Which SMP to apply to? Low GPA New Yorker and poor :(

[misplacedshadow]

My stats pretty much suck. I was a biochem major with a 3.38 cumulative gpa and ~3.0-3.1 science gpa. Graduated in 2011 and volunteered full time at research lab at a private allopathic medical school for 2 years (including holidays and sometimes weekend) all for no pay. I dont know what the f*** I was thinking. Parents are pissed cause its been two years and I got no job, I didnt get into medical school and I still havent been accepted to medical school. The only bright side to the volunteering at this private allopathic medical school is that I got 2 papers published (one third author paper and one first author review paper) and 3 more papers (which are under preparation where I am fourth or fifth author.) Another good side I guess is that my PI's boss is vice dean of the medical school. One person I know got into the medical school because he made a phone call for him. But the that got into medical school worked directly for the vice dean and was waitlisted at the school. In my case the vice dean doesnt know me at all, but my PI is willing to get me a LOR from him. So I will have 3 LORs, one from the Dean, one from my PI and one from my physics professor in undergrad. For clinical experience I have about 40 hrs cardiothoracic surgeon shadowing and 24 hours clinical shadowing at a free health clinic. I have hospitsl volunteering but that was back on high school senior year, so probably wont include that. Intend to volunteer at local hospital in the fall in addition to working somewhere research related (been job hunting for abt 1 month, but still no success landing a job in NYC.) Plan on taking MCAT in Jan about 5.5 months from now, I think that is enough time to score a 30+ with a full time job and hospital volunteering once a week? Really sorry for the long post. Do you guys think I have a chance? what other SMPs should I apply for? I live in new york and dont want to spend more than $30,000 on my masters program Thank you for reading my long post, I appreciate it a lot.

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[MDforMee]

My stats pretty much suck. I was a biochem major with a 3.38 cumulative gpa and ~3.0-3.1 science gpa.

Where did you go to school, and what were the year to year trends?

Graduated in 2011 and volunteered full time at research lab at a private allopathic medical school for 2 years (including holidays and sometimes weekend) all for no pay. I dont know what the f*** I was thinking. Parents are pissed cause its been two years and I got no job

Good

I didnt get into medical school and I still havent been accepted to medical school.

Are you a reapplicant? This isn't clear.

The only bright side to the volunteering at this private allopathic medical school is that I got 2 papers published (one third author paper and one first author review paper) and 3 more papers (which are under preparation where I am fourth or fifth author.)

Good for you. Maybe you should have made this post easier for us to read, Longfellow.

Another good side I guess is that my PI's boss is vice dean of the medical school. One person I know got into the medical school because he made a phone call for him. But the that got into medical school worked directly for the vice dean and was waitlisted at the school. In my case the vice dean doesnt know me at all, but my PI is willing to get me a LOR from him. So I will have 3 LORs, one from the Dean, one from my PI and one from my physics professor in undergrad.

If I were you I'd forget about getting glad-handed into medical school. Everybody knows somebody in admissions, and unless you're related to an admissions person, focus your energy somewhere else and stop kissing up.

For clinical experience I have about 40 hrs cardiothoracic surgeon shadowing and 24 hours clinical shadowing at a free health clinic. I have hospitsl volunteering but that was back on high school senior year, so probably wont include that. Intend to volunteer at local hospital in the fall in addition to working somewhere research related (been job hunting for abt 1 month, but still no success landing a job in NYC.)

Neither of these clinical experiences are significant. No one cares about them, including me. Get something better lined up that'll give you more hours and more patient contact.

Plan on taking MCAT in Jan about 5.5 months from now, I think that is enough time to score a 30+ with a full time job and hospital volunteering once a week?

You tell me, ace of cakes.

Really sorry for the long post. Do you guys think I have a chance? what other SMPs should I apply for? I live in new york and dont want to spend more than $30,000 on my masters program Thank you for reading my long post, I appreciate it a lot.

Don't mention it. In the future, paragraphs and grammar will go a long way toward encouraging people to reply.

