SMP vs Masters with 3.4/29

[Heymecalvy]

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Hey guys,

So I'm in a bit of a weird position. I'm applying mostly DO and also some in-state (NY) MD this cycle, but it's already Feb and no interviews so I'm losing faith and starting to plan out next year in the event that this cycle doesn't end well.

I took the MCAT twice and hit 29 exactly, same split both times, 9 verb, 10/10. My undergrad cGPA is a 3.39, with sGPA 3.14.
3 years of full-time research work with publications and shadowing and decent LORs.

I know that I am very interested in medical informatics, and want to be ahead of the wave of technology as it begins to transform healthcare. I also know that it would be nice to be accepted into medical school. Hence, SMP vs Masters in health informatics.

I know SMP is obviously a much stronger feeder into a med school, and I have a few options I'm looking into. But the idea of spending the time and money to get a bogus degree feels like a huge waste of time to me when I could be spending the time and money pursuing something that I'm actually really interested in and might be a career decision for me.
I know Masters programs don't really mean much to med schools as far as GPA boosting goes, since they are so variable.
I also know from the rejections I've gotten that my sGPA is the problem.

So my decision is: do I go for something that is less meaningful but possibly more promising (and SMP's are more promising, right?) for getting me into med school, or do I pursue something I'm actually interested in and may have a much weaker effect on my application?

 

[miszfifi820]

Hey guys,

But the idea of spending the time and money to get a bogus degree feels like a huge waste of time to me when I could be spending the time and money pursuing something that I'm actually really interested in and might be a career decision for me.
I know Masters programs don't really mean much to med schools as far as GPA boosting goes, since they are so variable.

First, i think you need to figure out your career goal, because an SMP is in no way useless if your end goal is med school, while a masters program (if its not formatted to get you into med school) is completely useless for the purpose of med school admissions.

However like you mentioned, if you decide to not go towards the path to med school, then an SMP would be useless.
So, my suggestion is figure out if med school is part of your career decision, if so SMP definitely.

Also, like you said, your sGPA is the problem, not as much your cGPA for DO, so a SMP would work wonders for your science gpa, which is where you need to focus on the most, esp with grade replacement.

just my $0.02

 

[Catalystik]

Hey guys,

So I'm in a bit of a weird position. I'm applying mostly DO and also some in-state (NY) MD this cycle, but it's already Feb and no interviews so I'm losing faith and starting to plan out next year in the event that this cycle doesn't end well.

I took the MCAT twice and hit 29 exactly, same split both times, 9 verb, 10/10. My undergrad cGPA is a 3.39, with sGPA 3.14.
3 years of full-time research work with publications and shadowing and decent LORs.

I know that I am very interested in medical informatics, and want to be ahead of the wave of technology as it begins to transform healthcare. I also know that it would be nice to be accepted into medical school. Hence, SMP vs Masters in health informatics.

I know SMP is obviously a much stronger feeder into a med school, and I have a few options I'm looking into. But the idea of spending the time and money to get a bogus degree feels like a huge waste of time to me when I could be spending the time and money pursuing something that I'm actually really interested in and might be a career decision for me.
I know Masters programs don't really mean much to med schools as far as GPA boosting goes, since they are so variable.
I also know from the rejections I've gotten that my sGPA is the problem.

So my decision is: do I go for something that is less meaningful but possibly more promising (and SMP's are more promising, right?) for getting me into med school, or do I pursue something I'm actually interested in and may have a much weaker effect on my application?

For DO schools, you'd be better off financially taking advantage of their grade replacement policy to raise your sGPA. They only count the most recent grade in your application GPA calculations if the credits are the same or better when you repeat a class (ideally, getting an A the second time around). Retakes needn't be at the same school, community college classes are fine. Course title doesn't have to be identical but course content in the catalogs needs to be substantially similar.

Further, if you are repairing your GPA during the cycle and send new transcripts to AACOMAS, they will update the calculations that have already been sent out to schools.

 

[Goro]

Only you can answer this. Medicine is a calling. What does your heart tell you???

So my decision is: do I go for something that is less meaningful but possibly more promising (and SMP's are more promising, right?) for getting me into med school, or do I pursue something I'm actually interested in and may have a much weaker effect on my application?[/QUOTE]

 

[Instatewaiter]

Unless you actually want to go into health informatics, do the SMP. You will get much more bang for your buck. Know that it is a last ditch effort. If you do poorly in the SMP, you will forever ruin your chances for medical school

 

[GypsyHummus]

Hey guys,

So I'm in a bit of a weird position. I'm applying mostly DO and also some in-state (NY) MD this cycle, but it's already Feb and no interviews so I'm losing faith and starting to plan out next year in the event that this cycle doesn't end well.

I took the MCAT twice and hit 29 exactly, same split both times, 9 verb, 10/10. My undergrad cGPA is a 3.39, with sGPA 3.14.
3 years of full-time research work with publications and shadowing and decent LORs.

I know that I am very interested in medical informatics, and want to be ahead of the wave of technology as it begins to transform healthcare. I also know that it would be nice to be accepted into medical school. Hence, SMP vs Masters in health informatics.

I know SMP is obviously a much stronger feeder into a med school, and I have a few options I'm looking into. But the idea of spending the time and money to get a bogus degree feels like a huge waste of time to me when I could be spending the time and money pursuing something that I'm actually really interested in and might be a career decision for me.
I know Masters programs don't really mean much to med schools as far as GPA boosting goes, since they are so variable.
I also know from the rejections I've gotten that my sGPA is the problem.

So my decision is: do I go for something that is less meaningful but possibly more promising (and SMP's are more promising, right?) for getting me into med school, or do I pursue something I'm actually interested in and may have a much weaker effect on my application?

I am surprised you didn't get at least a nibble.

Where all did you apply and how early?

 

[mehc012]

First, i think you need to figure out your career goal, because an SMP is in no way useless if your end goal is med school, while a masters program (if its not formatted to get you into med school) is completely useless for the purpose of med school admissions.

However like you mentioned, if you decide to not go towards the path to med school, then an SMP would be useless.
So, my suggestion is figure out if med school is part of your career decision, if so SMP definitely.

Also, like you said, your sGPA is the problem, not as much your cGPA for DO, so a SMP would work wonders for your science gpa, which is where you need to focus on the most, esp with grade replacement.

just my $0.02

Minor quibble, but neither an SMP nor a masters will directly impact either the cGPA or the sGPA...they're both graduate work, and so can't change the uGPAs.
Perform well in an SMP, though, and you are right that it will help her overcome them.

 

[miszfifi820]

Oh, I thought SMP courses can change the GPA. Sorry for providing the wrong info, OP.

If your gpa is the case, I would just take over a couple courses and DO fade replacement will work in your favor. I think paying to take over, let's say, 5 courses, over a year would be much cheAper than an SMP.0