I've said it before, I'm going to say it again, and I'll probably say it many more times. The school you go to matters, but not as much as almost every other part of the application. I would wager the personal statement is actually more important than what school you went to, if your school is an accredited US med school, that is.
Every year, every med school produces smart people who make outstanding residents. No med school has a monopoly on this. I know I have met people who have supposedly come from "top ranked" med schools who I wouldn't want taking care of my dog.
A school is only as good as the people it produces. Thus, good schools get good reputations because they tend to attract high quality candidates. Residency programs know this, but they don't take it as a bonafide fact that a graduate of a certain school is automatically a desirable candidate. Likewise, they don't assume that someone who comes from a state school is automatically someone who couldn't get into med school x and therefore should be avoided, as their grades are obviously inflated. How do I know this? I went to a state school and to be frank, I had my pick of residency programs.
Never never never choose a med school based solely on reputation. A school with a good reputation may have other important things, such as an emphasis on research or excellent mentors, a great location, whatever. This also comes up when people talk about match lists, and I swear that some people will rank med schools in their mind based solely on how many people they got accepted into "top 10 radiology programs" as if the school itself had a lot to do with that.
You will regret it if you turn down going to a school where you got a better impression on interview day, has more to offer you, and is in a place you would like to live for awhile.
I know some people disagree with me, that's their right. But people from med schools all over the place get accepted at the best residency programs. Obviously, things are skewed towards the more highly ranked med schools but don't be fooled and think that will apply to everyone who goes there. The people matching to top programs would very likely have done the same thing if they were an identical applicant from a different institution. I wouldn't be surprised if someone posted and said "applicants from harvard automatically get interviews wherever they apply and if you think school doesn't matter, you're crazy." But, as I said, I would refute that somewhat (I said somewhat) by noting that harvard students tend to be high achievers, have great resumes, etc, in other words be the kind of people programs are looking for. It's not because of Harvard though.
To answer your question, if you are interested in research, yes, I would look closely at research minded institutions for school. However, be advised that most med schools are, at least to some extent, research minded institutions. They may encourage people to pursue primary care and provide extra carrots to those who do, but that certainly doesn't mean you can't find great research opportunities and support if you don't. If you are not an aggressive individual, going to a research heavy place might benefit you because it will force you to think more about research and the pursuit of it instead of having to seek out your own opportunities.
The only time it really makes a difference what med school you go to is if there is a strong association between your school and the program of interest. Obviously, people who want to do a residency at their home institution may have an advantage when applying to that residency if they go to school there. Harvard likes harvard students, obviously.
My advice is to look carefully and consider all the factors when evaluating med schools. Most of what you do and the success you will have is dependent on you, not on your med school. And realize that when they look at your application, they aren't going to be impressed if your application has a fancy name on it.
***end rant***
Certain things get my dander up. Buzzwords. Phrases.
"What's their match list like?"
"Top tier med schools"
"Top tier programs"
"Med school name matters more than transcript"
"Prestige"
