Biomedical Graduate Education
Special Master's Program in Physiology
Special Master's Program in Physiology

Second Year Strategy

Some students choose to apply or reapply to medical school for one (or two) years after the SMP; a significant proportion of these students are subsequently admitted. In the intervening year or two, we encourage these students to continue their exposure to biomedical sciences, usually through a job in a related field such as laboratory research. Other students enter into Ph.D. programs or degree programs in other health fields (osteopathy, dentistry, etc.) or seek permanent employment.

These guidelines will help you plan for resubmitting your AMCAS application if needed.

If you are currently on waitlists, you can start working on your AMCAS for next year, but I would hold off submitting it until July 1 or later. You might get in! If you are feeling super anxious about things, you are welcome to submit your AMCAS in early June and only apply to one school. That will at least start the verification process (and save you a little money). Then, a little later in the summer, if it looks like you might not get off a waitlist, you can add more schools. Be sure to include the Georgetown SMP in your education history and coursework sections. Your degree will be conferred on August 31.

If you did not apply during the SMP year, start working on your AMCAS in May.

If you had an SMP Letter of Recommendation this year (or last year) and need it updated, please list your letter writer’s information as before but with physio@georgetown.edu as their email. Please email Daniel at physio@georgetown.edu and request that your letter be updated. Include an update of what you have been doing this year (or a copy of your most recent AMCAS).

  • For AMCAS: Generate the PDF of your Letter Request form and attach it to the email.
  • For AACOMAS or TMDSAS: Please include your ID (CAS ID or TMDSAS IDs) in the update email. A link will automatically be sent to physio@georgetown.edu.
  • For International MD Schools: please include the admissions office contact information in the update email. This can be done starting in May.

If you have never applied before and need a SMP Letter of Recommendation written, please email Daniel at physio@georgetown.edu in May and request a letter writer. We will let you know who will be writing your letter so that you can list their info on your AMCAS. You should then email that faculty member to set up a time to meet or chat on the phone about the process of having the letter written. Once you create the Letter Request Form on AMCAS, please email the PDF to Daniel at physio@georgetown.edu.

  • For AACOMAS or TMDSAS: A link will automatically be sent to physio@georgetown.edu.
  • For international medical schools: Please include the admissions contact information in an email to physio@georgetown.edu.

You should still use your undergrad letters to apply. Med schools will want to see those and will most likely require them to meet the science LOR requirement.

If you plan to take the MCAT this summer, you can list your future test date on your AMCAS. July or August is totally fine for retaking the MCAT. When your new scores are available, please email your score report to us at physio@georgetown.edu so we can update your record.

You can start thinking about jobs: medical assistant, medical scribe, research positions. Amy will send out any job listings that she hears about to the Google Group. Be on the lookout for those! You don’t have to work in the medical field during your application year (but I’m sure it’s of interest to you). If you find a job outside the medical field, be sure to keep up your volunteering.

If you applied during the SMP year, send a final grade update out to schools that are still considering you. It’s not over till it’s over….

If you didn’t apply, submit your AMCAS in June.

You will need to order official transcripts from all of your undergrad institutions. You can list your final courses as In Progress on your AMCAS. However, if you prefer waiting to order the transcript until all final grades are posted, you could certainly do that.

Join the Georgetown SMP Alumni Facebook page.

Apply for August Graduation. The deadline to apply to graduate is prior to August 1. Do not forget!

Your diploma will be mailed in mid-October. It will come to the “permanent address” that you have listed in MyAccess (you can change the address in MyAccess if you want it to be delivered elsewhere).

If you applied during the SMP year and you haven’t heard from schools by mid-July, submit your application to AMCAS. 

Job hunt! Anything is fine, but if it’s not associated with the medical field, try to keep volunteering.

Get your secondaries back to schools, ASAP. Send a list of the schools to which you are applying, and the statement, “I give my permission for the SMP to send information about my application to the following schools:” to Amy Richards at physio@georgetown.edu as soon as you apply.

Contact schools if you haven’t already heard from them. Make sure all your information is in their hands. Let us know how things are going!

Trust the process!  Be sure to let us know when you get into school. We want to share in your successes! Email the good news to physio@georgetown.edu.

The SMP degree indicates completion of graduate-level education in a medical school setting, making it a resume booster in any area. Some of our alumni have decided to pursue jobs in academic, industrial or government laboratories, or in non-research positions in biomedical sciences in industry or government.

Whatever path you take in your career, we encourage you to keep volunteering and giving back to the community!

BGE Career Services

Georgetown University Biomedical Graduate Education provides a range of resources that will benefit you in any career path, including one-on-one advising, skills workshops, leadership programs and more.

Career Services