
I did some research this past year, and these are some of the schools that have reasonable stats and take a lot of OOS students:
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
Jefferson
Drexel
Temple
MCW
Tulane
So turns out texas schools may not be such a bad way to go after all 😉
You going to go to Savannah or Macon?
I applied to every one of those schools you listed, and did not hear a peep from any of them (and I have pretty high stats). It could be just me, but I only heard back from southern schools. Maybe add some more schools close to GA. I know there is a new school in FL opening next year that will be taking oos students for its first class. (I'm not completely sure what the school's name is).
I did some research this past year, and these are some of the schools that have reasonable stats and take a lot of OOS students:
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
Jefferson
Drexel
Temple
MCW
Tulane
Congratulations! I can't believe you got a decision back from them before any of the GA schools.

I am a GA resident. I applied to all of those schools and was rejected by all those schools. If you want a shot at them, you must get your app in early. Using them as back up schools if EDP doesn't work out is pointless. Applying that late is a waste of your $ and time. I forgot to add Wake Forest to the list above. They have stats comparable to MCG and accept a good # of OOS students.
So turns out texas schools may not be such a bad way to go after all 😉
I just got into Houston!!!!!! Ahhhh!!!
What are some other schools close to GA? Sorry, I am a new Georgia resident, so I am not sure. If I want to be an MD, should I also apply for DO schools too? I don't want to though, it's just a personal preference thing. There's nothing wrong with DO schools of course. But many of my colleagues are suggesting that I apply to DO schools also. Oh well, I don't know. 😕
If you want to apply DO, GA-PCOM is a new branch of a pretty good school; GA PCOM is in the Atlanta suburbs. The only other one in the area that I know of is NOVA southeastern in Florida. Both have stats lower than that of MD schools, so they would be reasonable 'safeties' for marginal applicants.
If you want to apply DO, GA-PCOM is a new branch of a pretty good school; GA PCOM is in the Atlanta suburbs. The only other one in the area that I know of is NOVA southeastern in Florida. Both have stats lower than that of MD schools, so they would be reasonable 'safeties' for marginal applicants.
Oh okay thank you! Here is my list of schools I will be applying to so far, please tell me what you think and tell if there are other schools I should be considering too, please, thank you!
Emory
Mercer
MCG
Morehouse
Penn State
George Washington
Howard
GeorgeTown
USUHS
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
Jefferson
Drexel
Temple
MCW
Tulane
Wake Forest
I have a undergrad GPA of 3.2(yech, i know 🙁)
A post-bac GPA of 4.0
and I will be taking the MCAT on may 10.
Anyone please give me any comment! Thank you!
I'd say that is a pretty good list and if you score in at least the high 20's, you have a decent shot (from a statistical pov) at most of those schools. I can't really comment of Howard, GW, Georgetown, Penn State, and USUHS.
As for applying DO, I wouldn't unless you really like their philosophy on medicine. But if you do like it, the above advice is very good. Don't worry about the GPA thing so much, if you did a quality post-bacc, it should help you a lot. I came out with a 3.3 uGPA, got into Mercer and interviewed with MCG.
It looks like you plan to apply broadly, which is good, but your apps and travel will get expensive. I would try to narrow your list down if you can. Don't apply to a school unless you can really see yourself going there. At some point you may find yourself thinking: "I don't care where I get in, just as long as I get in." This can cause you to apply to schools based soley on stats, and you might end up being miserable for 4 years. At least to me, that is a far worse situation than re-applying. To me, the biggest thing to look at is the student body. Ask yourself: "Do I fit in with these people?" If you want to build a career in academics, then research should be a big consideration too. But the quality of clinical and pre-clinical training is pretty standard at most schools. Geography was important to me too, but a lot of people don't stress this at all. I know there are certain areas of the country where I would be miserable. End ramble.
No Way! Congratulations!!!!! Can you get instate tuition? If not, you should check to see if you can get it after 1yr. Where would you go if you got in Mercer & MCG too?
Edit- didn't read your earlier comment. Congratulations! Guess we won't be classmates after all!
To each their own, I guess. I would give anything to go back in time and talk some sense into myself. If I had applied to DO schools the first time around, I'd be finishing up my second year of medical school right now, and starting to think about step 1.
This time around, I was much less picky. I got my DO acceptance at GA-PCOM, and I withdrew all my MD applications, including to schools that I had previously interviewed at. I couldn't care less where I go to school, now that I actually have some understanding of what happens in medical school.
These past two years have been the biggest ****ing waste of time and money I could have ever possibly imagined. I am still pissed at myself for putting myself two years behind in my goal of becoming a doctor. The only people who care about MD vs. DO are pre-med posters on this website.
And as much as I loved mercer, I'd still put houston above there as well.
Ahhhh!!!
Yeah I guess I got a little excited 😛
I'd definitely agree with this. No one cares. But definitely look into the philosophy of DO (shadow a doc or something), to get an idea of what it's all about. Don't do it because you think it's "easier" to get into, as in many cases DO schools can be as competitive as a regular MD school. Congrats on the acceptance tex 👍 I guess you're going to GA and I'm coming to texas, lol.
Yes. And its a pain in the ***. The website sucks.Texas schools have their own application system right?
I work with probably 5-6 DO's who are attendings at the busiest level II trauma center in the nation. In addition, the only two doctors I see on a semi-regular basis (a psychiatrist for my ADHD meds, and a dermatologist to make sure triathlons aren't giving me cancer) are DO's, and I didn't even know what a DO was when I started seeing either of them. These guys are all indistinguishable from comparable MD's. I know everything I need to be comfortable with my decision. I'll pick up the rest as I go.
Congrats on UT-Houston. You will love it. The TMS is as good as it gets. As an older applicant, you have to be stellar to get into a TX school, which I am not. I dug myself a deep hole to climb out of early on in college, and will be paying for it in the form of out-of-state private school tuition. I am more than happy with GA-PCOM, but I would have loved the opportunity to stay in-state and pay peanuts for tuition.
No problem! You deserve to be excited! Go have some fun or something. (if you remember what that is...)
Edit- if you are close enough to smell patients, lol. Ahhhh!!!
Hey GADoc, Mercer has a chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha, right?
I thought Mercer has P/F system. What is the basis on which the top 20% students are decided?
When you take a test at Mercer you get a score, but your grades are P/F because there is no posted class ranking. I imagine they make a ranking for this top 20% based on test scores, but it is not displayed to all of the students. That's my guess.




