2020-2021 Rutgers (Robert Wood Johnson)

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Received an II last night! I'm in-state and submitted my secondary in 7/25. Never give up hope y'all, it's just a weird application year.
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lifeisgolden9 said:
wait i thought HPWL was higher than alternate??

but also if anyone can explain the waitlist process and groupings that would be so appreciated <3
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Yes pls fact check me because I’m not positive lol! I think HPWL is the actual name for it but it seems like people will sometimes call it high priority alternative list. The key words are high priority. There is another waitlist though that I believe gets looked at after they exhausted the former (HPWL)
 
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Does anyone know where we send letters of interest? Is it to the admissions email or should it be uploaded in the portal? I can't seem to find this information, so I'd appreciate any help! :)
 
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imjustagirl said:

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School - Scarlet Hub

scarlethub.rutgers.edu scarlethub.rutgers.edu

Nowhere in the first table does it specify "medicine tuition" as part of expected out-of-pocket costs...
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The website says "NOTE: All tuition costs are estimates and not actual costs. Add tuition estimate to total for estimated cost of attendance." The tuition itself is estimated to be around $42,000. The estimate they gave for cost of living is around $20,000. So total it would be around $60,000 for total cost of attendance. The $20,000 cost of living can be lower or higher depending on how you live/cut costs and etc
 
Also just got invited for an Interview. Do we need some time until the portal is updated to be able to schedule an Interview for MMI?
 
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rintohsaka said:
The website says "NOTE: All tuition costs are estimates and not actual costs. Add tuition estimate to total for estimated cost of attendance." The tuition itself is estimated to be around $42,000. The estimate they gave for cost of living is around $20,000. So total it would be around $60,000 for total cost of attendance. The $20,000 cost of living can be lower or higher depending on how you live/cut costs and etc
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Sorry, where are you reading $20K? Is that the number you came up with?

In the table, they literally specify for "Total (maintaining own residence) living costs" at $34,878.
 
Depends if you're living with your parents. So basically if you're living at home, total cost is $63,000. If you're living on your own it's $76,000. But these numbers are subject to change based on you personally spend.
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rintohsaka said:
Depends if you're living with your parents. So basically if you're living at home, total cost is $63,000. If you're living on your own it's $76,000. But these numbers are subject to change based on you personally spend.
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I just assumed most people wouldn't be living with their parents for med school, as its not the majority of people.
 
imjustagirl said:
I just assumed most people wouldn't be living with their parents for med school, as its not the majority of people.
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gotcha. but yeah if the other school you're thinking about is lower than rwjms in total cost of attendance, then i would totally go for that one!
 
imjustagirl said:
I just assumed most people wouldn't be living with their parents for med school, as its not the majority of people.
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There’s a decent amount of commuters here from what I’ve heard!

And I definitely think that $35k for living on your own is a conservative estimate and most people will probably average ~3-5k less (with around $14k in living costs as listed for M2 year for a total of around $30-32k). Cost of living in New Brunswick/Piscataway is in that ballpark from what I’ve gathered, but guess we could wait for the second look to confirm those things/costs in general.

Also confused as to why there’s a discrepancy between 2nd year living vs. 1st and 4th years if it’s all 10 months
 
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What do we need to do to get an FA package right now other than submitting the FAFSA?
 
rintohsaka said:
gotcha. but yeah if the other school you're thinking about is lower than rwjms in total cost of attendance, then i would totally go for that one!
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Its around the same price, but ranked higher and in a city, which I prefer. The only draw to RWJMS at this point was the lower tuition I anticipated from being in-state, which weirdly is not really the case.
 
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imjustagirl said:
I just assumed most people wouldn't be living with their parents for med school, as its not the majority of people.
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imjustagirl said:
Its around the same price, but ranked higher and in a city, which I prefer. The only draw to RWJMS at this point was the lower tuition I anticipated from being in-state, which weirdly is not really the case.
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Granted it is not the majority of Rutgers med students that live with parents but it is absolutely not zero. It is a state school with an In-state preference. Plenty of students commute to Rutgers as Undergrad and they can easily do the same as med school students. Why not if the commute is 30-40 minutes and you can save cash? Bottom line is that the cost for Tuition is about 45K. The remaining costs you often see on school sites are just estimates to give students some general idea of what they would need for loans. But obviously that part of the "cost" is completely dependent on how you chose to live (with parents or shared apartment or own residence, etc). Rutgers does NOT charge $78K in tuition to anybody (in-state or out of state). It is about 45K for in-state and about $67K for out of state. You won't find a private MD charging 45K/year for tuition in a city environment.
 
