2025-2026 Hackensack Meridian

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cristinayanginthemaking said:
Why does everyone hate this school?? I’m actually thinking of not submitting my secondary here at this point.
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i think bc its new, and is based in a hospital system, its not as "efficient" as other med schools. however, hackensack is a great hospital system in nj, and it has a primary care scholars program, so imo its worth giving it a shot !
 
cristinayanginthemaking said:
Why does everyone hate this school?? I’m actually thinking of not submitting my secondary here at this point.
Click to expand...
I don't think everyone hates it. My daughter just started and she is really liking it so far. And as her parents, we were super impressed with all the sentiments shared at the White Coat ceremony. The facilities are also amazing.
I feel super bummed that some people did not get in but I don't think that's a reason to bag so hard on it. That said, I know how crummy this application process is and how schools wait until forever or never to get back to you. My daughter applied 2 cycles and both were really stressful.
 
ayecheckthisout said:
Final thought: I’m not writing this out of bitterness or because I didn’t get into med school—I did. In fact, I was accepted to three programs, and my orientation starts tomorrow. I’m going to be a doctor. But I still felt compelled to share this experience because, even with multiple acceptances, it left a strong impression on me as my dream school. I think it’s important for other applicants to hear about it.
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Thank you for sharing your experience 🫶🏾
 
ayecheckthisout said:
I speak negatively about this school because of how it treats applicants. I have no comments about the student experience because of course I was rejected and wasn’t able to have that experience. So maybe my comment has less weight than the parent above, who knows.

But what I can say is if you’re ok with no post-II R’s, meaning after you’re interviewed everyone is put on the waitlist, then by all means apply. They don’t reject you if you’ve interviewed until first day of orientation. And they interview a lot of people, just look at the stats. So you’re competing with a lot of people on this BS “waitlist.” Not to mention that they never give you any updates, even if you ask, and apparently it’s not ranked even tho it most certainly is. They lie straight to your face. And the admissions committee does not communicate with the admissions department (the people who answer the phone) AT ALL. So a lot of times you’re just have to take an “i don’t know” for an answer. So take that as you will. If you’re a stellar applicant then by all means apply, but if you’re someone like me with mid level stats and great experiences, this school has a high likelihood of leaving you disappointed with delayed closure. And there were many people in my position, just look at last cycle’s SDN thread. And I private messaged a lot of people who were similar to me.

I put everything on the line for this school. I sent multiple letters of interest. I even had a health scare and interviewed while on 80mg of prednisone after 4 sleepless nights in the hospital, something which I’m sure affected interview performance and my nerves. And I toured shortly after that despite all the craziness in my life and medical advice not to hop on a plane across the country. I will agree with the parent above that the facilities are amazing.

I really was all in on this school. I put in the effort, I showed genuine passion because this was my dream school. And also something which the school showed no regard for. I wasn’t asking for a sob story in mentioning this, more to highlight my resilience which was not even acknowledged.

The interviewer I had was incredibly unfair. I interviewed at 5 total schools in my cycle, and this was the least engaging interview by far. It was firing off questions 1 by 1 with no effort to actually get to know me. No enthusiasm. The 4 other programs felt like a conversation, this was far from that. I could tell my interviewer had somewhere to be and couldn’t be bothered to waste their time. And I knew that they were busy because my interview was rescheduled for a very fishy reason. So take that as you will as well.

All in all, this is just my story, and I just want people to know that this school is incredibly disrespectful compared to the other schools I applied to, and I have a large sample size to prove it. I applied to 55 programs. This was by far the worst experience. But through all that I stuck to the last day because I wanted to go here so badly. And I was left with nothing in the end.

You could chalk it up to me overcommunicating with them (which the admissions staff assured me I wasn’t doing), or never being competitive in the first place, but regardless they wasted my time either way. And they will likely waste yours. Sorry for the long message but just wanted to share my honest thoughts with you all.

Edit: Feel free to message me directly if you have any questions.
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As someone who interviewed here last cycle, I can echo some of the points made here. In general, the admissions committee loves interviewing CA applicants because they know how competitive the CA state schools are. This lets them make a “backup list” in case things go horribly wrong (they had a ~10% acceptance rate in the ‘23-24 cycle due to mass waitlist movement).

The waitlist movement was much less this last cycle, and although I got into my state MD school I still don’t think I’d have gotten into Hackensack if I stayed on their waitlist till their CTE deadline. They definitely prioritize east coast connections for admitting students and this is reflected quite well in their match list (very few match outside the East coast.)

