MCG or Mercer

[luckyt66]

I currently go to UGA, and will begin applying in the next few weeks, and I was considering to do EDP to MCG, but I thought I would look into Mercer a little since I didn't know much about it.

So I know this is very broad and general, but what are peoples (who currently go to, or have previously gone) feedback and views on these two schools. For example, how do people who go to Mercer like the Problem-based Learning system, and what type of people do you think that system is good for??

Thank You so much

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[familyaerospace]

I'm in the Agnes Scott post-bacc program which has a linkage to Mercer. I'm not taking the linkage. When I apply next year, I'm going to apply to MCG and at the moment it's more impressive to me. Everyone I've spoken to about Mercer says they are really trying to focus on rural and family medicine. While that's great and all, it might not be for everyone. I don't think it's really right for me.

 

[fahimaz7]

MCG has a lecture based curriculum with no attendance policy. MCG costs ~15k/year less in tuition, and is much better known around the country.

Both schools have a lot of UGA students, as 80/190 of MCG's current MS1/2 class are from UGA. If you're going EDP, make sure you at least fall around the average numbers of those who are accepted (31/3.71), if you apply to MCG. While I don't know the numbers for Mercer, I believe it's around a 3.5/28

Good luck! MCG is a great place to be.

PS you should really post these questions under the MCG and Mercer school threads.
PSS. Emory, MCG, and Mercer all keep the same number of students in the state (~47%). No school can make you do rural/family medicine. If you look at Mercer's match list, they are going into every specialty.

 

[luckyt66]

MCG has a lecture based curriculum with no attendance policy. MCG costs ~15k/year less in tuition, and is much better known around the country.

Both schools have a lot of UGA students, as 80/190 of MCG's current MS1/2 class are from UGA. If you're going EDP, make sure you at least fall around the average numbers of those who are accepted (31/3.71), if you apply to MCG. While I don't know the numbers for Mercer, I believe it's around a 3.5/28

Good luck! MCG is a great place to be.

PS you should really post these questions under the MCG and Mercer school threads.
PSS. Emory, MCG, and Mercer all keep the same number of students in the state (~47%). No school can make you do rural/family medicine. If you look at Mercer's match list, they are going into every specialty.

- Would you have the links for the actual school threads??

Thanks a lot

 

[fahimaz7]

- Would you have the links for the actual school threads??

Thanks a lot

Nope. But it's under this http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=604

 

[ksmi117]

Moving to the 10-11 School Specific Discussions forum.

 

[justdoit31]

When I had my Mercer interview they grilled me about moving to a rural area and didn't seem to care about any other aspect of me. Also the students said they did tons of reading since the curriculum isn't as structured (PBL) so you have to dig for a lot of things yourself. I decided it wasn't for me.

Didn't inteview at MCG since I got into my top choice with scholarship fairly early in the process.

 

[scottkx28]

I am a first year student at Mercer and so far I really like it. We haven't had our first test yet since it is in week 6 but I have no desire to be in a lecture based system now. I have friends at MCG and it sounds like a much easier program. They just study lecture notes for about 5-8 hours a day during the week. So far I have studied everyday and weekends for around 8+ hours a day on average. I put in more time than most people though. I would say on average expect to study about 6-8 hours a day, 6 days a week. I wouldn't trade with an MCG student though since the atmosphere at Mercer is great. Everyone knows each other, gets along, and helps each other out. It's really about personal preferance though. You need to pick a program you would like, but defnitely think about Mercer. Becareful of the b.s. that people tell you about schools. If they are not in med school then they probably have no idea what they are talking about. The rumors get out of control!

About the rural medicine post. Yes Mercer's mission statement to to produce rural Georgia physicans, but it is your life and you choose your specialty and where you want to practice. No one can force you into anything. You might change your mind about rural areas after you see what the physicians do there.