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AnitaZ464 said:
Granted it is not the majority of Rutgers med students that live with parents but it is absolutely not zero. It is a state school with an In-state preference. Plenty of students commute to Rutgers as Undergrad and they can easily do the same as med school students. Why not if the commute is 30-40 minutes and you can save cash? Bottom line is that the cost for Tuition is about 45K. The remaining costs you often see on school sites are just estimates to give students some general idea of what they would need for loans. But obviously that part of the "cost" is completely dependent on how you chose to live (with parents or shared apartment or own residence, etc). Rutgers does NOT charge $78K in tuition to anybody (in-state or out of state). It is about 45K for in-state and about $67K for out of state. You won't find a private MD charging 45K/year for tuition in a city environment.
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It's only 5K less/semester than the school I'm deciding between. I'm not sure, it just doesn't seem worth it with everything going on with RWJ. Plus every doctor I've talked with says a difference of $40K in loans shouldn't determine where you go.

Another piece of caution for me is what RWJ wrote in the acceptance letter. This year they are in the *middle* of changing their entire curriculum? And all they were able to provide were 8 bullet points? Nowhere else is the curriculum detailed out for prospective students...
  • Focus on the ecology of medicine: interprofessional students caring for patients living at home with chronic conditions
  • Enhanced patient safety and quality improvement curriculum (TeamSTEPPS incorporated each year, Clinical Immersion experience with teams of students “belonging to” a hospital unit, Safety Huddle experience with teams of M1 students at primary teaching hospital, Interprofessional simulations, Prescription writing workshops with pharmacy students)
  • High fidelity simulation incorporated throughout the four years
  • Specialty-specific boot camps for graduating seniors
  • Addition of workplace-based assessments and additional structure added to subinternships
  • Two new regional medical campuses
  • Reflection exercises in the clerkships
  • Numerous student-driven and created electives and educational phenomena
 
imjustagirl said:
It's only 5K less/semester than the school I'm deciding between. I'm not sure, it just doesn't seem worth it with everything going on with RWJ. Plus every doctor I've talked with says a difference of $40K in loans shouldn't determine where you go.

Another piece of caution for me is what RWJ wrote in the acceptance letter. This year they are in the *middle* of changing their entire curriculum? And all they were able to provide were 8 bullet points? Nowhere else is the curriculum detailed out for prospective students...
  • Focus on the ecology of medicine: interprofessional students caring for patients living at home with chronic conditions
  • Enhanced patient safety and quality improvement curriculum (TeamSTEPPS incorporated each year, Clinical Immersion experience with teams of students “belonging to” a hospital unit, Safety Huddle experience with teams of M1 students at primary teaching hospital, Interprofessional simulations, Prescription writing workshops with pharmacy students)
  • High fidelity simulation incorporated throughout the four years
  • Specialty-specific boot camps for graduating seniors
  • Addition of workplace-based assessments and additional structure added to subinternships
  • Two new regional medical campuses
  • Reflection exercises in the clerkships
  • Numerous student-driven and created electives and educational phenomena
Click to expand...
Lol what is a safety huddle?
 
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amalia23 said:
Lol what is a safety huddle?
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They're all over the place. In my interview, the students seemed so sad/disappointed with the way the curriculum is running. Idk. I just don't get great vibes with what my experience would look like.
 
imjustagirl said:
They're all over the place. In my interview, the students seemed so sad/disappointed with the way the curriculum is running. Idk. I just don't get great vibes with what my experience would look like.
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go somewhere that will make you happy lol. rwjms does not seem like a vibe for u from what you're saying so i think you have your answer
 
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imjustagirl said:
They're all over the place. In my interview, the students seemed so sad/disappointed with the way the curriculum is running. Idk. I just don't get great vibes with what my experience would look like.
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It seems like you're wary of RWJMS and are leaning towards the other school you have an acceptance to. 4 years is a decent amount of time and medical school can be a high pressure environment. I agree with the above poster: you should go wherever you think you'll be happiest! I don't think the $40k in loans should make or break this decision. Definitely make sure you have some sort of support system wherever you choose to go, though. Current medical students keep telling me how important that is, and that is a big factor in my own decision.
 
