Are you considering applying to medical school in Georgia? The Peach State is known for its warm Southern culture, myriad outdoor activities, incredible BBQ and fried chicken with all the fixin’s, rich history, and passionate sports culture.
But what’s it like to attend medical school in Georgia, and how do you get accepted?
In this post, we’ll break down everything you need to know about going to medical school in Georgia, including where the medical schools are located, what it’s like to live in Georgia, how to apply, and tips for gaining acceptance to medical schools in Georgia.
Here’s what to expect below.
- How Many Medical Schools Are in Georgia?
- List of Medical Schools in Georgia
- Emory University School of Medicine
- Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
- Mercer University School of Medicine
- Morehouse School of Medicine
- List of Osteopathic Medical Schools in Georgia
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM Georgia)
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM South Georgia)
- Georgia Medical School Locations
- How Much Is Medical School Tuition in Georgia?
- What It’s Like to Go to Medical School in Georgia
- How to Apply to Georgia Medical Schools (MD)
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- Application Requirements
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- Application Deadlines
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- How to Apply to Osteopathic Medical Schools in Georgia
- Tips to Gain Acceptance at Georgia Medical Schools (MD and DO)
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- Understand In-State vs. Out-of-State Preference
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- Develop a Cohesive, Georgia-Focused Application Narrative
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- Bottom Line: Is Going to Medical School in Georgia Right for You?
How Many Medical Schools Are in Georgia?
There are six medical schools in Georgia. Four are allopathic (MD) schools and two are osteopathic (DO) medical schools.
List of Medical Schools in Georgia
Allopathic Medical Schools in Georgia (MD)
- Emory University School of Medicine
- Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
- Mercer University School of Medicine
- Morehouse School of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
The foundation of the Emory University School of Medicine dates back to 1854, but it wasn’t officially named Emory until 1915. Today, alumni of Emory include about one-fourth of all physicians practicing in Georgia.
Located in the heart of Atlanta, this mammoth-sized campus prioritizes interdisciplinary interaction between the business school, the department of chemistry, and other academic resources that are typically outside the realm of medicine. The primary focus of the school is on biomedical research and technology, as well as compassionate patient-centered care.
Emory offers MD, PhD, and Master of Medical Science programs and is widely considered to be the most competitive and prestigious of the medical schools in Georgia. Emory’s Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) is NIH-funded, which includes tuition for the program and a paid salary.
Emory also tends to accept more non-traditional students than the average medical school, so taking a gap year or two might work in your favor. This can also give you time to further develop your research experience.
Median Academic Scores of Matriculants:
- Median GPA: 3.84
- Median MCAT: 517
Emory University School of Medicine Secondary Questions.
In-State vs. Out-of-State Preference:
| In-State | Out-of-State | |
|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 925 | 11,254 |
| Matriculants | 55 | 81 |
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University (MCG)
The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University is the only public medical school located in Georgia. So if you happen to be an in-state applicant, you should strongly consider this school for a better likelihood of acceptance as well as reduced tuition rates. Of course, this isn’t the only reason to consider this school.
Founded in 1828, Georgia’s flagship medical school has the fourth-largest student body in the nation. While its main campus is in Augusta, there are also numerous regional clinical campuses for third and fourth-year students located across the state, as well as another four-year campus in Athens in partnership with the University of Georgia, and yet another in Savannah in partnership with Georgia Southern University.
This statewide educational model with over 350 clinical sites gives students the chance to experience the full spectrum of medicine in Georgia, from small-town solo practices focusing on primary care to complex care hospitals.
Augusta University also offers a program that allows academically outstanding students the chance to achieve their BS/MD degrees in only seven years through their Professional Scholars Program.
These students will spend their first three years achieving a Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology through the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM). In their fourth year, students will begin their four-year program in medicine through the Medical College of Georgia (MCG).
Median Academic Scores of Matriculants:
- Median GPA: 3.84
- Median MCAT: 513
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University Secondary Questions.
In-State vs. Out-of-State Preference:
| In-State | Out-of-State | |
|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 1331 | 1989 |
| Matriculants | 263 | 1 |
Mercer University School of Medicine
The Mercer University School of Medicine was founded in 1982 with the express purpose of meeting the primary care needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia. In keeping with its mission, Mercer only accepts applicants who have been legal residents of Georgia for 12 months.
