Special Master's Program for Premeds

SMP for Those Who Need GPA Improvement to Apply To Med School

Jun 23, 2009

A Special Master's Program (SMP) is for postbac med school applicants with a low GPA in medical school prerequisites. It's the last chance to get into medical school.

A student who took all medical school prerequisites and received low grades often has an undergraduate GPA that cannot become competitive even with two or more years of additional undergraduate work with straight As. In many cases, the BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math) GPA is also too low to recover within two years as well.

Special Masters' Programs

SMPs are graduate programs designed for premed hopefuls that have already taken all premed prerequisite courses with low grades. It leads to the conferral of a master's degree in a field related to medicine. The curriculum in Special Masters' Programs include graduate level science courses. Like other graduate programs, some SMPs require a thesis or other requirements consistent with master's and Ph.D degrees.

Grades in a Special Master's Program are calculated separately into a graduate GPA and graduate BCPM GPA by AMCAS and AACOMAS. That's very helpful for somebody with a lot of low grades in BCPM undergraduate courses. For those with very few BCPM courses, an SMP is not appropriate since the GPA can be improved greatly within a second undergraduate degree program.

Taking normal graduate programs in fields such as public health or biology is not the same as taking a SMP. Graduate programs are well known for their grade inflation due to the minimum 3.0 GPA required to graduate from a master's or Ph.D program. Going into a master's program in Biology with straight As will be met with an abundance of skepticism with medical school admissions committees, whereas SMP grading standards are often just as harsh as undergraduate premed weeder courses

SMP Linkages to Medical Schools

Along with rigorous science courses, some Special Masters' Programs also require passing medical school classes with medical school students. It is very helpful to choose a SMP that includes medical school courses, since they help prove that the applicant is as talented as the medical school students. There may be preferential treatment to the SMP's medical school as well such as a guaranteed interview during the med school application process.

Applying to the SMP

The best time to apply is during the spring of the senior year of college. By spring break, med school applicants with zero medical school acceptances often begin applying to various SMPs. In the most competitive SMP programs, the GPA required is around a 3.0 with a MCAT of 27. Depending on the previous MCAT score, it may be necessary to study for the test and retake it again during the spring of the senior year to improve the chances of getting into a good SMP.

After the student graduates from college in the spring, he starts taking the classes at the chosen SMP. Medical school applications go out in the summer after getting the bachelor's degree if the Special Master's Program requires only one year to graduate. Medical schools will wait to see the fall grades from the SMP before making a decision since SMP courses will be in progress. Letters of recommendation from the SMP are sent soon after fall classes start. Those in two year SMP delay the medical school application process by one year.

In either case, the grades in the SMP have to be high, along with a high MCAT score, in order to be competitive for admission to medical school. If the student gets low grades or another low MCAT score, it may be time to concede defeat and admit that not everyone is meant to practice medicine. The Special Master's Program is the last chance for a premed hopeful to rehabilitate his academic record and get into medical school. It is important not to squander this last chance.

If a premed student does not want to do lose a year doing a SMP, another option is to attend a Caribbean medical school and pass the boards to get into a US medical residency and ultimately be allowed to practice medicine in the United States.

Medical school hopefuls who have not taken most of the prerequisites for medical school should consider post-baccalaureate premed programs since they can still greatly improve their BCPM GPA.

Those interested in this topic may also be interested in reading about MCAT Preparation as well.

Becker, Christian. The Official Student Doctor Network Medical School Admissions Guide. Mill City Press, Inc. (2007).

The copyright of the article Special Master's Program for Premeds in College Degrees/Programs is owned by John Wu. Permission to republish Special Master's Program for Premeds in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.