GA school applicants

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fahimaz7 said:
Nope, the tuition difference is about 17k/year. So, all in all, you'll come out 80-100k more in debt at Mercer than MCG.

Avg debt at MCG is 80k? Avg at Mercer is ~180k
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MCG has a barebones "tuition" figure of 14,500; but things like the 2,943 for "misc. ed costs" and various other fees are not included. Mercer includes them in the tuition figure. On my sheet it says:

Projected costs:
M1: 35572
M2: 48575
M3: 49882
M4: 34121

It is all spelled out, but I don't want to type all of it in, and I can't find it on their website. Are they just overestimating the cost of living, or what? I mean, years 2 & 3 are higher than Mercer
 
bodonid said:
MCG has a barebones "tuition" figure of 14,500; but things like the 2,943 for "misc. ed costs" and various other fees are not included. Mercer includes them in the tuition figure. On my sheet it says:

Projected costs:
M1: 35572
M2: 48575
M3: 49882
M4: 34121

It is all spelled out, but I don't want to type all of it in, and I can't find it on their website. Are they just overestimating the cost of living, or what? I mean, years 2 & 3 are higher than Mercer
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Student Budget for the MD program 2004-2005
Macon and Savannah Campuses

(11 months)
43 weeks

Tuition/Fees
$27,876
$26,732
$25,592
$24,436

Books/Equipment
1,700
1,350
2,335
600

Totals
M1 $47,581
M2 $47,307
M3 $47,972
M4 $42,271


PS. This is not for 2008. Tuition has gone up a lot. I think it's not at 35k/year alone.



Mercer is on a different time table too. They have an 11 month program instead of the 9 month program that MCG has. After that first year, both are on 12 month schedules until the 4th year, which is back to 9 months.

That might be a difference. Either way, tuition alone is almost twice as much at Mercer and the cost of living is the same. Some schools bundle prep-courses for Step I and Step II. Not sure if these do.
 
All info is after my conversation with Mercer today (I spoke with Ms. Putnam at length and asked very specific questions. She, of course, gave me very specific answers).

1. ONLY the individuals place on the ALTERNATE LIST were sent a letter.

2. If you do not receive a first class envelope in the next week you are to assume that you are in the REJECTED group and you will be contacted via email sometime within the next couple weeks.

3. If you are on the alternate list you should make plans to reapply.

4. The list is ranked - they will Not give you any indication as to your location on the list. They won't even say if you are in the top _ _ _.

Like many of you, I am praying like heck to get one of those alternate letters in the next few days just so I know there is a shred of hope.
Lastly, she could not tell me if I was going to get a letter.

aaaaaaAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGH!
 
Dr Sleep said:
Hmm, so even if you are on the waitlist you have basically have no shot at getting accepted, is that what she implied?
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That is the impression I got. She said that even if you were 4th on the list that she wouldn't count on getting in. I know from past years that they tend to move approximately 10-20 people as they come off of MCG's and others wait lists. Mercer's list truly pivots around MCG for the most part.

Either way, we are either going to have a short wait or a long one. I know that the next time I interview I will be asking the other candidates for contact info (I would really like to know who made it out of my group!).
 
ruhler said:
3. If you are on the alternate list you should make plans to reapply.
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That's always sort of tacky when a school advises you to get ready to re-apply when waitlisted.

Dr Sleep said:
That seems a little odd...if MCG clams 1/2 to 2/3 of their waitlist is eventually accepted, it doesn't make much sense that only 5-10 of Mercer's waitlist is offered an acceptance.
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The thing with mcg may be being interpreted a bit incorrectly. They may have had some years where 1/2-2/3 of the waitlisters were taken. I've heard of years where only a dozen were taken. It's all very relative and may depend how things go from year to year. I think that is why they are very careful not to give too much information out and give people misleading information.
 
So what if we haven't heard anything from MCG at this point?

I imagine 2 scenarios:
1. (Based on the possibility that spots are still avail)
- This recent batch of letters were those who were definite waitlist. They are now further reviewing applicants for the avail. spots and making a decision of accept/waitlist.

