•••quote:•••Originally posted by Kurtz:
•It is a well known fact that a good letter from, or research published with, a well known faculty member is a valuable asset when it comes to residencies, etc. That is simply a fact - and something well worth considering when a student evaluates a school.
That being the case, clearly a student would have better opportunities, generally speaking, at a school with a better regarded faculty.
As for Southwestern, in a USNEWS survey of medical school deans and senior faculty asked to rank medical schools by academic reputation, UTSW was ranked tied for 12th with UCLA and Univ of Chicago.
That placed them just behind Columbia and Yale, while placing Southwestern just ahead of Cornell and Baylor.
So, if we re-consider what you said:
"To say UTHSCD has one of the most prestigious and accomplished faculties in Texas would be accurate; to say they have one of the best is overstepping the bounds of your supporting evidence."
According to my evidence above, Southwestern scores the highest in Texas (albeit only marginally ahead of Baylor) on a reputational survey of academics. At #12 overall out of the 100+ American medical schools, it clearly has one of the best regarded faculties.•••••More prestige/a better reputation does not equal better teaching.
We are discussing the ability of teachers to convey their message, not how reputed a school is. Preclinical teaching does not go hand in hand with prestige of a program. I put no faith in the US News's ranking system, mainly because they simply reinforce the notion of "prestige" rather than addressing where students learn the best. To be honest, it isn't even a big part of the criteria for their poll (if at all). How could the deans at other schools know the teaching skills of faculty around the country? They don't; they base their decision on, "Well, I have heard of these guys, and are the leaders of their fields, so I will rank their program higher than this school who has only a few people who I know."
Again, if this is how you choose to support your statement that the teaching at UTHSCD is better, then I would have to say you are still overstepping your bounds. You can take your "reputed" letter wherever you want, but if you were not able to learn the material because you had awful teachers, it will not carry you anywhere.
As for why I am even "bothered" by all of this is because many people, like you, tend to think the reputation of a school means it is the best place to learn. I want people, yourself included, to think past the numbers and actually analyze what the data is saying (maybe it is the scientist in me?). Some people will go into a program based solely on reputation and find they are unsuccessful there because it does not cater to their style. Having someone point this out to them may make them choose based on more important things in their selection of which school to attend and thus make them happier in med school.
