I think this waiting until October 15th for a decision from RWJ is going to kill me! I mean- it's only four days away now- but the closer it gets, the more antsy I get. My interview was on 9/10- but that AMCAS rule won't let them tell the accepted people until 10/15. So in other words- my file could be sitting on someones desk with an "accepted" sticker or a "rejected" sticker. I'm soooooo hoping for dean terregino to call me on the 15th! i'd be the happiest person on earth! really, I would! just needed to vent! i think my boyfriend was ready to walk away the last time i said "I can't wait til October 15th." Of course, I do say it like maybe 200 times a day. (nah, not really) ;-) anyone else feeling the stress of 10/15 already???
When I was at RWJ for my interview, they told us that they were probably going to wait until November 1st to send out acceptances. So, to anyone who hasn't heard yet from them yet, don't worry.
Not true. I was accepted on 10/16. I'm guessing others were as well, although, so far as I know, I'm the only SDNer thus far.
well, i've heard something...it's just hard to tell what i got this letter today saying that i was a "very competitive" applicant and the decision of acceptance or alternate should be coming very soon. i was kind of hoping they were delayed in the acceptance department, but i'm obviously wrong, since someone has received an acceptance. So i guess i'll probably get waitlisted. This is my top choice- i really want to get accepted! btw- i interviewed 9/10- so i guess if you interviewed later- you'll have to wait until the comittee meets again. good luck to all my fellow RWJMS wait-ers!
I'm also waiting for RWJ. I interviewed on the first day, but I haven't heard anything yet. They interviewed me with my April MCAT scores, but I retook it in August, so I am hoping that they were waiting for my new scores to make a decision. Good luck to everybody!
my roommate got the exact same letter today. She was waitlisted last year at RWJ but interviewed MUCH earlier this year so who knows what the "final" decision will be. She already got into NJMS though so she's not sweating it too much.. good luck!
My husband got a phone call message on Friday early am from RWJMS saying they had some "very good news for him". I think it's a acceptance- anyway, this happened on Oct 18, he interviewed there in late August, and we haven't gotten any mail from them. We live on the west coast, though, so if a letter's out there, it's probably still in the USPS system somewhere.
glad to hear i'm not the only one who got that letter- i just don't know what to make of it. they would have told me flat out if i was waitlisted right? or is that their nice way of doing it? hoping to hear from them really soon
Let me come here to sing my sad song- I was interviewed at RWJ early last year and I received the "you are in the competitive category letter". They have a waitlist and it's ranked by top thirds. The "very competitive" part means that you are in the top third (which is a good thing). Now from what I've heard, there is not further rankings between thirds. This letter is basically a waitlist letter, I would know I was in the top third but unfortunately for me, the list didn't move much this past year.
I got the letter too. I find it hard to believe that this is just a waitlist letter, because the wording is like this: "A decision regarding acceptance or placement on our alternate list will be made shortly..." If this was a waitlist letter, then saying that they hadn't made that decision yet would be a flat out lie. It doesn't seem like they would deliberately string us along if they had decided to put us on the alternate list. Oh well, maybe this is all just wishful thinking.
abs39.....I can't remember if a letter came afterwards "officially" stating my waitlist position...that's why I say that the "very competitive" lette was a waitlist letter. Because if I am/was as "competitive" as they claimed i was, why would they demote me to waitlist status? Why not accept me if I am soo "competitve"? Don't get me wrong, you can get the "competitive" letter and still be pulled off and accepted (before May 15th)but I am just speaking from my experience.
I talked to the admissions office today about this letter saying they'll decide on acceptance or alternate status soon. Soon is really a relative term. To me (and I think most people applying this cycle) soon means within a week or two. Not so with the real world though. RWJMS has a "secondary" committee that meets every month to decide on these candidates that were so fortunate to recieve these letters. The next meeting of this committee will be mid-Nov where they will decide ACCEPTANCE or WAITLIST. Good news is- no rejection They will send another letter saying what the decision was. (I assume they'll call acceptances just like they usually do)
this thread has been very informative! thanks smilez for inquiring about this.. i too got the "very competitive" letter.. and i assumed it meant, "you won't be rejected. hold on for a few weeks." rather than "you've been put on the waitlist." at first i thought it was a rejection b/c it was just a one-page letter. haha.. good luck to all of you.. just curious... are there any of you out there who would choose NJMS over RWJ? just wondering.