So, just like with Augusta, if you are a Georgia resident, it would be wise to include this school on your list!
Learn more: How Many Medical Schools Should I Apply to?
Mercer has four campuses located throughout the middle of Georgia in Macon, Savannah, Columbus, and Valdosta. The historic Macon campus is home to Mercer’s Doctor of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and Rural Health Sciences PhD programs. If you’re looking for a more traditional campus experience, the Macon campus is the one for you.
Regardless of the campus where you study, Mercer prioritizes problem-based small group learning over the more traditional lecture-based style of education.
Median Academic Scores of Matriculants:
- Median GPA: 3.77
- Median MCAT: 505
**Mercer University School of Medicine Secondary Questions.**
In-State vs. Out-of-State Preference:
| In-State | Out-of-State | |
|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 1347 | 0 |
| Matriculants | 170 | 0 |
Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)
Founded in 1975, the Morehouse School of Medicine is a historically Black school committed to facilitating a diverse student population, as well as the health professional and scientific workforce as a whole.
MSM’s main focus is on delivering effective and compassionate primary care to people of color as well as the underserved urban and rural populations of Georgia and the world. They prioritize education through service-learning and community service.
MSM is home to a number of world-renowned centers and institutes, including the Cardiovascular Research Institute, the Center of Excellence on Health Disparities, the National Center for Primary Care, and the Neuroscience Institute (NI).
Median Academic Scores of Matriculants:
- Median GPA: 3.72
- Median MCAT: 507
Morehouse School of Medicine Secondary Questions.
In-State vs. Out-of-State Preference:
| In-State | Out-of-State | |
|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 815 | 6106 |
| Matriculants | 75 | 35 |
List of Osteopathic Medical Schools in Georgia (DO)
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM Georgia)
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM South Georgia)
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (Georgia Campus)
The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) was established in 2005 in response to the rapidly growing need for primary care providers in Georgia.
The Suwanee, Georgia campus, which is located in Gwinnett County in the metro Atlanta area, is approximately 27 miles north of downtown Atlanta. Students will have the opportunity to work with both rural and urban patient populations.
When dealing with patients, PCOM Georgia encourages their students to look beyond the person and discover the economic and social factors that impact their lives. They want to inspire their students to adopt a “Doctor from Day One” mindset as they progress through medical school and work to meet their educational and professional goals.
Students at PCOM Georgia regularly work with live patient actors and simulation equipment to earn firsthand experience in clinical procedures and treatments.
Median Academic Scores of Matriculants:
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Secondary Questions.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (South Georgia Campus)
PCOM South Georgia was founded in 2019 with the goal of growing medical education in Southwest Georgia and serving the long-term healthcare needs of the region. The hope is that PCOM South Georgia can become a regional health professions education center, educating medical students who will continue to practice medicine in Georgia and the larger region.
Located in Moultrie, the 75,000-square-foot facility includes classrooms, an Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) lab, an anatomy lab, a simulation center, small group study rooms, and a café. It’s between four to five hours away from the PCOM Georgia campus.
Graduates are encouraged to remain in Southeast Georgia and practice medicine among underserved populations.
Median Academic Scores of Matriculants:
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Secondary Questions.
Georgia Medical School Locations
Georgia is the 24th-largest state by area and the eighth-most populous state in the country. Georgia has a medical center located in each of its most populous areas.
- Emory University School of Medicine: Atlanta
- Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University: Augusta
- Mercer University School of Medicine: Macon (Primary Campus), Savannah, Columbus, Valdosta
- Morehouse School of Medicine: Atlanta
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM Georgia): Suwanee
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM South Georgia): Moultrie
The most populous city in Georgia is Atlanta at 510,823, where Emory and MSM are located. PCOM Georgia is located relatively nearby, just 27 miles north of Atlanta in Suwanee.
Augusta-Richmond County, where the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University is located, has a population of 205,414. Augusta is about 148 miles or just over two hours away from Atlanta. Columbus is the next most populous area at 201,877, and it is home to one of Mercer’s four campuses. Columbus is about 107 miles or an hour and a half away from Atlanta and about 224 miles or four hours away from Augusta.
Macon-Bibb County is the next most populous at 156,512 and is home to Mercer’s main campus. Macon is about 85 miles or an hour and 25 minutes away from Atlanta.
