Hackensack Meridian vs. Drexel (WL)

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medegg98

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Hi everyone,
I got waitlisted at Drexel and accepted to Hackensack, but wanted to see what people thought of the two schools should Drexel accept me off WL. I am a New England resident, so the two are similar distance from home with Drexel being a little further away. Additionally, I interested in going into an IM residency after medical school (probably Heme/Onc).

Hackensack Meridian
Pros
  • big health network
  • accelerated curriculum, option to go into residency at HM network hospital after 3 years (lots of IM spots available)
  • lots of community service available
Cons
  • new school: lower ranked, less reputable (especially with STEP 1 becoming P/F), a mess at times
Drexel (waitlisted)
Pros
  • More reputable school, higher ranked
  • Lots of opportunities for research and community outreach
Cons
  • lottery system for clinical rotations (some hospitals can be very far away)
  • 2 year preclinical curriculum
  • huge class size

I think for me it really comes down to Hackensack's less reputable school but large hospital network vs. Drexel's more reputable school but weaker network.

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Drexel is certainly more reputable than Hackensack, mostly because Hackensack is a totally new school. That being said, that clinical lottery stuff is a serious downside. Secondly, academic IM is not so competitive to match (granted, top 20-30 is always a crapshoot) and will depend on the work you put in.


That actually reminds me, has Hackensack graduated a class yet? Do they have a match list?
 
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Drexel is certainly more reputable than Hackensack, mostly because Hackensack is a totally new school. That being said, that clinical lottery stuff is a serious downside. Secondly, academic IM is not so competitive to match (granted, top 20-30 is always a crapshoot) and will depend on the work you put in.


That actually reminds me, has Hackensack graduated a class yet? Do they have a match list?
They have just graduated their first class, but it only comprises of the people in the inaugurating class who opted to graduate in 3 years instead of 4. I don't have the match list but if you were to obtain it, you would see mostly FM/IM because those are what the 3-year track is designed for. Also, if you do the 3-year track, you MUST match within the HM network. So the current match list isn't going to exactly be the most useful.
 
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Drexel is certainly more reputable than Hackensack, mostly because Hackensack is a totally new school. That being said, that clinical lottery stuff is a serious downside. Secondly, academic IM is not so competitive to match (granted, top 20-30 is always a crapshoot) and will depend on the work you put in.


That actually reminds me, has Hackensack graduated a class yet? Do they have a match list?

They have just graduated their first class, but it only comprises of the people in the inaugurating class who opted to graduate in 3 years instead of 4. I don't have the match list but if you were to obtain it, you would see mostly FM/IM because those are what the 3-year track is designed for. Also, if you do the 3-year track, you MUST match within the HM network. So the current match list isn't going to exactly be the most useful.

Yes, their first class started in 2018 so only the students who opted to go onto residency after 3 years are graduating this year. Based on what I have heard, they had 18 students match at HM hospitals with 7 going into IM, 1 into neurology, 2 into psychiatry, 4 into anesthesia, 2 into peds, and 2 into emergency med.
 
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Ah okay. Honestly IM is not competitive to match overall. The top programs are naturally, but academic IM is very doable even from new schools. Hard for me to say as I know overall very little about Hackensack as it's new. If you have inclinations for competitive specialties then I'd probably go for Drexel as it's more established overall and has a pipeline of competitive matches for years. Otherwise go with what you liked more.
 
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