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tennispremed1 said:
Received an II last night! I'm in-state and submitted my secondary in 7/25. Never give up hope y'all, it's just a weird application year.
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Congrats!!! Do you know what interview dates were still open?
 
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Anime said:
From my understanding high priority waitlist / high priority alternative list are one in the same according to last year’s thread
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I’m on the High priority alternate list and was wondering how much movement is seen from this list and also when we would hear from them? Been almost a year and still don’t know where I’m going 🥲
 
dr.xx.md said:
I’m on the High priority alternate list and was wondering how much movement is seen from this list and also when we would hear from them? Been almost a year and still don’t know where I’m going 🥲
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i think HPWL movement was mentioned in last year's thread, but i forgot what exactly they said. also i remember someone said that not everyone reports to SDN if they got off HPWL, so it might be underreported!
 
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tennispremed1 said:
Received an II last night! I'm in-state and submitted my secondary in 7/25. Never give up hope y'all, it's just a weird application year.
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Can I ask what your stats are like? Also, how many interview dates were left open?
 
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Anyone know the class size for this upcoming year?
 
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Does anyone know if RWJ has a prematriculation summer program?
 
Pre-II R, what an awesome good night message.
 
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Pre-II R just now. Good luck everyone!
 
Oh damn bracing myself for this one now... just wanted one IS interview lol...
 
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I don't get med school admissions. I got into a top 3 school, but RWJ didn't even ask to interview me. Pre-II R. Good luck everyone!
 
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I haven't heard anything yet but RWJMS is my top choice for medical school. I know they don't accept updates anymore, but should I send a letter of continued interest through the portal/to the director of admissions or just wait to hear back?
 
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Hey, just a quick comment on the 2021 match list. They had a much worse year than any previous in terms of people not matching/matching lower than expected, 95% of everyone matched (BUT this is after self-selection out for people not participating in the match, getting less interviews, etc; overall MD allopathic match rate decreased this year from 94->92.8%, and has been falling in general from the 96% of a few yrs ago; DO 89% this yr). This is not the only state school I have heard that had a worse year than the past for matching some specialties, esp competitive ones. Pandemic canceled away tryout rotations and some of the grading went to pass/fail for clinical; this means less of a chance to "standout". In addition to the 8 people taking one year surgical prelims (up from the ~4 usually), several people were taking unplanned research jobs due to not matching (> 3; these people are NOT on the list; could be unpaid or they delayed graduation a full year due to not matching and will not be on the list). Several people also opted to delay ms4 and took research years ahead of time instead of matching (also not on the list; would be on the list next yr or yr after). This tells you the reach/connections of the school w/o aways, which is likely worse than a few other state schools that ended up keeping more home students, most noticeable for competitive specialties. Military people did aways in their specialties, which boosted the match list this yr (usually 1-2 military). Pandemic will likely not impact your clinical years as much, but just something to think about in terms of how strong this school is in your fields of interest, ie: ophtho/ENT matches were sparse compared to others (0-2). I believe some of the neurosurgery applicants are doing research yrs now along with the derm, plastics. For many other specialties, they matched well, as usual, which speaks to the strengths of those departments or how competitive the field is in general and the competitiveness of those applicants prior to med school (other degrees, life experiences, etc). Many of the competitive matches will join the class again next year, but still with limited away tryout rotations, I would expect slightly less impressive matches than prior to the pandemic with more regional matched in places that rwjms students typically match, tbh. Good luck.
 
