Im currently a junior in UCSB and want to stay in california for med school if at all possible. I didn't start out college very well but my grades have been rising (3 freshman, 3.5 sophmore, 4.0 junior). I currently have a 3.45 and if everything works out I'll have a 3.52 by the end of this quarter. I'm going to have a year off between graduation and med school, so I was wondering whether it's worth to do an SMP with a 3.5-3.6 or is it just better to work for a year in bioengineering or other various related fields? I'll be taking the MCAT this summer so I don't have a score yet.
I guess what I'm confused about in general is what is the SMP really worth? does it make me a more competitive applicant just because I have a masters, or is it generally only for people who have very low GPAs?
Also, I don't want to start another thread so Ill add another unrelated question.
I'm trilingual (hebrew and russian) and I've heard spanish makes you a lot more competitive. I have a weak foundation that's limited to conversational spanish, but I do ok with languages so I can invest some time and try to become fluent. Is the edge worth the effort, or is it not a big deal?
I guess what I'm confused about in general is what is the SMP really worth? does it make me a more competitive applicant just because I have a masters, or is it generally only for people who have very low GPAs?
Also, I don't want to start another thread so Ill add another unrelated question.
I'm trilingual (hebrew and russian) and I've heard spanish makes you a lot more competitive. I have a weak foundation that's limited to conversational spanish, but I do ok with languages so I can invest some time and try to become fluent. Is the edge worth the effort, or is it not a big deal?