2015-2016 Mercer University Application Thread

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ugagrad1116 said:
I know it's disappointing (trust me, I'm there too). But just try to remember that Mercer usually has a lot of waitlist movement. Most of the current M1 class is from ED or waitlist. Try not to lose hope.
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Do people who have already interviewed usually get placed on the wait list, instead of being rejected outright?
 
hopeful 123 said:
Do people who have already interviewed usually get placed on the wait list, instead of being rejected outright?
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I think Dr. Prakash said that last year, 100 were accepted outright. About 150 were waitlisted, and another 150 were rejected. So it's about half and half. Don't quote me on those numbers though. Speaking from experience though, rejections do happen.


Also, there are 8 spots left, and they changed the meeting from March 2nd to March 9th. Everybody should hear something by March 10th or 11th.
 
RunnerGal123 said:
8 spots left for acceptances? This doesn't include wait list correct?
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This does not include waitlist. That's how many spots they have left to fill for RD. And then on March 9th, they'll accept the rest of their class and set the waitlist.
 
ugagrad1116 said:
This does not include waitlist. That's how many spots they have left to fill for RD. And then on March 9th, they'll accept the rest of their class and set the waitlist.
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So on March 9th, they're only going to accept 8 more people?
 
hopeful 123 said:
So on March 9th, they're only going to accept 8 more people?
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That's what she said. She said if any of the 9 they accepted last night (or I guess anyone accepted earlier also) declines the acceptance, then there will be more spots. But right now, there are 8 spots left.
 
How many students are accepted from the waitlist typically?

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1234go said:
How many students are accepted from the waitlist typically?

Sent from my SM-N9208 using SDN mobile
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I don't know a specific number, but people at both Savannah and Macon have told me that their class is basically all people from ED and waitlist.
 
1234go said:
How many students are accepted from the waitlist typically?

Sent from my SM-N9208 using SDN mobile
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ugagrad1116 said:
I don't know a specific number, but people at both Savannah and Macon have told me that their class is basically all people from ED and waitlist.
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If I remember correctly from my interview, I believe Sara told us that they had around 40 or so people come off the wait list last year, but I can't be sure. I know I wrote it down somewhere but I can't find my notebook right now.
 
hopefuldawg91 said:
If I remember correctly from my interview, I believe Sara told us that they had around 40 or so people come off the wait list last year, but I can't be sure. I know I wrote it down somewhere but I can't find my notebook right now.
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How many people were in the waitlist last year?
 
MarsDominus said:
How many people were in the waitlist last year?
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@ugagrad1116 mentioned that Dr. Prakash put the number at around 150 for last year's wait list. This makes sense to me, as they would likely want to carry more people on the wait list compared to the number of initial acceptances to fill in spots as they open up when folks choose to attend other schools.
 
Hey guys, can anyone offer some advice? I'm a reapplicant, interviewed back in October at the Savannah campus. Still haven't heard anything yet.

FYI First time around my overall application was great, strong family ties to the state and have lived here all my life, 3.7 gpa, but MCAT score was a 25 (didn't really study - foolish, I know). I had a great interview and was wait listed much to my surprise. Needless to say, I didn't get in. So, I worked hard, bumped my MCAT up by 4 points, and have really worked to improve the rest of my application in general with volunteering and work experience. I was going to apply ED, but was too scared. Had another great interview this cycle, and still haven't heard a thing.

Can anyone offer advice/insight - maybe the couple of you who are current students? Obviously each cycle is different and there is no such thing as a shoo-in when it comes to applying to school, but I had my hopes up pretty high this time and I'm starting to worry.
 
ron_swanson said:
Hey guys, can anyone offer some advice? I'm a reapplicant, interviewed back in October at the Savannah campus. Still haven't heard anything yet.

FYI First time around my overall application was great, strong family ties to the state and have lived here all my life, 3.7 gpa, but MCAT score was a 25 (didn't really study - foolish, I know). I had a great interview and was wait listed much to my surprise. Needless to say, I didn't get in. So, I worked hard, bumped my MCAT up by 4 points, and have really worked to improve the rest of my application in general with volunteering and work experience. I was going to apply ED, but was too scared. Had another great interview this cycle, and still haven't heard a thing.