2. (Based on the possibility that all acceptances have gone out)
- The recent batch were those were were definite waitlist. The next batch is those who were borderline, and so now it's reject/waitlist time.

I hope it's choice 1...
 
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veejl said:
That would suck... please be wrong...
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Your letter could have been lost in the mail or I suppose they could have forgotten about you. I'd give admissions a call if you haven't received any word by monday.
 
Dr Sleep said:
Hmm, so even if you are on the waitlist you have basically have no shot at getting accepted, is that what she implied?
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Or else that's what they tell ALL waitlisted people, since not all of them will get in anyway. It could be the standard protocol until they see some acceptance withdrawals come in. Probably a safe bet to prepare to reapply, regardless of how well a school's waitlist moves.
 
Just got my waitlist letter from Mercer...anyone else?
 
Ty Webb said:
Just got my waitlist letter from Mercer...anyone else?
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My buddy did, but he lives in Macon.

Where do you live Ty? I am in Griffin and have not received one yet.
 
ruhler said:
My buddy did, but he lives in Macon.

Where do you live Ty? I am in Griffin and have not received one yet.
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I live in Marietta, but my local post office is pretty fast at sorting mail, so that might be a factor

Best of luck
 
I got a waitlist from mercer today. at least they were really nice about it
 
How do you guys do it? With the frustration that comes along with even one application, I commend you folks who have applied multiple times. I would think stamina in the medical education world would count for more than it does...
 
bodonid said:
How do you guys do it? With the frustration that comes along with even one application, I commend you folks who have applied multiple times. I would think stamina in the medical education world would count for more than it does...
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Haha, yeah you would think so, but nope! At least for the application process it seems. Stamina will be something we will all need a lot of down the road so it's still good to have. I will say one thing, I'm sure I appreciate an acceptance infinitely more having gone through this twice, rather than if I had just gotten in on my first try. That isn't to say I'd still rather not have gotten in last year, but I think in the end it all worked out ok. Hopefully it does for everyone else still waiting also 🙂
 
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If I accept the finaid package of one school and then I get off the waitlist from MCG, can I go to MCG?

I mean am I stuck with that college once I accept finaid?
 
MDpride said:
If I accept the finaid package of one school and then I get off the waitlist from MCG, can I go to MCG?

I mean am I stuck with that college once I accept finaid?
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I think as long as you promise to give your first born over to medical research you're allowed to get out of it. 😉

It's probably like undergrad, you can cancel your loan up until you actually receive it. Where was your acceptance MD?
 
dd128 said:
I think as long as you promise to give your first born over to medical research you're allowed to get out of it. 😉

It's probably like undergrad, you can cancel your loan up until you actually receive it. Where was your acceptance MD?
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GAPCOM
 
MDpride said:
GAPCOM
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Congrats on the acceptance, MDpride. I thought you were attending Mercer?

I agree w/ dd on this (re loans), but it is probably worth a call to the school don't you think? Let us know what you find out! I'm not in a position to consider multiple acceptances...but I'm still curious.
 
Skymastre said:
Congrats on the acceptance, MDpride. I thought you were attending Mercer?

I agree w/ dd on this (re loans), but it is probably worth a call to the school don't you think? Let us know what you find out! I'm not in a position to consider multiple acceptances...but I'm still curious.
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Surprisingly, Mercer didnot call me which prompted me to apply DO.
May be I don't have enough residency years in GA.
I have already paid $2250 non-refundable to GAPCOM.
But its worth letting go of that money, if MCG takes me off waitlist
 
MDpride said:
Surprisingly, Mercer didnot call me which prompted me to apply DO.
May be I don't have enough residency years in GA.
I have already paid $2250 non-refundable to GAPCOM.
But its worth letting go of that money, if MCG takes me off waitlist
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I'm sorry to hear about Mercer. If it is any consolation, I was waitlisted and told that this was their most competitive year ever.

I think that DO is a great career path. I probably should have applied myself. Best of luck.
 
Skymastre said:
I'm sorry to hear about Mercer. If it is any consolation, I was waitlisted and told that this was their most competitive year ever.

