Explore our application process, and learn about deadlines, prerequisites and requirements, and our selection process.
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School places a high value on a balanced undergraduate education. While this balance will vary with the background and interests of the individual, it is expected that applicants will have exposed themselves to course work in the humanities, behavioral sciences, and liberal arts as well as premedical sciences.
We encourage applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds and careers in other disciplines. Preference for admission is given to residents of the State of New Jersey. However, the importance of geographic diversity is recognized, and out of state applicants with outstanding credentials are encouraged to apply.
Every medical student is required to sign that they can meet these essential functions.
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and a minimum of three years of college consisting of 90 semester hours of college work (exclusive of military and physical education) are required. By the time of matriculation, applicants must have completed their bachelor's degree. The MCAT must be taken within three years preceding the application and no later than October of the year of application. Early submission and completion of the application is strongly encouraged.
Required Undergraduate Courses
*English requirement must include one semester of a college writing course. College approved "intensive writing courses" may substitute for English.
We do allow AP credit and community college coursework to fulfill our prerequisite requirements. Applicants who have earned baccalaureate degrees outside the US or Canada are required to complete, prior to applying, at least one year of formal coursework in the sciences (about 30 credit hours for which letter grades are available) in a US-chartered college or university whose grades can be reported and verified by AMCAS. We look for applicants to have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 and a total MCAT of 498 with no section lower than a 123.
Other courses which are not required for admission but may be helpful include courses that explore the cultural and social factors influencing well-being, anatomy and physiology, cell and molecular biology, biostatistics, and Spanish.
As a condition for admission and matriculation, all accepted students will be required to authorize Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to obtain a criminal background check. Students may also be required to obtain a background check themselves or authorize clinical training facilities to conduct this check, and to permit the results to be provided by the reporting agency to Rutgers and/or to clinical facilities.
The Admissions Committee reserves the right to waive or impose specific requirements at its discretion.