Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine White Coat Ceremony Welcomes Sixth Cohort of Students

What You Need To Know

• The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine welcomed its newest class of 167 students with a White Coat ceremony at the Venetian in Garfield.
• About 6,000 students applied to join this year's class.

On July 20th, the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine welcomed its newest class of 167 students with a White Coat ceremony at the Venetian in Garfield. The School admitted its first class in 2018 with 60 students. Subsequent years brought an increased number of students, leading to this sixth year of admissions. About 6,000 students applied to join this year's class. Full accreditation to the school was given in February.

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. 

This year, more than half (51.3%) of the new students are from New Jersey. They speak 22 languages other than English, about 10% are first-generation citizens of the United States, and greater than 10% are Hispanic or Latino.