UMDNJ applicants

[HopeFaith]

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Okay, so it's inevitable that if I get into the UMDNJ masters program, I will be going. For the most part due to cost and convenience.
If anyone else has applied, been accepted, intends on attending and/or was or is a student please add to the thread.
What concerns me about this program is the advising. Can anyone describe for experiences in this department? As in, are you assignmed an advisor who pen a letter on your behalf when the time is right? Or is it the case that you will have to chase uninterested profs/faculty and get them to write letters for you?
Also, what is the max number of med shool courses you can take? What about the research thesis option?
I did dig up some old threads but hope maybe members have updated information. Also, there should be a place where people who are seriously considering the program can share ideas.

 

[Beth_W737]

I'm not applying to the program as I have to finish my pre-reqs, however I have volunteered at UMDNJ for almost 5 yrs, with a very well respected pediatric immunologist (one of the first to discover how pediatric AIDS was transmitted from mother to child). So I've gotten to know the school, some of the faculty. This doctor teaches a section of the problem based learning courses for 1st yr med students, and I've been able to attend some of the classes. I think most of the professors there are great, and care about their students. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Beth

Okay, so it's inevitable that if I get into the UMDNJ masters program, I will be going. For the most part due to cost and convenience.
If anyone else has applied, been accepted, intends on attending and/or was or is a student please add to the thread.
What concerns me about this program is the advising. Can anyone describe for experiences in this department? As in, are you assignmed an advisor who pen a letter on your behalf when the time is right? Or is it the case that you will have to chase uninterested profs/faculty and get them to write letters for you?
Also, what is the max number of med shool courses you can take? What about the research thesis option?
I did dig up some old threads but hope maybe members have updated information. Also, there should be a place where people who are seriously considering the program can share ideas.

 

[siloka]

I just submitted my application to UMDNJ master's program...havent heard much about the program aside from the information seen on the website

 

[ASDIC]

I have friends in the GSBS program and they seem to like it. You take some medical school classes like physiology and biochemistry, rest are all grad level courses. The program has a high placement rate into medical schools, most of my friends who finished GSBS enrolled at NJMS.

If you honor a medical school class, you will be exempt from it if u enroll in NJMS...otherwise u gotta retake.

They are building new dorms...ready for this years incoming class.

 

[CVS]

I'm currently in my second semester in the Masters Program and I'd like to clarify a few things that have been said. For one I am fairly certain that if you honor a medical school course that you will still be required to take it. I honored 1st year Biochemistry (aka MGM) and if I attend UMDNJ I will have to retake it. I chose not to take physiology this semester, but you are allowed to take two medical school courses during your time in the program. As for the advising, you are not assigned a specific advisor. It is pretty much up to you to seek advising; the dean of the program, Dr. Ingoglia is always willing to talk to students. However, he states that he will probably only write a generic letter when it comes time to apply to med schools. I enrolled in the program hoping to increase my chances for medical schools in general, but the advising you do get seems to be only focused on getting into NJMS; which is fine but not exactly what I expected. Although its billed as a post-bacc program once you're there they emphasize the fact that it is a masters program first and try to get people to explore the possibility of doing research (PhD). I've also heard that because of the increase in enrollment fewer people are being accepted to the medical school; since they don't give any real statistics this is hard to confirm. While my experience so far has been positive I have found that success among my classmates in the program varies widely. Its important to have a good idea of your deficiencies coming into the program. If you have a low MCAT no amount of coursework will change that, so you should come with realisitic expectations. I have seen first hand people who have done extremely well in their coursework, including the medical schools courses and have been rejected because their MCAT was too low. Overall, I would recommend the program as long as you understand its limitations and are prepared to be fairly independent.

 

[osin83]

wow, that last post kinda makes the program not seem so great. Let's hope I hear back from BU ASAP. I applied to both programs, and UMDNJ is seriously 8 minutes away from me and cheap so I planned on going there over BU. But if its a world of difference a year in Boston might be the way to go.