Well, RWJ and NJMS are both considered good schools, and I think that which one is "better" depends on what factors you think are most important to a medical school. NJMS is in a kinda crummy area, but this also gives you the oportunity to get LOTS of good clinical experience. They're also constructing some new research buildings. RWJ is in a nice, quiet area, and they're working on adding a huge new research tower. They have a little bit of a better reputation for research, I think. But, from what I've heard, the clinical experience you get at NJMS is the best in the state, so I, personally, would pick NJMS over RWJ. And I guess it's a good thing that my preference falls this way, since I have not received a "we'll be making a decision soon" letter. I guess that's not good news? Although they definitely did tell us on our interview day that they wouldn't send our decisions out until after November 1st... Maybe I'm just being evaluated with a later group? Strange.
I'd pick RWJ over NJMS- because of location. I don't really want to go to school in newark if i don't have to- and I am very familiar with the Rutgers/UMDNJ area in Piscataway/NB. I think both schools are great, but living wise I'd much rather live in Piscataway than Newark. Can't wait til Mid-november now. ~smilez
I just got this letter today..does anyone have any detailed info on what this means. Also, what are the stats of those who have received this letter and if we are all "very competitive" why not just accept us to begin with. What is the "secondary" committee? I'm kinda nervous about this..anyone have any encouraging news or info?
Does anyone know how long one should wait to hear a response from RWJ? I had a horrid interview at RWJ on Oct 18 and I have not yet heard anything from them. Is there a correlation between waiting time and acceptance?
I believe the admissions committee meets the 3rd tuesday of the month or something like that. so if you interviewed on the 18th- you just missed the meeting on the 15th. I think they're meeting tomorrow (the 12th) If not they're meeting the 19th. The thing with interviews at RWJ is that they are all so different b/c so many people do them. My interview was great- but someone else who interviewed the same day had an awful experience. Anyways- keepin my fingers crossed that the secondary committee sends me love
Congrats to Eunice!! I didn't receive a call and I too had gotten the letter so i guess this means the wait list for me..bummer..
MCATer. thanks! i'm really happy about RWJ... i would actually be happy there! and i don't think you are in the waitlist just yet... wait at least a week or two... b/c they are personally calling the accepted people, they might only accept a few a week.... don't give up hope! =) eunice
i got the dreaded waitlist letter friday rwj is my top choice too but i did get an actual letter saying that i was on the waitlist.
Has anyone who interviewed at RWJ as recently as November 5th (or later) heard anything? I'm just wondering if, since I didn't receive an acceptance phone call, I should brace myself for a waitlist or rejection letter when I get home today. I know 3 weeks is such a short amount of time, I bet they haven't even looked at my file yet. But I heard from NJMS in 3 weeks, so . . . ???
hmm..i still havent gotten a letter...just curious whether you guys got the waitlist letter on friday or if it is post-marked friday? maybe my mail is just slower althought i'm hoping you're right eunice and that I'll get a call but i'd figure the dean would have called everyone on the same day.
I interviewed with RWJ sometime in September, and I just received an acceptance about two weeks ago. I never received any letters from them. I just got the phone call and the admissions packet, so don't worry too much if you haven't heard anything. They just take a long time, I think.
Hey rat-tickler - I'm right there with you. I'm still explaining to people that I don't live at an exit off the turnpike, and that you go "down the shore" in the summer, but jersey doesn't really care. i was lucky enough to get an interview with njms, but the interviewer told me at least 5 or 6 times that he had no clue why they invited me. No word yet from rwj. what happened to residency preferences?
i haven't heard anything since my waitlist letter. i really don't expect to hear anything anymore until the spring b/c even if ppl decline their acceptance, they're gonna try to fill the class with new interviewees before going to the waitlist.
anyone know when the committee is meeting in december? it would be nice to hear something this month. . .
Hey fava - I'm an out-of-stater, and I haven't heard a thing from them - not even an interview invitiation. But I was accepted into NJMS in late October. Go figure. LL
i remember someone posting that the committee meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month. And that's . . . . today (gulp) So maybe we'll find out this week?
good luck!! i hope you guys hear from RWJ soon. I am really happy about RWJ.. and most likely I will go there... BUT if i hear back from UCLA, some lucky person from the waitlist will get into RWJ, b/c i'm leaving for Cali.. so please pray that i will get into UCLA!!! haha.... and that means one more spot opening up at RWJ! eunice
gluck eunice! i was told that the committee meets every thursday. sooo...the next committe meeting would be Dec. 19th.....supposedly i JUST missed the boat for that one, so i have to wait for the next one on Jan. 9th.....just because of the holidays. oh well =) being patient is tough.
