2016-2017 Mercer University Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Interview invite received last Friday (9/9)!!! First one of the cycle and so excited. :soexcited: Complete 8/26
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It does seem like a lot of students Mercer accepts in their M1 class applied through ED
 
May be Doc said:
Congratulations! Did you get the II today-Sunday? Stats/ complete date/ Thanks
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Thank you! I got the invite at a very odd hour and was stunned. I received the email early Sunday (9/11) morning lol

I got the complete email from Mercer on 8/16. Rough stats are on my MDapps :)
 
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II received! Complete 7/18.

Scheduled for 9/27!
 
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Just got an II yesterday as well. Does anyone know if they offer student hosts at the Savannah campus? Or is a hotel better? The hotel information page on my portal is blank...
 
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II here after a month waiting! So excited!
 
Tommytom said:
Hey guys, I got accepted here last cycle and will be beginning my first year at Mercer in a little under a month! Just wanted to let y'all know if you need any help with the application process or anything else to let me know and I'll be more than happy to help! Good luck!
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Hey I am applying for the 2017-2018 cycle and so I am trying to prepare my application in advance for early decision next year. Any tips you can give as to what you did to get in? EC's you completed? Shadowing hours? Focus as far as your essay? Interview tips? Anything will help. By the way, congratulations on your acceptance!
 
Can anyone interviewing in Savannah campus before let me know where to park my car and which building I will check in? I don't want to get confused on that nervous day. Thank you very much!
 
anyone know what time the meeting is today/ when ED people find out?
 
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kingarty24 said:
@MedSchool0310 Here's my two cents - I'd say to start off, you need to make sure that you're in sync with Mercer's mission of serving rural and underserved areas of the state. Mercer is very serious about mission compliance and actually receives funding for fulfilling it's obligation to train doctors to stay in-state (obviously not every graduate stays with PC in GA, but you get the point).

As far as ECs/volunteering, I would say find a cause or organization that you care about and stick with them long term - or start your own if you can't find one! This doesn't necessarily need to be a medically oriented service, but it should be something that you are passionate about. Leadership positions in any groups that you're involved with never hurts, and you should be able to discuss your role at length. But have fun! If you're involved in any unique clubs/groups that you think are interesting, remember to share these as well!

For physician shadowing, I think a solid percentage of your total hours should be comprised of time spent with providers in PC fields: internal medicine, emergency med, pediatrics, etc. Shadowing doctors in other specialties is great and provides perspective, but I wouldn't spend the majority of your time with them. And again, sticking with one or two doctors over the course of several months is better than hanging out with many different doctors two or three times and getting a letter. I can't speak to a specific number of hours you should shoot for - there are plenty of threads on SDN that cover that type of concern.

You've proabably already got a personal statement in the works, but as far as the essays for the secondary application all I can tell you is that they're your first chance to put on paper why Mercer's a good fit for you, and why you'll make a great addition to your class. Goals after graduation, ties to GA, any unique stories about yourself - all need to either relate to mission compliance or how you stand out from the crowd. Same rules apply for interview day. You need to have a 5 and 10 year plan and be able to articulate how these dovetail with your acceptance to and training with Mercer.

@Tommytom feel free to amend/edit/delete any of the above, as you probably know better.
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I haven't been accepted and am by no means an expert but I can say that given the limited number of spots it is VERY important to get your app in early. I applied last year a little late in the cycle and did not hear a word from them until they sent me my pre-interview rejection. This year I applied again with an almost identical application but I made sure to get everything submitted in a timely fashion and I actually have an interview now! Also at a recent doctors visit I met two residents, both from mercer, and they both said that they were rejected the first time around but after sending in their applications earlier the second time they both got interviews and of course accepted. One guy even said that upon talking to the admissions committee about what to do better the second time around, the only thing they really advised him to do was apply earlier.
 
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kingarty24 said:
Okay folks - acceptances for EDP are rolling out! Be on the lookout for a call/email tonight or tomorrow. Just got my call tonight, been waiting 3 years for this.