Make choices on school based more on their program than the other stuff. Part of it might be where you get accepted to. I know people who got accepted to mercer not mcg, and vice versa. Just put together a good application and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[luckyt66]

I am a first year student at Mercer and so far I really like it. We haven't had our first test yet since it is in week 6 but I have no desire to be in a lecture based system now. I have friends at MCG and it sounds like a much easier program. They just study lecture notes for about 5-8 hours a day during the week. So far I have studied everyday and weekends for around 8+ hours a day on average. I put in more time than most people though. I would say on average expect to study about 6-8 hours a day, 6 days a week. I wouldn't trade with an MCG student though since the atmosphere at Mercer is great. Everyone knows each other, gets along, and helps each other out. It's really about personal preferance though. You need to pick a program you would like, but defnitely think about Mercer. Becareful of the b.s. that people tell you about schools. If they are not in med school then they probably have no idea what they are talking about. The rumors get out of control!

About the rural medicine post. Yes Mercer's mission statement to to produce rural Georgia physicans, but it is your life and you choose your specialty and where you want to practice. No one can force you into anything. You might change your mind about rural areas after you see what the physicians do there.

Make choices on school based more on their program than the other stuff. Part of it might be where you get accepted to. I know people who got accepted to mercer not mcg, and vice versa. Just put together a good application and see what happens. Good luck.

Thanks a lot for the reply!

 

[DoctorDermis]

When I had my Mercer interview they grilled me about moving to a rural area and didn't seem to care about any other aspect of me. Also the students said they did tons of reading since the curriculum isn't as structured (PBL) so you have to dig for a lot of things yourself. I decided it wasn't for me.

Didn't inteview at MCG since I got into my top choice with scholarship fairly early in the process.

i am at mcg, and i can tell you that I really wish they taught more 1) for the boards and more 2) for the wards.

You learn a lot of things that I consider phd-level "fluff", and not enough usmle-related "stuff".

Also, the lecturers are mostly "decent". There are a "FEW" Great lecturers, but the rest struggle to achieve a class attendance of 40%.

Class attendance is a direct evaluation of Lecturer Performance.

Anywho,

Learning for Yourself is the #1 method to utilize

 

[MossPoh]

When I had my Mercer interview they grilled me about moving to a rural area and didn't seem to care about any other aspect of me. Also the students said they did tons of reading since the curriculum isn't as structured (PBL) so you have to dig for a lot of things yourself. I decided it wasn't for me.

Didn't inteview at MCG since I got into my top choice with scholarship fairly early in the process.

That digging really translates to better clinical and USMLE performance for most people. The legwork does suck, but it pays off if you put it in.

I'm at a mostly lecture based program with some PBL (poorly) thrown in, but I've found that the classes I do best in are the ones with the crappiest powerpoints/notes because I do have to look things up and crossreference.

As far as the Mercer versus MCG thing. I go to a primary care oriented school that is not too far away really. I had a slight interest in primary care, but always kind of lacked the interest in it. The primary care thing getting rammed down your throat can be annoying if it isn't your thing, but you get used to it, as bad as it sounds. There is nothing that says you can't go into other fields. You may have to do a little more work if you are interested in networking with surgeons, radiologists, etc. but overall, it isn't a big deal. I do think the personality of the students leans towards a little friendlier and helpful here than the traditional medical school.

Every school has pros and cons. When faced with two acceptance letters you have to sit down and make a personal list of what is valuable to you with each school. Then, you will still make a gut decision.

 

[DoctorDermis]

I am a first year student at Mercer and so far I really like it. . I have friends at MCG and it sounds like a much easier program. They just study lecture notes for about 5-8 hours a day during the week. So far I have studied everyday and weekends for around 8+ hours a day on average. I put in more time than most people though. I would say on average expect to study about 6-8 hours a day, 6 days a week. I wouldn't trade with an MCG student though since the atmosphere at Mercer is great.