i am a md resident and heard nothing from either nj school... thought this was strange since i got interviews at most of my other schools and was rejected from the others. i applied to a lot of state schools (penn state, mcv/vcu, and my own) and nj was the only ones i didn't hear from... anyone know if there is anything unusual about nj schools?
nj schools are just slow- they grant interviews to almost all of their instate applicants- they usually do that first due to the extreme in-state preference. i just heard from NJMS last week- and I submitted my stuff to them Early September- and I'm a NJ resident The admissions staff is really friendly at RWJ- drop them an email to see what the status of your application is. good luck! ~smilez
I recently got an invite to RWJMS and was wondering what people thought of the school, curriculum etc... I am an out of state applicant and am debating over whether or not to go...
RWJ has its good & bad points- it has excellent research opportunities however- the med school & hospital are on completely different campuses (you definitely need a car to get between- unless you rely on Rutgers busses, which aren't all that bad) the hospital is undergoing (and has undergone) some beautiful construction- new Cancer Institute, relatively new Children's Hospital, new research building- it's a very exciting time for RWJ. it's in a college area- so there are plenty of nice little shops/restaurants around. plus med students get to use the Rutgers gyms (which are out of this world). sorry for the complete randomness of these points. i'd go to the interview- unless it's a huge hassle...where are you from?
hi smilesz.. wow.. you made RWJ sound so great! =) I am most likely going to choose RWJ over NJMS, but i dunno if i have made my decision yet. the only two things that i'm worried about are: 1) i heard that NJMS has better clinical exposure.. understandably.. being affiliated to Hackensack University Hospital.. and being in Newark, i'm sure you get to see more stuff than in RWJ.. is this a huge difference though? will i be miss out by going to RWJ?? 2) RWJ is pretty much on grades.. A-F. which i heard can be very stressful... i'd much rather go to a pass/fail school if i can.. but do you guys know if NJMS is a pass/fail curriculum or not?? all the experts on NJ med schools... let me know what you guys think.. =) eunice
eunice, you may see more at NJMS- but not that much more- RWJUH is the leading hospital in the state for a lot of things- i mean think about this- when Gov. McGreevy broke his leg (or ankle or whatever) on the beach in Cape May- they brought him all the way up to RWJUH to recover... and Gov. McGreevey's wife was in St. Peter's University Hospital at the end of her pregnancy- b/c of the top perinatal center there. There are plenty of great programs at RWJ too- HIPHOP is one- there's a clinic to help the homeless/poor get the health care they need. i have my interview at NJMS in a week- so I'll see if it sparks anything- although the idea of living in Newark (the med school is right near a not-so-great part of town) is not very appealing. Good luck with your decision! (hint...hint.... i'm on the waitlist on RWJ... hint...hint... just kidding )
I interviewed at both places. My understanding of the grading at NJMS was that it's the same as RWJ's. I'm pretty sure it's not pass/fail. But if it is, that would make NJMS really, really attractive. smilez428 --- You'll probably find this out when you go, but I'm pretty sure none of the NJMS students actually live in Newark. They mostly live in surrounding communities. I think a lot of students live in Hoboken, which apparently is a pretty cool place to be nowadays. At NJMS, you'd be much closer to NYC, which scores major quality-of-life points with me. Moveover, from what I could tell from the RWJ students, they don't live very close to the campus either. Most have a 20-30 min. commute. If I am accepted to RWJ, it will be a really tough decision between the 2. RWJ's facilities seemed nicer, but NJMS students seemed more laid-back. RWJ is in a nicer area, but NJMS is closer to NYC. RWJ hospital was nice, but NJMS's main teaching hospital is *right there.* However, I am interested in the MD/MPH program, and RWJ's seems better. Anyway, this could all be irrelevant, since I may very well not even get accepted to RWJ . . .
NJMS grading is honors (90-100) / high pass (80-89.9) / pass (70-79.9) / fail (below 70) Also, I hear they're going to change their curriculum starting in 2004. I wonder if that will affect people who are 2nd years then?
I interviewed on November 26 and just received the "very competitive category" letter today. Has anyone been accepted who has received this letter or is it basically a waitlist letter? How long did it take to hear back from the secondary committee? Thanks everyone!
it's so frustrating being away from my mailbox. . i'm in NC with my parents rite now. . .dreaming of my mailbox. . .
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