2013-2014 Medical College of Georgia Application Thread

[gettheleadout]

8. Please describe the exposure you have had to the medical profession (ex. summer program, clinical shadowing experience:

10. The Admissions Committee regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee strongly encourages you to share unique, personally important, and/or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, region of residence with respect to its health professional needs, ties to MCG Medical College of Georgia, culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or life and/or work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.

11. Please describe the geographical setting in which you think you would most like to practice following medical training. Include the following information if known: The state or region of the country, the name of the county and town.

12. If applicable, indicate any special experiences, unusual factors or other information you have not already addressed that you feel the Admissions Committee should consider when evaluating your application. If you have had any academic problems or unevenness in your academic performance, please address that here as well:

Good luck to everyone applying!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[gobigorgohome22]

Top choice!!! Cant wait to apply!!!

 

[ugreene]

Top choice!!! Cant wait to apply!!!

me too, but I learnt that there's so much competition.

 

[dextor2003]

me too, but I learnt that there's so much competition.

Statistically speaking, I think it has one of the higher acceptance rates in the country.

Most recent MSAR:

Applied: IS 994 OOS 1277 Total 2271
Interviewed: IS 556 OOS 62 Total 618
ED Program: IS 42 OOS 0 Total 42
MD/PhD: IS 3 OOS 0 Total 3
Matriculated: IS 221 OOS 8 Total 229

So I'd guess around 300-400 got accepted, which could mean as high as a 17.6% acceptance rate! So I'd say you still have a fairly great shot at MCG compared to other schools

Best of luck to you all!

 

[sbhav]

Top choice as well! Their class size is also considerably larger than most schools I've looked at.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

One of my top choices. Hope to get a nod here.

 

[mdambitions]

I've been waiting years to be able to apply here. Just hit submit yesterday. The wait begins!

 

[lodestar]

Of the recent MCG class of 230, only 7 were NOT Ga. residents. Those might be mainly its MD/PhD candidates (4).

http://www.georgiahealth.edu/medicine/admit/facts.html

Most state medical schools necessarily accept mainly IS applicants. It is understandable that they should since IS taxpayers mainly fund their medical schools, along with national research grants.

http://www.georgiahealth.edu/medicine/admit/facts.html

There are exceptions like Vermont's COM (UVM), which is a tiny state, but must fill a normal-size class (100+).

The fine/competitive new public UCF COM (Orlando) takes 25% OOS by design/intent (OOS applicants increase its competitive acceptance profile, now # 1 among Florida's public medical schools).

The highly competitive (# 6 for competitive entry) BCM, e.g., is private, but takes 75% from its home state Texas and 25% (about 45 students per large class of ~180) OOS.

http://www.studentdoc.com/top-10-medical-schools.html

Honestly, various state medical schools are seemingly mum or coy/evasive about the realistic odds of acceptance from OOS. Some have suggested that they simply make a nice profit from the myriad OOS application fees.

 

[gobigorgohome22]

Secondary recieved.

Note to those applying, this was in the email: The information requested in the Secondary Application and ALL three of your Letters of Recommendation (LOR's) are needed before we can continue processing your application along with all other supporting documentation. Please return your completed secondary application and any other required information within TWO weeks from the date of this email. You may complete the interactive secondary application and return it to us electronically.

Got to have the letters in by the two week deadline also! Good thing I got mine sent!!

 

[smokn]

Looks like the secondary essays are the same as last year's.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

Now this is a long secondary.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

Application submitted.

 

[dap]

So, just to be clear here, even if my primary application hasn't been verified/sent out by two weeks from when I received the secondary, I should still have the secondary in by two weeks from the email? It is okay for my secondary to arrive before my primary/AMCAS?

 

[gobigorgohome22]

So, just to be clear here, even if my primary application hasn't been verified/sent out by two weeks from when I received the secondary, I should still have the secondary in by two weeks from the email? It is okay for my secondary to arrive before my primary/AMCAS?

