Couple things - you're correct on the US News & World Report rankings. I was going off a different ranking that is completed not by the public - but by NJ physicians every year by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. In that ranking, Morristown is #1 and I believe Hackensack is #2. Polls are just polls and either way, both hospitals (not neccesarily the residency programs though) are very strong in my opinion. In addition, while I am just starting school next week, I do in fact have some clinical experience. Been here in the ER at Morristown for - coming up this winter on 11 years as an EMT/Tech, specifically part of the Trauma Team. From my trauma experience, my interactions with our team, discussions with those who trained at both UH & RWJ - the penetrating/blunt differentiation is pretty clear. Here at Morristown, my best approximation is about 85/15 blunt/trauma and from my colleagues that I have spoken to, RWJ in New Brunswick is much closer to that number than what you'll see at UH or St. Joe's. You will get significantly more penetrating injuries in Paterson, Newark, Jersey City, etc. and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know why. Again, plenty of friends (MDs, Nurses, Paramedics) that work in all three of those cities and the stories are outrageous. In my opinion though, that's a big plus for a place like UH over Morristown/RWJ. As you said, most students don't choose schools based on the city itself, but rather the medical education.
As I said in my previous post, I would have been ecstatic to have gotten accepted at either NJMS or RWJ - good luck to those applying!
IS. Not sure of the exact date I was complete, but submitted secondary 7/10 and AMCAS was verified after on 7/13. So, probably a bit after that.