Can anyone offer advice/insight - maybe the couple of you who are current students? Obviously each cycle is different and there is no such thing as a shoo-in when it comes to applying to school, but I had my hopes up pretty high this time and I'm starting to worry.
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Be a minority, and then self-identify as another separate minority and you're a shoo-in.
Hope that helps!
 
ron_swanson said:
Hey guys, can anyone offer some advice? I'm a reapplicant, interviewed back in October at the Savannah campus. Still haven't heard anything yet.

FYI First time around my overall application was great, strong family ties to the state and have lived here all my life, 3.7 gpa, but MCAT score was a 25 (didn't really study - foolish, I know). I had a great interview and was wait listed much to my surprise. Needless to say, I didn't get in. So, I worked hard, bumped my MCAT up by 4 points, and have really worked to improve the rest of my application in general with volunteering and work experience. I was going to apply ED, but was too scared. Had another great interview this cycle, and still haven't heard a thing.

Can anyone offer advice/insight - maybe the couple of you who are current students? Obviously each cycle is different and there is no such thing as a shoo-in when it comes to applying to school, but I had my hopes up pretty high this time and I'm starting to worry.
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What made you "scared" of applying ED? I would suggest trying that next year....
 
ron_swanson said:
Hey guys, can anyone offer some advice? I'm a reapplicant, interviewed back in October at the Savannah campus. Still haven't heard anything yet.

FYI First time around my overall application was great, strong family ties to the state and have lived here all my life, 3.7 gpa, but MCAT score was a 25 (didn't really study - foolish, I know). I had a great interview and was wait listed much to my surprise. Needless to say, I didn't get in. So, I worked hard, bumped my MCAT up by 4 points, and have really worked to improve the rest of my application in general with volunteering and work experience. I was going to apply ED, but was too scared. Had another great interview this cycle, and still haven't heard a thing.

Can anyone offer advice/insight - maybe the couple of you who are current students? Obviously each cycle is different and there is no such thing as a shoo-in when it comes to applying to school, but I had my hopes up pretty high this time and I'm starting to worry.
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I have the same exact stats and applied ED and got in... They told me applying ED was the best thing I could've done because with my stats I would be lost in a larger pool of extremely qualified applicants and might've not gotten the chance to interview. Luckily for me I applied ED and always have interviewed well and it worked out. Definitely try ED if it doesn't work out this year
 
MDD130 said:
What made you "scared" of applying ED? I would suggest trying that next year....
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@MDD130 Scared is probably not the right word to use. Insecure is better. I was unsure that the school would look at my application and offer an acceptance through ED. In my mind it felt more likely than not that they'd roll me over into the regular decision pool. At that point, all bets are off, ya know? And you're behind the 8 ball with other schools as well if you choose to send out your application to get other looks.

I think I line up perfectly with Mercer's mission and wanted to commit, but I figured the safest bet would be to apply regular decision with some other schools as backups.

Tommytom said:
I have the same exact stats and applied ED and got in... They told me applying ED was the best thing I could've done because with my stats I would be lost in a larger pool of extremely qualified applicants and might've not gotten the chance to interview. Luckily for me I applied ED and always have interviewed well and it worked out. Definitely try ED if it doesn't work out this year
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@Tommytom Yeah, I guess maybe I chose the wrong option, but hindsight is 20/20 - only time will tell. Thanks for the advice.
 
ron_swanson said:
@MDD130 Scared is probably not the right word to use. Insecure is better. I was unsure that the school would look at my application and offer an acceptance through ED. In my mind it felt more likely than not that they'd roll me over into the regular decision pool. At that point, all bets are off, ya know? And you're behind the 8 ball with other schools as well if you choose to send out your application to get other looks.

I think I line up perfectly with Mercer's mission and wanted to commit, but I figured the safest bet would be to apply regular decision with some other schools as backups.