Your clinical exposure is lame, but you do have some good research experience at a teaching hospital. If you went to a good school, a.k.a. a hard school, your GPA doesn't suck as much as it otherwise would if it were, say, in ecology from state school X. But, your science GPA still sucks, so I'm not really sure how you pulled off a science major with that high of a cumulative GPA.

But, stranger things have happened. I'm guessing you have Cs in the biochem classes or something. If that's the case, you're probably polishing brass on a sinking ship if you're trying to weasle your way into the allopathic school you've been shmoozing at for the last 2 years.

If I were you, I'd go DO. Far be it from me, but you've been at a teaching hospital ostensibly doing research to get into medical school for the last 2 years, and you graduated in 2011, so why has not you no MCAT? You sound lazy, no offense, bro/girl-seph. You should have been on your game a while ago.

 

[misplacedshadow]

Don't mention it. In the future, paragraphs and grammar will go a long way toward encouraging people to reply.

Your clinical exposure is lame, but you do have some good research experience at a teaching hospital. If you went to a good school, a.k.a. a hard school, your GPA doesn't suck as much as it otherwise would if it were, say, in ecology from state school X. But, your science GPA still sucks, so I'm not really sure how you pulled off a science major with that high of a cumulative GPA.

But, stranger things have happened. I'm guessing you have Cs in the biochem classes or something. If that's the case, you're probably polishing brass on a sinking ship if you're trying to weasle your way into the allopathic school you've been shmoozing at for the last 2 years.

If I were you, I'd go DO. Far be it from me, but you've been at a teaching hospital ostensibly doing research to get into medical school for the last 2 years, and you graduated in 2011, so why has not you no MCAT? You sound lazy, no offense, bro/girl-seph. You should have been on your game a while ago

.

Thanks for the advice. No offence, but you kind of sound like a douche. Any way... the reason why I might have had a couple of gramatically errors was because I was writing all this on my android using the SDN app while on the train. Sorry about that. Back to the main point,there are people with stats lower than mine that got accepted to a decent SMP program, did well in the SMP program and got accepted into the SMP linkage program medical school or their state medical school or even other top medical school. If you dont believe that check out some of the post on the SMP division of this forum. If I had a decent GPA, do you really think I would consider doing an SMP? I would have applied to medical school right away. I know I can get accepted to an SMP program based on my stats. If I can pull off at least a 30 on the mcat, there is no reason why I cant get accepted to a number of SMP programs. The reason why I made this post is so I can make a list of which SMP programs to apply to, and maybe god forbid get some inspiration from a poster to study hard for the MCAT and get a high score to get into a top SMP and maybe get accepted to medical school my SMP year. MDforMee, the way you talk, you make it sound as if I should give up all hope of pursuing an MD, and just apply DO, as if I have no hope. If that is the point you are trying to make, you are definitely wrong. My gpa may be low, but an SMP should help me, if I can get a 30+ MCAT score. The reason why I hadnt taken my mcats yet is because I was really occupied with my 2 years of research. I dont think I would have gotten any publications if I hadnt been as dedicated. It takes a lot sweat, tears and bloodshed to get something published in research, epecially when you dont have a great PI. MDforMee, I hope next time you might try to use a better choice of words, rather than kick someone when they are a bit down. I know SDN is filled with top scoring gunners with 4.0 gpas, but I am asking for an ounce of inspiration at a Postbacc disscussion board where people with stats which are not so great are trying to get advice and inspiration. It would be nice if you may swallow your pride and arrogance and maybe save that for when you get accepted to either Harvard or Hopkins.

 

[MDforMee]

.