Moultrie, where PCOM South Georgia is located, is smaller than the other cities mentioned at approximately 14,500. It’s just over 200 miles from Atlanta, which translates to a three or four hour drive, depending on your route.
Savannah, where one of Mercer’s campuses is located, is Georgia’s oldest city and steeped in history. It’s about 250 miles or four hours away from Atlanta.
Georgia’s lack of public transportation means if you want to explore more of the state, you’ll need a car. In Atlanta, you’ll want to use MARTA, Atlanta’s public transit system, which operates both bus and rail lines throughout the city and into nearby suburbs. However, regardless of whether you have a car or not, traffic in Atlanta is some of the worst in the entire country, so plan accordingly.
How Much Is Medical School Tuition in Georgia?
So, how much does medical school cost in Georgia?
Georgia Medical School Tuition Costs (2023 Data From MSAR)
| Georgia Medical School | Yearly Tuition In-State | Yearly Tuition Out-of-State |
|---|---|---|
| Emory University School of Medicine | $55,312 | $55,312 |
| Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University | $30,771 | $59,695 |
| Mercer University School of Medicine | $43,856 | N/A |
| Morehouse School of Medicine | $47,716 | $47,716 |
| Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (Georgia Campus) | $64,248 | $64,248 |
| Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (South Georgia Campus) | $64,248 | $64,248 |
View the most recent AAMC tuition data.
- Additional fees not included.
You also need to factor in the cost of medical school applications, which add up across primary fees, secondary fees, exam fees, study resources, and interview travel costs. Learn more: How Much Do Med School Applications Cost? The Full Price Analyzed.
Plus, there are many other financial factors to consider, including housing, transportation, food, exercise, and events. Fortunately, the cost of living in Georgia is one of the lowest in the country.
What It’s Like to Go to Medical School in Georgia
Georgia is a Southeastern state that borders North Carolina to the north, Tennessee to the northwest, South Carolina to the northeast, Florida to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Alabama to the west.
Georgia has a population of approximately 11,029,227, making it the eighth-most populous state in the US. It’s also the 9th most ethnically and racially diverse state in the country.
Georgia, nicknamed the Peach State, is steeped in national history. It was the last of the original Thirteen Colonies to be established, one of the original seven Confederate States during the Civil War, and the last state to be restored to the Union following the Civil War.
Together with its controversial past, many consider Georgia to be the home of the American Civil Rights Movement because so many key events took place here. Georgia is also where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born and raised and where he preached. Georgia’s Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Trail holds over 30 historical sites, including museums, schools, and churches where civil rights leaders organized and changed the course of US history.
You can also find historic mansions, coastal forts, Native American sites, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, and many more places loaded with history.
If you’re into sports, the Peach State has a ton to offer. There’s the Atlanta Braves for baseball, the Atlanta Falcons for football, the Atlanta Hawks for basketball, and the Atlanta United FC for soccer. This means a pro team visits Atlanta about every three days on average. There are also a number of college sports teams that attract a wide audience. Georgia also hosts the Masters Golf Tournament.
Georgia is a state that experiences all four seasons, with mild winters, beautiful fall foliage, a breezy and temperate springtime, and a hot summer. Of course, summers in Georgia get a little too hot for comfort. Georgia has one of the hottest and most humid summers in the US. And this brings a lot of mosquitos, fire ants, bees, wasps, yellow jackets, and deer and horse flies.
If you’re a foodie, Georgia has a number of delectable delights to salivate over during those long nights pouring over your textbooks and flashcards. From peaches to pimento cheese to fried chicken to macaroni and cheese to collard greens to fried green tomatoes to shrimp and grits to pie to some of the most mouth-watering BBQ the South has to offer, you’re sure to add a few inches to your waistline while living in the Peach State.
Georgia boasts a diverse landscape that encompasses five distinct physiographic provinces: the Appalachian Plateau, the Valley and Ridge, the Blue Ridge, the Piedmont, and the Coastal Plain. This means you’ll find tall mountains, deep valleys, dense forests that change with the seasons, rolling green hills, winding rivers, and even waterfalls.
This means there are a number of activities to enjoy in the great outdoors, including hiking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, whitewater rafting, tubing, paddle boarding, and more. The state also offers excellent beaches where you can go boating and observe the wildlife, from dolphins to sea turtles to over 400 species of birds to alligators.
