So much info here: WHERE DO I START?

[EQR]

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I am a senior in college. I transferred four times in my undergrad career due to reasons beyond my control. Here are the facts:

2.6 GPA
28 MCAT
plenty of jobs
plenty of volunteering


I don't know what to do next and I have no idea what an SMP is or what it stands for.
How do they work?
I was referred to this forum because someone told me getting into med school with my grades would be impossible and I should do a postbacc program. So can someone please break it down for someone like me for whom this is day 1 for looking into alternatives to get into med school.

Thanks appreciate it.

 

[Xcited392]

SMP="Special Masters Program". These are different from regular Master's degrees because SMPs are designed for students to enter professional health schools (med/dental/etc.). Most SMP students take courses equivalent to a first year med student. This allows medical admissions committees to assess your future success.

Your plan:

I'm pretty sure you've missed all the deadlines for the major SMPs. You said you're a senior; is that for the 07-08 year and you're graduating soon? Or will you be a senior 08-09?

Regardless, you will need to take additional science classes to bump your GPA as close to 3.00 as possible. Your MCAT is pretty good, but it wouldn't hurt to retake the MCAT; the higher your score, the more effective it will be to counter your low GPA, in terms of SMP admissions.

Then, apply for SMPs for the 09-10 year.

 

[starrynite14]

this is going to sound cheesy, but i'm going to say it anyway. don't get discouraged and don't give up. the road to being a doctor is hard and the thing is there are many different ways to get there.

relax and do your best. SMP is probably the best idea for you. you can also do informal postbacc somewhere.

 

[EQR]

SMP="Special Masters Program". These are different from regular Master's degrees because SMPs are designed for students to enter professional health schools (med/dental/etc.). Most SMP students take courses equivalent to a first year med student. This allows medical admissions committees to assess your future success.

Your plan:

I'm pretty sure you've missed all the deadlines for the major SMPs. You said you're a senior; is that for the 07-08 year and you're graduating soon? Or will you be a senior 08-09?

Regardless, you will need to take additional science classes to bump your GPA as close to 3.00 as possible. Your MCAT is pretty good, but it wouldn't hurt to retake the MCAT; the higher your score, the more effective it will be to counter your low GPA, in terms of SMP admissions.

Then, apply for SMPs for the 09-10 year.

I want to be realistic here, will an SMP even accept me lets say I get up to a 2.75 gpa and a 30 mcat??? Also are there SMPs that have a high a percentage of their students who graduate go into their medical school? Thanks for the info by the way, I really appreciate that and i know your time is valuable.

 

[EQR]

this is going to sound cheesy, but i'm going to say it anyway. don't get discouraged and don't give up. the road to being a doctor is hard and the thing is there are many different ways to get there.

relax and do your best. SMP is probably the best idea for you. you can also do informal postbacc somewhere.

Thanks for the encouragement 🙂

 

[Xcited392]

I want to be realistic here, will an SMP even accept me lets say I get up to a 2.75 gpa and a 30 mcat??? Also are there SMPs that have a high a percentage of their students who graduate go into their medical school? Thanks for the info by the way, I really appreciate that and i know your time is valuable.

Well, the major SMPs (BU, Georgetown, Loyola, etc.) say a minimum 3.0 GPA is required or preferred. However, there are SMPs out there that are loose on this component. IMO, the "harder" SMPs (>3.00 GPA) have high success rates, though there are some irregularities in the data. The easy SMPs tend to have lower success rates, but that could just by hearsay.

Just browse around for SMP info and for now, take more undergrad classes to boost that GPA.