Anyone interviewing mid-Oct. ?
Anyone interviewing mid-Oct. ?
Any suggestions for places to stay at Augusta close to school during the interview visit
Yay!!! Received interview invite today!!
Does MCG send a "complete" email?
M1 dropping in. Just wanted to say congrats to those already accepted and that I am looking forward to seeing some of you around campus as the interviewing season progresses.
This thread helped me out a lot last cycle and I want to give back by helping ya'll out any way I can. Feel free to PM me or post on here any questions you might have.
For those still waiting, try not to stress too much. Good luck!
Can any current students talk about their experience at MCG, especially in regard to the curriculum and classes in general? The site says it's system-based, but it doesn't really give more detail than that..And how are the professors, the tests, and the camaraderie among the students? What's the typical schedule like as one M1, etc.?
Thank you!
EDIT: Just found this about the curriculum.
http://www.georgiahealth.edu/medicine/coffice/
Has anyone done the Student Hosting? Thoughts? I'm normally quite nervous the day before a big event, and try to avoid talking to people--especially the inevitable cheerfulness and small talk that is required when you meet someone new.
Oh gosh. It begins.
We get handouts that explain the lecture, and everything you're responsible for is in the lectures or the handout - there won't be anything in the book that wasn't said, but you're responsible for it.
Just a little confused here. So does this mean that students don't really read the textbooks, and they only have to study the lecture notes to do well in class?
This is some great feedback! Thank you so much!
Most students find the lecture notes and handouts sufficient. I don't think anyone (or at least only very few people) actually hardcore reads the books - they only use them if the lecture or handouts are unclear. Though honestly, I'll go to google/wiki before I go to the book since it's easier and I can usually get the answers that way. The profs are also very open and quick to respond to emailed questions, so sometimes that's easier than going to the book (sometimes I find the act of writing out the email leads me to answering the question myself).
It's also nice to keep a copy of first aid around because they come with little mind tricks and mneumonics that help.
Hhmmmmm...I'm a fellow M1 as well...this feels kind of weird. I'm obviously finding ways not to study for TBL tomorrow. Anyways...
I also had some help in this group, so I thought I'd pass on the knowledge. I've only been here for 2 months, so I'm not sure how much I'll know, but I can try!
Congrats and good luck!
I don't think I've really been here long enough to give a good impression of what I feel like it's about, but I think it's been good so far. It was a rough adjustment, and I definitely had some trouble in the beginning, but I think it's getting better. No matter how hard you think undergrad was - med school is 100x harder, and don't let the first month of med school fool you - it gets 100x harder after the 1st month (the 1st month is a joke compared to the 2nd). So just keep that in mind and be VERY VERY VERY VERY VEYR VERY A;LDSFJK VERY sure you want to be here, because as much as everyone complains in the class and as much as we stress out (and we have a test next week...lots of stress), I don't think any of us would rather do something else. We might joke about it, but deep down, I really do feel invested in the material, and I'm glad to be here.
/getting off of my soap box
Most students find the lecture notes and handouts sufficient. I don't think anyone (or at least only very few people) actually hardcore reads the books - they only use them if the lecture or handouts are unclear. Though honestly, I'll go to google/wiki before I go to the book since it's easier and I can usually get the answers that way. The profs are also very open and quick to respond to emailed questions, so sometimes that's easier than going to the book (sometimes I find the act of writing out the email leads me to answering the question myself).
It's also nice to keep a copy of first aid around because they come with little mind tricks and mneumonics that help.
Awesome, thanks for the info!
Also, do you know what sorts of clinical experiences/opportunities MCG offers for global health/medically underserved populations work?
Awesome, thanks for the info!
Also, do you know what sorts of clinical experiences/opportunities MCG offers for global health/medically underserved populations work?
There are multiple medical mission groups that head to various locations each year. Peru is our distant campus, but there are elctives and non-electives that head to india, africa south america, etc several times a year. There are clinical opportunities weekly for new students and include the faith based clinic (free or discounted care), homeless clinic, latin clinic, and women's clinic. Anyone with a white coat can help at these.
That's about it.
Go to the school that is the cheapest. 200k in student debt is no joke and the only thing worse is 300k for the same degree and opportunities.
Finally, there are free housing options for the interview night. Just wait to get the interview then request to stay with a student!
Wow, that sounds wonderful. Do you know if these trips are funded for the most part or if students have to pay for them themselves? And is there some sort of schedule students must follow in regard to the free clinics, or can you volunteer in them pretty much whenever you want?