How to Apply to Georgia Medical Schools (MD)
You’ll use the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), the AAMC’s centralized medical school application processing service, to apply to allopathic medical schools in Georgia. If you’re only planning on applying to osteopathic schools, skip to the next section.
AMCAS is the primary application method for first year entering classes for the vast majority of US medical schools. Regardless of how many schools you want to apply to, you only need to submit one set of application materials to AMCAS, and the system will send your materials to as many medical schools as you choose.
Here’s what you need to know about applying to med schools in Georgia.
1 | Application Requirements
Your primary application comprises several different components, and each is essential to your acceptance.
Your primary application should be made up of your college transcripts, a high GPA and MCAT score, a narrative-driven personal statement, strong letters of recommendation, and a diverse and detailed Work and Activities section.
Depending on which schools you’re applying to, you may also need to complete a situational judgment test, either the AAMC PREview exam or the Casper test.
At the time of this article, the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University requires their applicants to take a Casper test (but not Duet), Mercer University School of Medicine requires the PREview exam, and Morehouse recommends the PREview exam.
Casper is a computer-based situational judgment test administered by Acuity Insights and designed to evaluate the kind of person you are beyond your hard skills and grades. The test assesses your soft skills, such as your interpersonal communication, professionalism, empathy, ethical decision making, and bedside manner.
The AAMC PREview Professional Readiness Exam is a situational judgment test very much like Casper that was just recently released by the AAMC. It is also designed to assess a premed’s professionalism, interpersonal skills, and ethical decision making. Made up of a series of hypothetical scenarios that students may be faced with in medical school, this multiple choice exam was created to evaluate a premed’s awareness of effective and ineffective professional behaviors.
Our Casper Test Guide and AAMC PREview Guide have everything you need to know about these unique tests. When it comes time to prepare, utilize our Casper and PREview AI courses, which generate instant feedback, including emotion detection analysis and immediate personalized evaluation. These courses include unlimited practice problems, so you’ll have endless opportunities to adapt to various scenarios, refine your skills, and deeply understand the nuances of both exams.
After you submit your primary application, you can expect to receive a secondary application two to four weeks later. Unlike the primary application, secondaries are submitted directly to each school you received them from.
If admissions committees like your secondary, you could receive an interview invitation at any point between the end of August and the spring of the following year.
Learn more about the complete application process: How to Get Into Medical School: AMCAS Application Process.
2 | Application Deadlines
The AMCAS application opens during the first week of May, but the actual submissions happen at the end of May or early June. So, if you hope to start medical school in the fall of 2026, you need to begin the application process in the spring of 2025.
It is critical that you understand that the technical deadlines for your application do not reflect reality. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, meaning they are evaluated as they are received. Therefore, the first people to submit their applications are the first to receive secondaries, the first to submit secondaries are the first to receive interview invites, and the first to interview are the first accepted. Schools can only accept so many students, so the longer you procrastinate on any aspect of your application, the worse your chances of acceptance.
The following cannot be overstated and is one of our most essential pieces of advice: Apply as soon as submissions open. This also goes for submitting your secondaries and securing interviews.
For the vast majority of medical schools throughout Georgia and the country, interviews begin in September and can run through March of the following year.
Here’s what you should be working on month-by-month: Medical School Application Timeline and Monthly Schedule. (Updated every application cycle.)
How to Apply to Osteopathic Medical Schools in Georgia
While the process of applying to osteopathic (DO) medical schools in Georgia is much the same as applying to MD schools, there are a few key differences.
Just like with the MD application, the DO primary application requires your transcripts, MCAT score, personal statement, letters of recommendation (also known as letters of evaluation), and an experiences and achievements section.
The primary difference is, instead of applying through AMCAS, you’ll apply through the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS).
The other main difference is that in order to apply to osteopathic schools, you need to be familiar and have experience with osteopathy. The DO personal statement asks you directly why you want to pursue osteopathic medicine in particular. And not only that, you must include at least one letter of evaluation from a DO.
No Georgia osteopathic schools require Casper or PREview at this time.
But the differences don’t stop there! Learn more about the DO application process with our AACOMAS Application Guide for DO Schools.
Tips for Acceptance at Georgia Medical Schools (MD and DO)
1 | Understand In-State vs. Out-of-State Preference
All schools in Georgia show a strong preference for in-state applicants. Mercer only accepts applicants who have been legal residents of Georgia for over 12 months.
