USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Augusta

Augusta's one medical school is Augusta University's Medical College of Georgia, a public MD school founded in 1828 (school list). The LCME lists it as accredited since before 1942, with its next full survey due in 2031-32 (LCME).

Its entering class is large and almost entirely Georgian: 304 first-year places in 2025-26, 3,368 applications, and 98.7% of the class from Georgia (AAMC FACTS). MCG's own profile of that class, the class of 2029, counts students from 49 Georgia counties and only 4 from outside the state, with an average MCAT of 512 (MCG class of 2029 fact sheet).

In town, students train at the two Augusta hospitals on the CMS teaching hospital list, University Health Services on Walton Way and AU Medical Center on 15th Street (CMS teaching hospital list).

Facts about Augusta

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates.

• The Medical College of Georgia makes passing USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 a graduation requirement and strongly encourages students to take Step 1 in dedicated study time at the end of the Preclerkship Phase. (Medical College of Georgia)
• MCG students need a passing Step 1 score by September 1 of the year before they graduate to have an MSPE and enter the Match, and may not start Advanced Clerkship or Enrichment Phase courses, such as the emergency medicine clerkship or a sub-internship, before sitting Step 1. (Medical College of Georgia)
• MCG students must pass Step 2 CK by the time they certify their rank list in the spring of their graduation year, and may not take Step 2 until any planned shelf retakes are done. (Medical College of Georgia)
• MCG's class of 2029 profile lists 3,367 applications and 304 matriculated students from 49 Georgia counties, with 4 non-Georgia residents, an average GPA of 3.8 and an average MCAT of 512. (Medical College of Georgia)
• In that class, 21 students entered the Regional Clinical Campus Pathway (13 Northwest, 8 Southwest), 71 came from underserved counties and 119 were non-traditional students. (Medical College of Georgia)
• Besides its main campus in Augusta, MCG runs regional clinical campuses for third- and fourth-year students, among them MCG Atlanta at Wellstar Kennestone in Marietta, the Southeast Campus in Brunswick and the Northwest Campus in Rome and Dalton, plus a four-year campus in Savannah with Georgia Southern University. (Medical College of Georgia)
• The AU/UGA Medical Partnership in Athens, whose first 40 students started in 2010 and grew MCG's class from 190 to 230, transitioned to the UGA School of Medicine in 2026. (Medical College of Georgia)
• MCG's 3+ curriculum, launched in fall 2020, fits the core MD curriculum into three years and then a fourth-year pathway: advanced residency preparation (most students), a dual degree, advanced research, or the Georgia PGY-1 Pathway straight into an affiliated primary care residency. (Medical College of Georgia)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); Medical College of Georgia, USMLE Testing Policy (revised September 1, 2026) (checked November 1, 2026); Medical College of Georgia, 2025 Admissions Fact Sheet (Class of 2029) (checked November 1, 2026); Medical College of Georgia, Statewide Campus Locations (checked November 1, 2026); Medical College of Georgia, 3+ Program (checked November 1, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

Step 1 at MCG comes at the end of the Preclerkship Phase

MCG's USMLE Testing Policy, last revised September 1, 2026, strongly encourages students to sit Step 1 in the dedicated study time that closes the Preclerkship Phase. A student who waits can test during a lotteried elective period of the Clerkship Phase, but no clerkship is moved for Step 1 outside the cases the policy names, and nobody starts Advanced Clerkship or Enrichment Phase courses, the emergency medicine clerkship and sub-internships among them, before sitting the exam (MCG USMLE Testing Policy).

The date that matters most is September 1 of the year before graduation. Without a passing Step 1 by then, a student has no MSPE and cannot enter the Match (MCG USMLE Testing Policy). When an MCG student comes to us behind schedule, we start from that date and count backward: a failure early in the year leaves room for a retake before September, a failure late in the summer may not.

For students on schedule, we treat Step 1 as the last block of the Preclerkship Phase rather than a separate project: a steady question-bank habit through the second-year modules, a baseline NBME before dedicated time begins, and a test date picked from practice scores, not from the calendar. Step 1 is pass/fail, so the aim is a comfortable margin over the passing standard.

Step 2 CK and the rank-list deadline

Step 2 CK has its own MCG deadline: a passing score by the time the student certifies the rank list in the spring of the graduation year, or the school will not certify Match participation. The policy asks students to take Step 2 as close as possible to the end of the USMLE Prep course, and not until they have finished any shelf retakes they plan (MCG USMLE Testing Policy).

Step 2 CK is the scored exam residency programs read, so we use the clerkship shelf exams as its rehearsal: each shelf is reviewed for the question styles Step 2 repeats, and the dedicated Step 2 weeks begin with the weakest shelf subjects. A student who postponed Step 1 may take Step 2 first after meeting regional campus leadership or an academic advisor, but still has to meet the Step 1 deadline (MCG USMLE Testing Policy).

One school, campuses across Georgia

Not every MCG student does clerkships in Augusta. The school runs regional clinical campuses for third- and fourth-year students, among them MCG Atlanta at Wellstar Kennestone in Marietta, the Southeast Campus in Brunswick and the Northwest Campus in Rome and Dalton, plus a four-year campus in Savannah with Georgia Southern University (MCG statewide campuses). In the class of 2029, 21 students entered the Regional Clinical Campus Pathway: 13 for the Northwest campus and 8 for the Southwest (MCG class of 2029 fact sheet).

The Athens campus has changed hands. The AU/UGA Medical Partnership opened with 40 students in 2010, which took MCG's class from 190 to 230, and in 2026 it transitioned to the UGA School of Medicine (MCG statewide campuses).

MCG's 3+ curriculum, in place since fall 2020, fits the core MD curriculum into three years. Most students then take the Advanced Residency Preparation pathway in year four; others add a dual degree, up to 5 months of research, or the Georgia PGY-1 Pathway, which goes straight into an affiliated primary care residency (MCG 3+ program). On the PGY-1 Pathway there is no fourth year to absorb a delay, so both Steps have to be planned inside three years.

Medical school in Augusta

School list: LCME and COCA lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in Augusta

On the CMS teaching hospital list (October 2026):

• University Health Services INC., 1350 Walton Way, Augusta, GA 30901
• AU Medical Center INC, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912

The exams Augusta students take, in order

MCG grants the MD, so Augusta students take the USMLE: Step 1 at the end of the Preclerkship Phase, NBME shelf exams through the clerkships, Step 2 CK before rank-list certification and Step 3 in residency. Passing Step 1 and Step 2 are both MCG graduation requirements (MCG USMLE Testing Policy). Augusta has no DO school, and internal medicine residents later sit the ABIM internal medicine exam.

Georgia board rules for Augusta graduates

Georgia's medical board lists 3 attempts per USMLE Step, per FSMB's summary checked October 2026 (FSMB), one fewer than the four the USMLE program allows per Step (USMLE eligibility rules).

Put next to MCG's September 1 and rank-list deadlines, that makes a first-attempt pass the working plan for every Step. The full Georgia rules, with the state's other schools, are on our Georgia tutoring page.

How much Augusta searches for board prep

Augusta ranks 14th among US metro areas for “USMLE” searches (score 56 of 100) and 15th for “Shelf exam” (score 45), the two ranks one place apart (Google Trends, five years to October 2026). Scores are relative, not counts of students.

• “USMLE”: number 14 among US metro areas, score 56 of 100
• “Shelf exam”: number 15 among US metro areas, score 45 of 100