And I definitely agree about the debt. My biggest thing is having a systems based curriculum and several opportunities for doing global health/medically underserved populations work. I don't want to get myself into a huge debt especially because I plan on (at this point at least) going into primary care. And that reminds me, are there any special scholarships or grants for students wanting to go into primary care/care for the underserved? If so, do you know how much is typically offered?
Thank you so much!
1. Most are not funded. So load up your credit card and sign up for a great experience!
2. There is a schedule for each clinic. Sign up as much as you want, just don't hang the clinic out to dry by not showing up.
3. Debt sucks. There are rural scholarships by the state that will offer to pay your loans if you give them year(s) of service. 4 years in a rural area = 4 years of school paid for.
I just checked the status of my application (Secondary submitted 8/17, AMCAS verified 9/19) and it says my transcripts have not been received. Do any of you all know if I need to submit my transcripts to MCG before I'm accepted?
TIA
-A
When was your interview?Accepted! RD
Interviewed 10/8
I really love how fast the response time is for this school. Wish other schools were like this
And congrats! I interviewed today and am hoping to hear back in a week or two
Congrats on the RD acceptances, I could have interviewed on the 8th as well but that was before my mock interview with my pre-health advisor so I am going this Monday. Wish I could have gotten an acceptance this early but if I did interview that early, very likely that I would have tripped over the 'impress me' question like I did during the mock.
Accepted RD on 10/19 as well.
For those of you accepted, is it binding when we sign the acceptance for and submit deposit or can we still withdraw if accepted to a school higher on our list?
Accepted RD on 10/19 as well.
For those of you accepted, is it binding when we sign the acceptance for and submit deposit or can we still withdraw if accepted to a school higher on our list?
As far as I understand, you can withdraw later and your money will be refunded (they just don't cash your money order/check).
As to the step scores, I asked, and they do not post their step 1 scores. They do reassure you that they're above the national mean. I feel like every school is above the national mean, thereby defeating the purpose of the mean, but MCG does say their average score is above the mean.
As far as I understand, you can withdraw later and your money will be refunded (they just don't cash your money order/check).
As to the step scores, I asked, and they do not post their step 1 scores. They do reassure you that they're above the national mean. I feel like every school is above the national mean, thereby defeating the purpose of the mean, but MCG does say their average score is above the mean.
Our curriculum is bad ass for step 1 and step 2. Unless some people are hiding or lying, our step scores are prob 230-233 for step 1 and 235-240 for step 2. I personally know of at least 20 people over a 250 on step 1. I also personally know multiple people in the 270's for step 2.
I have no idea why they hide it.
Find a school that teaches a lot of the material that is in first aid and the varous review books. If you do this you'll be doing well. Also realize that success on nationalized exams are 3 parts hard work and 1 part intelligence/problem solving. Step 1 and Step 2 are unlike anything you have done before and take more effort than you can fathom at this point in your career (that is to do very well).
Wow, those are some amazing scores. Quite surprising actually since MCG doesn't have much of a "reputation" for its students scoring mostly in top residencies like the top 20 schools. But I'm definitely glad to hear it!
And though I agree with your second point, I'm not sure it really helps in narrowing down school choices--not that I even have any at this point. But all schools teach you the core basics of what is tested on the boards. I guess what I was more interested in is how much specific schools like MCG actually stress certain concepts that are very high yield, and how their exams reflect the structure and question format of the actual Step 1. Or maybe I'm worrying about too much at this point...?
You're getting too in-depth. The difference between MCG and some of the "elite" programs is that our lecturers don't show up and give a 2 hour talk on their research. Instead, they show up and teach a lot of core topics and put it into perspective for both the clinic and standardized tests.
I literally walked out of step 1 and right into the phase I coordinators office and told her that I had seen 96% of the material that was on the test at some point during our first two years. This is a solid feeling.
The match has a lot to do with where people want to do and not so much what "top" program they may or may not be competitive for. I also doubt that many pre-med students know what a "top" program may be for each respective field of medicine.
I'm not so sure this really happens at other schools..I've never heard of it..Haha, but I suppose you're right. I won't worry about the specifics right now.
That's definitely great to hear. I hope you did well!
This is very true. But one still can't deny the fact that many med students (who do know what the "top" programs are for their desired fields) still aim for some of the best residency spots. So I was just curious how MCG did. Don't get me wrong--I'm not trying to be critical of MCG at all. I actually fell in love with the place when I interviewed. It's just that the current M1s weren't really able to give me much detail about the curriculum/Step 1 prep other than what I had already gathered from MCG's website, SDN, etc. And I felt very uncomfortable asking the deans for what may be obvious reasons..
But I really appreciate all your input! Thank you