 

[doctorFred]

i applied to georgetown, drexel, and umdnj this year. i'm into georgetown's program and i'm waiting to hear from drexel and umdnj.

the only reason i would attend umdnj's program is cost and convenience, as you mention above (i am an in-state resident.) umdnj's program costs almost nothing (compared to gt) and it's about fifteen minutes from where i live.

on the downside, the advising (again, compared to gt) is virtually nonexistant.. all the program will help you do is establish a strong grad gpa, presumably to compensate for a poor undergrad gpa. it will also moderately increase your chances of getting into new jersey medical school IF you're a nj resident (keep in mind njms accepts virtually no out of state applicants.)

if you're looking to compensate for a poor undergrad gpa and are a nj resident, it isn't a terrible option. otherwise, i'd look elsewhere. needless to say, i'm probably attending gt if you couldn't tell by now.

 

[NRAI2001]

i applied to georgetown, drexel, and umdnj this year. i'm into georgetown's program and i'm waiting to hear from drexel and umdnj.

the only reason i would attend umdnj's program is cost and convenience, as you mention above (i am an in-state resident.) umdnj's program costs almost nothing (compared to gt) and it's about fifteen minutes from where i live.

on the downside, the advising (again, compared to gt) is virtually nonexistant.. all the program will help you do is establish a strong grad gpa, presumably to compensate for a poor undergrad gpa. it will also moderately increase your chances of getting into new jersey medical school IF you're a nj resident (keep in mind njms accepts virtually no out of state applicants.)

if you're looking to compensate for a poor undergrad gpa and are a nj resident, it isn't a terrible option. otherwise, i'd look elsewhere. needless to say, i'm probably attending gt if you couldn't tell by now.

So is this program designed to primarily help NJ residents?

 

[doctorFred]

you misunderstand me. it will help all applicants improve their gpa, and if you're a new jersey resident, it will also slightly boost your chances of getting into new jersey medical school (presumably.)

 

[lala83]

you misunderstand me. it will help all applicants improve their gpa, and if you're a new jersey resident, it will also slightly boost your chances of getting into new jersey medical school (presumably.)

do you think it's worth non-new jersey residents to apply to umdnj even though they're medical school is public? as in, the linkage program probably won't help increase the chance of getting into their medical school right? i'm kind of confused about where i should be applying right now.

 

[doctorFred]

if you're an out of state applicant and are trying to boost your chances of getting into njms, i think you're wasting your time, unless you're a stellar applicant. i think they do take a few out of staters each year, but i could be mistakenl. for the most part, they're nj only. umdnj-robert wood takes more out of state applicants but is still heavily jersey-favored. so if you're looking for linkage or a leg up, as an out of state applicant, umdnj is not the school for you. but if you're just looking to boost your gpa and can't afford to drop 30k on a program, umdnj isn't a terrible choice.

 

[osin83]

does anybody know if it helps at both NJMS and RWJ to go through this program?

 

[doctorFred]

it doesn't officially help you at either school but since the program is on the newark campus, the ties are inevitable. rwj and njms are connected very nominally and i don't think it'll help your chances much there, but i could be wrong. of course, it certainly won't hurt your chances at either school.

 

[businessmd06]

Does someone have the link to the program information?

Thanks,

 

[osin83]

http://www.umdnj.edu/gsbsnweb/adm/msbsflier.htm

there ya go

 

[paradiselost]

I went through the master's program. Along the way, I saw it work out really well for a lot of people in the program (i.e. it helped them get into NJMS). On the other hand, it didn't work out for me at all, for reasons totally unknown to me. I think being in the program can go either way (help or hurt).

PM if you've got any questions about the program. Good luck.

 

[osin83]

I just got accepted to the UMDNJ program and have had some problems with my BU MAMS application so Im not sure if i will be getting in there. I really wanted to go to Boston, but at 1/3 the tuition staying in NJ might be the way to go. I got waitlisted at NJMS this cycle, and was told that it was only beacuse i applied so late that I didnt get in. Im gonna throw out my applications early as hell this June (before I actually start the master's program) and hopefully i will be enrolled in the program already with an acceptance.

