2009-2010 Mercer University Application Thread

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cland18 said:
Hey Guys!

I have an interview on Tuesday. What do you guys suggest I do to prepare? I've been reading over SDN and the usual stuff, but I wanted to know what you guys would think. Thanks in advance!
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Hey Charles!

The interviews I've had (Mercer and MCG last year and Mercer this year) have all been very different. I'd say the most important thing is to READ OVER YOUR APPLICATION and be ready to respond to weaknesses being pointed out to you. That's one thing that has been common in all my interviews and it's the toughest part of the interview. Good Luck!

-Ross-
 
bravewayner said:
Hey Charles!

The interviews I've had (Mercer and MCG last year and Mercer this year) have all been very different. I'd say the most important thing is to READ OVER YOUR APPLICATION and be ready to respond to weaknesses being pointed out to you. That's one thing that has been common in all my interviews and it's the toughest part of the interview. Good Luck!

-Ross-
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AND...

Remember that everybody posting on this thread has things on his/her application that aren't perfect (C's, Withdrawals, low previous MCAT's, etc., or all of the above). So don't be rattled when they try to point this stuff out. They see it often and know that people are not perfect. They want to see how you respond!
 
bravewayner said:
AND...

Remember that everybody posting on this thread has things on his/her application that aren't perfect (C's, Withdrawals, low previous MCAT's, etc., or all of the above). So don't be rattled when they try to point this stuff out. They see it often and know that people are not perfect. They want to see how you respond!
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Thanks alot! I'll let everyone know how it goes. Wish me luck!
 
Well, I have been deferred from Morehouse as I applied EDP. I decided to go ahead and apply to Mercer as well. This def. has been very disappointing, but I will fight until the end. GL to everyone.
 
This thread is pathetic compared to the one for last year's applicants. Sad.
 
Hey guys! All my interviews went really well yesterday. I interviewed with an internal medicine doctor and a fourth year med student. Thanks for all the advice. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
 
bravewayner said:
This thread is pathetic compared to the one for last year's applicants. Sad.
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You might want to consider that thus thread is only for Mercer. Last year's thread included Mercer, MCG, Morehouse, PCOM and Emory. That may account for the size/activity of the forum.
 
I was just snooping on last year's thread to try to find out how long it took for folks to hear back (surely others have tried this?). You gotta admit...they had an intense thread going on about this time.

Anyway, anybody know anything about some ad comm meetings?
 
I believe the last one for ED applicants is Sept 29th. I also believe the committee meets once a month for the most part. In the past I think Mary talks about it on interview day and if not either her or Dr. Clifton are usually more than willing to answer any questions.

Good luck to everyone interviewing tomorrow.
 
Hm....thanks! I guess ya miss this kind of stuff when you interview in Savannah.
 
Yeah, Savannah is a little different. I interviewed in Savannah last year and it was really odd to be the only applicant at the interview. It was completely different than my previous year interviewing in Macon
 
Hey guys, I am a second year in Savannah and wanted to let you know that if you have any questions I would be thrilled to answer them. Obviously I won't know a lot about the Macon campus but hopefully I can answer any questions y'all have about Savannah or Mercer in general. Good luck!
 
bravewayner said:
Interviewed today in Savannah. The first interviewer asked my opinion on health care reform and the second quizzed me on physiology. I interviewed in Savannah last year and they were a little more relaxed. I guess it just depends on the luck of the draw.

Good luck scottkx28!
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I think I know exactly who you are talking about, lol, if it was don't worry he is a nice enough guy, just a little blunt. Chances are he did not expect you to know the answers, sometimes he just does things like that, lol.
 
Whatayear said:
I think I know exactly who you are talking about, lol, if it was don't worry he is a nice enough guy, just a little blunt. Chances are he did not expect you to know the answers, sometimes he just does things like that, lol.
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Haha. He asked me what enzyme to use in PCR and I completely drew a blank. I'll never forget Taq polymerase as long as I live!
 
bravewayner said:
Haha. He asked me what enzyme to use in PCR and I completely drew a blank. I'll never forget Taq polymerase as long as I live!
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Thank God I didn't get a question like that at my interview. I wouldn't have even known what he was talking about! I have a graduate degree in Medical Science and I wouldn't have even been able to make a guess at that answer. He was completely just trying to rattle you and to see how you manage under stress, regardless of what your answer was to the question! Good Luck!
 
bravewayner said:
I was just snooping on last year's thread to try to find out how long it took for folks to hear back (surely others have tried this?). You gotta admit...they had an intense thread going on about this time.

