When to begin applying to SMP's?

[Premedapplicant]

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Hey there,

Not familiar with SMP's all that much but plan on applying to BU, Drexel and Georgetown just in case - However, I'm still waiting to hear back from Drexel and Georgetown post interview - would applying to their SMP affect my possibility of being accepted this cycle or are they separate enough that it wouldn't matter?

Also, what is the timeline for successfully applying to these programs and should I get cracking?

Oh, one last thing, at Drexel, the Pathway to Medical School - what classifies as economically disadvantaged or URM?

Thanks!

 

[courtnes]

I doubt there'd be a problem with you applying to SMPs - as far as I know, Georgetown opens for apps earliest sometime in January. The administrations are separate, but you can't assume there's no talk between them so you might want to wait and see if you get into med school before sending out any apps.

edit: apparently the rest of what I had to say was completely unhelpful. I'll leave my thoughts on applying to the SMPs though.

 

[Premedapplicant]

This is what non plussed must feel like -

What has been holding me back, I assume, is my 3.2 gpa - hence the smp - I am not a bad interviewer as far as I can tell - my interviewers and I all got on very well with several telling me how they were going to present me to the ad comm which was 5 stars dedicated with a lot to offer and no concerns that I'd drop out etc

therefore the only thing that an ad comm would look less favorably on is my gpa hence the smp - I just don't want to miss the chance to enroll at this point as I think its the only thing left to do...

I may end up waiting - but I'm curious if anyone familiar with SMP's knows the timelines and if applying now would affect the disposition of my current apps that are still processing post interview

 

[courtnes]

I'm glad your interviewers liked you. It does seem odd that they'd bring up even the possibility of you dropping out - I've never heard of anyone mentioning that in an interview.

Are you sure there are no other red flags anywhere in your app? Maybe a lukewarm rec or something? Because your GPA is low but not so terribly low that an adcom could not overlook it for your MCAT.

As I said, the SMPs accept applications in the spring, from as early as January to I believe as late as April/May 15th. There is a great thread on SMPs that you can look at here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=346106
I highly doubt putting in an SMP application would have any effect on the status of your current MD applications.