Admissions
Welcome Message from the Associate Dean of Admissions
Dear Prospective Medical Student,
Thank you for your interest in the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. Our unique school is built around a new paradigm: taking healthcare beyond intervention to the critical science of prevention. Going beyond the walls of hospitals directly into our communities, we connect with people in health – not just in illness. Our mission is to train 21st century doctors to fulfill our vision, that: “Each person in New Jersey, and in the United States, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, will enjoy the highest levels of wellness in an economically and behaviorally sustainable fashion.”
You will play a crucial role in paving the way toward this future.
Our unique approach relies on collaborative learning and classes with other health care professional students to fully embrace the context of community and the social determinants of health that are vital to wellness beyond the acute-care setting.
You will connect with patients from the first day, and throughout your studies, especially via The Human Dimension program, which reaches out even into the homes of people who need a helping hand. Our curriculum is community-focused, clinically-based, highly-integrated, supported by state-of-the-art technologies, and led by gifted faculty from New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive health network, Hackensack Meridian Health.
If this vision and curriculum resonates with you as much as it does us, we hope you will consider applying to join us. We are forging a new path in the practice of medicine, to the betterment of all.
Sincerely,
Gregory T. Simonian, M.D.
Associate Dean of Admissions
Professor of Surgery
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Director, Cardiovascular Center of Excellence, Heart and Vascular Hospital,
Hackensack University Medical Center
Admissions Overview
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (SOM), New Jersey’s only private medical school, strives to select future physicians who will accept the challenge of improving population health and the patient experience while reducing the overall cost of care.
The SOM seeks applicants whose experiences, as described in the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) publication “Roadmap to Excellence: Key Concepts for Evaluating the Impact of Medical School Holistic Admissions,” will bring added value to the learning environment and evidence a commitment to serve their community. Students who enter the SOM will be members of what we envision being a large history of outstanding physicians. These students will also help us form a medical school dedicated to providing each person in New Jersey, and in the United States, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, the highest level of wellness in an economically and behaviorally sustainable fashion.
With outstanding, world-class clinical and academic affiliates, and our Clifton/Nutley campus located in close proximity to New York City, SOM offers students opportunities available nowhere else.
Holistic Admissions
“Holistic review is a flexible, individualized way of assessing an applicant’s capabilities by which balanced consideration is given to experiences, attributes, and academic metrics and, when considered in combination, how the individual might contribute value as a medical student and future physician.”
— Association of American Medical Colleges
Characteristics of the Accepted Applicant
Regardless of your area of academic study, if you are passionate about pursuing a career in medicine and you meet the admissions requirements, the SOM encourages you to apply. Applications are screened to verify that all academic requirements are fulfilled, however, they also seek the following attributes:
- Emotional Intelligence
- Resilience
- Servant Leadership
- Intellectual Pursuit
- Integrity
- Passion for the field of medicine
- Skill sets:
- Self-motivated
- Adaptable
- Takes Initiative
- Personal responsibility and accountability
- Written and oral communication
- Team management aptitude
A Unique 3+1 curriculum
All students will participate in a three-year core curriculum, meeting rigorous, standardized learning outcomes. This will be complemented in the fourth year by a highly individualized medical school experience-an option unlike any other in the country.
Students will work with faculty advisers to develop a uniquely customized curriculum, designed to maximize each student’s professional development. Students will choose from a variety of options including dual degrees, research-intensive concentrations, clinical immersion, global health electives, community-based projects, innovation programs, and an early entry into residency among other possibilities. This fourth year provides our students with a truly personalized, self-directed medical school experience.
Our unique curriculum utilizes evidence-based teaching methods to promote effective and efficient student learning, always placing medicine and related scientific knowledge in the context of the patient and community.
Given the highly integrated and iterative curriculum of the HMSOM, the school is unable to offer advanced standing and/ or admission of transfer applicants:
- Transfer students from other schools of medicine are not allowed.
- Credits from other institutions cannot be applied at the HMSOM.
- Applicants may however, apply for admission as a first year student.
Upcoming Events
TBD