Now - I'm pulling for each and every one of you guys!
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Do you know how many students matriculated in 2016? and how many they plan to accept this year? Thanks,
 
Just got my call about an hour ago! So excited for this journey to begin!


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How late do you guys think they will stop calling tonight for EDP?
 
I got an informal acceptance email this morning from the admissions board member that interviewed me! I was worried when I didn't get the phone call last night. Good luck everyone. I hope you all get in.

Update: I received a formal email just now, They said an electronic acceptance packet will be emailed within 48 hours.
 
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Did any other ED applicants get a background check request from AAMC today? I haven't gotten a call or e-mail from Mercer itself, so I'm confused.
 
codylover said:
Did any other ED applicants get a background check request from AAMC today? I haven't gotten a call or e-mail from Mercer itself, so I'm confused.
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Yes I received one this morning, I already filled it out and sent it in. The electronic signature wouldn't work for me so I had to fax a form in.
 
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Anyone know how the campus selection works? Since we did ED do we get first pick?
Also anyone know if the Facebook group is up yet?
 
GoDawgs75 said:
Anyone know how the campus selection works? Since we did ED do we get first pick?
Also anyone know if the Facebook group is up yet?
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I assume that it will be in the admissions packet they send.

Who sets up the Facebook group?
 
Hey guys sorry I haven't been on in a while, as you can imagine M1 is a busy time! I'll get to some of your questions tonight but as far as the matriculation numbers only 125 we accepted not 160
 
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kingarty24 said:
That's it - I was definitely wrong. Now I remember the split being around 60 at each campus, right? Which is probably what caused me to mess that up.
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this is correct. The information I received reported approximately 62 matriculants at Macon and 62 at Savannah :)
 
To what extent does Mercer practice yield protection? No II yet, complete 7/30, LizzyM 77. :(
 
kyhuynh said:
Is it because your stat is "too good"? Too high or too low Lizzy both effect your chance.
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Had a friend interview here, and the interviewer frankly told him that his stats are too high for this school and that he should go elsewhere.
 
Did everyone get an email saying this back on 9/1/16? I got this after my interview, we should probably just skip this right?
On Friday, November 11, 2016 Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) is hosting an event called “Discover MUSM” and you are invited!

At this event, you will have an opportunity to learn more about MUSM by listening to an admissions presentation, receiving a tour of our facility, meeting with a member of the admissions committee, and learning more about our curriculum through witnessing an encounter with a standardized patient and participating in an example of problem-based learning. This event will be held on our Macon campus.

If you are interested in learning more about this event and registering for this event, please click on the following link:http://medicine.mercer.edu/admissions/md/forms/discover/.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!

We look forward to seeing you in November!
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Koprulu said:
Had a friend interview here, and the interviewer frankly told him that his stats are too high for this school and that he should go elsewhere.
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Sounds like a good problem to have.
 
GoDawgs75 said:
Anyone know how the campus selection works? Since we did ED do we get first pick?
Also anyone know if the Facebook group is up yet?
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FYI just so happened to check out the Mercer Application website and found this. So I guess that kind of explains the situation regarding campus preference requests.
Congratulations on the offer of acceptance into the MD program at Mercer University School of Medicine for the class entering August 2017. You will receive or may already have received a detailed complete acceptance packet via e-mail from the Admissions Office. To accept the offer of admission, a deposit of 100 dollars payable to Mercer University is required. This deposit will be credited toward your tuition. It is only after receipt of this deposit the Admissions Office processes Campus Preference Requests. As indicated in the acceptance letter, you can send a check for this dollar amount payable to Mercer University, along with your signed acceptance letter. We are providing the option of paying this deposit with a credit card through this website for your convenience, and we will be able to process campus preference requests as soon as we receive this deposit. Please note if you pay with a credit card, there is an additional processing fee of 5 dollars per transaction.
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I wouldn't look too much into having too high of stats holding you back. The school certainly doesn't seem to see itself as a second-rate institution. I have no doubt that some interviewer suggested/flat-out said that, but keep in mind that there is a committee - and I've seen nothing to suggest that they would allow that to be an actual factor.