I have met Very few people (and i mean less than 5) who "only" study 5-8 hours a day.
That idea is preposterous and a death warrant for the average MCG student.

On top of that, our lecture packets are averaging 100 to 130 slides in 2nd year, and we get between 9 and 14 of those packets a week PLUS a number of handouts, reading assignments, materials etc.

Not done yet! We have quite a few other responsibilities every week which simply leach our time away like blood sucking parasites.

We cover the same material as most any school in the US of A - why? because these schools need to have a curriculum that meets the NBME requirements in order to retain accreditation.

You are not alone in the amount that you study. Remember, there are thousands of us who are literally putting our cortisol rhythm and endocrine functions into disarray.

In the end...All I can say is... you guys have a PASS / FAIL system, and a test schedule that trains you to learn for longer term retention - not the fill up and dump every 2 weeks that we have here.

Boy...i'd sure give my left eye for a Pass / Fail system.

I have had 2 89.97's on modules - guess what. MCG does NOT round up.

Good luck on those exams. First year is pretty bad anywhere you go. And 2nd year aint much better.

 

[GAdoc]

I have met Very few people (and i mean less than 5) who "only" study 5-8 hours a day.
That idea is preposterous and a death warrant for the average MCG student.

On top of that, our lecture packets are averaging 100 to 130 slides in 2nd year, and we get between 9 and 14 of those packets a week PLUS a number of handouts, reading assignments, materials etc.

Not done yet! We have quite a few other responsibilities every week which simply leach our time away like blood sucking parasites.

We cover the same material as most any school in the US of A - why? because these schools need to have a curriculum that meets the NBME requirements in order to retain accreditation.

You are not alone in the amount that you study. Remember, there are thousands of us who are literally putting our cortisol rhythm and endocrine functions into disarray.

In the end...All I can say is... you guys have a PASS / FAIL system, and a test schedule that trains you to learn for longer term retention - not the fill up and dump every 2 weeks that we have here.

Boy...i'd sure give my left eye for a Pass / Fail system.

I have had 2 89.97's on modules - guess what. MCG does NOT round up.

Good luck on those exams. First year is pretty bad anywhere you go. And 2nd year aint much better.

I'm a 4th year at Mercer and I bottom line: its a personal preference as to whether you'd do better at MCG or Mercer. If you want to stay in med school, how much you study will be based on how much you personally have to do to get the grades you want. That being said, any LCME accredited US med school will get you where you want to go. Because Mercer isn't quite as well known, a Step 1 of 250 may not mean the same thing as a 250 from someone from Emory or MCG. But, you'd only really worry about that if you were applying to a super-competitive specialty anyway.

As someone else said, no one can force you into primary care. And I can tell you that the majority of Mercer faculty know that what you say you want to do at the start may change by 4th year. That's life. I had every intent of doing primary care, but in the end orthopaedics was a better fit and that's what I'm trying for.

I don't know much about other med schools, so this is in no way a shot to them, but I can tell you two very positive things about Mercer:

1. I would challenge anyone to find another med school that better prepares you for the boards and residency. We're known for taking students with marginal MCATs, and turning out unbelieveable Step 1 scores. I took the MCAT three times: 24, 22, 27. Most schools wouldn't even touch me. Mercer took a chance and I made a 246 on step 1 and 249 on step 2. Over the last few years, our match list is ridiculous. We've matched people into ENT, derm, rad onc, rads, ortho, etc. etc.

2. Our clinical preparation is awesome. I'm now on my 2nd away rotation at the University of Florida. UF is one of the most competitive schools in the country and the residents and staff don't think very highly of the students. According to them, they lack clinical preparation (don't know how to write notes, take H&Ps, do basic exams, etc).

At Mercer you will work hard. You will take more call in your 3rd year than at any med school I've heard of. You will see patients every day BEFORE the residents, and you will present both to the resident and the attending. You will write notes that go in the patient's chart, and you will come out of Step 2 CS feeling well prepared.