While Morehouse, PCOM Georgia, and PCOM South Georgia are all private schools that charge the same amount of tuition for in-state and out-of-state applicants, they still prefer to accept residents of Georgia.
Emory also prefers to accept Georgia residents. 40% of matriculants in 2023 were in-state applicants at Emory. Due to the volume of out-of-state applicants at over 11,000 per the most recent application year, less than 1% of out-of-state applicants matriculated to Emory.
The numbers do not lie. If you are not a resident of Georgia, you face an uphill battle when it comes to securing your acceptance in the Peach State.
2 | Develop a Cohesive, Georgia-Focused Application Narrative
Since schools in Georgia show such a clear preference for in-state applicants who plan to one day practice medicine in Georgia, it’s important that your application reflects this desire.
If you are an out-of-state applicant but still wish to study in Georgia, make yourself a more attractive applicant by emphasizing your love of the Peach State, as well as your plans to live and practice there after your education is complete.
Schools in Georgia prioritize meeting the primary care needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia. Therefore, in your application, demonstrate your own experience working with and supporting underserved populations. If you’re from Georgia, all the better.
This can be accomplished in a number of areas, particularly in your personal statement and Work and Activities section. You can speak about your desire to serve medically underserved communities and address health disparities in your personal statement, and you can back this desire up with tangible examples from your extracurriculars. For example, working at a soup kitchen and volunteering with the homeless.
You can especially drive your narrative home in your secondaries, where you have more space to go into the details of your experiences and your dream of providing care in Georgia.
What’s most essential is developing a common, cohesive theme to tie your application together, from your personal statement to your Work and Activities to your letters of recommendation to your secondaries to your interview answers.
Your narrative must be woven throughout your application. For example, if you claim that you want to help the underserved in your personal statement but none of your extracurriculars or letters of recommendation reflect this, admissions committees won’t believe you.
Developing a cohesive narrative takes a major time investment and some deep soul searching, so do not delay getting started.
What do you need adcoms in Georgia to know about you? What’s fueling your ambition to pursue medicine? Is it the death of a loved one who might have been saved by better access to healthcare? Is it witnessing and living with health disparities firsthand? Whatever the theme is, make sure each piece of your application reflects and builds on it.
Do not repeat yourself. Use each component to expand and deepen your narrative.
Learn more: How to Develop a Cohesive Narrative for Medical School Applications.
Bottom Line: Is Going to Medical School in Georgia Right for You?
For the most part, medical schools in Georgia prioritize biomedical research, patient-centered care, and providing primary care for underserved populations in Georgia.
But aside from the medical program and the school’s resources, it matters whether or not you actually enjoy the community and environment you’ll call home for four or more years.
Pros of Medical School in Georgia
- Low cost of living
- Diverse landscape
- 9th most ethnically and racially diverse state
- Winters are mild
- Lots of sunshine
- Friendly people
- HOPE Scholarship (for residents)
- Major sports culture
- LEGENDARY SOUTHERN FOOD!
Cons of Medical School in Georgia
- Summers are extremely hot and humid
- Lots of mosquitos and insects in general
- Lack of public transportation
- People are not very accepting
- Structural racism and discrimination
- Seasonal allergies can be very bad
Georgia offers a remarkably low cost of living, plenty of outdoor activities, many medical research opportunities, and the chance to provide healthcare to Georgia’s underserved populations. If the idea of going out for some legendary fried chicken or BBQ after going on a long hike or out to a sports game sounds like home, the Peach State may be the one for you!
Learn more: How to Decide Which Medical Schools to Apply to (12 Important Factors).
What Adcoms Are Looking For
Regardless of the state where you apply, admission committees are seeking community-minded, well-rounded, and resilient students who will enrich the student body at their school. Passion and dedication go much farther than a simple checkbox mentality.
Med School Insiders can help you create a stand out application that will get you noticed by medical schools in Georgia, as well as any schools at the top of your list. We have a wide range of services to suit your particular needs, from one-on-one guidance to application editing to mock interviews.
Our services are tailored to meet the needs of each student because we understand that every applicant is unique. Learn more about our comprehensive medical school application packages.
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Thank you to Savanah Rumbika, Emory University School of Medicine MD candidate, for being our Insider contributor for this guide.