Also, for everyone that wants to know, my impression has been that the most important factor in keeping with the mission is commitment to practicing in Georgia. We were actually told if we wanted to go derm, fine, just stay in Georgia. Take that however you will.

Finally, I believe there were and will be 60 acceptees per campus, with any amount over 120 due to those remediating first year.
 
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Hello, I applied ED and got an email on Wednesday saying I was rolled over to RD. I sent out an email asking what my weaknesses in my application were and admissions person responded saying "I think the likelihood of the Committee accepting you later this cycle is remote. Therefore, I'd encourage you to focus on reapplying next year if appropriate rather than communicating updates and strengthening it this year." This confuses me because it said in the first email that if i wanted to be accepted this cycle I would need a substantial update?
I'm a 20XX GATech grad in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Spanish and got high honors at GaTech. I have only a little bit of shadowing experience but a lot of volunteer stuff and research stuff. I worked in 2 research labs, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, a free clinic for the summer and a bunch of other stuff. I also felt like I had really good interviews. I'm just sort of racking my brain into what could have been wrong with my application. Any advice or encouragement? :/
 
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quantum-dragon said:
Hello, I applied ED and got an email on Wednesday saying I was rolled over to RD. I sent out an email asking what my weaknesses in my application were and admissions person responded saying "I think the likelihood of the Committee accepting you later this cycle is remote. Therefore, I'd encourage you to focus on reapplying next year if appropriate rather than communicating updates and strengthening it this year." This confuses me because it said in the first email that if i wanted to be accepted this cycle I would need a substantial update?
I'm a 2016 GATech grad in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Spanish and got high honors at GaTech. I have only a little bit of shadowing experience but a lot of volunteer stuff and research stuff. I worked in 2 research labs, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, a free clinic for the summer and a bunch of other stuff. I also felt like I had really good interviews. I'm just sort of racking my brain into what could have been wrong with my application. Any advice or encouragement? :/
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Did your MCAT score fall into Mercer's range?
 
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quantum-dragon said:
Hello, I applied ED and got an email on Wednesday saying I was rolled over to RD. I sent out an email asking what my weaknesses in my application were and admissions person responded saying "I think the likelihood of the Committee accepting you later this cycle is remote. Therefore, I'd encourage you to focus on reapplying next year if appropriate rather than communicating updates and strengthening it this year." This confuses me because it said in the first email that if i wanted to be accepted this cycle I would need a substantial update?
I'm a 2016 GATech grad in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Spanish and got high honors at GaTech. I have only a little bit of shadowing experience but a lot of volunteer stuff and research stuff. I worked in 2 research labs, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, a free clinic for the summer and a bunch of other stuff. I also felt like I had really good interviews. I'm just sort of racking my brain into what could have been wrong with my application. Any advice or encouragement? :/
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What are your stats?
 
quantum-dragon said:
Hello, I applied ED and got an email on Wednesday saying I was rolled over to RD. I sent out an email asking what my weaknesses in my application were and admissions person responded saying "I think the likelihood of the Committee accepting you later this cycle is remote. Therefore, I'd encourage you to focus on reapplying next year if appropriate rather than communicating updates and strengthening it this year." This confuses me because it said in the first email that if i wanted to be accepted this cycle I would need a substantial update?
I'm a 2016 GATech grad in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Spanish and got high honors at GaTech. I have only a little bit of shadowing experience but a lot of volunteer stuff and research stuff. I worked in 2 research labs, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, a free clinic for the summer and a bunch of other stuff. I also felt like I had really good interviews. I'm just sort of racking my brain into what could have been wrong with my application. Any advice or encouragement? :/
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That's rough. Is it possible that it could have appeared like you switched your mind last minute (i.e. maybe over the last year) to start pursuing medicine? If not, and assuming your interview didn't contradict your personal statement and secondary, I would take offense to that kind of response following an ED interview. Apply aggressively elsewhere (particularly if your MCAT is good (508+)). If that doesn't work, maybe consider ED to MCG next year. But seriously, if you have a competitive MCAT, you should be an attractive candidate at many schools, and might want to take advantage of the full RD cycle. Also, keep in mind, I only speak from my own experiences, and it appears everyones mileage varies considerably.
 
