The application season for the Summer Medical/ Dental Education Program recently opened on November 1. The SMDEP program is an amazing FREE program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 1988. It was previously known as the Minority Medical Education Program (MMEP). It’s an intensive 6 week medical school preparatory program offered at 12 sites all over the US – from Washington D.C .to Washington State. It was created in an attempt to increase the number of highly qualified medical school applicants from minority groups that were underrepresented in medicine—primarily African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians. Over the years, the program has broadened its initial focus on specific minority groups to include students who were from rural areas, economically disadvantaged, and came from groups that have historically received substandard health care regardless of their racial or ethnic background.
Program Features
- exposure to clinical settings
- academic enrichment ( classes in basic anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, medical writing, math)
- one on one meeting with academic deans for career counsellin and development
- mock interviews
- seminars on strategies for successful application to medical / dental school
- great friendships and networking opportunities 🙂 ( This is my personal one. I was lucky enough to do this program as a sophomore and definitely enjoyed the experience. It was comforting and motivating to be around a group of focused people with similar goals and interests, and today I’m lucky to still be in contact and have a good relationship with my roommates from the program – who are now an Ob/Gyn resident in Houston and a dentist in New York)
Who Is Eligible?
To be eligible for SMDEP, an applicant must:
- be currently enrolled as a freshman or sophomore in college;
- have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5;
- be a U.S. citizen or hold a permanent resident visa; and
- not have previously participated in SMDEP.
To see other factors that are considered in the admissions process and to apply, please visit: http://www.smdep.org/
The APPLICATION DEADLINE IS MARCH 1, but applying early is encouraged as each SMDEP site makes its admissions decisions on a “first come, first served” basis, therefore applying as early as possible increases your chance of being selected at your designated program site(s).
Have a great weekend, be sure to take some time to check out the SMDEP program and start thinking of your plans for the summer. Lots of program applications open around this time of year. A list of summer programs is in the works.
HEALTHOU 