has
anyone on this thread been accepted to MCG? It seems like this is the Mercer c/o 2012 What Up thread! Kind of weird since Mercer has a smaller class size than mcg or emory.
Anyone else still waiting for december interview acceptances? Anyone gotten in? I asked about 2 1/2 wks ago, but surely the AdComs have met in the new year by now- right?
Also, since there are so many Bears here (Mercer's mascot) are any of you taking the country doctor scholarship? Anyone have any opinions about it? Just asking because one of my friends is doing it.
Hi, I've posted on this thread before, but in case any of you don't remember, I'm a first year at Mercer. About the Country Doc thing...
Its a personal preference, but you really have to be careful when thinking about it. I know they probably mentioned it a little in your interview and if you are accepted you will have an ENTIRE DAY in June where you have to listen to people talk about scholarship/loan opportunities, but I'd think about it now so you don't make rash decisions in the "heat of the moment".
Now, there are a couple of similar "scholarships", but most of them involve the following: essentially, they will pay about $20,000 a year toward tuition/books/fees. While that's a great chunck of money, I'm sure most of you have realized its not even close to a "full ride". For accepting the money, what does it lock you in to? You will be required to choose a residency in general family practice, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, general ob/gyn, or general surgery. I say "general" because they don't want you specializing...at least not until you have paid back your debt in terms of years of service.
You will also be required to stay in state and practice in a community that is medically underserved/rural as defined by the state board of medical education. Of course, this being Georgia that translates to over 100 counties and most are in desirable places to live. Obviously if big city living is your thing, don't do it because you won't live within 60 miles of Atlanta. Here is a link to the scholarship and the eligible counties:
http://www.mcg.edu/students/finaid/PDF/SMEB.pdf
My biggest hang-up (other than knowing what residency I HAVE to do before I ever set foot in medical school) is that the state board owns you for those years of payback and can require that you move to a different location if they don't think you're serving them where you're at.
If you are ever in breach of contract you are immediately liable for all funds plus interest accrued. Of course that's fairly nice. Some of these "Scholarships" have TRIPLE payback clauses (i.e. for every $20,000 they give you, you pay back $60,000 should you break your contract).
Just think carefully about it. I'm not discouraging anyone, I'm just telling you why I didn't do it!
