My Study Valentine: How A Uniondale Couple Merged Med School Applications To Study Together

UNIONDALE, NY. — For most prospective students, the application process to college, graduate school, law school or medical school is complicated enough already. A mountain of personal essays, interview questions, standardized tests and transcripts being sent to all corners of the country make it a stressful gauntlet to run alone. Thankfully, for Uniondale residents Kianna Rojas and Ben James, they get to run it as partners.

The 24-year-olds grew up in Orange County, CA — Cypress, CA, to be exact — met in middle school and started dating in high school. When the time came to go to college, they went long-distance for four years as Ben attended Notre Dame and Kianna attended UC San Diego. After graduating in 2023, they decided that their next step, medical school, was one they would take together.

To do so, they built a strategic list of schools, pinpointing large metropolitan areas to increase the chance that, even if they didn’t wind up at the same school, they might wind up in the same place. The end result was a list of 37 medical schools, six of which interviewed both Ben and Kianna. When the dust settled, they found their home: The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

In a Monday conversation with Patch, both Ben and Kianna said attending med school with their partner has been a positive experience so far. They’re in their second year of the program, taking their first board exam this coming April and planning to graduate in 2028.

For Ben, having someone by his side who has been with him through years of life already is a valuable way to stay present as he navigates a trying med school education.

“Being together, it helps us stay grounded in the present and enjoy it as we go along,” Ben said of the process. “It’s hard, because it’s a tough process, but if you look towards when it’s over, it’s eight, 10 years from now. You’re going to miss those 8 to 10 years if you don’t be present in the moment. So we’re trying to enjoy it.”

For Kianna, the chance to study alongside Ben as they both pursue careers in medicine is a foundational part of their relationship at work.

“I love it. We have friends, and they’re like, ‘I don’t want to date someone in medicine, I want to have that separation between school, work and home life,’ but I feel like it really works out for us,” Kianna said. “I feel like that is part of our relationship, being able to talk about our work, our academic interests, our intellectual passions…It’s nice to have a best friend, a partner and a study buddy all in one.”

When asked how they actually went about getting into medical school together, both Ben and Kianna highlighted how important it was to be open with the admissions offices that they were talking to. Some schools, Ben said, were more receptive to the idea than others.

For her part, Kianna said she told admissions staffers that, “Given the opportunity, we would love to attend the same medical school and have this support system.”

Ben noted that there is some kind of path for medical students looking to balance their personal lives with their career pursuits, it just doesn't exist in the application process yet.

"For residency, there’s something called a ‘couples’ match'...I don’t know how long it has been around, but that’s a very established thing," Ben said. "A lot of people meet in medical school, or they’re just at that point in their life where you’re just ready to commit to somebody, but there’s nothing in the med school application.”

In the end, The Zucker School of Medicine was receptive to the idea, and Kianna and Ben wound up in Nassau County. They live in Uniondale now, together, oftentimes staying home to study as a duo. For Ben, the end goal is a career in orthopedic surgery, while Kianna said she hopes to pursue pediatrics.

"It’s really nice for learning medicine and being in school, because we both have different study strategies and learning styles," Ben said. "And we’re both able to contribute what the other person maybe missed from class. We kind of balance out what the other person missed.”

While they're often studying together, the California natives said there's still some separation of church and state at play.

“Ben and I don’t sit next to each other in class. When I’m in class, that’s my time as a student, as a professional, I don’t need to be sitting next to my boyfriend,” Kianna said. “That’s what I love about being a med student with my partner, is that I have the best of both worlds. I’m a med student, myself, as an individual, but I also have my partner…it’s nice having that dynamic, but it’s also nice having that separation.”

Still, Kianna said it's a "full-circle" moment to be sharing classrooms with the man she's been with since high school. They've taken the same classes together, shared a google calendar through college, gotten their white coats together and run a marathon as a duo. Ben said, "it's all more real," as he and his partner approach careers in medicine that once seemed like a far-off dream.

For Kianna, however, going to med school together is a reminder of what she and her partner are working towards.

“We have a very clear, shared idea of what we want our lives to look like, and the next 10 years. I’m not only working towards my dreams, but also his dreams,” Kianna said. “And he’s not only working towards his dreams, but also my dreams. It feels like I’m not just doing it for myself, but I’m doing it for him, and for us and our future.”