Mercer Master in Preclinical Sciences- 2024 (MSPCS)

[neurotickombucha87]

Hi all, I am a recent graduate of the Mercer MS in pre-clinical sciences. I remember when I was applying that there wasn't really much info about the program online other than what was on their website, so I decided to make this thread. Please post any questions you have, and I'll do my best to answer them!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[germanyfrankfurt2023]

Hi all, I am a recent graduate of the Mercer MS in pre-clinical sciences. I remember when I was applying that there wasn't really much info about the program online other than what was on their website, so I decided to make this thread. Please post any questions you have, and I'll do my best to answer them!

I just got accepted into the MSPCS program. I am thinking about whether or not I should follow through with it. I plan to take the MCAT for the first time in January (fairly prepared). But this means I do not qualify for the linkage program.

How many of your classmates or even you yourself had a similar path? Did people get accepted into medical school without the linkage program, basically from simply going through the program?

 

[neurotickombucha87]

I would not recommend taking the MCAT in January during the program. They do not over-exaggerate the difficulty of the program, and it was much more difficult than anything I had ever done in undergrad. Only around 10 of us were able to meet the GPA requirement for the linkage, and half of the class did not make it to the spring semester. If I remember correctly, a few of my friends intended on taking the MCAT in around January at the beginning of the year, but they all pushed it to the summer and will be applying this upcoming cycle.

Of my classmates who applied this cycle, only 3 out of 8 of us used the linkage. The people who did not use the linkage had all taken the mcat prior to the program. Since I just graduated, I don't have personal experience with this, but I believe Mercer has a pretty good record of accepting alumni of the program the the Med school.

 

[biggdawge_29]

Hey, do you mind me asking what your stats were?

 

[neurotickombucha87]

I got in with a 3.79 gpa and 507 on the mcat, but I definitely feel that I was on the higher end of the spectrum with that. Most of my classmates had mcats around 500.

 

[neurotickombucha87]

We had around 40 people start the program and about 20 of us graduated. Most people dropped out of the program because they were not able to meet the 3.0 requirement for the first semester. The program is designed to be about as difficult as the first year of med school.

We had 8 people get into the med school straight from the MS, but only 3 of us chose to use the linkage (the others just applied regularly). Most of the the class are applying this upcoming cycle.

 

[neurotickombucha87]

The linkage is only a guaranteed interview if you finish the first semester with a 3.5 or higher, and using the linkage placed our interviews in early February which is relatively late in the cycle. A lot of students who applied got an interview invite before this, and thus didn't have to use the linkage. Everyone had their own reasons for taking an extra year, but the most common one was to improve their mcat scores.

Like I said the program is extremely difficult (excessively imo). The first semester almost felt like it was designed to weed people out. The professors are med school faculty so they are pretty good at their jobs, but the sheer amount of content that was taught was what made things hard. We took 3 courses a semester and had class 4 days a week. Exams were multiple choice and a little bit of fill in the blank. If you do choose to do the program, expect to spend most of your time outside of class studying.

 

[neurotickombucha87]

Everyone from my class who applied got in to Mercer eventually (a couple of us got waitlisted). Your MCAT and gpa prob won't be a barrier if you perform well in the program. The biggest concern is your state of residency. Mercer only considers applicants who are from Georgia and they like to see strong ties to the state. If you are from out of state, I would not recommend moving here just for the program.

We typically only have 1-2 classes per day which last 1.5 hours each.

 

[2024NonTradAnon]

moved to georgia in 2020 and have lived her for almost 4 years now. worked 2+ years in a medical clinic in GA. so im not from here but have lived and worked here for a number of years, and have strong ties - close family (aunt uncle cousins) live here, fiance is from here. is that an issue? and perfect on the class time. having that much time outside of class to study is huge because im all in on anki and uworld. another question - do you submit amcas application for the linkage as well? or is it all internal through the MS programs? do they care if u submit apps to other schools while in the program? also are you eligible for all med school campuses after interview? and lastly - do you support the program? would you recommend it / is it doable if you work hard enough and study to get in? any big red flags? what do u think made u successfully link to mercer MD?

Mercer is serious about its mission to produce physicians who stay in Georgia and work in rural communities. I applied to Mercer regular decision this cycle and got WL; I have consistently talked to other folks with weaker stats who were admitted this cycle but most of them lived in Georgia most of their life and/or were from rural areas. (There was an occasional Atlanta person but that was usually accompanied by a very strong MCAT score). How "strong" my ties are to Georgia, especially to rural areas, came up in the interview TWICE. My father's entire family is from rural Georgia and has lived here for centuries. We moved back to Georgia (my parents met out of state) in the late 90s and I went to middle school and graduated high school in Georgia; my parents have lived here ever since. After college and working out of state, I moved back to Georgia in early 2019. Again, how strong my ties are came up twice.

If you are originally from a rural place elsewhere in the south (AL, MS, TN, etc.) you probably still stand a decent shot. You stand an even better shot if your fiance is your legal partner by the time you apply. And you stand the best shot if you currently live in a rural area in Georgia.

I have applied to another SMP but likely won't apply to Mercer's because I talked to two former Mercer MSPCS students and neither got in after doing the MS; this was pre-linkage. One spoke with one of his professors after and they said, "We are trying to give rural students a chance." The MSPCS program won't change my profile or their perception of my ties to Georiga so I won't be applying. However, as neurotickombucha87 and some of their classmates proved, some folks definitely make it through. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[neurotickombucha87]

To answer some of your questions, you submit AMCAS as normal and you are free to apply to other medical schools. You will be eligible for all of their campuses if you get in. It's hard to say if it's doable without knowing you as a student, but I definitely had to change a lot about the way I studied to succeed in the program.

