Mercer 2019/2020

[EashleighPAtobe]

Hi everyone! Just thought I would start a thread a little early. Does anyone know what date in November the portal opens in CASPA? Good luck to everyone  

[jaderiv]

On 8/12/2019 at 10:54 AM, EashleighPAtobe said:

Hi everyone! Just thought I would start a thread a little early. Does anyone know what date in November the portal opens in CASPA? Good luck to everyone  

It opens on November 1st I plan on applying to this program. 

[sabshak]

Hey guys! I just spoke to someone from Mercer who told me my GRE score might be too low to get an invite to the school. I got a 302 and they said their average is 310. I have a really good GPA so I was hoping I could compensate my GRE score with that. Has anyone heard any past experiences where they look past the low score or is it pretty important to have?

[Roadtopaspac]

Hello Everyone I am a current student at Mercer and I would love to answer any questions that would help you in your application process. Even though I can't tell you exactly what they will ask you on interview day, I can help you understand what we are looking for as a program ! And for all of you who need more info on Mercer or more info on what it's like being a student at Mercer, I can help with that too. Just let me know! 

•  

[KThames]

23 hours ago, Roadtopaspac said:

Hello Everyone I am a current student at Mercer and I would love to answer any questions that would help you in your application process. Even though I can't tell you exactly what they will ask you on interview day, I can help you understand what we are looking for as a program ! And for all of you who need more info on Mercer or more info on what it's like being a student at Mercer, I can help with that too. Just let me know! 

•  

Hi there! Thanks for offering advice! I'm interested to know if you feel like Mercer looks for a "well-rounded" applicant or uses a holistic approach to admissions. My GPA meets their requirements, but admittedly is a little on the lower side. However, I have a lot of volunteering with 2 different organizations, straight As in a graduate certificate in Public Health, a 315 on the GRE, as well as almost 4,000 hours of PCE working as a medical assistant at a free clinic working with under-served populations and an urgent care. I'm sure it's probably difficult for you to estimate whether or not I'm a competitive candidate, but I want to avoid applying to a program where "GPA is everything," as I am a non-traditional, second career applicant. Thanks for any advice you can offer in this area!

I'd also love to know what drew you to Mercer's program? Was there something that stood out to you such as facilities, curriculum, "just had a good feeling?" (I'm waitlisted at one school right now and got that "this feels right" vibe during my interview, so wondering if this program gave you that impression). Is there a cadaver lab, and if so, how many students per cadaver? How do you like living in Atlanta? The Mercer website is a little light on details, so whatever you would be willing to share would be great! Thank you so much!  

[Roadtopaspac]

On 9/22/2019 at 9:06 PM, KThames said:

Hi there! Thanks for offering advice! I'm interested to know if you feel like Mercer looks for a "well-rounded" applicant or uses a holistic approach to admissions. My GPA meets their requirements, but admittedly is a little on the lower side. However, I have a lot of volunteering with 2 different organizations, straight As in a graduate certificate in Public Health, a 315 on the GRE, as well as almost 4,000 hours of PCE working as a medical assistant at a free clinic working with under-served populations and an urgent care. I'm sure it's probably difficult for you to estimate whether or not I'm a competitive candidate, but I want to avoid applying to a program where "GPA is everything," as I am a non-traditional, second career applicant. Thanks for any advice you can offer in this area!

I'd also love to know what drew you to Mercer's program? Was there something that stood out to you such as facilities, curriculum, "just had a good feeling?" (I'm waitlisted at one school right now and got that "this feels right" vibe during my interview, so wondering if this program gave you that impression). Is there a cadaver lab, and if so, how many students per cadaver? How do you like living in Atlanta? The Mercer website is a little light on details, so whatever you would be willing to share would be great! Thank you so much!  

Hi @KThames

Mercer definitely looks at your application as a whole, so if you have things that you are concerned about, I'm sure that your great GRE and pt care hours will balance it out. I don't know everyone's application GPAs in my class, but I can tell you we had some second career applicants in our class as well. Mercer is definitely not an "all about grades" program. Even within the class we're not allowed to talk about grades so the atmosphere is pretty different from med schools. If you are within the requirements, then I feel like you have an equal chance as anyone else.

