This is purely my opinion. But an educated opinion as I work in the Pittsburgh suburbs where students from 4 PA area schools rotate in and out....and my wife is a pharmacy student from Philly where I have amassed a small network of professional acquaintances. But anyway...I have seen the finished products from each school.
Currently, and again, this is just one man's opinion, I put PA in three tiers...
1) Pitt
2) Temple/USP
3) Lake Erie/Duquesne/Wilkes
I can't really tier up the Jefferson kids until I meet a few out in the real world post graduation or during rotations where I work. I've met a few P-1s, but that doesn't really help me see what their program is like. While being a new school is a knock against them, they are affiliated with an established medical school. We'll see, I suppose.
IMO, the Pitt grads I've worked with are way ahead of their Pennsylvanian peers coming out of high school. This pains me to say because, as a WVU grad...I am contractually obligated to hate Pitt. I hate them worse than I hate cancer. But it's the truth in my completely subjective opinion.
Whenever they come into my hospital, the WVU and Pitt kids are usually kinda on the mark...and the Duquesne and LECOM kids are usually just lost. Now that's not to say I don't know any brilliant Duquesne grads - because I do...and I also know a few Pitt grads that I am surprised to learn are literate...but that's just how I see it. Now I will admit that I have much less practical experience in Philly than W. PA, so take that with a grain of salt, too.