@Tommytom Yeah, I guess maybe I chose the wrong option, but hindsight is 20/20 - only time will tell. Thanks for the advice.
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If you feel strongly about wanting to go to Mercer (and you don't get in this year) I say you ABSOLUTELY go for ED in next years cycle...but along the way think of things you can do to improve your application..whether thats more volunteer work, shadowing, etc. etc.
 
MDD130 said:
If you feel strongly about wanting to go to Mercer (and you don't get in this year) I say you ABSOLUTELY go for ED in next years cycle...but along the way think of things you can do to improve your application..whether thats more volunteer work, shadowing, etc. etc.
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Thanks, yeah I think that's what I'm going to do. I've already spoken with a couple of folks in the admissions office and I'm set to meet with someone in early April to go over my application and discuss how I can improve. To me that's the hardest part, because I think my extracurriculars and volunteer work are already relatively solid (and get better every day), and I know my grades are in the meaty part of Mercer's bell curve so I'm curious to see what they can tell me. I'm sure there's something I'm missing. I'll be in Atlanta next weekend for the health sciences fair the school is putting on in case any of y'all are planning on going. Should be a good way to meet more of the staff and current students.
 
hopefuldawg91 said:
Anyone have advice for submitting an application update?
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Well, from a conversation I had last week with a certain admissions person, they inferred that since we are already ranked by a score after our interview, any substantial update post interview will not really help that much.

However, they did encourage me to send an update if I had done anything such as a publication, new volunteer opportunities, or anything new that involves healthcare stuff in general...
 
I heard that there was an admissions meeting tonight? Anyone confirm this?
 
LastWinter said:
I heard that there was an admissions meeting tonight? Anyone confirm this?
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It was moved to the 9th to give the admissions committee more time to assess the applicants that just interviewed.
 
I didn't get accepted the last time they met. Will my file be considered again?
 
Musketeer13 said:
I didn't get accepted the last time they met. Will my file be considered again?
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Your file will be considered again, but they only have 6 or 8 spots left (I've heard both). You were assigned a number when you interviewed, and that number will stay with you all the way through the waitlist if you are put onto it. If you were in the next 6-8 people who should have been accepted last meeting, but they didn't have any spots left, AND nobody (or no more than 5ish people) who interviewed during the past few weeks got a higher score than you, you'll be accepted. If not, you'll be waitlisted. They're supposed to be setting the waitlist tonight as well. If your number is below that cutoff, you will be rejected. I hope that is not the case. Good luck!

Good luck to everybody!
 
ugagrad1116 said:
Your file will be considered again, but they only have 6 or 8 spots left (I've heard both). You were assigned a number when you interviewed, and that number will stay with you all the way through the waitlist if you are put onto it. If you were in the next 6-8 people who should have been accepted last meeting, but they didn't have any spots left, AND nobody (or no more than 5ish people) who interviewed during the past few weeks got a higher score than you, you'll be accepted. If not, you'll be waitlisted. They're supposed to be setting the waitlist tonight as well. If your number is below that cutoff, you will be rejected. I hope that is not the case. Good luck!

Good luck to everybody!
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Thanks for that very detailed answer. I hope tonight will be our night!
 
Did any of y'all updated your applications? And if so, what kind of updates did you include ?
 
Ea73745 said:
Did any of y'all updated your applications? And if so, what kind of updates did you include ?
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I updated with grades in the fall. I asked the admissions office about the updates, and they said that the committee doesn't actually see the updates because your number cannot change after it is assigned to you. So I was told that the updates only really help if you are waitlisted because the deans decide who gets off the waitlist, and they do see your updates.
 
Ea73745 said:
Did any of y'all updated your applications? And if so, what kind of updates did you include ?
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ugagrad1116 said:
I updated with grades in the fall. I asked the admissions office about the updates, and they said that the committee doesn't actually see the updates because your number cannot change after it is assigned to you. So I was told that the updates only really help if you are waitlisted because the deans decide who gets off the waitlist, and they do see your updates.
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I sent in an update last week explaining the significant volunteering, shadowing, and work experiences I've had since my interview in the fall. Just kind of a snapshot summary of my activities, more or less to show that I haven't been simply sitting around and waiting for a phone call. I'm not currently in school so I didn't have "new" grades to send in, if that helps at all.