I think that DO is a great career path. I probably should have applied myself. Best of luck.
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No doubt about that.

But giving away $ 2250 hurts if MCG calls me.
In the long run, I'll save lots of money going to MCG.
 
For those who received a waitlist from Mercer:

What was the date on the letter?
What date do they want you to respond by?

I'm just trying to see if we can figure out anything about our rank on the waitlist by these factors.
 
Ty Webb said:
For those who received a waitlist from Mercer:

What was the date on the letter?
What date do they want you to respond by?

I'm just trying to see if we can figure out anything about our rank on the waitlist by these factors.
Click to expand...


My letter was dated on the 7th, and I was told to reply by the 15th of May. Yourself?
 
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It's my understanding that this is consistent with last year's waitlists
 
bravos can't hack it this year...

waitin' on the dawgs!
 
Skymastre said:
I see that, also looks like last year letters came out at different times and such. In any event, I'm not too worried about it. What can we do but wait and hope we are close to the top?

Have you called to see if you can find out where you are yet?
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Very true. It'd be nice to know where we stand, but I don't think many schools disclose that kind of information.

I probably won't contact Mercer about my standing. From previous posts, it seems that the school isn't able to legally disclose any information about the ranking of the waitlist, which is understandable. I'll just be sending in my acceptance to their waitlist offer, and hoping for the best.
 
It appears that there were a good number of waitlists at Mercer. Has anyone gone about setting up a time to meet with the Dean yet?

I just did, and am wondering if anyone has gone through this process before/can comment on how it works.
 
Skymastre said:
It appears that there were a good number of waitlists at Mercer. Has anyone gone about setting up a time to meet with the Dean yet?

I just did, and am wondering if anyone has gone through this process before/can comment on how it works.
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Wow, and I thought interviews were stressfull...

But I guess that would be the best course of action. I guess just ask how you could improve your application & try to make a good impression.
 
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bodonid said:
Wow, and I thought interviews were stressfull...

But I guess that would be the best course of action. I guess just ask how you could improve your application & try to make a good impression.
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Honestly bodonid, there is little stress involved at this point. I mean, those of us on Mercer's waitlist know the odds are against us. So that means developing a plan for next year and putting it into action.

I think people encounter the most stress when they are waiting for an unknown, and do not have sufficient information to make informed decisions about their lives. The real waiting is over; a flat-out acceptance isn't coming and most people are familiar enough with their applications to know how they can improve their chances for next year.

Realistically, at this point I know where I stand and what my options are. I should aggressively pursue next year's cycle. Acceptance off the waitlist would be wonderful, but from reading last year's thread I know that this could be a pipe dream.

If Mercer has taught me anything, it's that applying early is important. I didn't apply until late October, and by the time I interviewed in January almost the entire class had all ready been filled. I won't make that mistake again!!

Just a ramble.
 
Im gonna take a wild guess and say that everyones waitlist letter has the same date April 7 with a reply by May 15 for Mercer.

I was waitlisted at both like everyone else it seems.
 
Did anyone get a real positive letter from Mercer? 😍
 
as in complimentary? I think that is Mercer's signature for acceptees, but I didn't know they did that for waitlisters. Mine said they really liked my shadowing/ECs and my MCAT score. I think they feel that it gives a more personal feel (i.e. MCG doesn't do anything like that usually)
 
bodonid said:
as in complimentary? I think that is Mercer's signature for acceptees, but I didn't know they did that for waitlisters. Mine said they really liked my shadowing/ECs and my MCAT score. I think they feel that it gives a more personal feel (i.e. MCG doesn't do anything like that usually)
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Yeah, MCG's is more like a list of demands.
 
kyteas said:
Did anyone get a real positive letter from Mercer? 😍
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You mean their waitlist? Yes, my letter was nice. Told me that they thought I had qualities of a physician and how much they would love to have me at the Mercer Family, and that there was still a chance for acceptance. After saying they loved me, they told me the could now offer advice on how to make my application strong for next year.

Ahhh, I love the lover who gives mixed messages

Guessing this is what everyone got
 
Waitlisted at both MCG and Mercer.....life sucks right now.
 
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