2017-2018 Mercer University

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naway said:
How long do we have to accept or decline waitlist acceptances? I was accepted but have been offered a full scholarship to a DO program, so I am extremely paralyzed with indecision right now lol
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I believe it's a week, it should say on the email. That's going to be a tough choice! No debt sounds wonderul congrats on everything!
 
naway said:
How long do we have to accept or decline waitlist acceptances? I was accepted but have been offered a full scholarship to a DO program, so I am extremely paralyzed with indecision right now lol
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If you would choose Mercer over the DO program if money were not an issue, and assuming you are at least honesty considering primary care (as you were accepted DO and Mercer), one thing is to consider is that we have multiple scholarship programs (at least two different ones with numerous spots) that are available to those willing to commit to a primary care track in GA for at least a few years. They are also very, very, available, at least to my understanding, and it might be worthwhile contacting the school here to see if they would give you someone to talk to about that to see just what your chances are for obtaining such (I.e. my guess would be 75% or greater if you wanted it).
 
Can't wait to meet my awesome classmates for the MUSM class of 2022! Good luck to everyone out there still waiting to hear back!
 
SoYouDontWantaFishSandwch said:
If you would choose Mercer over the DO program if money were not an issue, and assuming you are at least honesty considering primary care (as you were accepted DO and Mercer), one thing is to consider is that we have multiple scholarship programs (at least two different ones with numerous spots) that are available to those willing to commit to a primary care track in GA for at least a few years. They are also very, very, available, at least to my understanding, and it might be worthwhile contacting the school here to see if they would give you someone to talk to about that to see just what your chances are for obtaining such (I.e. my guess would be 75% or greater if you wanted it).
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Yeah, I'm definitely interested in primary care, but the commitment to Georgia specifically does make me nervous since who knows what the future holds. The scholarship opportunity mentioned in the acceptance email entails a 4-year commitment, which is a pretty long time. I'm going to call the school and ask them what my options are. All things equal, I'd go with Mercer, but of course, all things aren't equal right now. I also want to give it a little while to think it through because I feel like I'm a little shocked about the fact that I got in and not thinking completely clearly right now. I was SO sure I wouldn't come off the waitlist and would be going to the DO school since one of my Mercer interviews went pretty badly, so now I'm just kind of like, "...What just happened?" haha
 
naway said:
Yeah, I'm definitely interested in primary care, but the commitment to Georgia specifically does make me nervous since who knows what the future holds. The scholarship opportunity mentioned in the acceptance email entails a 4-year commitment, which is a pretty long time. I'm going to call the school and ask them what my options are. All things equal, I'd go with Mercer, but of course, all things aren't equal right now. I also want to give it a little while to think it through because I feel like I'm a little shocked about the fact that I got in and not thinking completely clearly right now. I was SO sure I wouldn't come off the waitlist and would be going to the DO school since one of my Mercer interviews went pretty badly, so now I'm just kind of like, "...What just happened?" haha
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I was sooo in shock. I saw you guy's posts this morning, but I was so sure I didn't get accepted that I didn't even check my email. I was actually going to send some new LOR's today, so I had opened up AMCAS and was about to send them, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't a limit. So I logged on to the portal to reread the waitlist email in the status area and... "ACCEPTANCE OFFER"
 
luxaeterna6 said:
I was sooo in shock. I saw you guy's posts this morning, but I was so sure I didn't get accepted that I didn't even check my email. I was actually going to send some new LOR's today, so I had opened up AMCAS and was about to send them, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't a limit. So I logged on to the portal to reread the waitlist email in the status area and... "ACCEPTANCE OFFER"
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Haha, same! I'm a reapplicant as well and had completely accepted that MD schools just weren't interested in me. I was just checking my email looking for an update on a situation at work not even thinking about the fact that schools would start seeing WL movement soon. I feel bad because it was so unexpected that I didn't even get excited at first. I just stared at it like, "Wait...really? Am I still asleep?"

treasure_yourself said:
Same aahhaha! I thought my Mercer interview went bleh, so I literally put a $1500 deposit into a DO school, got accepted to Mercer less than 24 hours later, and frantically called my bank to cancel the $1500 deposit.
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Dang, I wish I could get mine back! I would be getting the $1500 back if I went with the DO school since my scholarship covers all tuition, so losing that money is going to doubly hurt if I go with Mercer haha. What can you do, though.