SoYouDontWantaFishSandwch said:
That's rough. Is it possible that it could have appeared like you switched your mind last minute (i.e. maybe over the last year) to start pursuing medicine? If not, and assuming your interview didn't contradict your personal statement and secondary, I would take offense to that kind of response following an ED interview. Apply aggressively elsewhere (particularly if your MCAT is good (508+)). If that doesn't work, maybe consider ED to MCG next year. But seriously, if you have a competitive MCAT, you should be an attractive candidate at many schools, and might want to take advantage of the full RD cycle. Also, keep in mind, I only speak from my own experiences, and it appears everyones mileage varies considerably.
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I don't think it could've appeared that I switched my mind to start pursuing medicine. I was consistent in my interview. I specifically stated that I want to help rural Georgians, I have family and experience in rural Georgia, I've worked with the Latin American community around Atlanta and I have a particular interest in endocrinology due to my personal experience with disability and type 1 diabetes. I didn't change my mind on any of those things for the interview. :/ I've also interviewed with them in March 2016 for the RD 2015-2016 school year and was put on the waiting list so I don't know if that played a part.
My MCAT isn't the best but it's in Mercer's range (5XX) with a GPA of 3.XX (which is actually really good for Georgia Tech, hence the high honors). I was hoping to take it again sometime January and get a much more competitive score and send in that update about that but the admissions guy (as you saw) was basically like don't bother? Which really confuses me as I've seen other stories on here about getting off the waiting list from ED after sending updates. Why am I treated different? The person who responded was Dr. E. S Prakash and mentioned being overloaded with work so I don't know if it was just an off the cuff email or what.

Edit: And to be fair, he did say he will review my application with me and give me feedback. It was the "you have a remote chance so don't even try this year" that got me.
 
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quantum-dragon said:
I don't think it could've appeared that I switched my mind to start pursuing medicine. I was consistent in my interview. I specifically stated that I want to help rural Georgians, I have family and experience in rural Georgia, I've worked with the Latin American community around Atlanta and I have a particular interest in endocrinology due to my personal experience with disability and type 1 diabetes. I didn't change my mind on any of those things for the interview. :/ I've also interviewed with them in March 2016 for the RD 2015-2016 school year and was put on the waiting list so I don't know if that played a part.
My MCAT isn't the best but it's in Mercer's range (5XX) with a GPA of 3.XX (which is actually really good for Georgia Tech, hence the high honors). I was hoping to take it again sometime January and get a much more competitive score and send in that update about that but the admissions guy (as you saw) was basically like don't bother? Which really confuses me as I've seen other stories on here about getting off the waiting list from ED after sending updates. Why am I treated different? The person who responded was Dr. E. S Prakash and mentioned being overloaded with work so I don't know if it was just an off the cuff email or what.

Edit: And to be fair, he did say he will review my application with me and give me feedback. It was the "you have a remote chance so don't even try this year" that got me.
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I think it's so unfair that a psych major, for example, from UGA that has a 3.9 is regarded a better candidate than a <3.7 from GA Tech. It's ridiculous. The difference in the actual rigor between these two programs is so palpable and admissions committees especially in Georgia medical schools should take that into account.

Good luck to you, man.
 
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quantum-dragon said:
I don't think it could've appeared that I switched my mind to start pursuing medicine. I was consistent in my interview. I specifically stated that I want to help rural Georgians, I have family and experience in rural Georgia, I've worked with the Latin American community around Atlanta and I have a particular interest in endocrinology due to my personal experience with disability and type 1 diabetes. I didn't change my mind on any of those things for the interview. :/ I've also interviewed with them in March 2016 for the RD 2015-2016 school year and was put on the waiting list so I don't know if that played a part.
My MCAT isn't the best but it's in Mercer's range (5xx) with a GPA of 3.xx (which is actually really good for Georgia Tech, hence the high honors). I was hoping to take it again sometime January and get a much more competitive score and send in that update about that but the admissions guy (as you saw) was basically like don't bother? Which really confuses me as I've seen other stories on here about getting off the waiting list from ED after sending updates. Why am I treated different? The person who responded was Dr. E. S Prakash and mentioned being overloaded with work so I don't know if it was just an off the cuff email or what.

