In the presence of hundreds of family, friends, and faculty who attended via livestream, NYU Grossman School of Medicine welcomed the Class of 2025 during its White Coat Ceremony on Thursday, August 12. The ceremony, which is co-sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, marks the beginning of the formal process of medical training and is considered a rite of passage in the journey toward becoming a doctor. During the ceremony, students are brought to the stage and “cloaked” in their first white coat.

The incoming class comprises 61 women and 47 men, for a total of 108 students. The following characteristics are of note:

• 23 percent of the class self-identifies as underrepresented in medicine
• the class is 56 percent women and 44 percent men
• median GPA is 3.96
• median MCAT score is 522 (which places them in the 99th percentile)
• 10 students entered the accelerated three-year MD pathway
• 16 students entered the dual MD/PhD program

The students came to NYU Grossman School of Medicine from a wide array of backgrounds and professions including a former Navy Seal, a farmer, a private pilot, a chicken keeper, a national collegiate table tennis player, and founders of photography and cycling businesses, among many others.

Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO of NYU Langone Health, welcomed the new students with a speech focused on virtue and discipline—attributes that include honesty, self-control, fairness, courage, and excellence. “Patients will put their trust and lives in your hands, and you will be privy to the most intimate aspects of their lives,” said Dr. Grossman. “All of this will demand seriousness of purpose, industriousness, and professionalism, but also humility and empathy.”

The keynote speech was delivered by Robert Montgomery, MD, PhD, the H. Leon Pachter, MD, Professor of Surgery and chair of NYU Langone Health’s Department of Surgery, and director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute. Dr. Montgomery highlighted the importance of resilience when facing challenges, saying, “I encourage you when you are leveled by malady, inequity, and unkind words or deeds, to pick yourself up, fortify yourself, and deepen your humanity and devotion to being a doctor.”

The ceremony concluded after each student ascended to the stage and a member of the faculty helped them don their white coats for the first time, symbolizing the beginning of their formal medical education.

Media Inquiries

Lisa Greiner    
Phone: 212-404-3532
lisa.greiner@nyulangone.org