Yeah...that's right. It is pass or fail...sort of. In your first two years, you essentially have three separate curricular programs running simultaneously. There is Clinical Skills, Community Medicine, and the Biomedical Problems (BMP). You have to pass them all, but only your BMP grade counts towards class ranking.
The BMP is further subdivided into a tutorial grade (based on your attendance and participation in group...it is 1 to 5 with 3 being the passing score), a SOCA grade (this is your oral exam which you take the day after the MDE..it is also 1 to 5 with 3 being passing), and a multi-disciplinary exam (MDE) grade. Here, the LCME only allows the MDE grade to determine your class ranking, though failing any of the other sections can be grouds for remediation.
The MDE is graded like any other test and passing is 65. One thing I LOVE about Mercer is that you get your grade the day you take the exam, so you don't have to worry all weekend.
You can fail two MDEs a year (there are only six per year) with no real consequence...however, if you fail a third, you have to repeat the year. I'd say on average only two or three people fail each MDE. Of course, some are more difficult than others. If you come to Mercer, you'll immediately start hearing horror stories about Neuro (the phase I'm in right now). It's the only seven week phase, with over 1800 pages of reading that represent Gross Anatomy, Embryology, Biochemistry, Histology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Immunology, Microbiology, Parasitology, Virology, Pathology, and Pharmacology. The MDE will be six hours and over 250 multiple choice questions.
Anyway...third and fourth year are graded the same pretty much everywhere. I think its fail, pass, high pass, honors. I don't know that you're even considered for AOA until the start of your senior year, but I'm not exactly sure how that works. I also think that Step 1 plays into AOA consideration, but again I'm not sure.
Just do the best you can. But, remember that not being AOA won't count you out of even the most competitive residencies. As long as Step 1 is good, you've got good clerkship grades, and strong letters of recommendation you should be good. Some research also helps.
Just interviewed at Mercer and the last ADCOM meeting is Wednesday, March 26 for acceptances. There will be another ADCOM meeting the next Wed, the first week in April, to determine who is on the waitlist. But don't sweat it if you do get waitlisted because there is a ton of moment on the Mercer waitlist. And with more spots there will be even more movement.
Good luck
Oh yeah, the last interview day is March 25.
!!!
Thanks, dude- that is really interesting. Good luck with your application/ where else did you interview?

HA, you always have the longest posts!
Does the community med grade show up on your transcript? My father is a preceptor for community med, and I'd like to know.
Just thought I would rescue my beloved thread from the depths of page 3. Anyone hear from MCG lately?
Nada here. April 1 is coming up soon, that is the supposed date of hearing something right?
Happy StPDay! 
is it? I heard March 15, March 26, April 1, May 1, and May 15.
today is March 15, and as far as I know nothing much happened today.
GLHappy StPDay!
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I wouldn't say nothing, I did get my official letter from houston 😀
Congrats! I am so jealous (ha,ha). I'm originally from Texas, but I've spent the last almost 8 years in GA. I'm happy to going to school in GA, but the tuition and location (close to family and friends) were a big pull for UT-Houston. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to apply until really late. You know what this means for OOS. Thankfully I have an acceptance that I'm happy with. But, the tuition is about 30K more a year.
So, it is a good idea to apply to Texas schools? especially for a GA resident who is thinking about applying "broadly"? Thanks in advance
So, it is a good idea to apply to Texas schools? especially for a GA resident who is thinking about applying "broadly"? Thanks in advance