US News and World Report is a reputable ranking service for the educational community.
What many people who cite this reference fail to remember is that the rankings are dependant on several factors.
1. Money. The "Top Medical Schools" are ranked according to a few factors which include professional reputation, MCAT scores, undergraduate GPAs and number of applications recieved each year. What most people dont like to admit is that money is also a factor in the rankings. The more money each school recieves in federal research grants and private research grants plays a role in the ranking of the school. Schools like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Wachington U. are consistently ranked higher on the list. These schools also have some of the largest endowments of any of the medical schools in the country...and rightfully so...they produce results in research. But you also need to realize that this is a vicious cycle, albeit a beneficial one. The schools that recieve the most money can consistently produce the most results in the research community and therefore garner more money the next year for research. Not a bad thing, but something you must remember.
2. Specialty fields entered. Schools are ranked according to various specialties. Hospitals are ranked the same way. Schools and hospitals are ranked in this manner based on the number of students who enter those areas each year (for schools), the money they spend on those departments each year (schools and hospitals), and the number of patients they see each year in that particular specialty (hospitals). So, the schools that are ranked highest each year in the primary care field, for example, are the schools that have a disproportionately high number of graduates entering primary care fields as well as the money spent each year on the primary care education. Many people on this board will consistently cite certain schools as the "best" for primary care education without really understanding what that means. Being ranked the "best in primary care" has little to do with the educational quality of that particular field. Rather, it has more to do with the amount of money a particular school spends in this area (in terms of faculty, facilities, state and federal programs, outreach programs and research) and the number of graduates that will enter a specific specialty area each year. So a school who sends 60% of the graduates into PC each year and has more PC faculty, more PC community clinics and more outreach programs with be ranked higher than a school who does not have these numbers. This often leads to state schools having an advantage in this arena as state schools recieve more money for primary care programs that private schools. Is this always the case? Of course not...even private schools can be ranked higher if they devote a larger percentage of educational resources to primary care.
I am not saying that these rankings are not important. They provide an interesting look at a particular institution. But you also have to realize that these rankings need to be explored as to how these schools get ranked as high (or as low) as they do and that information needs to be combined with information from other sources.
Just remember that when someone on this board says their school is ranked so high in a particular field. They often dont understand the rankings themselves.
