opinion of MMEP

[Fish3715]

Hello-

I'm a freshman and am currently applying to MMEP (now called SMEP- Summer Medical Education Program ). If you did this, which site did you go to and what's your opinion of it? I did a search and saw that there's a lot of love for the Baylor program, but I didn't see people opinions of most of the other sites.

Also, which programs do you think would be best/worst to attend the summer after freshman year? All of the sites (except Columbia ) welcome rising sophomores, but it seems that Duke, Chicago & Baylor's (and maybe Yale's) programs are the best since the MCAT prep isn't too in-depth (and the first 3 only allow rising sophomores and juniors).

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[edfig99]

i did MMEP back in the mid 90s at the University of Washington and loved it there. seattle rules.


the mcat prep isn't that great in any of the programs -- i mean, there is just too much stuff going on during those few weeks to devote princeton review-type studying for the mcat, so i wouldn't worry too much about that as one of your criteria.

baylor is one of the first sites which is why there's so much love. the UW site (if it still exists) is also great. Columbia's just started a couple of years ago so I really don't know too much about it. I did do my residency at columbia and did have some interaction with the students but it was pretty limited. it did seem as if there were A LOT of students so i don't know how much personal attention is given to students. it's big perk is that you get to be in New York.

regardless what site you choose it's a great program. because of the grant funding the curricula are fairly similar across the sites.

good luck.

 

[DrJ2B]

Hey Fish!

I went to the program at Duke and I loved it immensely. We learned from real doctors, ones that actually teach at Duke Med School. We had awesome clinical preceptorships where we learned loads; we got some great admissions advice; and we toured Duke Medical Center and Medical School. Durham was great. We even went to the Carrowinds (amusement park) and went out to movies for treats. The people there are awesome and I would highly recommend it. It is a perfect program for sophomores. Many of the people in my program were in fact sophomores so you will fit right in. The whole experience made me realize that medicine is definitely for me. If you have any questions, please feel free to private message me. Good luck with applying and Happy Holidays!

 

[Adapt]

I did MMEP in Chicago after my freshman year. It was a blast although I wasted my $600 stipend fast. I ate at nice restaurants, went to the beach, got drunk on top of the dorm's roof, saw fireworks at lincoln park, and chilled in the city. It was very expensive, though, because we stayed at Northwestern which is right in downtown Chicago. They weren't kiddin when they named it the windy city.

I also believe it was what propelled me to want to be a doctor. I shadowed lots of doctors and we got to see cadavers and work on them. Overall, it was a great experience and I recommend it to anyone who can participate in the program and is interested in medicine. I went in not knowing if medicine was for me, and I came out knowing that medicine was exactly what i wanted to do with my life.

 

[Rendar5]

next round of acceptances go out Monday. ::crosses fingers::

 

[belljar]

i did my mmep at yale. it was a great experience. the people really go out of their way for you. i met a lot of great and intelligent people, one who happens to be going to their med school next year (keep in mind he had a 34 on the mcat and was otherwise greatly well-rounded)! The program has a lot of variety. You could either do the mcat prep, or you could also do the regular courses where they teach molecular and some biochem. They have a series of english classes and they turned out to be pretty much useless. they force you to try to write your personal statement for med school, but it really was pretty much write something and turn it in. Also, just like in any program, it's what you make of it. The best thing about the program was that not only did it open my eyes to how competitive getting into med school was, but also the seminars that were offered. If you have any questions about yale specifically, let me know!

 

[2badr]

there is a possibility that I could have an opportunity to "shadow" a doc for the next 2 summers and any other time I am in town. (He's our FP back home and told my Mom I should come "ready to work" ).

If I do this tho, I give up any chance of participating in SMEP. So I guess I'm a little conflicted as to what to do. I, too would be interested to know the experiences others have had with these programs.

Thanks in advance!

 

[2badr]

*bump*

Anybody??

 

[Adapt]

2badr,
I'd recommend not wasting your time shadowing that long. You will get tired of shadowing and it is not worth it to give up a chance at MMEP for shadowing. MMEP will look better on your application and you will be able to talk about it at your interviews. You can always shadow after MMEP.

The program is only about 6 weeks. That leaves plenty of time for shadowing. So I recommend you do MMEP and shadow afterwards.

 

[2badr]

Originally posted by Slickness
2badr,
I'd recommend not wasting your time shadowing that long. You will get tired of shadowing and it is not worth it to give up a chance at MMEP for shadowing. MMEP will look better on your application and you will be able to talk about it at your interviews. You can always shadow after MMEP.

The program is only about 6 weeks. That leaves plenty of time for shadowing. So I recommend you do MMEP and shadow afterwards.

Thanks slickness! I guess I never thought of it that way. rolleyes:-directed at me not you. )

 

[Fish3715]

Thanks everyone

Edfig99, Slickness, DrJ2B and Belljar: I pmed you all with a few questions about your specific programs.

Rendar 5: how often do acceptances go out?

 

[PreMedPoohBear]

Does anybody know when the applications are coming out. I've been checking almost everyday, and it keeps saying early December, and December is almost over with.

 

[PreMedPoohBear]

Nevermind, I just realized that the name of the program has changed. How long has the application been out?

 

[Fish3715]

The application website was emailed to me a little less than a week ago (I didn't know until last Saturday, though).

 

[doc08]

I participated in MMEP at the University of Alabama medical school in 2000. PM me if you have specific questions about that program.

 

[chapinsita]

I did MMEP Columbia. All of my interviews have mentioned it and people seemed really impressed. I think you should go, and forget shadowing the FP. MMEP allows you to shadow AND you get so much more valuable experience, including meeting the adcom!