Not sure in this situation. Call and ask.

 

[The Peach]

Secondary recieved.

Note to those applying, this was in the email: The information requested in the Secondary Application and ALL three of your Letters of Recommendation (LOR's) are needed before we can continue processing your application along with all other supporting documentation. Please return your completed secondary application and any other required information within TWO weeks from the date of this email. You may complete the interactive secondary application and return it to us electronically.

Got to have the letters in by the two week deadline also! Good thing I got mine sent!!

Wait, if my letters aren't received by AMCAS and sent to MCG by two weeks I'm SOL? I only have one letter list as received at the moment...

 

[member30078]

My advisor just sent out an email indicating that the suggested GPA and MCAT (3.7 and a 31) for the EDP are actually a hard cutoff and they will automatically bounce you if you don't have them. MCG's language is "competitive applicants have a 3.7 and 31." I have a 3.5 and a 39, am I straight screwed and have to release myself back to regular?

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

In state!

 

[BundleofHis]

Any OOS people applying here? I know it's a tough one with only 5% of the seats available to OOS… Does anybody know anything about their pre-secondary screening for OOS?

 

[AdrianVeidt]

My advisor just sent out an email indicating that the suggested GPA and MCAT (3.7 and a 31) for the EDP are actually a hard cutoff and they will automatically bounce you if you don't have them. MCG's language is "competitive applicants have a 3.7 and 31." I have a 3.5 and a 39, am I straight screwed and have to release myself back to regular?

This is wrong on so many levels. Check MDApps for MCG for last few years.

 

[member30078]

This is wrong on so many levels. Check MDApps for MCG for last few years.

She presented it as new this year and is actively encouraging people who don't have those stats to the letter to release themselves from early. I emailed stdadmin to ask if that's really the case because that's a pretty dramatic statement from an advisor. I don't know what the restricted clause said in last year's EDP on AMCAS.

 

[The Peach]

Wait, if my letters aren't received by AMCAS and sent to MCG by two weeks I'm SOL? I only have one letter list as received at the moment...

Bump

 

[gobigorgohome22]

Bump

Never mind. See the email below.

 

[gobigorgohome22]

That's what the email makes it seem like....

Here is the full email with my info removed.

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXX:

We recently received notice from AMCAS that you are applying through the Regular Decision Program for admission to the 2014 entering class of the Medical College of Georgia, please follow the deadlines below and on AMCAS. Thank you for making our institution one of your choices for medical school.

Within this email you will find a web link containing reference letter instructions (these are listed on the link separately) and our interactive 2014 Secondary Application:

Website: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Username: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Password: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

This link containing our supplemental forms is being sent exclusively to you and should not be shared with anyone else. Any secondary applications and forms sent to us by anyone to whom we did not specifically send this web link will not be reviewed. Two-week deadline for Secondary Application.

Also enclosed you will find a website for our 2013 General Admissions Bulletin. You will need to add one year to all dates and/or deadlines in this Bulletin until the 2014 Bulletin is available on this website: http://www.georgiahealth.edu/som/admit/.

The information requested in the Secondary Application and ALL three of your Letters of Recommendation (LOR's) are needed before we can continue processing your application along with all other supporting documentation. Please return your completed secondary application and any other required information within TWO weeks from the date of this email. You may complete the interactive secondary application and return it to us electronically.

Instructions for the Letter of Reference (LOR) are located in the instructions for the Secondary Application, please read all instructions carefully. Please have your three letters of recommendation submitted directly to AMCAS as soon as possible. All additional regular decision information, including 3 letters of recommendation and other documentation, should be in your file no later than December 1, 2013. Your application will not be reviewed until all items are received in this office. Please update your mailing address, email address and phone number frequently in AMCAS throughout the application year.

"Below is a description of the types of letters that can be forwarded to AMCAS. Students must submit a minimum of 3 letters before being considered for an interview (Pre-Health Advisor Letter and two Personal letters).

