How good of a school is George Washington School of Medicine?

[awesomesaucenes]

Lets just say that I'm a highschool student applying to George Washington school of med, and I have no idea about med schools at all. I know its ranked really low of the list of all med schools, but its primary focus isnt research, and people who go there say thats the reason why its ranked so low.

How good of a school is it? I want to complete my residency at a top college, so that I can pay off student debt quickly and get started on my dreams (in short, working abroad). Also, the cost is really pricey (about 44,000 in tuition). How is this compared to other med schools? I'm in california so I'm also looking at the UC's and considering those, but I really don't want to have to waste my time doing research in my undergrad, instead I want to try to get a business background as well as shadow doctors.

How is it ranked?

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[bucks2010]

Lets just say that I'm a highschool student applying to George Washington school of med, and I have no idea about med schools at all. I know its ranked really low of the list of all med schools, but its primary focus isnt research, and people who go there say thats the reason why its ranked so low.

How good of a school is it? I want to complete my residency at a top college, so that I can pay off student debt quickly and get started on my dreams (in short, working abroad). Also, the cost is really pricey (about 44,000 in tuition). How is this compared to other med schools? I'm in california so I'm also looking at the UC's and considering those, but I really don't want to have to waste my time doing research in my undergrad, instead I want to try to get a business background as well as shadow doctors.

How is it ranked?

I'm assuming you're applying to a BS/MD program or something? I wasn't aware GWU had one.

In any case, you can feel free to look up the rankings on USNews, for what they're worth. Their research rankings are only based on NIH dollars awarded, and primary care rankings are based on amount of students that enter primary care fields.

I doubt you will find any data correlating residency with future income. Your income as an attending will depend more on where you practice, how many others are practicing in your speciality locally, etc.

If you really want to go to a "top" medical school, significant research and a lot of clinical experience will be very important to an application.

 

[TheComebacKid]

If by "a good medical school" you mean that it produces some fantastic physicians who are dedicated to the field of medicine and improving the overall quality of care in their community, then yes, it is a great medical school. If you mean "a good medical school" as in "Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Stanford" then no, it isn't. Personally, the latter definition is a bunch of BS, and the name of the school will carry absolutely zero weight as to whether it's good or not. A medical school will only be as good as your dedication and desire to becoming a strong physician.

I understand your financial considerations, and while they are extremely important, they should not be the sole criteria for determining where you go to school. While I admire your foresight as a high school student, I think you should put more emphasis into developing the strongest possible application over the next four years. When it comes time to apply and you receive your acceptances, you will have some time then to consider all aspects.

That's my $0.02

 

[Long Way to Go]

There are other factors too. Browse around the forums a bit, there are numerous discussions on Washington's quality of life, GWU's grading schemes, teaching styles, and (most importantly) clinical rotations. Personally, I feel that those are more important than any perceived "prestige".

 

[Margra]

I want to complete my residency at a top college, so that I can pay off student debt quickly and get started on my dreams (in short, working abroad).

Keep in mind that there are a number of loan forgiveness program available to students who work, for example, in the non-profit sector.

 

[awesomesaucenes]

Well no, by good medical school I mean a med school that will provide me with the best education and make me the best possible doctor that I can be.

GW has an extensive focus on clinical care, but are doctors that come out of there high quality? Really the only reason I'm asking about ranking is because thats the only indicator i've been taught to read.

Also I've heard that GW kids are just wanna be georgetown kids. Is that true?

 

[awesomesaucenes]

Well no, by good medical school I mean a med school that will provide me with the best education and make me the best possible doctor that I can be.

GW has an extensive focus on clinical care, but are doctors that come out of there high quality? Really the only reason I'm asking about ranking is because thats the only indicator i've been taught to read.

Also I've heard that GW kids are just wanna be georgetown kids. Is that true?

 

[bucks2010]

Since you're still in HS you probably don't understand this yet, but your education is really what you make of it. People from my undergrad have gone on to top 20 schools, some to "lower ranked schools", and I'm sure there are plenty of grads stuck working at Starbucks ad infinitum because they graduated with a 2.15 and didn't put any work into their college education. The difference isn't in where you go - it's how hard you work. Harvard doesn't have an invisible machine that implants superior medical knowledge into their students - the students that do well on their Step I's, et al. have to work very hard to do so, just like all medical students. The difference is just that Harvard admits applicants with a very high probability of doing very well because they've proven themselves to be good students. Do you see what I'm getting at? The reaction is not "you" ----> Top 20 med school ----> excellent physician. It's "you" ----> hard work & toil ----> excellent physician.

So, to ask whether or not GWU puts out "good doctors" is a bad question because their doctoring skills are not a function of where they went to medical school, it's a function of their individual work ethic (& to a certain extent their residency training, which is a completely separate discussion).