Everything @2024NonTradAnon said about Mercer's focus on their rural mission is correct. The school will put rural ties (or claimed rural ties 🙁 ) over stats 100% of the time. That being said, I and another classmate who applied this cycle moved to Georgia around the same time you did and had relatively weak rural connections. We both received acceptances after being waitlisted. I'm not sure if we got in due to the linkage agreement or if we just got lucky, but I very much believe that we wouldn't have even received interview invites without the program.

I don't know if I can honestly answer the question of if I recommend this program. It's very high risk-high reward. If you succeed in the program it will significantly increase your chances of getting in to Mercer, as it did for me and several of my classmates. At the same time, this is not a guarantee and it is quite a lot of money to spend on a maybe. Ultimately, I'm glad that I did the program, but I know that many of my classmates who did not make it through the first semester do not feel the same way.

 

[germanyfrankfurt2023]

I would not recommend taking the MCAT in January during the program. They do not over-exaggerate the difficulty of the program, and it was much more difficult than anything I had ever done in undergrad. Only around 10 of us were able to meet the GPA requirement for the linkage, and half of the class did not make it to the spring semester. If I remember correctly, a few of my friends intended on taking the MCAT in around January at the beginning of the year, but they all pushed it to the summer and will be applying this upcoming cycle.

Of my classmates who applied this cycle, only 3 out of 8 of us used the linkage. The people who did not use the linkage had all taken the mcat prior to the program. Since I just graduated, I don't have personal experience with this, but I believe Mercer has a pretty good record of accepting alumni of the program the the Med school.

Thank you for this! Grateful for your help!

I am not sure if this was already discussed. but does finishing the program also give you better opportunities at schools other than Mercer? Also, I know you discuss the risk of not doing well in the program, but was there anyone who did well in the program and still did not get into a medical school? The reason I ask is because the requirements to get into the program are pretty low, so it's hard for me to believe that someone with a minimum gpa gets into a med school that usually has an average gpa of like 3.7.

My worry is even if I am one of the lucky few that does well in the program, my previous stats could hold me back, making it worthless... My thought process is that, acceptance into the program shows that IF you do well in the program you would have a very very good chance of getting in somewhere. Or, is this just a scheme to get money and set students up for failure even after success in the program lol. Sorry, its a lot of money and time, just want to be sure haha.

 

[georgiagirl111400]

Hi all, I am a recent graduate of the Mercer MS in pre-clinical sciences. I remember when I was applying that there wasn't really much info about the program online other than what was on their website, so I decided to make this thread. Please post any questions you have, and I'll do my best to answer them!

Hi! First of all, thanks so much for doing this!! I’m planning on going next year and am excited but nervous. I’ve read the other threads and see that the classes are really difficulty, but see that some students were able to do well. What do you believe is the best way to approach the courses and study for the class. Were anki or uworld helpful? I know many of my friends who are in medical use both so was wondering if was the same for this program.

 

[neurotickombucha87]

Honestly, I'm not certain how other schools/programs will look at this program. I'd like to believe that doing well would impress them, but I'm not certain how well known it is outside of Georgia. Several alumni have gone onto MCG so maybe they know about the program?? I'll have to see how my classmates do this application cycle to get a better answer for your question.

That being said, Mercer's med school is very impressed by success in the program, and previous stats will prob not hold you back if you do well.

 

[neurotickombucha87]

Anki was helpful for some people. I don't think UWorld will help at all. Definitely talk to previous students of the program who are in med school now and take their advice. You'll meet several of them on orientation day.

 

[georgiagirl111400]

Anki was helpful for some people. I don't think UWorld will help at all. Definitely talk to previous students of the program who are in med school now and take their advice. You'll meet several of them on orientation day.

Would you mind if I ask how you studied and what the exams were like?

 

[Yougotthis0010]

Hi all, I am a recent graduate of the Mercer MS in pre-clinical sciences. I remember when I was applying that there wasn't really much info about the program online other than what was on their website, so I decided to make this thread. Please post any questions you have, and I'll do my best to answer them!

Hey I got accepted. I wanted to ask you if they have any scholarships....and also what do you suggest for hosuing

 

[neurotickombucha87]

Hey I got accepted. I wanted to ask you if they have any scholarships....and also what do you suggest for hosuing

Unfortunately, I don't believe they have any scholarships. Several students lived at Prism23 and they seemed to like it.

 

[Yougotthis0010]

Hey thank you for responsing, One more question

How likely is it to get into their medical school....

I have a uGPA-2.5, Postbac GPA-4.0 (very hard masters level bio classes like surgical anatomy, histo, viro,immuno, applied med, pharma, pathophys), and this masters program hopefully 3.9, 5000 clinical hours (CNA, Med scribe). and 6000 gas station manager hours..

back story-immingrant, oldest daughter had to manage everything with a mom and 3 siblings and a paralyze brother while in undergrad. STRONG ties to south georgia for past 10 years.

 

[Jordan Campbell]

I was accepted into the program and was curious to know if you can still use linkage if you apply for the MD program the summer after graduation from the masters program.