Congrats to everyone who got in today!!
 
naway said:
How long do we have to accept or decline waitlist acceptances? I was accepted but have been offered a full scholarship to a DO program, so I am extremely paralyzed with indecision right now lol
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Mine is may 7 and I was accepted last Monday so two weeks essentially
 
Still extremely conflicted about which school to choose. I spoke with financial aid, and they said there is a chance that I could be eligible for the Nathan Deal scholarship, but it's pretty unlikely since I'm not from a rural area. So that doesn't make the decision any easier. It's just really hard to go back to signing up for so much debt when I spent months thinking I was coming out of medical school with so little. That said, thinking about taking a spontaneous trip to Macon to get a feel for the atmosphere up there. I didn't give that much thought to which campus I would request because I never thought I'd get accepted lol.
 
naway said:
Still extremely conflicted about which school to choose. I spoke with financial aid, and they said there is a chance that I could be eligible for the Nathan Deal scholarship, but it's pretty unlikely since I'm not from a rural area. So that doesn't make the decision any easier. It's just really hard to go back to signing up for so much debt when I spent months thinking I was coming out of medical school with so little. That said, thinking about taking a spontaneous trip to Macon to get a feel for the atmosphere up there. I didn't give that much thought to which campus I would request because I never thought I'd get accepted lol.
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So if you're not from a rural area you're basically out of luck for the scholarship?
 
luxaeterna6 said:
So if you're not from a rural area you're basically out of luck for the scholarship?
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She said that she's seen students from Atlanta get selected, so you're not 100% out of luck, but yeah, the chances seem pretty slim without direct ties to a rural area.
 
treasure_yourself said:
Tough choice. I was accepted there too but no full ride. Just ask yourself how important an MD is to you

Edit: oops that was for @naway
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No worries...I was also accepted there, but withdrew after I got a few MD acceptances that I thought were significantly better options.
 
treasure_yourself said:
Tough choice. I was accepted there too but no full ride. Just ask yourself how important an MD is to you

Edit: oops that was for @naway
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It's not really an MD vs. DO thing for me so much as that I just really feel uneasy about a few aspects of the program like the lack of dedicated board studying time and all of the uncertainty surrounding the rotation sites. I also have some chronic pain issues that make me wory about whether OMM will take a toll on my body. But is not having to put up with those things really worth taking on $200k more in debt? I feel like that's not a question I can answer without first literally going through the program haha. I'm going to call admissions tomorrow since financial aid suggested I speak with them about the situation to see if they might have a better sense of whether any scholarships may become available at any point. Tried calling today but got sent to voicemail.
 
naway said:
It's not really an MD vs. DO thing for me so much as that I just really feel uneasy about a few aspects of the program like the lack of dedicated board studying time and all of the uncertainty surrounding the rotation sites. But is not having to put up with those things really worth taking on $200k more in debt? I feel like that's not a question I can answer without first literally going through the program haha. I'm going to call admissions tomorrow since financial aid suggested I speak with them about the situation to see if they might have a better sense of whether any scholarships may become available at any point. Tried calling today but got sent to voicemail.
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Yeah I mean I will say, I have been really unimpressed with PCOM-GA's correspondence. I was accepted October 2 from PCOM and I literally never heard a peep from them except to pay my tuition deposit a couple weeks before the deadline. Meanwhile other schools I got accepted to kept a really active communication and made me feel really welcomed.

