New Jersey Medical Schools

Today I read article on Home News Tribune about the possibility of a merger of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with Rutgers University.

Talks of a merger are taking place against a backdrop of scandal at UMDNJ, which is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is looking into charges of influence peddling and the awarding of no-bid contracts. UMDNJ, which has its main office in Newark, has already been charged with Medicaid fraud, and its operation is overseen by a federal monitor.

Most of the article is old news and typical of New Jersey – political scandal, corruption, money wasted, legislators getting into the act. But it was this small bit that caught my attention:

Several medical students interviewed at the Piscataway campus embraced the idea. Nicholas Mapoli, a first-year medical student from Highland Park, who graduated from Rutgers College with a degree in Spanish, said a merger would make it easier to tell people where he attends school. "Rutgers is easier to explain than an acronym."

Things must have really changed since I went to school. I thought you had to major in one of the sciences – chemistry or biology as an undergraduate to qualify for medical school. Now apparently good grades (I hope) in Spanish are enough to do the trick. I won’t even get into Mapoli’s reasoning for “embracing” the idea for a merger of the two schools. Anyway, I’ve written his name down for future reference. Perhaps you should too.