means nearly 60% of all applicants are outright rejected. I think it’s a good idea to do the research and not acquire more debt with a SMP. You have at least a year to think about it and decide if med school is your career path after all.
Good luck as you move forward.

I’ve debated those two a lot and I still think I would prefer an MD/DO route. What do you mean that being an RA will do nothing for my med school app issues? Do you mean the GPA/MCAT part specifically or that being an RA doesn’t help at all? I was under the impression that being an RA could be helpful/more research experience was never a bad thing.

 

[strivetosurvive]

I agree 100% with my wise colleague. OP, Right now your app is a black box and you have nothing to show that you are ready for medical school or a career in Medicine. You have several years of app building and can delay the SMP for last.

I think I may ask to defer a year, but I know that the SMP is necessary so I may just end up going that route after all, just a lot to think about and schools to hear back from!

 

[candbgirl]

I’ve debated those two a lot and I still think I would prefer an MD/DO route. What do you mean that being an RA will do nothing for my med school app issues? Do you mean the GPA/MCAT part specifically or that being an RA doesn’t help at all? I was under the impression that being an RA could be helpful/more research experience was never a bad thing.

It will do nothing to fix your application. You have a sGPA of 3.1, a MCAT of 491 and we have no idea of what your expected ECs are like. In fact based on your current stats you aren’t competitive for MD and it’s debatable about DO. Research won’t help , even at a renowned hospital. Research isn’t that important unless you are applying to the research powerhouses and with your stats you won’t be(or shouldn’t be). But you already know all of this. Your school told you that you “have been told by the pre-med office at my undergraduate institution that my only luck for getting into medical school would be for me to do an SMP,”. So at some point you are going to have to do a SMP and get a GPA of 3.8+ and retake the MCAT and score really high for MD(some schools average scores). And even then there are no guarantees you will be accepted.
That’s why doing the research position this coming year might clear your mind so you can decide if you are prepared to put in the work needed to become a competitive med school applicant.

 

[gyngyn]

I plan on studying foundational topics again, doing FLs more regularly, and retaking after at least a year/several high, steady FL scores.

There are only 4 AAMC FL's.
They cannot be used effectively with this strategy.

 

[strivetosurvive]

Thanks all, appreciate the input. Not going to give up, I am prepared to put in the work, I may just take the SMP acceptance, but thank you for outlining what I need to.