Its first seven students enrolled in a one-year course of lectures and clinical training hosted in the Old Medical College building, leading to the bachelor of medicine degree.

The school changed its name in 1833 to its current name, and for the next 80 years continued to operate with an emphasis on research and training physicians.

Many discoveries were made by MCG faculty, including the first hysterectomy performed in the United States and the first documented case of sickle cell disease.

It marked the school's first efforts to increase the number of physicians produced in the state of Georgia, a problem the university had vowed to address.

[19][20] The jacket is shorter than the long coats full-fledged doctors wear, to mark them as students until they earn their full degree.

Every year, differences in medical specialties are highlighted by one question: "A surgeon, an internist and an obstetrician are aboard a simulated sinking ship.

[22] Students are encouraged to dress in costumes that align with the year's theme as they celebrate finding out their match locations.