SMP. Poland or Apply directly?

[fuyulee]

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Hi guys!

I've been having this dilemma for a while and I still can't decide which way would be better. First, here are my stats:

College:Top 10 Liberal arts college (class of 2010)
MCAT:31
GPA: ~3.4 (for both Science and Cumulative)
International student from East Asia
Ok amount of Volunteering, Internships and Leadership positions

So what do you guys think? Should I apply for a SMP starting Fall 2011?
Try applying to med school? (I haven't tried yet)
Just give up with the US and go to a school in Easter Europe? (Poland!?)

Or should I still do something else to improve my chances for any of the above?

Thank you! Any advise would be great!!!

 

[Isoprop]

I would do a post-bacc to try to raise your GPA up to a 3.5 level. You should crunch the numbers and see how many A's you need to raise your GPA to a 3.5. I wouldn't do an SMP unless you really have to. I believe SMPs should be for applicants who would need more than 1 year to raise their GPA to a competitive level.

Try to see if you can get into an informal post-bacc for Winter/Spring 2011. Apply Summer 2011 for the entering 2012 class. Continue with your post-bacc while you are applying. If you apply early and broadly enough, I can see you getting into a US medical school.

 

[Isoprop]

Well actually SMPs tend to be people who just need the slight bump up i.e. just 1 year.

However, I do agree with you for a very different reason. SMPs are very high risk, high reward.

Actually, we're in agreement. I wasn't clear, I mean that if an applicant could raise his/her GPA to a competitive level in 1 post-bacc year, I would advice that person to do that instead of an SMP precisely because of the risk/cost of SMPs.

However, if it would take multiple years to get a GPA to a competitive level AND it were the applicant's last resort, then an SMP might be a good idea.

And I do agree that Poland is a bad idea unless OP wants to practice in Poland.

 

[fuyulee]

But isn't my 31 a little low? (also this is my second time taking the MCAT. I got a 27 the first time)

Let me see if I understood this correctly. You guys are recommending me to apply now for post-bac or one year MS starting Fall 2011 and apply to medschool summer 2011. Thus I would be doing interviews the winter of 2011 and hopefully get into medschool for the fall of 2012?

Then I would have two questions related to that:
1. Would MS programs also count as graduate level work and not bump my undergrad GPA?

2. Aren't post-bacs for people who haven't finished their requirements? I think I've finished mine already.. Plus the fact that I am not a US-citizen might make this a little harder


Last comment:
It seems like that international students have a much harder time getting into US medical schools (financing it aside). If they are not super competitive, then they don't get in. Am I just too worried? 😕

 

[fuyulee]

sorry I'm still confused. Are we talking about the Tulane ACP: Anatomy Certification Program and USF: Masters in Medical Science with a concentration in Interdisciplinary Medical Science programs?

according to this post they are real SMPs though...
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=640302

hmm...!?😕

 

[fuyulee]

so we are looking into category two from the GPA enhancement programs huh?

The good thing about these programs is they don't have the risk of an SMP. But would doing well in these programs be enough to boost me in?

 

[Isoprop]

But isn't my 31 a little low? (also this is my second time taking the MCAT. I got a 27 the first time)

No, a 31 is fine.

Let me see if I understood this correctly. You guys are recommending me to apply now for post-bac or one year MS starting Fall 2011 and apply to medschool summer 2011. Thus I would be doing interviews the winter of 2011 and hopefully get into medschool for the fall of 2012?

I would recommend doing a 1-year undergraduate post-bacc to raise your undergraduate GPA.

Then I would have two questions related to that:
1. Would MS programs also count as graduate level work and not bump my undergrad GPA?

Yes, which is why I recommend an undergrad post-bacc

2. Aren't post-bacs for people who haven't finished their requirements? I think I've finished mine already.. Plus the fact that I am not a US-citizen might make this a little harder

Not all of them. For example, I am doing an informal post-bacc at a state school and taking upper-div science classes (chem and bio). I finished my prereqs a long time ago.

Last comment:
It seems like that international students have a much harder time getting into US medical schools (financing it aside). If they are not super competitive, then they don't get in. Am I just too worried? 😕

I don't know too much about this, but it seems that private medical schools and some public medical schools will not care in terms of admissions (as long as you have a visa). A lot of public medical schools have a preference for in-state residents so you would need to be an excellent applicant to have a shot there.

This is in terms of academic requirements not financial requirements.

Again, I am not too sure about this matter.

 

[deleted248403]

i did Upenn SSP with loosely similar stats and have 2 MD acceptances and 1 DO acceptance already this cycle

Oh and forget Poland, thats a worse idea than the Carib

 

[DrMidlife]

It seems like that international students have a much harder time getting into US medical schools (financing it aside). If they are not super competitive, then they don't get in. Am I just too worried? 😕

Before you spend any more time or effort on a postbac or SMP, figure this out. Very, very few international students who are not greencarded US residents get into US MD or DO schools, and most are Canadian. GPA comeback plans that work for US citizens or permanent residents don't apply to international students.

This isn't the right forum to figure out visa questions - look for the international discussion forum.

Best of luck to you.