SMP right for me?

[4AM123]

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Hi all. I am a uc berkeley pre-med majoring in philosophy and neurobiology. I have a 3.49 cGPA AND 3.34 sGPA. I got C’s in 3 prereqs and a couple B’s but I have a very strong upward trend. I have a lot of research experience and I am working on a thesis. I have a small amount of clinical experience. I think I can score a 512+ on the MCAT

I will graduate in the fall, and I was planning on taking a few upper division science classes in spring 2018 via concurrent enrollment. Hopefully I could get to a 3.53 cgpa/3.4 sgpa. In the fall of 2018 I would start working full time as a medical scribe (alongside other shadowing/volunteering commitments), and I would apply in 2019.

I’m worried this route will not be enough to get me into a medical school, considering my below-average GPA. Would it be worth forgoing the year as a medical scribe and instead doing a SMP? In that case I would probably use the spring of 2018 to study for the MCAT then do some clinical work in the summer. Doing an SMP would mean I could not take on the commitment as a medical scribe, and so my clinical experience would be much less robust. I have heard from several MD’s that scribing is valuable experience, and I would prefer not doing the SMP if I can get into medical school with my current stats, assuming I can get a 512+ on the MCAT.

Thanks

 

[UBLI-EINSTEIN]

Hi all....I think I can score a 512+ on the MCAT
....use the spring of 2018 to study for the MCAT then do some clinical work in the summer. Doing an SMP would mean I could not take on the commitment as a medical scribe, and so my clinical experience would be much less robust. I have heard from several MD’s that scribing is valuable experience, and I would prefer not doing the SMP if I can get into medical school with my current stats, assuming I can get a 512+ on the MCAT.
Thanks

Plz get your MCAT score first and then start to talk about the rest of stuffffffff.

 

[workaholic181]

Hi all. I am a uc berkeley pre-med majoring in philosophy and neurobiology. I have a 3.49 cGPA AND 3.34 sGPA. I got C’s in 3 prereqs and a couple B’s but I have a very strong upward trend. I have a lot of research experience and I am working on a thesis. I have a small amount of clinical experience. I think I can score a 512+ on the MCAT

I will graduate in the fall, and I was planning on taking a few upper division science classes in spring 2018 via concurrent enrollment. Hopefully I could get to a 3.53 cgpa/3.4 sgpa. In the fall of 2018 I would start working full time as a medical scribe (alongside other shadowing/volunteering commitments), and I would apply in 2019.

I’m worried this route will not be enough to get me into a medical school, considering my below-average GPA. Would it be worth forgoing the year as a medical scribe and instead doing a SMP? In that case I would probably use the spring of 2018 to study for the MCAT then do some clinical work in the summer. Doing an SMP would mean I could not take on the commitment as a medical scribe, and so my clinical experience would be much less robust. I have heard from several MD’s that scribing is valuable experience, and I would prefer not doing the SMP if I can get into medical school with my current stats, assuming I can get a 512+ on the MCAT.

Thanks

You could definitely get into DO schools with your current stats and a strong MCAT, and depending on the rest of your app it's not impossible for MD schools to be in play IF you get the MCAT score you think you can.

SMPs are great for app enhancement but also really, really risky. Assuming you can get around a 512, I'm not sure it would be worth the risk let alone the costs; if you performed badly in your SMP for any reason (sickness, family emergency) you would pretty much doom your chances going forward. You have a shot as is, just finish strong and kill the MCAT.