As someone who just went through the match I definitely agree...I think the main match list factor that could be at all helpful to premeds is not the list itself, but rather the percent of the class who matched at their first choice and in their specialty of choice. That's what premeds are really asking when they look at match lists, right? You're really asking whether a school can help you reach your career goals. The problem is, that number isn't traditionally reported...even when it's quite good (e.g my class matched over 90% at their first choice, but that wasn't published with our list).
Yes, with match lists you can get a vague idea of what sorts of programs people can match into, but you really can't interpret anything from the results. As others have pointed out, prestige (or having an association with a big-name university) doesn't necessarily correlate to having a good program...and it really varies widely by specialty within each school/hospital. It gets even more complicated in specialties like internal medicine...one residency program might be fantastic if your goal is subspecialization, but not a good choice if your plan is in general medicine or primary care, just because that's not the focus of the training program.
Match lists are also a combination of multiple factors...strength of the program, particular faculty members/projects/opportunities within each program, geography, career goals and program "culture". It's such an amazingly personalized process that you can't predict what each person's ranklist might look like. For instance, a friend and I interviewed at the same big name NY program on the same day....she loved it and ranked it in her top 2, I hated it and ranked it in my bottom 2. The reality is, you're going to get great training at a lot of places...and so it's all those "other" factors which help you prioritize your program preference.
You also don't see where else they could have matched and don't know where they interviewed...did that person get to one top program because 1. they really focused on trying to match there (e.g. aways and other connections) and had otherwise average options, 2. could they have gone to any number of great places and this was their top pick or even 3. was this their top choice because of an X factor, and have places a premed might think of as more "prestigious" ranked lower on their list? For instance, you see someone matched in IM at <insert "top" East Coast program here>. On the surface, that seems fantastic...but what if that person had wanted Rad Onc and needed to be in California because that's where their significant other is? That's the sort of thing you can't tell from just reading a rank list.
So sure, look at the match lists to get a general flavor of what sorts of places people are going....but focus more on the question of whether people are matching at their top choice(s), rather than the actual details of what that choice might be.
...we go back...wayyyyyy back)...and premeds who are in the beginning phases of realizing their dream.