Do you think if I got my acceptance and halfway through the program I could just stop to save on the tuition? I mean take only the first semester courses and give up and work until I start med school? Any oppinions?

 

[NRAI2001]

I just got accepted to the UMDNJ program and have had some problems with my BU MAMS application so Im not sure if i will be getting in there. I really wanted to go to Boston, but at 1/3 the tuition staying in NJ might be the way to go. I got waitlisted at NJMS this cycle, and was told that it was only beacuse i applied so late that I didnt get in. Im gonna throw out my applications early as hell this June (before I actually start the master's program) and hopefully i will be enrolled in the program already with an acceptance.

Do you think if I got my acceptance and halfway through the program I could just stop to save on the tuition? I mean take only the first semester courses and give up and work until I start med school? Any oppinions?

Probably wont look so good if you leave a program at your future school. If you were doign the masters somewhere else and just left, probably wouldnt matter as much. If you re sure that you re gonna get in, then why not save yourself the money and the time?

 

[chaeymaey]

I just got accepted to the UMDNJ program and have had some problems with my BU MAMS application so Im not sure if i will be getting in there. I really wanted to go to Boston, but at 1/3 the tuition staying in NJ might be the way to go. I got waitlisted at NJMS this cycle, and was told that it was only beacuse i applied so late that I didnt get in. Im gonna throw out my applications early as hell this June (before I actually start the master's program) and hopefully i will be enrolled in the program already with an acceptance.

Do you think if I got my acceptance and halfway through the program I could just stop to save on the tuition? I mean take only the first semester courses and give up and work until I start med school? Any oppinions?

What happened with BU?

 

[osin83]

well... here is what happened with my BU application. Ill start from the beginning. I applied late to medical school this cycle (towards the end of december) due to some personal problems. when I informed my HPAC advisor, Dr. Jones, of which schools to send out my letters of recommendation to he told me that I didnt have enough (missing one). However, I knew for a fact that all three were sent to him months before that. I confirmed this with his secretary who all the letters were first sent to. She told me he got them all and filed them all. But the senile bastard lost one.

So... in the midst of finals at my school I had to hunt down a teacher, who wasnt even a fulltime teacher at the school. That made it almost impossible to find her and I needed to get her to resend the letter to Dr. Jones so he could send it out with the rest of my file before the deadlines, which were coming up fast. At the 11th hour I got in touch with her and got the letter to him and he sent my file out.

For the BU MAMS program I used the same 3 letters that I did for med school. I know it was dumb of me to make this assumption, but I assumed that when Dr. Jones got the letter (for the second time now) that he added it to my file and had all 3. I contacted him and asked if he could send the 3 letters to BU and UMDNJ for the masters programs. He said of course and told me he sent them out.

I checked many times with both schools to make sure my application and all materials were complete and they said yes. BUT, 2 weeks ago I got a letter from BU saying they never got the 3rd letter, as well as the fax of my MCAT score. The latter was their fault because i sent it twice 3 weeks earlier and confirmed it. So, once again I had to hunt this teacher down and ask her to directly send the letter to BU and UMDNJ and a THIRD copy to Dr. Jones to keep in my file. I got confirmation today from her that she sent it, but now my application is several weeks later than I intended. I tried soooo hard to make sure I got it in early, but no such luck.

 

[osin83]

chaey did you get into any postbac programs yet?

 

[NRAI2001]

chaey did you get into any postbac programs yet?

Seems like Chaey has a huge fan club on sdn 😀

 

[osin83]

any newly accepted UMDNJ M.S. students around?

 

[osin83]

apparently the UMDNJ program is not too popular amongst SDN'ers

 

[GWmdwannabe]

any newly accepted UMDNJ M.S. students around?

I got accepted, but will likely go to Georgetown instead. The tuition (even for an out-of-stater) is VERY tempting, though.