Thanks for the advice. No offence, but you kind of sound like a douche. Any way... the reason why I might have had a couple of gramatically errors was because I was writing all this on my android using the SDN app while on the train. Sorry about that. Back to the main point,there are people with stats lower than mine that got accepted to a decent SMP program, did well in the SMP program and got accepted into the SMP linkage program medical school or their state medical school or even other top medical school. If you dont believe that check out some of the post on the SMP division of this forum. If I had a decent GPA, do you really think I would consider doing an SMP? I would have applied to medical school right away. I know I can get accepted to an SMP program based on my stats. If I can pull off at least a 30 on the mcat, there is no reason why I cant get accepted to a number of SMP programs. The reason why I made this post is so I can make a list of which SMP programs to apply to, and maybe god forbid get some inspiration from a poster to study hard for the MCAT and get a high score to get into a top SMP and maybe get accepted to medical school my SMP year. MDforMee, the way you talk, you make it sound as if I should give up all hope of pursuing an MD, and just apply DO, as if I have no hope. If that is the point you are trying to make, you are definitely wrong. My gpa may be low, but an SMP should help me, if I can get a 30+ MCAT score. The reason why I hadnt taken my mcats yet is because I was really occupied with my 2 years of research. I dont think I would have gotten any publications if I hadnt been as dedicated. It takes a lot sweat, tears and bloodshed to get something published in research, epecially when you dont have a great PI. MDforMee, I hope next time you might try to use a better choice of words, rather than kick someone when they are a bit down. I know SDN is filled with top scoring gunners with 4.0 gpas, but I am asking for an ounce of inspiration at a Postbacc disscussion board where people with stats which are not so great are trying to get advice and inspiration. It would be nice if you may swallow your pride and arrogance and maybe save that for when you get accepted to either Harvard or Hopkins.

Let me get this straight:
1. You spent two years volunteering in a lab
2. You haven't prepped for the MCAT
3. You haven't done anything to remediate your GPA
4. Your clinical exposure is weak, at best
5. Your science GPA sucks
6. You want someone to let you into their medical school

Is this right, or have I forgotten something?

In other words, you've spent two years doing nothing but free research. Why haven't you been studying for the MCAT? Why haven't you been retaking classes? Why haven't you bitten the bullet and become a CNA?

Oh, I forgot, you've got an "in" at the local med school. You also leeched your way onto a paper and are saying that you're a first author. Really? I thought that first authors usually have initials after their names, like M.D. Ph.D.?

Well, let's just stop the World on its axis for Little Lord Fontleroy and his/her grand aspirations.

 

[HesitantManatee]

MDforMee some good points. BTW you shouldn't knock DO program but if you want a MD it gonna take time and money. Your GPA is good enough to get you into a SMP with integrated med school classes. You just need the MCAT. 5 months is alot of time and you can get a really high score if you don't dick around when studying. Shoot for at least 32+ but try to get as high as possible. Go for category 1 SMP with high linkage, you can find them by searching around. You'er not gonna find any good program that will cost less than $30k, if you want to do it right its gonna cost you.

 

[misplacedshadow]

MDforMee some good points. BTW you shouldn't knock DO program but if you want a MD it gonna take time and money. Your GPA is good enough to get you into a SMP with integrated med school classes. You just need the MCAT. 5 months is alot of time and you can get a really high score if you don't dick around when studying. Shoot for at least 32+ but try to get as high as possible. Go for category 1 SMP with high linkage, you can find them by searching around. You'er not gonna find any good program that will cost less than $30k, if you want to do it right its gonna cost you.

Thank you so much HesitantManatee. What Category 1 SMP do you recommend I should apply to that have a really high linkage? Did you take the SMP route?

 

[HesitantManatee]

Thank you so much HesitantManatee. What Category 1 SMP do you recommend I should apply to that have a really high linkage? Did you take the SMP route?

I am in Tufts MBS. Both my cGPA and sGPA are lower that yours, but my mcat was above average. Here is a list of post bacc: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=640302 . I don't know all the programs that have linkages so you have to search around. But I know Tuft, RFU, NYMC, EVMS, Toeldo, Tulane, Cincinnati, and Georgetown have some type of linkage.

 

[GorgeousBorges]

Let me get this straight:
1. You spent two years volunteering in a lab
2. You haven't prepped for the MCAT
3. You haven't done anything to remediate your GPA
4. Your clinical exposure is weak, at best
5. Your science GPA sucks
6. You want someone to let you into their medical school

Is this right, or have I forgotten something?