Committee Letter: A committee letter is a letter authored by a pre-health committee or a pre-health advisor, and is intended to represent your institution's evaluation of you. A committee letter may or may not include additional letters written in support of your application. Some students may not have a pre-health committee or pre-health advisor. In that case, they need to submit a letter from an academic advisor or one of their science professors.

If the applicant has been out of school for several years, they may choose to submit a recommendation letter from an employer.

Letter Packet: A letter packet is a set of letters assembled and distributed by your institution, often by the institution's career center. A Letter Packet may include a cover sheet from your pre-health committee or advisor; however, in contrast to a Committee Letter, the Letter Packet does not include an evaluation letter from your pre-health Committee or advisor.

Individual Letter (or personal): An individual letter is one authored by, and representing a single letter writer. (These can also be included within both a Committee Letter and a Letter Packet.) It is strongly recommended that one of the personal letters of reference come from a physician. Letters from relatives are not accepted.

NOTE: If your two personal letters are included in a packet or committee group of letters, be sure to include the names of the two personal letter writers in the individual fields of your Secondary Application. All three fields should be populated with specific names. Do not put N/A in these fields.

We look forward to receiving your completed application materials quickly. If you have any questions regarding your application or the admissions process, please contact our office.

 

[ChemicalKat]

Now this is a long secondary.

No joke. How long are these essays expected to be?

 

[AdrianVeidt]

She presented it as new this year and is actively encouraging people who don't have those stats to the letter to release themselves from early. I emailed stdadmin to ask if that's really the case because that's a pretty dramatic statement from an advisor. I don't know what the restricted clause said in last year's EDP on AMCAS.

Well if that is a new policy then that sucks for some people.

No joke. How long are these essays expected to be?

I kept mine all around 400-500 words.

Does anyone know how to change the password???

 

[smokn]

No joke. How long are these essays expected to be?

I wonder this too. #11 can't be expected to be very long, mine is currently only 84 words and I don't know what else to add. Heck, I could answer it in 2 words if I wanted to. #8 would vary by the person, but I would think around 300-450 would be sufficient. #10 seems like it could really be expanded to 500 words easily. #12...really makes me want to pass on the option.

 

[mwharris22]

Forgive my ignorance but where is the essay portion of this secondary? All I see are Applicant Info, Letters of Reference, GA Classification, Citizen Information, Tuition Classification, Tuition Parent/Spouse, Required Documents, Additional Information, Required Course Schedule, Campus, Submit Application.

 

[smokn]

Forgive my ignorance but where is the essay portion of this secondary? All I see are Applicant Info, Letters of Reference, GA Classification, Citizen Information, Tuition Classification, Tuition Parent/Spouse, Required Documents, Additional Information, Required Course Schedule, Campus, Submit Application.

Check under additional information, I believe. It's just a few text boxes, it's not labelled as an essay portion.

 

[ChemicalKat]

I ended up with about 300-500 words on the essays. Submitted though! Good luck everyone!

 

[miamicanes442]

anyone else having problems uploading a picture? the picture is a jpeg and size is less than 4mb but for some reason nothing seems to happen when i press upload

 

[dap]

I called and spoke with the admissions office today. I learned:

1) The two-week deadline mentioned in the email is not exactly a "hard" deadline, you still have until Nov 15 or whatever it originally was to have everything in. They just strongly recommend you get stuff in as soon as possible.

2) It is okay to submit your secondary and have it in even before your AMCAS is verified or sent out. The woman I spoke with recommended to send it out as soon as you can regardless of whether your AMCAS is verified.

 

[andy1512005]

OOS and just submitted my secondary!!!!

 

[LissK]

OOS and just submitted my secondary!!!!

Me too!! Also I was wondering how long it took you all to achieve "verified status." My status has been "ready for review" for so long, and I am surprised that I even got a secondary.