Also, PCOM gives no health insurance. I am 99% Mercer has health insurance. 🙂
 
treasure_yourself said:
Yeah I mean I will say, I have been really unimpressed with PCOM-GA's correspondence. I was accepted October 2 from PCOM and I literally never heard a peep from them except to pay my tuition deposit a couple weeks before the deadline. Meanwhile other schools I got accepted to kept a really active communication and made me feel really welcomed.

Also, PCOM gives no health insurance. I am 99% Mercer has health insurance. 🙂
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I've overall felt pretty welcomed by PCOM, but I was accepted several months later than you and, of course, was in communication regarding the scholarship. I can definitely understand feeling like that after going months with no communications. Yes, the health insurance is another one of my concerns! Apparently they tell their students to sign up with the ACA right now, but with so many plans pulling out or threatening to pull out of the exchanges, who knows what options will be available over the next four years.
 
naway said:
It's not really an MD vs. DO thing for me so much as that I just really feel uneasy about a few aspects of the program like the lack of dedicated board studying time and all of the uncertainty surrounding the rotation sites. I also have some chronic pain issues that make me wory about whether OMM will take a toll on my body. But is not having to put up with those things really worth taking on $200k more in debt? I feel like that's not a question I can answer without first literally going through the program haha. I'm going to call admissions tomorrow since financial aid suggested I speak with them about the situation to see if they might have a better sense of whether any scholarships may become available at any point. Tried calling today but got sent to voicemail.
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I went through something similar in choosing schools (except I had to make mine by April, 30th, lol) so here's my 2c. I had a full scholarship offer one place, so I went and asked some of the ED docs where I used to work what were the important heuristics, etc. They all acknowledged that debt matters...but all said the quality of training matters more. For me, that meant taking a smaller scholarship(and going oos) at the school where I felt the training (especially in the ER, my primary interest) was the best. Anyways, my thought with Mercer is that all your training at either campus is at flagship hospitals with level one trauma accreditation. One of my mentors did his residency with Mercer and he LOVES the program and students there. You may have that at PCOM, but you probably won't. Added to which, if you aren't sure you want to practice in primary care...it's still usually harder to go DO than MD. Either way, good luck
 
Nedsson said:
I went through something similar in choosing schools (except I had to make mine by April, 30th, lol) so here's my 2c. I had a full scholarship offer one place, so I went and asked some of the ED docs where I used to work what were the important heuristics, etc. They all acknowledged that debt matters...but all said the quality of training matters more. For me, that meant taking a smaller scholarship(and going oos) at the school where I felt the training (especially in the ER, my primary interest) was the best. Anyways, my thought with Mercer is that all your training at either campus is at flagship hospitals with level one trauma accreditation. One of my mentors did his residency with Mercer and he LOVES the program and students there. You may have that at PCOM, but you probably won't. Added to which, if you aren't sure you want to practice in primary care...it's still usually harder to go DO than MD. Either way, good luck
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Thank you for sharing your perspective as someone who had to make a very similar decision and what the ED doctors had to say! I remember the level 1 trauma center being a big selling point on interview day but just didn't know how important it was to have access to that since I've never had experience in such an environment.

I'm leaning very heavily towards Mercer at this point. I just...need a few days and also don't know how to even go about declining such a massive scholarship lol. I feel like I should send something in writing or something after they were so generous to select me, but I don't really know the proper etiquette for such scenarios.
 
naway said:
Thank you for sharing your perspective as someone who had to make a very similar decision and what the ED doctors had to say! I remember the level 1 trauma center being a big selling point on interview day but just didn't know how important it was to have access to that since I've never had experience in such an environment.

I'm leaning very heavily towards Mercer at this point. I just...need a few days and also don't know how to even go about declining such a massive scholarship lol. I feel like I should send something in writing or something after they were so generous to select me, but I don't really know the proper etiquette for such scenarios.
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Where did you interview for Mercer?

That's so bada$$ that PCOM gave that to you though. Not many people get them. Isn't it like a single digit number?
 
treasure_yourself said:
Where did you interview for Mercer?

