Looking for some words of wisdom. Looking to apply next cycle. Completed my prereqs 10 years ago. So far, none of the schools I am interested in have a strict ban on the age of courses. My undergrad GPAs (cum & sci) are above average for DO schools and average for MD schools. Been knocking off the rust for the MCAT in the spring. I guess/hope based on my work so far that the score will be in the high 20s to low 30s. VR will be my highest score. I have a non-medical professional degree from a good school. Interested in both DO and MD schools.
There’s a SMP program nearby that gets rave reviews from students on how well it prepares them for the first 2 years of med school since it covers a lot of the med school basic science topics. The program mainly gets low GPA or low MCAT folks who go through an app cycle with no luck.
I’m contemplating applying for the SMP program to give me a “head start” on med school and alleviate concerns Adcoms may have about my ability to knock off the rust and my commitment to changing careers. But, I’ve heard that SMP programs can be a trap if you trip in them despite having stats that might otherwise get you into a school. Plus, there’s the usual “old folks” concerns about debt and lost income for a year of school that might be simply beneficial and not absolutely necessary.
Thoughts?
If I go the SMP route, what would be a good test to take this winter instead of, but similar to, the MCAT (since I won’t be quite “ripe” for the MCAT yet and the SMPs take GREs or any pre-health tests for admissions).
Thanks for your help.
you could try the gre but the verbal is harder (imho) than the mcat verbal and then the quant is well we will just leave it at “special”…you really need a good review book and plenty of problems to do to be prepped for it.