I do think they made some errors and are very generous in sending out interview invites to people they know have very little chance of being admitted (0 east coast ties, stats, etc.). There was someone last cycle who had an admissions person imply to them they that their interview invite was accidental (oops) and they were never on the waitlist all along.

The school seems great quality wise but the admissions team will waste your time (campus tour invites, info sessions, etc.) if you don’t fit their mission. For the west coast applicants here with 0 east coast ties, I recommend prioritizing secondaries for your other schools.
 
Anyone else still waiting on secondary? I am an OOS applicant and have been verified since the beginning of the cycle. Not sure if Hackensack screens pre-secondary
 
Is the physician LOR a hard requirement? Will I not be considered for an interview if I don't have a physician LOR?
 
I have a LOR from a hospice volunteer coordinator, assuming this probably doesn’t count for healthcare LOR?
 
I still have not received a secondary (verified in June). Anyone else? Should I email them?
 
MikeA613 said:
I still have not received a secondary (verified in June). Anyone else? Should I email them?
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I am also waiting on a secondary despite being verified very early in the cycle. I sent them an email yesterday but have yet to receive a response
 
This school resent their secondary invite to me even though I already made my account w the first invite. This is the second school that has done this, anyone know why?
 
cristinayanginthemaking said:
Why does everyone hate this school?? I’m actually thinking of not submitting my secondary here at this point.
Click to expand...
There is only one poster who keeps coming back to complain about this program. While their experience is valid, they are writing like this school is the only one that keeps applicants in the dark. What Hackensack does is no different than most MD programs in the US and demanding them to be transparent isn't going to change anything. Calling to ask questions or get updates is not a given in this process and there are plenty of other schools that place applicants in waitlist purgatory for months with no decision until orientation. The entire system is broken, so don't let that stop you from applying to a program because in the end, they are all the same. Make it better when you get in, that is really all you can do.
 
ayecheckthisout said:
I speak negatively about this school because of how it treats applicants. I have no comments about the student experience because of course I was rejected and wasn’t able to have that experience. So maybe my comment has less weight than the parent above, who knows.

But what I can say is if you’re ok with no post-II R’s, meaning after you’re interviewed everyone is put on the waitlist, then by all means apply. They don’t reject you if you’ve interviewed until first day of orientation. And they interview a lot of people, just look at the stats. So you’re competing with a lot of people on this BS “waitlist.” Not to mention that they never give you any updates, even if you ask, and apparently it’s not ranked even tho it most certainly is. They lie straight to your face. And the admissions committee does not communicate with the admissions department (the people who answer the phone) AT ALL. So a lot of times you’re just have to take an “i don’t know” for an answer. So take that as you will. If you’re a stellar applicant then by all means apply, but if you’re someone like me with mid level stats and great experiences, this school has a high likelihood of leaving you disappointed with delayed closure. And there were many people in my position, just look at last cycle’s SDN thread. And I private messaged a lot of people who were similar to me.

I put everything on the line for this school. I sent multiple letters of interest. I even had a health scare and interviewed while on 80mg of prednisone after 4 sleepless nights in the hospital, something which I’m sure affected interview performance and my nerves. And I toured shortly after that despite all the craziness in my life and medical advice not to hop on a plane across the country. I will agree with the parent above that the facilities are amazing.

I really was all in on this school. I put in the effort, I showed genuine passion because this was my dream school. And also something which the school showed no regard for. I wasn’t asking for a sob story in mentioning this, more to highlight my resilience which was not even acknowledged.

The interviewer I had was incredibly unfair. I interviewed at 5 total schools in my cycle, and this was the least engaging interview by far. It was firing off questions 1 by 1 with no effort to actually get to know me. No enthusiasm. The 4 other programs felt like a conversation, this was far from that. I could tell my interviewer had somewhere to be and couldn’t be bothered to waste their time. And I knew that they were busy because my interview was rescheduled for a very fishy reason. So take that as you will as well.

All in all, this is just my story, and I just want people to know that this school is incredibly disrespectful compared to the other schools I applied to, and I have a large sample size to prove it. I applied to 55 programs. This was by far the worst experience. But through all that I stuck to the last day because I wanted to go here so badly. And I was left with nothing in the end.