In other words, you've spent two years doing nothing but free research. Why haven't you been studying for the MCAT? Why haven't you been retaking classes? Why haven't you bitten the bullet and become a CNA?

Oh, I forgot, you've got an "in" at the local med school. You also leeched your way onto a paper and are saying that you're a first author. Really? I thought that first authors usually have initials after their names, like M.D. Ph.D.?

Well, let's just stop the World on its axis for Little Lord Fontleroy and his/her grand aspirations.

Posts like this are the reason that most people hate SDN.

MDforMee is right about some of these things, however. misplacedshadow, you do need some more clinical experience. The fact that you have publications is great, but you have to understand that med school admissions is a lot less about your strengths than it is about your weaknesses. You need to take the MCAT and own it. Then, you need an SMP to address that science GPA. I'm at Cincinnati right now, which I think is a great one; it's not cheap, and there are no good cheap SMPs for someone with a 3.0 science GPA. EVMS and Toledo are also pretty good. Georgetown, Tufts and BU are not as effective at getting people in same-year, but they are solid programs for those that can kill them.

 

[GorgeousBorges]

Seriously, Little Lord Fauntelroy? The Harry Potter of the 1890s?

 

[sillyome]

Let me get this straight:
1. You spent two years volunteering in a lab
2. You haven't prepped for the MCAT
3. You haven't done anything to remediate your GPA
4. Your clinical exposure is weak, at best
5. Your science GPA sucks
6. You want someone to let you into their medical school

Is this right, or have I forgotten something?

In other words, you've spent two years doing nothing but free research. Why haven't you been studying for the MCAT? Why haven't you been retaking classes? Why haven't you bitten the bullet and become a CNA?

Oh, I forgot, you've got an "in" at the local med school. You also leeched your way onto a paper and are saying that you're a first author. Really? I thought that first authors usually have initials after their names, like M.D. Ph.D.?

Well, let's just stop the World on its axis for Little Lord Fontleroy and his/her grand aspirations.

MDforMee, you really shouldn't be that harsh. OP knows that he/she is not a strong applicant and is looking for advice. At, SDN, we should help each other and not beat each other down more. OP, I'm an incoming Temple ACMS student. Our yearly tuition is around 30k. Let me know if you need anymore info on the post bac program. Btw, it is guaranteed acceptance into Temple Med school if you receive 30 on MCAT and maintain a 3.5 postbac gpa.

 

[misplacedshadow]

MDforMee, you really shouldn't be that harsh. OP knows that he/she is not a strong applicant and is looking for advice. At, SDN, we should help each other and not beat each other down more. OP, I'm an incoming Temple ACMS student. Our yearly tuition is around 30k. Let me know if you need anymore info on the post bac program. Btw, it is guaranteed acceptance into Temple Med school if you receive 30 on MCAT and maintain a 3.5 postbac gpa.

Thank you sillyome, for sticking up for me. I really appreciate it. Nice to know there are still some decent peers in the premedical field. I am very thankful and blessed for people like you. People who give hope. That is definitely a characteristic that foreshadows a good physian.

When you say it is guaranteed that if you have a 3.5 postbac gpa, do you mean the GPA in the SMP at temple? Also if you don't mind me asking, what was your stats like when you applied to the Temple SMP? My stats are 3.1 science gpa and 3.38 cumulative gpa. I am hoping to kill the MCAT in Jan. with a 35+ with the 5 months I will have prepping. Also have the students in the temple SMP program been accepted to any other schools other than temple, say their state school, or even top 25 medical school? Again thank you for your post.

 

[MDforMee]

MDforMee, you really shouldn't be that harsh. OP knows that he/she is not a strong applicant and is looking for advice. At, SDN, we should help each other and not beat each other down more. OP, I'm an incoming Temple ACMS student. Our yearly tuition is around 30k. Let me know if you need anymore info on the post bac program. Btw, it is guaranteed acceptance into Temple Med school if you receive 30 on MCAT and maintain a 3.5 postbac gpa.