 

[luckyt66]

Thank You for the replies; please continue to post any comments/experiences/updates that anyone has!

 

[DoctorDermis]

Both schools have a lot of UGA students, as 80/190 of MCG's current MS1/2 class are from UGA. If you're going EDP, make sure you at least fall around the average numbers of those who are accepted (31/3.71), if you apply to MCG. While I don't know the numbers for Mercer, I believe it's around a 3.5/28...

If you are a medical minority (hispanic, native american, alaskan indian, black), then you can have lower stats in order to be accepted to MCG.

 

[fahimaz7]

I have met Very few people (and i mean less than 5) who "only" study 5-8 hours a day.
That idea is preposterous and a death warrant for the average MCG student.

On top of that, our lecture packets are averaging 100 to 130 slides in 2nd year, and we get between 9 and 14 of those packets a week PLUS a number of handouts, reading assignments, materials etc.

Not done yet! We have quite a few other responsibilities every week which simply leach our time away like blood sucking parasites.

We cover the same material as most any school in the US of A - why? because these schools need to have a curriculum that meets the NBME requirements in order to retain accreditation.

You are not alone in the amount that you study. Remember, there are thousands of us who are literally putting our cortisol rhythm and endocrine functions into disarray.

In the end...All I can say is... you guys have a PASS / FAIL system, and a test schedule that trains you to learn for longer term retention - not the fill up and dump every 2 weeks that we have here.

Boy...i'd sure give my left eye for a Pass / Fail system.

I have had 2 89.97's on modules - guess what. MCG does NOT round up.

Good luck on those exams. First year is pretty bad anywhere you go. And 2nd year aint much better.

I'm at MCG and I don't study 8 hours a day. If I go to class, I sit there from 8-12, then study until 5-6 pm. So that's ~5 hours of study/day, unless it's a test week.

Both MCG and Mercer are great schools. As an MCG student, I am extremely happy with our curriculum, faculty, and our style of teaching. I feel that they provide us with everything that we need, and go out of their way to tell us what is important for boards and tests. With exam averages hovering around an 87 (MS-2), we are obviously doing something right. I picked MCG over Mercer for financial reasons and notoriety.



PS. Medical school isn't a death warrant. You can do just fine, and have a balanced life outside of the classroom.

 

[lollybo]

How would you describe the environment at MCG? Do you think the numerical grading system makes it more competetive?

What are research opportunities like?

How many hot UGA girls end up at MCG?

 

[fahimaz7]

How would you describe the environment at MCG? Do you think the numerical grading system makes it more competetive?

Our class isn't competitive. I don't feel like we are cut-throat at all, and I've never seen anyone sabotage a fellow student. Almost every day I get study guides, drug lists, etc in my email. I'm incredibly happy with our class, faculty, and curriculum. Couldn't imagine a better place to be.

What are research opportunities like?

Research is for the birds. With that said, we have several discovery institutes (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, vision, obesity, etc) that have a lot of labs to get involved with. We also just built a $50 million dollar cancer research building, and are pushing to get a NCI designated Cancer Center. You can apply for the Dean's Scholarship Program (summertime), which is a paid research position and poster opportunity.

MD/PHD can head to UGA for their PHD.

How many hot UGA girls end up at MCG?

Quite a few hot chicks. We also have a nursing, dental, PT, OT, PA, etc school here at MCG

The thing about medical school, that no one really knows until they get there, is that it's mostly self-taught. The faculty can suggest readings (Mercer) or provide you with packets/handouts (MCG), but at the end of the day it's the student who has to learn the material. This learning isn't done in the classroom, it's done at a library, coffee shop, or a sofa near you. There's so much self-study going on in medical school, that some of us wonder why we pay $150/day to "go to school".

If you like reading a lot of books, head to Mercer. If you like packets/handouts, and a bit more structure.. head to MCG. You can't go wrong at either school, and both have advantages and disadvantages.