Anyway, anybody know anything about some ad comm meetings?
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After the interview this year Dr. Murray said that the comm would either meet only once or twice in Sept. Last year I was told that Mercer normally has a meeting every two weeks during the first half of the application cycle and then after the new year they don't always meet as often. I have heard of people being accepted as early as Sept 15th EDP at Mercer, but who knows how early we could hear this year. It is best to not get your hopes up about hearing anything before the end of Sept. For us the hard part is over and now all we have to do is sit back and relax.
 
scottkx28 said:
After the interview this year Dr. Murray said that the comm would either meet only once or twice in Sept. Last year I was told that Mercer normally has a meeting every two weeks during the first half of the application cycle and then after the new year they don't always meet as often. I have heard of people being accepted as early as Sept 15th EDP at Mercer, but who knows how early we could hear this year. It is best to not get your hopes up about hearing anything before the end of Sept. For us the hard part is over and now all we have to do is sit back and relax.
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The email I got from the interview coordinator says that there will be no acceptances given prior to Oct. 1st.
 
cland18 said:
The email I got from the interview coordinator says that there will be no acceptances given prior to Oct. 1st.
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Ah, I knew I had read that somewhere. I think I'm going to take scottkx28's advice: relax, and stop trying to figure out the complexities of Mercer's admissions committee.
 
cland18 said:
The email I got from the interview coordinator says that there will be no acceptances given prior to Oct. 1st.
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Yeah I got that email as well, but I have been told that they sometimes have an early committee. I know someone who got accepted mid-Sept a year or two ago. I was also told that they just say that in the email so that applicants will not harass them too much.

Bravewayner, yes this stuff can get way too stressful! Last year I spent a lot of time worrying about it, so this year I am relaxing. It's in their hands now.
 
In the past ED has been rolling admissions with more than one committee meeting. This year however they are only having one meeting on September 30th.
 
Not very much activity lately.... Anyone else have any interviews coming up?
 
VCU07 said:
Just a quick question....how long did it take you guys to get your secondary?
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I got mine pretty quickly. I think roughly a week after I sumbitted my AMCAS. But I did apply EDP. Hope that helps!
 
VCU07 said:
Just a quick question....how long did it take you guys to get your secondary?
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Try calling them. That's how I got both of my secondaries (last year RD and this year ED).
 
kyteas said:
In the past ED has been rolling admissions with more than one committee meeting. This year however they are only having one meeting on September 30th.
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Just out of curiosity- did they tell you at your interview that the ADCOM meeting is specifically set for Sept. 30th? They told us at our interview that the meeting was probably going to be the last Wed. or so in Sept. Since the 30th is the day before Oct. 1st, I was thinking that it wouldn't leave the interviewer much time to notify the candidate by phone before the E.D. deadline. Just overanalyzing the situation because it gives me something to do while we wait!!:scared:
 
silas262 said:
Just out of curiosity- did they tell you at your interview that the ADCOM meeting is specifically set for Sept. 30th? They told us at our interview that the meeting was probably going to be the last Wed. or so in Sept. Since the 30th is the day before Oct. 1st, I was thinking that it wouldn't leave the interviewer much time to notify the candidate by phone before the E.D. deadline. Just overanalyzing the situation because it gives me something to do while we wait!!:scared:
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They told my group that the adcom meeting would be the last day in Sept.
 
bravewayner said:
Try calling them. That's how I got both of my secondaries (last year RD and this year ED).
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If your are applying RD Mary told me it takes 2-3 weeks for Mercer to get your application from AMCAS and then they will send it to you. I ended up not getting it so I too called Mercer and Mary sent it to me that day.
 
I also just called because I have been verified since June and hadn't gotten it. Mary sent it to me and said "That's weird."

IF YOU ARE A REGULAR DECISION APPLICANT THAT HAS BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME FOR YOUR SECONDARY YOU SHOULD CALL 🙂
 
Any interviews today? It's been pretty inactive here lately. Apparently this is a pretty slow Early Decision year for Mercer. Is there another thread for Mercer?
 
PanicAttack said:
I also just called because I have been verified since June and hadn't gotten it. Mary sent it to me and said "That's weird."

IF YOU ARE A REGULAR DECISION APPLICANT THAT HAS BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME FOR YOUR SECONDARY YOU SHOULD CALL 🙂
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They probably are not sure how to react to a 37 MCAT
 
So, what happens if I didn't take the SAT? Grew up in TN, not requried, but of course this was well over 10yrs ago.
 
