I have met Very few people (and i mean less than 5) who "only" study 5-8 hours a day.
That idea is preposterous and a death warrant for the average MCG student.
On top of that, our lecture packets are averaging 100 to 130 slides in 2nd year, and we get between 9 and 14 of those packets a week PLUS a number of handouts, reading assignments, materials etc.
Not done yet! We have quite a few other responsibilities every week which simply leach our time away like blood sucking parasites.
We cover the same material as most any school in the US of A - why? because these schools need to have a curriculum that meets the NBME requirements in order to retain accreditation.
You are not alone in the amount that you study. Remember, there are thousands of us who are literally putting our cortisol rhythm and endocrine functions into disarray.
In the end...All I can say is... you guys have a PASS / FAIL system, and a test schedule that trains you to learn for longer term retention - not the fill up and dump every 2 weeks that we have here.
Boy...i'd sure give my left eye for a Pass / Fail system.
I have had 2 89.97's on modules - guess what. MCG does NOT round up.
Good luck on those exams. First year is pretty bad anywhere you go. And 2nd year aint much better. 😍
I'm a 4th year at Mercer and I bottom line: its a personal preference as to whether you'd do better at MCG or Mercer. If you want to stay in med school, how much you study will be based on how much you personally have to do to get the grades you want. That being said, any LCME accredited US med school will get you where you want to go. Because Mercer isn't quite as well known, a Step 1 of 250 may not mean the same thing as a 250 from someone from Emory or MCG. But, you'd only really worry about that if you were applying to a super-competitive specialty anyway.
As someone else said, no one can force you into primary care. And I can tell you that the majority of Mercer faculty know that what you say you want to do at the start may change by 4th year. That's life. I had every intent of doing primary care, but in the end orthopaedics was a better fit and that's what I'm trying for.
I don't know much about other med schools, so this is in no way a shot to them, but I can tell you two very positive things about Mercer:
1. I would challenge anyone to find another med school that better prepares you for the boards and residency. We're known for taking students with marginal MCATs, and turning out unbelieveable Step 1 scores. I took the MCAT three times: 24, 22, 27. Most schools wouldn't even touch me. Mercer took a chance and I made a 246 on step 1 and 249 on step 2. Over the last few years, our match list is ridiculous. We've matched people into ENT, derm, rad onc, rads, ortho, etc. etc.
2. Our clinical preparation is awesome. I'm now on my 2nd away rotation at the University of Florida. UF is one of the most competitive schools in the country and the residents and staff don't think very highly of the students. According to them, they lack clinical preparation (don't know how to write notes, take H&Ps, do basic exams, etc).
At Mercer you will work hard. You will take more call in your 3rd year than at any med school I've heard of. You will see patients every day BEFORE the residents, and you will present both to the resident and the attending. You will write notes that go in the patient's chart, and you will come out of Step 2 CS feeling well prepared.