I was honestly forced by my parents to apply to Mercer. I wanted to move far away and they convinced me to apply to one Ga program at least. Mercer isn't really known amongst applicants for their PA program (I still don't know why) but It wasn't until I went on my interview that I realized how different they were (in a good way). Mercer was my 5th and last interview and honestly my most favorite interview. I felt so welcomed by the staff and the students and the atmosphere was very different than other programs I had visited. Everyone seemed very relaxed and excited to get to know you. The way the students talked about the professors was a plus as well. I've always gravitated toward small, family-type atmospheres for anything in my life. It was how I picked my college, my travel volleyball teams, my previous jobs and my church. It meant a lot to me to find a school that would see me as more than a student and I can definitely say Mercer does that. By the time I left the interview, it was my top choice and I didn't care if I had gotten into any other school.... I wanted to go to Mercer. Luckily, I got in and I can definitely say that it was the right decision for me. You can just tell that the professors are there for YOU! They have an open door policy and are willing to talk to you about class or life. I've had a lot of family things going on in the past few months and my professors are just so accommodating. A few of them have even been constantly checking up on me as well. The other day I sat in my professor's office and asked her to go over 100 slides of X-rays because I just wasn't seeing the abnormalities and she was so patient with me. Basically I love Mercer because they truly care about you and they are for you. The professors do their best to make your PA school experience as stress free as possible.

All of this to say, if you get a feels right vibe then go for it! I got it at Mercer ONLY. Every other school was fine but Mercer was definitely different. One important thing that applicants forget is that when they go on the interview, they are interviewing the school as well. This is the next 2 -3 years of your life! You want to make sure that wherever you are is going to take care of you during that time.

Yes there is a cadaver lab. However we don't do the dissections. The PT students dissect for us and we go in after them. Yes, you get your hands in the body and pull out organs  by yourself. No, you're not cutting. There are probably 3-5 students per body and we also have open lab. During open lab you could be in there by yourself so that helps. I thought I wouldn't like not cutting the cadavers but after having anatomy, I realize now that cutting is the tedious part that takes away from the actual learning. Since the cutting was all done for us, we got right to finding the structures, which I liked. Also I honestly don't know how anyone would have time to dissect. I know other programs do it but when you have classes on top of that it would be hard to not be stressed. I'm definitely biased but I feel like Mercer's approach allows me to learn a lot and not be as stressed. 

I love living in Atlanta. There is something to do ALL THE TIME. This can be good and bad. If you have FOMO (fear of missing out), it might be a little anxiety inducing since something is going on everyday haha but when you get accepted, you will have a social chair that will be responsible for organizing hangouts for the class. It helps you think you're not missing out on too much!

Feel free to ask me anything ! Hope this helped.

 

 

 

[KThames]

5 hours ago, Roadtopaspac said:

Hi @KThames

Mercer definitely looks at your application as a whole, so if you have things that you are concerned about, I'm sure that your great GRE and pt care hours will balance it out. I don't know everyone's application GPAs in my class, but I can tell you we had some second career applicants in our class as well. Mercer is definitely not an "all about grades" program. Even within the class we're not allowed to talk about grades so the atmosphere is pretty different from med schools. If you are within the requirements, then I feel like you have an equal chance as anyone else.

I was honestly forced by my parents to apply to Mercer. I wanted to move far away and they convinced me to apply to one Ga program at least. Mercer isn't really known amongst applicants for their PA program (I still don't know why) but It wasn't until I went on my interview that I realized how different they were (in a good way). Mercer was my 5th and last interview and honestly my most favorite interview. I felt so welcomed by the staff and the students and the atmosphere was very different than other programs I had visited. Everyone seemed very relaxed and excited to get to know you. The way the students talked about the professors was a plus as well. I've always gravitated toward small, family-type atmospheres for anything in my life. It was how I picked my college, my travel volleyball teams, my previous jobs and my church. It meant a lot to me to find a school that would see me as more than a student and I can definitely say Mercer does that. By the time I left the interview, it was my top choice and I didn't care if I had gotten into any other school.... I wanted to go to Mercer. Luckily, I got in and I can definitely say that it was the right decision for me. You can just tell that the professors are there for YOU! They have an open door policy and are willing to talk to you about class or life. I've had a lot of family things going on in the past few months and my professors are just so accommodating. A few of them have even been constantly checking up on me as well. The other day I sat in my professor's office and asked her to go over 100 slides of X-rays because I just wasn't seeing the abnormalities and she was so patient with me. Basically I love Mercer because they truly care about you and they are for you. The professors do their best to make your PA school experience as stress free as possible.