VCU07 said:
So, what happens if I didn't take the SAT? Grew up in TN, not requried, but of course this was well over 10yrs ago.
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Well I know that Mercer heavily accepts people who are more likely to practice medicine in Ga, and you must be a Georgia resident to even apply. So as long as your residency form is signed, the fact that you grew up in TN shouldn't matter. As far as the SAT goes, I don't think it matters as long as you have a solid MCAT score. Hope that helps!
 
cland18 said:
Well I know that Mercer heavily accepts people who are more likely to practice medicine in Ga, and you must be a Georgia resident to even apply. So as long as your residency form is signed, the fact that you grew up in TN shouldn't matter. As far as the SAT goes, I don't think it matters as long as you have a solid MCAT score. Hope that helps!
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How about on their secondary? They ask for your SAT scores...do I just leave it blank?
 
VCU07 said:
How about on their secondary? They ask for your SAT scores...do I just leave it blank?
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It may be best to call someone at the admissions office. I don't think you can leave a field blank, you may have to enter 000 for each section.
 
I really don't think Mercer looks very hard at MCATs as long as you are above a certain threshold. They are not a large research institution, and their mission is to train physicians for underserved areas of Georgia. I don't think getting the stud with a 39 on his MCAT is as important to the committee as getting a caring and empathetic *person* who they can train into a physician.

Remembering that, the best advice I got while applying to med school was that the committee has already decided you are academically qualified when they invite you to interview. The interview is to determine what kind of person you are, your motives for medicine, and (specific to Mercer) whether you would fit into our curriculum. Being a PBL school, the students work closely together and competition is discouraged. Having even one gunner in the class can throw everyone off. If you come off as one in your interview, I don't think they'll want you. Regardless of your MCAT.
 
Downbytheicu said:
I really don't think Mercer looks very hard at MCATs as long as you are above a certain threshold. They are not a large research institution, and their mission is to train physicians for underserved areas of Georgia. I don't think getting the stud with a 39 on his MCAT is as important to the committee as getting a caring and empathetic *person* who they can train into a physician.

Remembering that, the best advice I got while applying to med school was that the committee has already decided you are academically qualified when they invite you to interview. The interview is to determine what kind of person you are, your motives for medicine, and (specific to Mercer) whether you would fit into our curriculum. Being a PBL school, the students work closely together and competition is discouraged. Having even one gunner in the class can throw everyone off. If you come off as one in your interview, I don't think they'll want you. Regardless of your MCAT.
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Very well said. As an example, when I applied to pharmacy school my PCAT score was average, actually probably a little below average. VCU looked past that and saw me as a person with a passion for what I wanted to do and accomplish. Needless to say, I graduated Maga cum laude in the top 10% of my class of over 100. I truly want to move on to be more active in patient care, but my MCAT score, very much like my PCAT score is below average. Already, I have been deferred from one school. I pray Mercer can look past a MCAT score to find an individual who meets their mission.
 
The first admissions committee is less than two weeks away! Are you guys as excited/anxious as I am? Does anyone else have an interview coming up? It's been pretty quiet here lately with the exception of the two great posts above.
 
with a low GPA, some people get in with a high MCAT score and vice versa. but has anyone ever got accepted with both mcat score and gpa below average? i understand that they care about you as a person, your motives, empathies, capabilities, etc...

has mercer accepted anyone with stats below average? how can i show them that i'm capable? would LOR, EC's, personal statement help? or is once the stats are below average, they throw me out?
 
jac86 said:
with a low GPA, some people get in with a high MCAT score and vice versa. but has anyone ever got accepted with both mcat score and gpa below average? i understand that they care about you as a person, your motives, empathies, capabilities, etc...

has mercer accepted anyone with stats below average? how can i show them that i'm capable? would LOR, EC's, personal statement help? or is once the stats are below average, they throw me out?
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I was waitlisted last year with a low MCAT score and a relatively low undergraduate G.P.A. I do have a graduate degree and healthcare experience so I'm assuming that had something to do with getting an interview. I think they do look at other factors outside of scores, but I would start taking some post-baccalaureate classes in the interim (i.e. Anatomy, Physiology, Biochem.,) to show them that you are capable of doing the class work and maybe some more volunteer work for the healthcare experience. If they are interested, you'll get an interview and you will be able to back up your motivation with actual actions you are taking to improve your application. I took a gamble and retook the MCAT and fortunately did alot better this time around. Just don't give up. You'll eventually get in some time if you're motivated enough.
 
Last edited:
does anyone know if mercer has started giving out RD interviews?
 
tdk3084 said:
does anyone know if mercer has started giving out RD interviews?
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I think that they have given out RD interview invites, but I think I was told at my ED interview that the actual interviews will not begin until October. Hope that helps!
 
cland18 said:
I think that they have given out RD interview invites, but I think I was told at my ED interview that the actual interviews will not begin until October. Hope that helps!
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thanks cland18!
 
I applied regular decision and got a call this afternoon. My interview is scheduled for October 6th!
 
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