 

[BundleofHis]

Me too!! Also I was wondering how long it took you all to achieve "verified status." My status has been "ready for review" for so long, and I am surprised that I even got a secondary.

OOS as well… trying to decide if it's worth it to submit the secondary. Does anybody know the OOS pre-secondary screening process?

 

[smokn]

IS applicant and just submitted my secondary!!! For those curious (not that I am any sort of standard), the first 2 essays were around 400 words, and the next 2 were both under 100 words for me. I didn't have anything to explain, really. Anybody else have similar lengths?

 

[ChemicalKat]

IS applicant and just submitted my secondary!!! For those curious (not that I am any sort of standard), the first 2 essays were around 400 words, and the next 2 were both under 100 words for me. I didn't have anything to explain, really. Anybody else have similar lengths?

I was pretty close. Didn't have too many "adversities" to talk about considering I'm a white, middle class male. First world problems

 

[ThrombinHood]

by far one of the longest applications to fill out and the worst web form layout of any school. Has anyone received a secondary completed notification?

 

[smokn]

I was pretty close. Didn't have too many "adversities" to talk about considering I'm a white, middle class male. First world problems

I hear ya. It can be a cruel world to the majority at times.

by far one of the longest applications to fill out and the worst web form layout of any school. Has anyone received a secondary completed notification?

Very arduous indeed. But no, I didn't receive any notification by email. It does say on one of the tabs (application status I think?) that it was sent and received at the same time.

 

[fluffy214]

Just submitted my primary today! Hoping to get a secondary some time before August even though it's gonna take me a while to get verified!

GA resident, 3.74 GPA with solid EC's/Taking my MCAT in late August...I feel like my chances are pretty slim right now, considering that I'll be super late compared to most applicants. This is my top choice, so I'm gonna give it my best shot

 

[ThrombinHood]

I'm curious how significant the number of EDP apps changed because of the new rules? How many in this thread did EDP? I can only assume with a smaller pool that IIs will be coming sooner than last year. I guess we'll find out in the next couple of days

 

[TheBossDoctor]

How important is it to have one of our personal letters be from a physician? It says that it is strongly recommended, but if I don't really have an LOR from a doctor, would it be a disadvantage if I just send a letter from my PI (Ph.D.) instead?

 

[Trailblazingmed]

the link in my email to complete the secondary never loaded a web-page. did anyone else have this problem or can help me out in this regard?

 

[smokn]

the link in my email to complete the secondary never loaded a web-page. did anyone else have this problem or can help me out in this regard?

Did you try the copy/paste thing? Call their admissions, it worked fine for me.

 

[tiger86]

Submitted secondary a moment ago, no confirmation yet...
Anybody received any secondary confirmation?

by far one of the longest applications to fill out and the worst web form layout of any school. Has anyone received a secondary completed notification?

 

[Jaime Lannister]

Dang. This secondary is long.

I'm a little confused about what to write about in response to: Please describe the exposure you have had to the medical profession (ex. summer program, clinical shadowing experience

I feel that I have already sufficiently done this on AMCAS work/activities, and would be repeating myself/stating the obvious. Any suggestions on how to approach this?

 

[mwharris22]

I've uploaded a tax return that when I hold it in front of me, I have sufficiently blacked out the SSNs but when it was scanned you can still see them. The web page doesn't appear to have a way to remove a document you uploaded. Surely you can remove a document, right? What am I missing?

 

[Kickazz]

Is there no secondary fee payment!??

 

[smokn]

Is there no secondary fee payment!??

No, there is not

 

[sino11]

I've uploaded a tax return that when I hold it in front of me, I have sufficiently blacked out the SSNs but when it was scanned you can still see them. The web page doesn't appear to have a way to remove a document you uploaded. Surely you can remove a document, right? What am I missing?

I have the EXACT same problem....cant figure it out.

 

[TheBossDoctor]

bump