USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in New Jersey

New Jersey has four MD schools and one DO school, and its oldest, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, was founded in 1954 (list of medical schools). The newest is Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in Nutley (2016), the only private school on the list; the other four are public (list of medical schools).

Teaching hospitals are spread thin: the CMS list counts 48, and no city has more than three (CMS teaching hospital list). In New Brunswick, 99% of 72 first-time takers from the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson program and 98% of 51 from Saint Peter's passed ABIM's internal medicine exam in 2023-2025 (ABIM). Rutgers New Jersey Medical School drew 83.3% of its 2025-26 class from New Jersey, the highest share of the four MD schools (AAMC FACTS).

Medical schools in New Jersey

Several of these schools teach students at more than one site: Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School also lists Long Branch, New Jersey.

Schools based in other states also teach in New Jersey: Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (MD, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania) lists a campus at Atlantic City.

School list: LCME and COCA accreditation lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in New Jersey by city

• Newark: Newark Beth Israel Medical Center; St. Michaels Medical Center; UH - University Hospital
• Camden: Cooper University Hospital; Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
• Jersey City: Christ Hospital; Jersey City Medical Center
• Trenton: St. Francis - Trenton; Capital Health Regional Medical Ctr
• New Brunswick: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; St. Peters University Hospital
• Hackensack: Hackensack University Medical Center
• North Bergen: Palisades Medical Center
• Flemington: Hunterdon Medical Center
• Passaic: St. Marys Hospital - Passaic
• Plainsboro: Princeton Healthcare System
• Morristown: Morristown Medical Center
• Paterson: St. Josephs University Medical Center
• Voorhees: West Jersey Health System
• Bayonne: Bayonne Medical Center
• Elizabeth: Trinitas Hospital
• Browns Mills: Deborah Heart and Lung Center
• Vineland: Inspira Medical Center Vineland
• Perth Amboy: Raritan Bay Medical Center
• Hoboken: Hoboken University Medical Center
• Toms River: Community Medical Center
• Hopewell: Capital Health Med Center - Hopewell
• Englewood: Englewood Hospital & Med Ctr
• Somerville: Robert Wood Johnson Univ Hosp @ SOM
• Denville: St. Clares Hospital
• Summit: Overlook Medical Center
• Brick: HMH -Ocean University Medical Center
• Montclair: Mountainside Hospital
• Mt. Holly: Virtua Mount Holly Hospital
• Paramus: Bergen New Bridge Medical Center
• Phillipsburg: St. Lukes Warren Hospital

Plus 12 more New Jersey cities on the same CMS list.

Facts about New Jersey

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates; ABIM says to read rates from under 25 takers with caution.

• Rutgers New Jersey Medical School's curriculum for the class of 2030 puts USMLE Step 1 dedicated study time at the end of Phase I, before core clerkships begin in April of Year 2. (Rutgers New Jersey Medical School)
• Rutgers New Jersey Medical School's accelerated 3-year MD, from fall 2026, keeps the same Step 1 dedicated study time before clerkships and runs a 6-week surgery clerkship alongside 8 weeks of medicine. (Rutgers New Jersey Medical School)
• Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine has a 3+1 curriculum: a 16-month Phase 1, then a 20-month Phase 2 that holds clerkships, a sub-internship, electives and both USMLE Step 1 and Step 2, followed by an individualized fourth year. (Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine)
• Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has an 18-month pre-clerkship curriculum built around its 33 Core Clinical Conditions; its third-year clerkships run in 8-week and 4-week blocks, and students get time to study for Step 2 after the core clerkships. (Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School)
• Cooper Medical School's third year opens with 6-week clerkships in internal medicine, surgery, OB/GYN and pediatrics and closes with a Step 2 prep block. (Cooper Medical School of Rowan University)
• In the 2025 Main Residency Match, programs in New Jersey offered 1,434 residency positions in 25 specialties, the most in internal medicine (530), family medicine (136), and emergency medicine (126). (NRMP)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Curriculum Overview, Class of 2030 (checked November 1, 2026); Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Accelerated 3-Year MD Program, Fall 2026 (checked November 1, 2026); Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, MD Curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Curriculum Map (checked November 1, 2026); NRMP, 2025 Main Residency Match by state and specialty (checked October 29, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

Four MD schools, four calendars

New Jersey's MD schools do not share a calendar. At Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, the class of 2030 has USMLE Step 1 dedicated study time at the end of Phase I, before core clerkships begin in April of Year 2 (NJMS curriculum, class of 2030). From fall 2026 NJMS also runs an accelerated 3-year MD that keeps the same Step 1 block and shortens the surgery clerkship to 6 weeks (NJMS 3-year MD).

Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in Nutley has a 3+1 curriculum: a 16-month Phase 1, then a 20-month Phase 2 that holds the clerkships, a sub-internship, electives and both Step 1 and Step 2, so its students sit Step 1 inside the clinical phase rather than at the end of a two-year block (HMSOM curriculum). Its three-year Human Dimension course follows the same individual or family in the community over that time.

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway teaches an 18-month pre-clerkship curriculum built around its 33 Core Clinical Conditions, runs third-year clerkships in 8-week and 4-week blocks, and gives students time to study for Step 2 after the core clerkships (RWJMS curriculum). Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden schedules 6-week clerkships in internal medicine, surgery, OB/GYN and pediatrics in the third year, with a Step 2 prep block in the same year (CMSRU curriculum map).

For tutoring, the school decides the starting point. An NJMS student prepares for Step 1 straight out of the organ-system blocks, so the plan rebuilds the first-year material that has faded. A Hackensack Meridian student reaches Step 1 with clinical experience, so the plan leans on cases and shores up the basic-science detail the wards do not teach. We look at the school's calendar first, then the student's first practice exam.

Residency in New Jersey

In the 2025 Main Residency Match, New Jersey programs offered 1,434 positions in 25 specialties, the most in internal medicine (530), family medicine (136) and emergency medicine (126) (NRMP). US MD seniors matched to 418 of the state's positions, osteopathic seniors to 319, and international medical graduates who are not US citizens to 343, with US-citizen IMGs taking another 212.

In internal medicine, non-US IMGs matched to 234 of the 530 positions, more than US MD seniors (109), DO seniors (82) or US-citizen IMGs (72). For those applicants a strong Step 2 CK score is the main number on the application, and we tutor IMGs for Step 2 CK and Step 3 as well as US students.

Which board exams New Jersey students take

New Jersey's four MD schools prepare students for the USMLE. They are Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in Nutley, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, which also lists Long Branch. In 2025-26 Rutgers New Jersey Medical School had 6,479 applications for 174 first-year places and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University 4,619 for 118 (AAMC FACTS). Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, lists a campus in Atlantic City.

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford is the state's one DO school, so its students follow COMLEX-USA. The FSMB lists a Step 3 attempt limit and a USMLE time limit for New Jersey but says no information is available on COMLEX, so DO students should confirm the COMLEX rules with the New Jersey board directly (FSMB).

New Jersey licensing rules that affect your exam plan

New Jersey's FSMB entry is built around the USMLE: five attempts at Step 3 and seven years to complete the USMLE, with nothing listed for COMLEX (FSMB). Its training rule is specific: for graduates after July 1, 2003, two years of postgraduate training plus a signed contract for a third year, at least two of them in the same field (FSMB).

Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.

What New Jersey's rules mean for how you study

• Five attempts apply only to Step 3, one more than the four the USMLE allows per Step, so the USMLE cap comes first (FSMB, USMLE eligibility rules). Steps 1 and 2 CK list no New Jersey limit (FSMB).
• Seven years to complete the USMLE comes with no start date in the FSMB listing, so ask the board whether the clock runs from your first attempt or first pass, and finish well inside it (FSMB).
• DO students: the FSMB says no information is available on COMLEX attempts or time limits for New Jersey, so contact the board before you plan Level 3 and do not assume the USMLE numbers apply (FSMB).

Many New Jersey students rotate, interview or match next door. New Jersey's neighbors on our list: Delaware (0 MD, 0 DO), New York (15 MD, 3 DO), Pennsylvania (7 MD, 3 DO).

How much New Jersey searches for board prep

New Jersey ranks 3rd of 51 for USMLE searches in Google Trends over the past five years, its best result on any term, with only four MD schools. Step 2 (4th) and Step 1 (6th) follow close behind, the shelf exam is 11th, and COMLEX is its lowest at 19th, in a state with one DO school.

Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.