You could chalk it up to me overcommunicating with them (which the admissions staff assured me I wasn’t doing), or never being competitive in the first place, but regardless they wasted my time either way. And they will likely waste yours. Sorry for the long message but just wanted to share my honest thoughts with you all.

Edit: Feel free to message me directly if you have any questions.
Click to expand...
I don’t think this is a problem specific to this school. So many schools keep students in the waitlist limbo. Based on 2023 stats, the gave out 653 interviews and accepted 543 people. That is a 83% post II acceptance rate. This is straight from the Hackensack Meridian SOM databook they have online. So yea, while they may be waitlisting vast majority after a II, ultimately 83% interview r accepted. I think that is a very good reason to apply… if u don’t get an interview oh well but if u do u have good chances at getting an A.
 
scrubadubdub23 said:
I don’t think this is a problem specific to this school. So many schools keep students in the waitlist limbo. Based on 2023 stats, the gave out 653 interviews and accepted 543 people. That is a 83% post II acceptance rate. This is straight from the Hackensack Meridian SOM databook they have online. So yea, while they may be waitlisting vast majority after a II, ultimately 83% interview r accepted. I think that is a very good reason to apply… if u don’t get an interview oh well but if u do u have good chances at getting an A.
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Where do you see stats for the number of students that a program accepts? MSAR only has the number of matriculants, is there some other source you're using?
 
flykidfrombk said:
Where do you see stats for the number of students that a program accepts? MSAR only has the number of matriculants, is there some other source you're using?
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Medical School Statistics – Admit.org

Explore the latest medical school admission statistics, including application volume, interview numbers, and acceptance rates to perfect your application strategy.
med.admit.org med.admit.org
 

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Anyone who submit their secondary know how long it took to me marked complete? HMSOM does letter of review checks and prereq checks???
 
Firephoenix938 said:
Anyone who submit their secondary know how long it took to me marked complete? HMSOM does letter of review checks and prereq checks???
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It took like 12 days from when I got sent the received email to getting the “preliminary review complete email” and now it’s in the holistic review phase. I think the preliminary review is just looking at if you meet their technical criteria.
 
i see an option on the portal to submit an update letter, but does anyone know if they have a limit of how many you can submit? I can't find any info about update letters on their website
 
glycogensynthesis123 said:
i see an option on the portal to submit an update letter, but does anyone know if they have a limit of how many you can submit? I can't find any info about update letters on their website
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There is usually not a limit, however, make sure your updates are significant and planed out well (ie if you have two papers in review, wait until both have a decision before updating) so you don't come across as spamming their portal.
 
I received an email saying my application was marked incomplete because I don’t have a physician/clinical LoR. I don’t think I can scramble together a letter this last minute and I unfortunately didn’t know they had this requirement. Should I just wait and see if they still consider me or should I withdraw my application?
 
dinodoctor.net said:
I received an email saying my application was marked incomplete because I don’t have a physician/clinical LoR. I don’t think I can scramble together a letter this last minute and I unfortunately didn’t know they had this requirement. Should I just wait and see if they still consider me or should I withdraw my application?
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If your app is currently marked incomplete most schools will not offer you an II, but some still do. However, without that requirement you will not be granted an A. Best advice is to try and get a letter together (it can be generic even) before the end of the cycle.
 
do yall think it would be worth it to submit my secondary here today? it’s been almost a month since i received it but i prioritized other schools bc i don’t have any ties to the east coast and am late w secondaries in general 😭
 
If you feel you are a good mission fit and/or live in NJ, I would go ahead and submit no matter what. If I recall correctly, I submitted my secondary in August last year, reached the review stage in November, and was offered an interview like 2 days later. This is just n=1 but I think if your application stands out, you will get offered an interview pretty promptly once you reach the review stage.

Even though I'm not attending this school, I had a good interview experience, and it was nice learning about the school. If you have high stats, you have a high chance of getting offered a scholarship. Additionally, they have a 3+1 curriculum that allows you to get into residency in your fourth year if you are willing to attend residency at Hackensack (in select specialties). Also, they really advertised their research year opportunities, dual degree opportunities, ect. so if you are considering a competitive specialty, you can acheive it at this school. I got the impression that they are really trying to increase their prestige within the medical community, so they seem to support their students really well so that they can get into good residency programs.
 
finally got confirmation today after submitting 8/3. not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that i emailed them to tell them i've uploaded an additional LOR but at least it’s approved now
 
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