That's so bada$$ that PCOM gave that to you though. Not many people get them. Isn't it like a single digit number?
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Savannah, why? Yeah, it was extremely unexpected! And now that I'm considering giving it up, I feel so guilty and ungrateful. 🙁 I really don't know how many they give, but yeah, I imagine it isn't many.
 
naway said:
Savannah, why? Yeah, it was extremely unexpected! And now that I'm considering giving it up, I feel so guilty and ungrateful. 🙁 I really don't know how many they give, but yeah, I imagine it isn't many.
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As someone with debt from undergrad, grad, and soon med school, I can’t imagine the oppportunity to come out without it. That said, in my opinion, it should be primarily whatever programme you see yourself flourishing in and will get you to where you want to be. I know people at both, who love both ... but they also have differing goals and perspectives in medicine. If that doesn’t help much, I always make an old fashioned pros/cons list. Congrats on having these offers and best of luck 😀
 
naway said:
Savannah, why? Yeah, it was extremely unexpected! And now that I'm considering giving it up, I feel so guilty and ungrateful. 🙁 I really don't know how many they give, but yeah, I imagine it isn't many.
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Because I interviewed at Savannah too and I remember they kept talking about the level 1 trauma center too. I chose to be at Macon though so I was hoping you had insight to Macon's Level 1 trauma center. 😛
 
treasure_yourself said:
Because I interviewed at Savannah too and I remember they kept talking about the level 1 trauma center too. I chose to be at Macon though so I was hoping you had insight to Macon's Level 1 trauma center. 😛
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They also kept talking about level I at my interview, which is funny, as a fifth of the class goes to Columbus for clerkships
 
I know this is a silly thing to be worried about lol, but is anyone else having a hard time adding MUSM to their education section on Facebook? The only options it gives me are for the skeleton library and family therapy program.
 
naway said:
I know this is a silly thing to be worried about lol, but is anyone else having a hard time adding MUSM to their education section on Facebook? The only options it gives me are for the skeleton library and family therapy program.
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Yeah, no official page came up when I tried to add it. Idk what's up with that
 
Man, I really hoped my Facebook education-setting woes would end when I decided against going to GA-PCOM. 😛 lol. I hated how it would just say I was going to "GA-PCOM" instead of it being spelled out because most people have no idea what "PCOM" is. At least they HAD a page, though. 😛
 
naway said:
Man, I really hoped my Facebook education-setting woes would end when I decided against going to GA-PCOM. 😛 lol. I hated how it would just say I was going to "GA-PCOM" instead of it being spelled out because most people have no idea what "PCOM" is. At least they HAD a page, though. 😛
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MUSM does have a page though. Mercer University School of Medicine Idk why it doesn't show up when you try to add it as education though... I'm glad I'm not the only one that's bothered by stuff like that lol
 
treasure_yourself said:
Lmao, I'm still debating whether or not to put it on FB.
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haha I wasn't sure whether I should either since the cycle isn't over yet, and I had already once told people I was going to a certain school only for that to change.
 
Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing moms out there!!! I'm sure none of us would've gotten into MD school without them, and I'm sure they are all really proud of us!
 
squiggle2017 said:
I'm currently on the waitlist and I felt that I might have a good shot of getting accepted if I applied ED this year. They accept about 50% of their class from Early Decision. I want to go to Mercer because of their focus on primary care and medicine in underserved areas.
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I'm still waitlisted and I'm super stressed. I put together this questionnaire to see where everyone stands as far as Mercer waitlist/acceptance. Please fill this out so we know we are not alone! I promise it will take like 2 minutes. unfortunately, because I am new, it won't let me actually put a link but the survey is on SurveyMonkey and it is
upload_2018-5-14_12-2-40.png


Good luck to everyone!!!

Update:
I just changed one of the questions about acceptance date so that the actual values would be easier to see in a graph (SurveyMonkey makes you pay for some of the features and I have no money). Anyway, thus far, the 2 people that have been accepted off the waitlist received notification on 4/14/18 and 4/30/18.
 
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