All of this to say, if you get a feels right vibe then go for it! I got it at Mercer ONLY. Every other school was fine but Mercer was definitely different. One important thing that applicants forget is that when they go on the interview, they are interviewing the school as well. This is the next 2 -3 years of your life! You want to make sure that wherever you are is going to take care of you during that time.

Yes there is a cadaver lab. However we don't do the dissections. The PT students dissect for us and we go in after them. Yes, you get your hands in the body and pull out organs  by yourself. No, you're not cutting. There are probably 3-5 students per body and we also have open lab. During open lab you could be in there by yourself so that helps. I thought I wouldn't like not cutting the cadavers but after having anatomy, I realize now that cutting is the tedious part that takes away from the actual learning. Since the cutting was all done for us, we got right to finding the structures, which I liked. Also I honestly don't know how anyone would have time to dissect. I know other programs do it but when you have classes on top of that it would be hard to not be stressed. I'm definitely biased but I feel like Mercer's approach allows me to learn a lot and not be as stressed. 

I love living in Atlanta. There is something to do ALL THE TIME. This can be good and bad. If you have FOMO (fear of missing out), it might be a little anxiety inducing since something is going on everyday haha but when you get accepted, you will have a social chair that will be responsible for organizing hangouts for the class. It helps you think you're not missing out on too much!

Feel free to ask me anything ! Hope this helped.

 

 

 

Wow, thank you so much for such a thoughtful reply! This is one thing I love about being part of these forums is getting honest feedback from current students. Mercer's website doesn't really give you a lot of info about the program environment and the feel of the program, but what you have said speaks volumes! Now I'm really excited to apply in November! Thank you again for all of the feedback!

[Roadtopaspac]

14 hours ago, KThames said:

Wow, thank you so much for such a thoughtful reply! This is one thing I love about being part of these forums is getting honest feedback from current students. Mercer's website doesn't really give you a lot of info about the program environment and the feel of the program, but what you have said speaks volumes! Now I'm really excited to apply in November! Thank you again for all of the feedback!

Of course ! That's honestly why I started doing this because of all the programs I applied to Mercer was one of the few that didn't have a current student answering questions on here. And it was so helpful to hear from the students who were active on the forum . So I'm glad to help in anway I can!  If you have anymore questions about applying or student life or the curriculum just let me know !

[ahernandez]

Hey everyone! Hope all is well. Does anyone know if they will email the supplemental application after we submit CASPA? I did not see it on the website. Does it have an earlier deadline since the website states the supplemental application fee must be submitted before deadline?

[Roadtopaspac]

Hey @ahernandez

They will send you the supplemental link! At least that's what they did for us. So if nothing has changed, they will email it to you.

[ahernandez]

@Roadtopaspac Ok great! Thank you for responding!  

[tarynnoelle]

On 9/21/2019 at 8:26 PM, Roadtopaspac said:

Hello Everyone I am a current student at Mercer and I would love to answer any questions that would help you in your application process. Even though I can't tell you exactly what they will ask you on interview day, I can help you understand what we are looking for as a program ! And for all of you who need more info on Mercer or more info on what it's like being a student at Mercer, I can help with that too. Just let me know! 

•  

Hi! Congrats on your journey so far! I did have a question I guess regarding CASPA and Mercer. So I submitted my CASPA in July for all the other schools I applied to. Am I able to go in and update all my hours for the Mercer app? I've gotten like a 1000 more PCE hours since I submitted in July and I was hoping to reflect that in my app. But as of right now it won't let me edit anything. 

