Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine Welcomes Latest Group of Students with White Coat Ceremony

What You Need to Know

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine welcomed its newest class of 159 students with a White Coat ceremony at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

Nearly 6,000 students applied to join this year’s class. The cohort is made up of more than half New Jersey residents (53%), while another 11% percent are New Yorkers. Seventeen other states are represented among its members. 

Twenty-eight languages are spoken by the group, in addition to English. Twelve of the students already hold an advanced degree.

The group achieved the highest-ever MCAT score yet for the school. The average score for the students was 88% - meaning they are in the top 12 percent in the nation. 

The School admitted its first class in 2018 with 60 students. Subsequent years brought an increased number of students, leading to this fifth year of admissions.

Students have the opportunity for a three-year path to residency, or an optional fourth year which offers combined master’s degree or graduate certificate programs, intense clinical immersion, or focused research. Defining features of the curriculum include the Human Dimension, a longitudinal course which pairs students with people out in the community to foster real-world clinical skills outside a hospital or doctor’s office.