Edit: And to be fair, he did say he will review my application with me and give me feedback. It was the "you have a remote chance so don't even try this year" that got me.
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Well your GPA and MCAT are below average I think for even DO schools. With that being said, I feel like I've seen more 502s at Mercer than 511s (what was supposed to be the new average based on percentiles). Also, to add on to what mover said, even though that 3.xx is harder to obtain probably than a 4.0 at pretty much any other GA school than UGA, it might still be working against you.

If you were told by Dr Prakash, you were basically told by the person in charge. With those stats, I wouldn't feel offended like I said before, but feel like that might have been a genuine, caring response.

I probably would wait to retake the MCAT until your practice exams start telling you that you are consistently in the 511+ range. Then I would start applying again in earnest, otherwise you might be spending a lot of money on a long shot (if you already have plenty of money, then I would still apply aggressively now and take a shot). Also, don't rule out PCOM or any of the other DO schools.
 
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I do think if you significantly improve your MCAT this cycle, I would send an update that includes all the other stuff you are doing plus your new score.
 
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Last thing I would say is that you have personally identified yourself (unless there are other GT grads with your exact stats) to any school that might check SDN, so make sure you keep that in mind during your application cycles.
 
SoYouDontWantaFishSandwch said:
I do think if you significantly improve your MCAT this cycle, I would send an update that includes all the other stuff you are doing plus your new score.
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That's what I'm planning on doing. I'm just wondering if the "remote chance" applies to sending significantly improved updates.
SoYouDontWantaFishSandwch said:
Last thing I would say is that you have personally identified yourself (unless there are other GT grads with your exact stats) to any school that might check SDN, so make sure you keep that in mind during your application cycles.
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I'm new here so I'm not sure what you mean. Have I said something wrong or offensive?
Edit: I think you meant I have identified myself to the schools? I was worried for a second that other students or people I don't know could identify me from this information that I normally keep private.
 
quantum-dragon said:
That's what I'm planning on doing. I'm just wondering if the "remote chance" applies to sending significantly improved updates.

I'm new here so I'm not sure what you mean. Have I said something wrong or offensive?
Edit: I think you meant I have identified myself to the schools? I was worried for a second that other students or people I don't know could identify me from this information that I normally keep private.
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I don't think you've said anything wrong or offensive at all. But you can search your posts by your history really easily. So if any school was so inclined to check their own feed on SDN (and most users post on the feeds to the schools they are applying), they would be able to look at your history and see the post history of someone who had a 5XX and a 3.XX that graduate from GT in 20XX that applied to their school.

The reason I brought it up is because it is really easy to get frustrated during this process, and post things that might make you unattractive to a school. That's why most people post their LizzyM or even a lizzyM approximate, so they can still be open and not worry about something they say being used against them.

FYI, I XX'd your scores and date so if you decide to go back and change your posts, you don't have to worry about me identifying you from this post.
 
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SoYouDontWantaFishSandwch said:
I don't think you've said anything wrong or offensive at all. But you can search your posts by your history really easily. So if any school was so inclined to check their own feed on SDN (and most users post on the feeds to the schools they are applying), they would be able to look at your history and see the post history of someone who had a 5XX and a 3.XX that graduate from GT in 20XX that applied to their school.

The reason I brought it up is because it is really easy to get frustrated during this process, and post things that might make you unattractive to a school. That's why most people post their LizzyM or even a lizzyM approximate, so they can still be open and not worry about something they say being used against them.

FYI, I XX'd your scores and date so if you decide to go back and change your posts, you don't have to worry about me identifying you from this post.
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Thank you so so much.
@ImmovableMover if you could be so kind, could you do the same? Thank you.
 
HeisenbergIsTheGOAT said:
If accepted, would you guys do macon or savannah?
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This is a great question that I really couldn't answer until after attending my interview and talking with medical students (both Savannah and Macon students for bias pref lol). There are more similarities than differences between the two campuses but ultimately, I chose Savannah.
 
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