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mcatstudent1 said:
Hey, just a quick comment on the 2021 match list. They had a much worse year than any previous in terms of people not matching/matching lower than expected, 95% of everyone matched (BUT this is after self-selection out for people not participating in the match, getting less interviews, etc; overall MD allopathic match rate decreased this year from 94->92.8%, and has been falling in general from the 96% of a few yrs ago; DO 89% this yr). This is not the only state school I have heard that had a worse year than the past for matching some specialties, esp competitive ones. Pandemic canceled away tryout rotations and some of the grading went to pass/fail for clinical; this means less of a chance to "standout". In addition to the 8 people taking one year surgical prelims (up from the ~4 usually), several people were taking unplanned research jobs due to not matching (> 3; these people are NOT on the list; could be unpaid or they delayed graduation a full year due to not matching and will not be on the list). Several people also opted to delay ms4 and took research years ahead of time instead of matching (also not on the list; would be on the list next yr or yr after). This tells you the reach/connections of the school w/o aways, which is likely worse than a few other state schools that ended up keeping more home students, most noticeable for competitive specialties. Military people did aways in their specialties, which boosted the match list this yr (usually 1-2 military). Pandemic will likely not impact your clinical years as much, but just something to think about in terms of how strong this school is in your fields of interest, ie: ophtho/ENT matches were sparse compared to others (0-2). I believe some of the neurosurgery applicants are doing research yrs now along with the derm, plastics. For many other specialties, they matched well, as usual, which speaks to the strengths of those departments or how competitive the field is in general and the competitiveness of those applicants prior to med school (other degrees, life experiences, etc). Many of the competitive matches will join the class again next year, but still with limited away tryout rotations, I would expect slightly less impressive matches than prior to the pandemic with more regional matched in places that rwjms students typically match, tbh. Good luck.
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This just gave me even more confirmation why I'm not accepting RWJ. This school just has too many issues and it will like take another 3-4 years before it's competitive again / solidifies a strong curriculum.
 
imjustagirl said:
This just gave me even more confirmation why I'm not accepting RWJ. This school just has too many issues and it will like take another 3-4 years before it's competitive again / solidifies a strong curriculum.
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you're lucky to have multiple options i guess. i would love to accept RWJ
 
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imjustagirl said:
It's only 5K less/semester than the school I'm deciding between. I'm not sure, it just doesn't seem worth it with everything going on with RWJ. Plus every doctor I've talked with says a difference of $40K in loans shouldn't determine where you go.

Another piece of caution for me is what RWJ wrote in the acceptance letter. This year they are in the *middle* of changing their entire curriculum? And all they were able to provide were 8 bullet points? Nowhere else is the curriculum detailed out for prospective students...
  • Focus on the ecology of medicine: interprofessional students caring for patients living at home with chronic conditions
  • Enhanced patient safety and quality improvement curriculum (TeamSTEPPS incorporated each year, Clinical Immersion experience with teams of students “belonging to” a hospital unit, Safety Huddle experience with teams of M1 students at primary teaching hospital, Interprofessional simulations, Prescription writing workshops with pharmacy students)
  • High fidelity simulation incorporated throughout the four years
  • Specialty-specific boot camps for graduating seniors
  • Addition of workplace-based assessments and additional structure added to subinternships
  • Two new regional medical campuses
  • Reflection exercises in the clerkships
  • Numerous student-driven and created electives and educational phenomena
Click to expand...

Did you see these bullets in the actual acceptance letter? I just got the letter in the mail and I don't seem to have this info in the acceptance letter. Maybe the changed the format? Is it someplace in the marketing packet they sent along with the letter? Could they have changed it in response to your observation??
 
Does anybody from the 3/24 interview have a good idea of when we might hear back? Also, has anyone already heard back?
 
AnitaZ464 said:
Did you see these bullets in the actual acceptance letter? I just got the letter in the mail and I don't seem to have this info in the acceptance letter. Maybe the changed the format? Is it someplace in the marketing packet they sent along with the letter? Could they have changed it in response to your observation??
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Not in the A letter, but in the FAQ section in the portal. Either way, this is my only acceptance and I'm more than happy they took a chance on me! The general idea of the new curriculum fits my own personal interests, so I'm very certain that opinions on the change will vary from person to person. I spoke to a current student there (don't know him through admissions, but through personal networks) and he doesn't seem to think the curriculum change will be a huge deal. Of course, it's just one person's opinion but its not like I have much choice to make anyway 🤷‍♂️
 
