Medical schools that are INDISPUTABLY in the top-10

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noncon

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Rankings vary and can be disputed. A recent USNews ranking in terms of research shows that the University of Alabama is ranked higher than Brown (Ivy League) and University of Maryland. All this can be disputed.

But, judgmentally, which medical schools are indisputably in the top-10?

Definitely
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Yale, Columbia,.....
Any others?
I am especially interested in those on the west coast that will definitely be in the top-10.
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I think a few UCs are in the top 10.
 
noncon said:
Rankings vary and can be disputed. A recent USNews ranking in terms of research shows that the University of Alabama is ranked higher than Brown (Ivy League) and University of Maryland. All this can be disputed.

But, judgmentally, which medical schools are indisputably in the top-10?

Definitely
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Yale, Columbia,.....
Any others?
I am especially interested in those on the west coast that will definitely be in the top-10.
Click to expand...

UCSF and Stanford are west coast schools that should definitely be in the top 10.
 
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Top 10 for what? How good residencies students are placed into? CCLCM deserves consideration if that's the case, that match list is ballin
 
Others to be considered are UPenn, UMich, and UWash (Seattle).

it's hard to say what's "indisputable" since it's all relatively subjective anyway.
 
Top 10 for what? People, please, I implore you, as a former pre-law student, don't turn med school admissions into law school admissions.

I know that as students we're programmed this way, but don't do this to yourselves. Med schools have far too many factors for this. Sure, you may be able to compile a top 5 or top 10, but top 20, 30, 40, 50? Come on, don't do this to yourselves, trust me.
 
noncon said:
Rankings vary and can be disputed. A recent USNews ranking in terms of research shows that the University of Alabama is ranked higher than Brown (Ivy League) and University of Maryland. All this can be disputed.

But, judgmentally, which medical schools are indisputably in the top-10?

Definitely
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Yale, Columbia,.....
Any others?
I am especially interested in those on the west coast that will definitely be in the top-10.
Click to expand...

I don't think these are "indisputable." I'll admit I put some credit in rankings when I crafted my school list(and still do to a point when I am choosing schools) but I think it is a little naive to draw a line between two groups of schools(top 10 vs everyone else, <top 25 vs >top 25, etc...). There are a lot of awesome schools out there and for the most part every medical school I visited was remarkably similar but there were important small differences. You need to go find out what school would match your goals and fit your ideal medical school - these are going to be your top 10 indisputable schools. If at the end of the day you do care about how <insert group of people here> view your medical school then I think that's fine - but no school rank list is going to capture this completely.
 
Tots said:
I don't think these are "indisputable." I'll admit I put some credit in rankings when I crafted my school list(and still do to a point when I am choosing schools) but I think it is a little naive to draw a line between two groups of schools(top 10 vs everyone else, <top 25 vs >top 25, etc...). There are a lot of awesome schools out there and for the most part every medical school I visited was remarkably similar but there were important small differences. You need to go find out what school would match your goals and fit your ideal medical school - these are going to be your top 10 indisputable schools. If at the end of the day you do care about how <insert group of people here> view your medical school then I think that's fine - but no school rank list is going to capture
this completely.
Click to expand...

The fit of the medical school has become very important to me in this process. Don't be blinded by numbers after the initial application
 
top 10 based on what criteria? Romantic premed idealism doesn't count
 
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Although it is disputable what quantifies the top 10, it is indisputable that I will not make it into a top 10. Thus, this thread is of no interest to me.
 
noncon said:
Rankings vary and can be disputed. A recent USNews ranking in terms of research shows that the University of Alabama is ranked higher than Brown (Ivy League) and University of Maryland. All this can be disputed.

But, judgmentally, which medical schools are indisputably in the top-10?

Definitely
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Yale, Columbia,.....
Any others?
I am especially interested in those on the west coast that will definitely be in the top-10.
Click to expand...
Stanford and UCSF in Cali.

UCLA is going to have 1/3 of their class being full-ride merit scholarships so that might not change their rankings but make them incredibly competitive.

I just want to say one thing: from a person who attends one of those schools on your list, PLEASE go to a school that you are happy. That will vary on friends, family (don't underestimate this), geography, school culture (huge), and curriculum. Yes - you wil almost inevitably get a better residency from UCSF than from some random unheard med school, but for the most part, residencies do it by tiers. Tiers are in PD's minds and don't vary upon USNews rankings. For example, Stanford fell out of the top 10 a few years back, but I assume you most people still considered it a top tier school.

But just for kicks: I would definitely add WashU, Penn, and Duke to your list.
 
Agreed that it depends largely on what you define as a top school. A top school in research may be very different from a top school in primary care.

Based off of research criteria, I think the only ones that are "indisputable" are Harvard Hopkins and Mayo. After that I'm sure UPenn and Stanford are fairly indisputable as well. But IMO it seems like every school after that could definitely be up for debate.
 
sliceofbread136 said:
Loma Linda
Click to expand...

watch-out-we-got-a-badass-over-here-meme.png
 
when i got out of college (1974) getting in to ANY american med school was a coup de gras- for the most part it won't matter where you go
 
noncon said:
Rankings vary and can be disputed. A recent USNews ranking in terms of research shows that the University of Alabama is ranked higher than Brown (Ivy League) and University of Maryland. All this can be disputed.

