Hello! I am a recent undergraduate (spring 23) with a cgpa of 3.3 and a sgpa of 3.0 and an MCAT of 505. I took a break to reconsider mediciine and reflect/take time off after a long year. I’m considering my options and I’m not sure whether I should take an SMP with a linkage or a DIY postbac? My gpa started low freshman year went higher sophmore year dipped considerably junior year and slowly picked up a bit senior year. In terms of ECs I don’t have much, about 500 clinical research hours, some shadowing, a ton of volunteering. i plan on shadowing more and gaining more clinical experience in the next few months hopefully. Im thinking my best bet is probably DO and im probably not competitive for MD, is that accurate?
If I do the SMP, I realize that they are extremely difficult and the linkage is sometime tough to achieve. I have heard some success stories, done research on sdn, and am trying to research school to see which ones have a higher matriculation rate into their medical schools. Any advice or suggestions with this?
If I do a DIY postbac, would it be okay if i take the classes online? I also am not certain how much they will raise my gpa, i currently have 226.1 science semester hours so not sure how many classes i would need to take. Also..
I want to apply into the cycle this year and hopefully start medical school in the fall of 2025, and during the application year do either one of the above. Is that a good strategy, and if so which option may be better? Do schools consider what I am doing and how it may change my grades if im in a program/taking classes while applications are being reviewed? This makes me feel like they would take the smp more seriously as its a program while the postbac is jsut a tentative schedule basically. Also, if I don’t get accepted by any schools, the SMP serves as a backup through the linkage if I do well.
Will this strategy help my application as I will submit transcripts while I complete the semesters or do i need to apply into the cycle after completing one of them? Im not too well versed in how the application works and how the school looks at programs i would be in while applying so i apologize for the maybe obv questions.
I may retake the mcat in may if needed and I think I can get a 510, even though that isnt much of a boost.
I apologize for the long post and if im not able to convey my situation well, im unsure how this works. Any advice would really mean a lot as i am really confused!! Thank you in advance!
If I do the SMP, I realize that they are extremely difficult and the linkage is sometime tough to achieve. I have heard some success stories, done research on sdn, and am trying to research school to see which ones have a higher matriculation rate into their medical schools. Any advice or suggestions with this?
If I do a DIY postbac, would it be okay if i take the classes online? I also am not certain how much they will raise my gpa, i currently have 226.1 science semester hours so not sure how many classes i would need to take. Also..
I want to apply into the cycle this year and hopefully start medical school in the fall of 2025, and during the application year do either one of the above. Is that a good strategy, and if so which option may be better? Do schools consider what I am doing and how it may change my grades if im in a program/taking classes while applications are being reviewed? This makes me feel like they would take the smp more seriously as its a program while the postbac is jsut a tentative schedule basically. Also, if I don’t get accepted by any schools, the SMP serves as a backup through the linkage if I do well.
Will this strategy help my application as I will submit transcripts while I complete the semesters or do i need to apply into the cycle after completing one of them? Im not too well versed in how the application works and how the school looks at programs i would be in while applying so i apologize for the maybe obv questions.
I may retake the mcat in may if needed and I think I can get a 510, even though that isnt much of a boost.
I apologize for the long post and if im not able to convey my situation well, im unsure how this works. Any advice would really mean a lot as i am really confused!! Thank you in advance!
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