August 11, 2025
Written By
Michael Minh Le
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You’ve set your sights on a med school in New Jersey, but when you see the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine acceptance rate, you can’t help but wonder: Do I actually have a shot? With its mission-driven approach, community health focus, and growing reputation, Hackensack Meridian draws thousands of talented applicants each year. The challenge? Only a fraction will be offered a seat. So, how do you get one?
This guide is here to take the guesswork out of it. We’ll break down the 2025 acceptance rate, average admitted GPA and MCAT scores, key admissions requirements, and even tuition and scholarship info. You’ll also get a look at the specific requirements and format for this school’s application components, including your personal statement, secondaries, letters of recommendation, and more.
And if you want to see exactly what works? Our free Application Database gives you insider access to 8 complete AMCAS applications that earned real acceptances to top schools like UCLA and UCSF. You’ll see the essays, stats, and activities that got them in, so you can model your own application with precision.
Get your free resource here.
For the 2024–2025 admissions cycle, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) received 4,936 applications. Of those, only 162 students matriculated.
That makes the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine acceptance rate about 3.3%.
Of those matriculants, about 51% were New Jersey residents and 49% came from out of state. Translation? No major in-state advantage here.
Let’s cut to the chase: HMSOM’s accepted students are strong on paper. The average GPA for matriculants is around 3.82, and the average MCAT score is about 515.
That means HMSOM students come in above the national med school matriculant averages (3.77 GPA and 511–512 MCAT). So, if you want to be competitive here, you’ll need to do the same.
That being said, there’s no official minimum GPA or MCAT requirement. But if your GPA is hovering in the low 3s or your MCAT section scores are below 125, you should consider this a reach school.
Applicants should complete the following foundational courses before matriculation, as outlined by HMSOM:
You’ll also need the following:
And beyond academics, here’s what you can expect:
HMSOM does not require the CASPer® or PREview™ situational judgement tests.
Let’s rip the Band-Aid off: medical school isn’t cheap, and Hackensack Meridian is no exception.
For the 2025–2026 academic year, tuition and fees at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine are $78,335 for both in-state and out-of-state students. Sorry, no tuition discount for New Jersey residents.
When factoring in room and board, books, and personal expenses, you can expect the total annual cost of attendance to be around $118,787. Plus, tuition has ticked up by about 3.35% annually, so plan accordingly.
The good news? HMSOM does have ways to ease the sting. Need-based scholarships are available for students approved for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program, and merit awards are automatically considered when you’re accepted. That means you won’t have to jump through any extra application hoops.
HMSOM will also point you toward outside scholarships, loan repayment programs, and you’ll have access to Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans through the William D. Ford program. Bottom line: it’s a serious investment, but this school does offer multiple paths to soften the financial hit.
At first glance, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) might look like just another med school. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll discover a place built to disrupt the status quo. From its fresh approach to curriculum design to its deep-rooted commitment to community impact, HMSOM stands out as a modern medical school built for tomorrow’s healthcare leaders.
Rather than separating basic science and clinical skills into silos, HMSOM weaves them together from the start. The curriculum is deliberately crafted around the Determinants of Health, covering biological, behavioral, social, environmental, and healthcare system factors. That means you’ll learn the full picture from day one.
HMSOM’s unique timeline gives students more agency: three years of intensive foundational and clinical learning, followed by a flexible Individualization Phase in the fourth year. This final year allows choices ranging from pursuing a dual degree or research to launching directly into an HMSOM-affiliated residency. And it’s all tailored to your specific goals.
HMSOM isn’t content with teaching medicine from ivory towers. The Human Dimension program weaves community-based service learning into the core curriculum, with students actively working in local settings to understand and influence the broader determinants of health. A recent $3 million gift even supports the expansion of this signature initiative, which is just proof that the school backs its mission with real resources.
Opened in 2015 as the first private medical school in New Jersey in decades, HMSOM has quickly matured. It’s backed by Hackensack Meridian Health, which is the state’s largest hospital network. This gives students access to top-tier clinical environments across multiple hospital systems, including Hackensack University Medical Center, JFK Medical Center, and Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
As a bonus, the school achieved full LCME accreditation recently, the official accrediting body for U.S. MD programs, affirming its educational quality and legitimacy.
Housed in a creatively repurposed, high-tech campus (a converted former research lab), HMSOM offers collaborative classrooms, a tiered amphitheater with multimedia reach, and simulation-rich clinical skills labs. The space design strongly supports active, team-based, immersive learning experiences.