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mcatstudent1 said:
Hey, just a quick comment on the 2021 match list. They had a much worse year than any previous in terms of people not matching/matching lower than expected, 95% of everyone matched (BUT this is after self-selection out for people not participating in the match, getting less interviews, etc; overall MD allopathic match rate decreased this year from 94->92.8%, and has been falling in general from the 96% of a few yrs ago; DO 89% this yr). This is not the only state school I have heard that had a worse year than the past for matching some specialties, esp competitive ones. Pandemic canceled away tryout rotations and some of the grading went to pass/fail for clinical; this means less of a chance to "standout". In addition to the 8 people taking one year surgical prelims (up from the ~4 usually), several people were taking unplanned research jobs due to not matching (> 3; these people are NOT on the list; could be unpaid or they delayed graduation a full year due to not matching and will not be on the list). Several people also opted to delay ms4 and took research years ahead of time instead of matching (also not on the list; would be on the list next yr or yr after). This tells you the reach/connections of the school w/o aways, which is likely worse than a few other state schools that ended up keeping more home students, most noticeable for competitive specialties. Military people did aways in their specialties, which boosted the match list this yr (usually 1-2 military). Pandemic will likely not impact your clinical years as much, but just something to think about in terms of how strong this school is in your fields of interest, ie: ophtho/ENT matches were sparse compared to others (0-2). I believe some of the neurosurgery applicants are doing research yrs now along with the derm, plastics. For many other specialties, they matched well, as usual, which speaks to the strengths of those departments or how competitive the field is in general and the competitiveness of those applicants prior to med school (other degrees, life experiences, etc). Many of the competitive matches will join the class again next year, but still with limited away tryout rotations, I would expect slightly less impressive matches than prior to the pandemic with more regional matched in places that rwjms students typically match, tbh. Good luck.
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This makes sense with impacts from the pandemic. I was honestly preparing for it to be tougher to match into these competitive specialties anyway coming from most state schools (not the UNC, UVA, and Michigan type schools but the RWJMS type state schools) once Step 1 goes P/F. You'll just have to do a lot more to demonstrate interest in the specialty without that quantitative comparing tool.

I see this as something to take into consideration if you have multiple options, but not necessarily to worry about? Idk if this would make or break my decision to go to this school, it just seems like something that was anticipated.
 
Should I pretty much accept it as a soft R if I haven't gotten an II at this point? Is there any hope for one this late?
 
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AnitaZ464 said:
Did you see these bullets in the actual acceptance letter? I just got the letter in the mail and I don't seem to have this info in the acceptance letter. Maybe the changed the format? Is it someplace in the marketing packet they sent along with the letter? Could they have changed it in response to your observation??
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I think they actually changed how it appeared on the portal. It was in the main acceptance letter in the portal for me.
 
Rubikscube611 said:
Not in the A letter, but in the FAQ section in the portal. Either way, this is my only acceptance and I'm more than happy they took a chance on me! The general idea of the new curriculum fits my own personal interests, so I'm very certain that opinions on the change will vary from person to person. I spoke to a current student there (don't know him through admissions, but through personal networks) and he doesn't seem to think the curriculum change will be a huge deal. Of course, it's just one person's opinion but its not like I have much choice to make anyway 🤷‍♂️
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I agree! And medical school curriculums are changing at every school every few years anyways from what I've seen in my interviews. I think my perception of RWJMS, at least from my interview day and from talking to the current students I know there, is that the environment is a pretty chill one and people are collaborative. There will always be negatives with each medical school program, and those are important to consider as well. I think for me at least, I just had a feeling that I would thrive at rwjms the best. A lot goes into deciding which schools, but the changes in the curriculum also aren't deal breakers for me. This might be an unpopular opinion, but it feels like some people on this thread are putting down RWJMS as a weird flex or something LOL o_O
 
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rintohsaka said:
I agree! And medical school curriculums are changing at every school every few years anyways from what I've seen in my interviews. I think my perception of RWJMS, at least from my interview day and from talking to the current students I know there, is that the environment is a pretty chill one and people are collaborative. There will always be negatives with each medical school program, and those are important to consider as well. I think for me at least, I just had a feeling that I would thrive at rwjms the best. A lot goes into deciding which schools, but the changes in the curriculum also aren't deal breakers for me. This might be an unpopular opinion, but it feels like some people on this thread are putting down RWJMS as a weird flex or something LOL o_O
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I have a good amount of insight from current students/recent graduating students, as well as faculty. If you've been accepted to a better school but its slightly more money, I would encourage you to do it.
 
imjustagirl said:
I have a good amount of insight from current students/recent graduating students, as well as faculty. If you've been accepted to a better school but its slightly more money, I would encourage you to do it.
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but this advice isnt RWJMS specific, "a better school" for "slightly" more money.....that advice holds in every logical case you can think of where location isnt a factor that is being considered.

I have plenty of friends at RWJMS that love it. minor complaints come w/ every single program you can think of. bottom line, its a great school, great location, lots of things to do in any free time you do have. Also, those of you who have gotten accepted here should feel very proud of yourselves. there's people like me who would gladly go here, and in fact its still one of my top choices regardless of whatever i've read here. for next cycle.
 
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