[ahernandez]

 Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you will have to add the hours as "add new experience" since you cannot edit past experiences. @tarynnoelle

[Roadtopaspac]

Hi @tarynnoelle

Thank you so much. From what I can recall, The supplemental will ask you for updated information. Let me ask my professors today and I'll get back to you this afternoon.

[Roadtopaspac]

@ahernandez way is correct. Professors are still getting back to me on the supplemental too so I'll update when I get info. Also HAPPY APPLICATION DAY EVE

[ahernandez]

Good luck everyone! I received an email stating they have received my CASPA application. I turned in my supplemental application,@Roadtopaspac do you remember if they send you an email confirmation after you submit the supplemental?

[Roadtopaspac]

On 11/1/2019 at 5:06 PM, ahernandez said:

Good luck everyone! I received an email stating they have received my CASPA application. I turned in my supplemental application,@Roadtopaspac do you remember if they send you an email confirmation after you submit the supplemental?

@ahernandez Yes ! They send you a confirmation email. If they are missing anything they will send you an email for that as well.

[monicastrauss]

Hi everyone! I just submitted my Mercer application today, and I completely forgot to go in and add all the new hours I've acquired since submitting all my other applications a few months ago. If I go in now and add a new experience with my additional hours, will Mercer still see this new experience and additional hours, even though I've already submitted my application to them?

[clairegrace880]

18 hours ago, monicastrauss said:

Hi everyone! I just submitted my Mercer application today, and I completely forgot to go in and add all the new hours I've acquired since submitting all my other applications a few months ago. If I go in now and add a new experience with my additional hours, will Mercer still see this new experience and additional hours, even though I've already submitted my application to them?

I sent an email to paprogram@mercer.edu with an updated list of my hours and experiences. When I went to the information session, this is what the admissions counselor said to do!

[Roadtopaspac]

2 hours ago, clairegrace880 said:

I sent an email to paprogram@mercer.edu with an updated list of my hours and experiences. When I went to the information session, this is what the admissions counselor said to do!

I was just about to update you guys on this. Both Ms. Tea and Ms. Sheila update your hours as quickly as possible when you send them to this email! There is also a link that might be more helpful. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mercerptcareupdate Ms. Tea says if this option is easier for you to update your hours, you can use this instead. Let me know if you guys need anything else or have any more questions. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!

[sabshak]

Mercer is asking for a resume to be uploaded to CASPA, do you guys recommend putting in work, volunteer, and shadow experience? Or should I just keep it strictly to work and volunteer experience?

[cbj25]

On 11/2/2019 at 8:46 PM, Roadtopaspac said:

@ahernandez Yes ! They send you a confirmation email. If they are missing anything they will send you an email for that as well.

Hey there, @Roadtopaspac! I received an email today saying they got notification of my CASPA verification and that they have my supplemental and GRE score just not my supplemental fee yet. When you applied did you not hear back from them regarding interviews until they received your fee as well? Or do they begin to consider your application before it is received by mail? 

[Roadtopaspac]

On 11/4/2019 at 2:06 PM, sabshak said:

Mercer is asking for a resume to be uploaded to CASPA, do you guys recommend putting in work, volunteer, and shadow experience? Or should I just keep it strictly to work and volunteer experience?

I think showing more can never hurt. My resume had all 3 categories. I coupled shadowing with school achievements. 

[Roadtopaspac]

6 hours ago, cbj25 said:

Hey there, @Roadtopaspac! I received an email today saying they got notification of my CASPA verification and that they have my supplemental and GRE score just not my supplemental fee yet. When you applied did you not hear back from them regarding interviews until they received your fee as well? Or do they begin to consider your application before it is received by mail? 

Hey @sabshak!

Below is the list of things required before they start to consider your application.

• CASPA Application
• Supplemental Application
• Supplemental Application Fee
• GRE Scores
• Letters of Reference

I turned it all in at once so they sent me an email saying they received all of the required items and had the above listed in the email. Since the fee is on this list, I'm pretty sure it is needed before they consider you for an interview.

[jlberan83]

I noticed the narrative/essay on the supplemental application doesn’t give a specific length it should be? Does anybody have any recommendations how long it should be? Thanks in advance!