Getting into Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine takes more than hitting a target GPA or MCAT score. It’s about telling a story that proves you’re the kind of physician they want to train. Numbers can open the door, but it’s your application timeline strategy, your personal statement, your secondary essays, your letters of recommendation, and your interview presence that get you across the finish line.
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine participates in the AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) system for its primary applications. And it does not operate on rolling admissions.
Instead, it follows a fixed deadline schedule. That means you’ll need to submit your primary AMCAS application by the specified deadline, and then complete the secondary application.
Below is an overview of the application timeline you need to follow to stay competitive:
Your personal statement can’t just be your resume. That’s how smart applicants get rejected.
This is your narrative, the through-line of who you are, what drives you, and the doctor you’re actively becoming. Think of it as building a case, and your experiences are your proof.
If you say you care about mental health, show volunteering at crisis centers or leading peer-support initiatives. If you talk about advancing primary care, your history should include shadowing in underserved clinics and advocating for patient access. The key is alignment. Every claim you make should be backed by what you’ve already done.
Your secondary essays need to show the AdCom who you are beyond grades and MCAT scores. They want to understand your fit with Hackensack Meridian’s mission and values.
Below are the exact prompts from the most recent cycle and some advice on how to tackle each.
Prompt 1
Why are you interested in attending the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine? (500 words)
How to address it: Tell the AdCom why this school matters to you. Talk about its mission and your connection to its approach. Maybe it’s the community-based Human Dimensions program or its focus on social determinants of health. Then be sure to connect that to your experiences and goals. Make it authentic, grounded, and specific.
Prompt 2
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine values social justice and diversity in all its forms. Describe a circumstance where you sought to learn about a culture, group, or idea different than your own and how that impacted you. (500 words)
How to address it: Pick a real moment when you stepped outside your echo chamber and not just to check a box. Share how that experience changed you and challenged your assumptions. Maybe it expanded your empathy or shifted your perspectives. Either way, be sure to show how that shift matters for how you’ll work with patients or peers.
Prompt 3
Describe your experience with the field of medicine (or a related field) that has prepared you for advanced study in this area. Specifically, how have your life experiences prepared you to pursue a degree in medicine, including: coursework, clinical work, experiences in overcoming adversity, work opportunity, volunteer activities, and/or research experiences? (500 words)
How to address it: Use concrete stories. Don’t list everything. Pick one or two experiences that illustrate what you learned and how they shaped your readiness. Focus on growth, resilience, and specific skills or perspectives you gained. Show, don’t just tell.
At Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, you’ll need three letters of recommendation from faculty or supervisors who truly know you. They should be people who can speak deeply about your clinical skills, leadership, personal character, and project contributions.
HMSOM doesn’t post a formal maximum limit, but three solid, substantive letters should be enough.
A Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE), also known as the Dean’s letter, is also required, and it serves as a key summary of your academic and professional readiness.
No committee letter policy is specified, so it’s safe to assume they just want strong individual letters rather than a packet or committee write-up.
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine keeps the specifics of its interview process under wraps. There is no publicly available information from the school confirming whether they use a traditional one-on-one format, a multiple mini interview, or a hybrid approach.
The admissions website does not outline how long interviews last, how many interviewers are involved, or what types of questions to expect. This means preparation requires a broader strategy. Focus on mastering both conversational, open-ended questions and scenario-based ethical reasoning. Stay sharp on your application details, clinical experiences, and motivations for medicine.
We’ll update this section if any new details become available.
Every med school has its strengths, and understanding where you’ll thrive starts with matching what you value to what the school delivers. Here’s how Hackensack Meridian lines up:
If you’re looking at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, you’re probably serious about staying in New Jersey. Whether it’s because of family, cost, or just knowing you’ll thrive close to home, applying in-state can give you a real advantage. But Hackensack isn’t your only option.
There are several medical schools in New Jersey, each with different strengths, missions, and selection criteria.
Every year, thousands of sharp, motivated premeds throw their hats in the ring for Hackensack Meridian, and most won’t make it in. Not because they couldn’t be great doctors, but because their applications failed to show it in a way that made AdComs take notice.
That’s why we created a free resource so you don’t have to guess what works. You’ll get insider access to 8 complete AMCAS applications that earned acceptances at competitive programs like UCLA and UCSF. You’ll see their actual essays, activities, and more, so you can craft your own acceptance-worthy application. And we made it completely free.
Get your free resource here.