 

[doctorFred]

ditto. i was accepted to umdnj, drexel and georgetown, but will likely attend georgetown. the two umdnj schools are among my top picks for this upcoming application cycle, though.

 

[hopestobe]

I heard that there are often applicants who have low stats who have been admitted as non-matriculated students for UMDNJ and Drexel, who can then be approved for matriculation after they meet certain requirements (usually performing in the same percentile or better than the students in the program or maintaining a certain gpa for a specific period of time).

A) Is this an option for all students rejected from the program or is this an offer made to only some students, and B) can you apply specifically as a non-matriculated student and apply for matriculation after? C) In terms of reputation and advantages, how does UMDNJ compare to Drexel?

I was confused after learning about this because it seems that there would be no point in applying as a regular applicant if non-matriculated students could be matriculated later anyways. Ive seen on the UMDNJ site that there is a separate app deadline for students applying as non-matriculated and no mcat score is required either. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!



Also, did people just hear from Drexel recently? I received confirmation that my application was complete about 3 weeks ago but still no word, getting worried that all the spots have been filled.

 

[doctorFred]

I heard that there are often applicants who have low stats who have been admitted as non-matriculated students for UMDNJ and Drexel, who can then be approved for matriculation after they meet certain requirements (usually performing in the same percentile or better than the students in the program or maintaining a certain gpa for a specific period of time).

A) Is this an option for all students rejected from the program or is this an offer made to only some students, and B) can you apply specifically as a non-matriculated student and apply for matriculation after? C) In terms of reputation and advantages, how does UMDNJ compare to Drexel?

I was confused after learning about this because it seems that there would be no point in applying as a regular applicant if non-matriculated students could be matriculated later anyways. Ive seen on the UMDNJ site that there is a separate app deadline for students applying as non-matriculated and no mcat score is required either. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!



Also, did people just hear from Drexel recently? I received confirmation that my application was complete about 3 weeks ago but still no word, getting worried that all the spots have been filled.

in regards to your first question, i haven't the slightest clue. in regards to your second question, i received my drexel acceptance three weeks ago.

 

[osin83]

I totally understand.... The UMDNJ program is also a fall back of mine if I dont end up getting into the BU program. I wouldnt really feel bad though if I got stuck going there because under $15K hurts a lot less than $45K+ for one years tuition in a postbac program.

 

[doctorFred]

I totally understand.... The UMDNJ program is also a fall back of mine if I dont end up getting into the BU program. I wouldnt really feel bad though if I got stuck going there because under $15K hurts a lot less than $45K+ for one years tuition in a postbac program.

45k? christ. i thought 32 for gt was a lot. now i don't feel as bad.

 

[BruceWayne]

I am still getting my materials ready, but am deciding whether or not to apply to UMDNJ's program. Is it hard to get in? Like is there a cutoff gpa etc? Any info would be appreciated!

 

[doctorFred]

I am still getting my materials ready, but am deciding whether or not to apply to UMDNJ's program. Is it hard to get in? Like is there a cutoff gpa etc? Any info would be appreciated!

i'm not positive, but i don't believe that it's as competitive as some of the other programs out there. i don't know of any cutoffs off the top of my head.

 

[ChaChaDocta]

Hey, I'm pretty excited that I just got accepted to UMDNJ's Masters... I have a few weeks to decide, and the only school that I would choose over it right now would be Loyola (Chicago)... So there's a good chance I'll be in NJ in the fall!

By the way, to answer some people's out-of-state questions: I was never under the impression that they preferred in-state students, but I could have been wrong. I got in, nevertheless, and I'm just a hick from Wisconsin. 3.1 GPA from UW-Madison, BS in Neuroscience, 30 O MCAT. Out-of-state tuition for fall 2006 entry is $17,769, much cheaper than Loyola's. I read over some of the advising complaints, but I guess I'm not too worried, coming from a school like UW where you build your own education, with or without an advisor, sink or swim.