Got accepted into Mercer & now MCG wants interview?

[bonvivant07]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi,

I just found out I got into Mercer last week. Today MCG wants me to set up an interview. I have given up on MCG since I haven't heard anything from them and I turn in the application pretty early too.


So can someone give me some advice? I don't have any preference to either school and I have looked at the differences:

MCG is $15k cheaper than Mercer

Mercer isn't structured learning whereas MCG is. But I have also heard that because it isn't structured you learn more by having to find out yourself.

Should I go to the interview or not? I am all the way across the country in Wisconsin at school right now. Thanks!

 

[Barcu]

Hi,

I just found out I got into Mercer last week. Today MCG wants me to set up an interview. I have given up on MCG since I haven't heard anything from them and I turn in the application pretty early too.


So can someone give me some advice? I don't have any preference to either school and I have looked at the differences:

MCG is $15k cheaper than Mercer

Mercer isn't structured learning whereas MCG is. But I have also heard that because it isn't structured you learn more by having to find out yourself.

Should I go to the interview or not? I am all the way across the country in Wisconsin at school right now. Thanks!

Depends. Would you go to MCG over Mercer?

If feasible (economically and time), I would go to the interview. It sounds from your post like there are some advantages of MCG over Mercer.

The good thing about having an acceptance, however, is that you can be selective for attending any future interviews.

Because of the advantages you listed, as well as the possibility that you would like MCG and attend over Mercer, I would try and go.

 

[JKinSC]

Absolutely go! Who knows? You might fall in love with the place. And the current students you meet will be far more able to answer any questions you might still have.

 

[gravitywave]

sounds to me like you have to make a choice as to whether you would rather keep the option of going to MCG alive or just stay in Wisconsin and save the travel $$. i'm not sure there's much else we can tell you.

personally i cannot understand why someone would work for years toward a goal and then give up options simply because they wanted to save a few hundred bucks.

 

[dd128]

I'm not sure if MCG still does it the same, but in my interviewing days interviews this late were more or less for wait list spots. I remembered they filled a significant portion of their class with early acceptance not leaving a ton for the later interviewers. That being said, you never know, if you can manage the time and money I'd say go for it!

 

[Ursa]

Go

 

[DonutShot]

only reason not to go is if money is an issue.

to clarify, money as in the cost of traveling to MCG for the interview

 

[Tatastrophy]

Most definitely go interview at MCG. I interviewed at both and the facilities and from what I gathered, the education there are definitely better.

 

[Catalystik]

MCG is $15k cheaper than Mercer

Isn't the in-state cost of attendance ~$20,000 per year difference? I think that's worth trying for.

 

[BigBoosting]

I'd definitely go if you can afford it. A couple hundred bucks now will definitely be repaid if you save $60k worth of 4 year's tuition difference.

After you go, you can decide which school you like better. As for PBL vs. Lecture, you have to pick which one works for you. I personally like PBL with Pass/Fail a lot better than Lecture w/ Grades so I'm ecstatic to be going to Mercer, but I would still definitely attend the MCG interview if I was offered one (applied, no interview invite). That said, I've heard that board scores are the same for both schools, if not Mercer scoring higher on average (again, heard, I have no source). But I also like 22k versus 37k. The tuition difference is a big factor, in my opinion.

So go 🙂

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

I would go. I had the opportunity to interview at a couple of schools after already having been accepted somewhere else that I had considered my first choice. It turned out that I was accepted to, and ended up attending, one of those schools. During those interviews I was way more relaxed and felt a little more free to interview my interviewers and press for real information, in part because I really had nothing to lose. I feel this resulted in my being able to acquire more useful data and make a more informed decision. Don't regret it one bit.

And I can just re-iterate what others have said regarding cost of attendance. $15K (or 60K) is real money, worth at least exploring your options. I'm on the other end of the student loan pipeline now, and I promise you'll be kicking yourself one day knowing you might have saved $60K (compounded with interest) but were too lazy to bother going on an extra half-day interview.

 

[bonvivant07]

Hi all! Thanks for the comments!

I have decided to go for an interview. It wasn't really the travel cost, I know it is a couple hundred bucks which is nothing compared to the saving in the thousands if i went to MCG instead of Mercer.

What I was wondering was if they interview me this late, it seems like it's only for a waitlist spot or for the few remaining seats. I know they have a ton of early acceptances spots

 

[Ursa]

Hi all! Thanks for the comments!

I have decided to go for an interview. It wasn't really the travel cost, I know it is a couple hundred bucks which is nothing compared to the saving in the thousands if i went to MCG instead of Mercer.

What I was wondering was if they interview me this late, it seems like it's only for a waitlist spot or for the few remaining seats. I know they have a ton of early acceptances spots

While there is some correlation between when you interview and if you get accepted or not, I wouldn't make this assumption. Just go in there and blow them away!

 

[GAdoc]

Hi all! Thanks for the comments!

I have decided to go for an interview. It wasn't really the travel cost, I know it is a couple hundred bucks which is nothing compared to the saving in the thousands if i went to MCG instead of Mercer.

What I was wondering was if they interview me this late, it seems like it's only for a waitlist spot or for the few remaining seats. I know they have a ton of early acceptances spots

Hope your interview went well - I would definitely have recommended that you go since you should be certain where you want to be.

However, as a 4th year at Mercer I resent anyone who suggests our academics aren't as strong as MCG (or any other school for that matter). Since most of you have not set foot in med school yet I'm not sure what your basis for judgment is - it's certainly not our Step 1 scores. And I know for absolute certain it's not our match list.

Bottom line: MCG is cheaper, its traditional, and it has more name recognition than Mercer (at least for now considering the name change). If you come to Mercer, prepare to work your butt off because you're right - it is self-directed. If you want to go to a med school where you sit around in lecture being told what to learn all day then don't come to Mercer. You spend nine hours a week in "class" at Mercer but those nine hour are required and if you aren't prepared you won't be very well liked....and it's tough to hide in a class of only 60 (or 40 if you're at Savannah).

Mercer is VERY good at what it does - we take barely acceptable pre-meds and put them in essentially whatever residency they want. Take me for example: my best MCAT was a 27 and my GPA (from Mercer undergrad) was 3.57. Fast forward two years - I scored in the high 240s on Step 1 and 2 and am planning on doing ortho...along with 7 other guys from my class all with similar (or better) stats.

Make your decision for the right reasons...not based on the opinion of people who don't have a clue. In the end, you have to decide where YOU will be most successful. That extra $15k per year might be well worth it if it means you get the residency you want....