You're recommending an SMP to the OP without knowing his/her history. Take a cue from yourself on board etiquette, sillyome.

I'm the one that's been trying to figure out how hard the OPs school was, what OPs grade trend was, and if the OP is a reapplicant or not. I also inquired about his/her confidence in doing well on the MCAT. This is called taking someone's personal/academic history so that you can make an informed recommendation about whether they stand a chance of succeeding or drowning in flames at an SMP.

When you realize that adulthood isn't just a funny word, and that OP's parents are saying the same thing that I am, give me a jingle.

 

[sillyome]

You're recommending an SMP to the OP without knowing his/her history. Take a cue from yourself on board etiquette, sillyome.

I'm the one that's been trying to figure out how hard the OPs school was, what OPs grade trend was, and if the OP is a reapplicant or not. I also inquired about his/her confidence in doing well on the MCAT. This is called taking someone's personal/academic history so that you can make an informed recommendation about whether they stand a chance of succeeding or drowning in flames at an SMP.

When you realize that adulthood isn't just a funny word, and that OP's parents are saying the same thing that I am, give me a jingle.

I question your ability to be a good physician, with your apparent lack of empathy. Don't you think you could have worded your advice better? OP already knows that its hard getting directly into medical school with his stats, thats why he's asking for ADVICE. Not someone to bash him some more already. I saw OP stats up top, that's why I'm suggesting Temple ACMS. If people apply to programs based on your criteria, MDforMee, than a lot of people who could have gotten in would not have gotten in, because some one told them they would not good enough.

 

[GorgeousBorges]

I question your ability to be a good physician, with your apparent lack of empathy. Don't you think you could have worded your advice better? OP already knows that its hard getting directly into medical school with his stats, thats why he's asking for ADVICE. Not someone to bash him some more already. I saw OP stats up top, that's why I'm suggesting Temple ACMS. If people apply to programs based on your criteria, MDforMee, than a lot of people who could have gotten in would not have gotten in, because some one told them they would not good enough.

OP's sGPA and cGPA may be too low for ACMS. ACMS and ACP are probably the most selective postbacc programs in terms of GPA for people with pre-reqs completed. On the other hand, ACMS doesn't require the MCAT.

 

[misplacedshadow]

OP's sGPA and cGPA may be too low for ACMS. ACMS and ACP are probably the most selective postbacc programs in terms of GPA for people with pre-reqs completed. On the other hand, ACMS doesn't require the MCAT.

I checked their website, this is what I found:

Temple SMP website FAQ:

Q: What is the lowest MCAT/SAT or GPA you will consider?

A: We do not have any minimum numbers. The 2012 entering class profile is as follows:
Average science GPA: BCMS: 3.49 / ACMS: 3.36
Overall GPA: BCMS: 3.55 / ACMS: 3.49
Average MCAT of those who took it : ACMS: 30.2

Since these are averages, there are people that scored lower and got accepted right? You guys really think I have no shot in the ACMS program?

 

[sillyome]

I'll say to take your mcats and do really well. There are many students with high mcats and low gpa.

 

[common man]

I'll say to take your mcats and do really well. There are many students with high mcats and low gpa.

I've heard this before. i'm curious, can you give an example of such a low gpa high mcat combination? as a hypothetical example, does ACMS have someone with a 3.0 GPA and 38 MCAT?

 

[sillyome]

Yes my housemate

 

[misplacedshadow]

I'll say to take your mcats and do really well. There are many students with high mcats and low gpa.

Yes my housemate

Thanks a lot sillyome. You provided the inspiration I needed. I actually have 6 months to prepare for the mcat. If you dont mind me asking, how low was his GPA and how high was his mcat?

 

[sillyome]

Thanks a lot sillyome. You provided the inspiration I needed. I actually have 6 months to prepare for the mcat. If you dont mind me asking, how low was his GPA and how high was his mcat?

3.0 gpa and 38 mcat