But, judgmentally, which medical schools are indisputably in the top-10?

Definitely
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Yale, Columbia,.....
Any others?
I am especially interested in those on the west coast that will definitely be in the top-10.
Click to expand...

Why are you knocking Alabama? Have you ever been there? Investigated the type of research they do? Interacted with the students? Have any freaking clue what their medical education is like? There's more to a school than your bias as a naive pre-med...
 
red doctober said:
Why are you knocking Alabama? Have you ever been there? Investigated the type of research they do? Interacted with the students? Have any freaking clue what their medical education is like? There's more to a school than your bias as a naive pre-med...
Click to expand...

Assuming you're talking about uab...anyway, they're a powerhouse. They put out Harrison's.
 
noncon said:
Rankings vary and can be disputed. A recent USNews ranking in terms of research shows that the University of Alabama is ranked higher than Brown (Ivy League) and University of Maryland. All this can be disputed.

But, judgmentally, which medical schools are indisputably in the top-10?

Definitely
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Yale, Columbia,.....
Any others?
I am especially interested in those on the west coast that will definitely be in the top-10.
Click to expand...

All the schools on the west coast suck. No need for you to apply there.

You should apply to Harvard only.
 
Also to the OP, I believe Browns medical school hasn't been around that long and I've heard they mostly accept their own students anyhow but I'm not sure.

The term Ivy League isn't exactly as relevant to the med school process as it is to college. It really doesn't mean as much and if Browns medical school hasn't been around for that long then it's unlikely they would sky rocket to be a top 10 school no matter how Ivy League they are. Take Stanford for example- I don't think their Ivy League but I'm pretty sure their medical school is just as good as Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, Duke etc.. As a matter of fact IMO I think it's better.

So get rid of this Ivy League shenanigans lol
 
INDISPUTABLY in the top-10?
Click to expand...

Harvard, Hopkins, Penn, UCSF, WUSTL, Duke...

All the rest of the T20 schools have been ranked >10 at some point within the past 20 years.

For the here and now, there you go.
 
Ruhroh said:
Top 10 for what? How good residencies students are placed into? CCLCM deserves consideration if that's the case, that match list is ballin
Click to expand...

Top 10 in research.
 
Depends on what criteria you use for ranking

If based on NIH funding, here's the top 10 for 2012:

1. UCSF
2. Hopkins
3. Penn
4. Wash U
5. Yale
6. Pitt
7. UWash
8. UMich
9. UCSD
10. Duke

There's no "indisputable" top 10 because you can include and exclude any number of criteria and come up with a completely different list.
 
Last edited:
disorder said:
Others to be considered are UPenn, UMich, and UWash (Seattle).

it's hard to say what's "indisputable" since it's all relatively subjective anyway.
Click to expand...

Harvard would be indisputable wouldn't it?
 
Ismet said:
Depends on what criteria you use for ranking

If based on NIH funding, here's the top 10 for 2012:

1. UCI
2. Hopkins
3. Penn
4. Wash U
5. Yale
6. Pitt
7. UWash
8. UMich
9. UCSD
10. Duke

There's no "indisputable" top 10 because you can include and exclude any number of criteria and come up with a completely different list.
Click to expand...

Thanks - you have a link for this?
 
Ranking medical schools is so arbitrary that it's pointless. I think reading people's MDapps who get accepted into multiple "top 10" universities makes it clear that once you start actually visiting schools rank stops mattering and where you think that you'll be happy takes over.
 
How are UC-Irvine and UC-Davis ranked in terms of research?
 
Ismet said:
Depends on what criteria you use for ranking

If based on NIH funding, here's the top 10 for 2012:

1. UCI
2. Hopkins
3. Penn
4. Wash U
5. Yale
6. Pitt
7. UWash
8. UMich
9. UCSD
10. Duke

There's no "indisputable" top 10 because you can include and exclude any number of criteria and come up with a completely different list.
Click to expand...

ahem.. ucsf not uci
 
I'm an MD/PhD applicant, and I don't even look closely at total NIH funding. The reason is that at the end of the program, I will have rotated through 2-3 labs and done my PhD thesis at 1. Will schools that have a high NIH dollar total be more likely to have labs doing cutting-edge research? Yes. Would being at one of those schools necessarily guarantee me a meaningful research experience? Nope. All it takes is one lab to provide that, and that lab can be pretty much anywhere.
 
IMO, all the top schools are the ones that accept me.

And if a school both accepts me and offers me a good scholarship, I'll call them #1 for the rest of my days.
 
Spinach Dip said:
IMO, all the top schools are the ones that accept me.

And if a school both accepts me and offers me a good scholarship, I'll call them #1 for the rest of my days.
Click to expand...

:D wise man you are!
 
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