As far as who sees the updates, I'm not entirely sure. I've heard about the set score and not being able to change it, but I don't really know who all has access to the updates. From what I have been told by representatives at the school, it seems that the committee may actually see what you send in but may not be able to do anything with it like @ugagrad1116 mentioned. The thing about the dean seems about right to me.
 
somewhere in the belly of MUSM, they are about to get together and deliberate. will we sneeze when they talk about each of us? maybe.
 
So is it confirmed they are setting the waitlist today? Good luck everyone! Hope we all get some good news!
 
studentdocftw said:
So is it confirmed they are setting the waitlist today? Good luck everyone! Hope we all get some good news!
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When I asked after their last meeting, I was told they were setting it today and that we would all hear something by tomorrow or Friday. I would assume that still stands true.

Edit: But they have a lot of us to get to so who knows if we'll actually all hear by Friday.
 
Last edited:
ugagrad1116 said:
When I asked after their last meeting, I was told they were setting it today and that we would all hear something by tomorrow or Friday. I would assume that still stands true.

Edit: But they have a lot of us to get to so who knows if we'll actually all hear by Friday.
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Right , and the email they sent to us said you should hear by 3-15. But the email made it sound like they don't give actually rejections, but rather if you did not hear back you can only assume. Who knows...
 
Ea73745 said:
Right , and the email they sent to us said you should hear by 3-15. But the email made it sound like they don't give actually rejections, but rather if you did not hear back you can only assume. Who knows...
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I can assure you they give rejections. I got one last year. And Dr. Prakash has said at Mercer events that they reject 100-150 people. So they definitely give them.
 
No call yet and I'm starting to lose my mind a bit. I know it just how it is, but having interviewed in October and not hearing a thing has worn me down. Feels like it's been a year since I completed my secondary.
 
No call yet either. Guess it's just not my night (or cycle) 🙁
 
For those accepted, what is the deadline for putting in the deposit/payment?
 
premedigirl said:
No, just wondering when the waitlist movement will start
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So based on past years, I think starting next week folks should be getting notifications about the alternate list. I think we've mentioned that March 15th is the deadline for this type of notification, but if you read the threads from previous years, this is more of an indicator date than an actual deadline as applicants have been notified long after deadlines in the past. I believe movement in the alternate list can start at any time, although most of the traffic seems to start around the beginning of May when deposits are due. Keep in mind that each year is unique.
 
hopefuldawg91 said:
So based on past years, I think starting next week folks should be getting notifications about the alternate list. I think we've mentioned that March 15th is the deadline for this type of notification, but if you read the threads from previous years, this is more of an indicator date than an actual deadline as applicants have been notified long after deadlines in the past. I believe movement in the alternate list can start at any time, although most of the traffic seems to start around the beginning of May when deposits are due. Keep in mind that each year is unique.
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premedigirl said:
No, just wondering when the waitlist movement will start
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According to the AMCAS traffic rules, a medical school must have its full class decided upon by March 15th and report that to AMCAS. This is why the March 15th date is thrown around so much. It doesn't mean anything for deciding the waitlist, but usually people assume that the waitlist will be decided upon by this date as well. Some schools interview after this date so it isn't the case for those schools. For Mercer, I was told that they would decide on the waitlist at their meeting last night, and we would hear something by tomorrow. They have so many applicants though so who knows if they will actually get to us all by tomorrow. Last year, it was more than 2 days after the meeting before applicants knew about the waitlist or rejections.

The reason that waitlist movement generally occurs starting May 1st is that April 30th is the last day for applicants holding multiple acceptances to get their deposit back. Generally, the accepted applicants only have a few weeks to turn in their deposit though. Those accepted in November did not have from then until April to turn in their deposit. But they have until April 30th to get it back. So people who were accepted to multiple schools that would rather go to another school over Mercer will give up their spot at Mercer by April 30th if they want their deposit back.
 
They have contacted all the rest of the accepted applicants, and the waitlist is made. They're sending out the emails soon to those on the waitlist (but I don't know how soon specifically).

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