Med schools in Pennsylvania and how they rank relative to eachother

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monkeyMD

monkeyMD

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There are several Med Schools in Pennsylvania. For those who's been to the campuses listed below, how would you rank them in order of your personal preferences? Do students seem happy? do they have sufficient opportunities?

What about in terms of school reputation as well?

Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
University of Penn
U of Pitt
Drexel

Any personal input?
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Drexel > ALL



















lolque
 
I know someone who goes to Pitt... couldn't be happier.
 
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My opinion, which is not worth much: Penn>Pitt>Penn State=Jefferson=Temple>Drexel
 
Less research going on, large class size, hasn't been around as long as the others.
 
kpcrew2oo2 said:
your mdapps :wow:
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Thanks 🙂. I'd also like to add that the ranking that I made doesn't reflect, in my opinion, the quality of clinician or clinical training that you'll get at these schools. It means that someone from another part of the country or another country all together is more likely to have heard of Penn than Temple or Drexel.
 
I'd put Drexel on the bottom of any med school list. Financial aid is the best indicator of how much a school wants students to come...its average graduate indebtedness is more than $200,000.
 
I would respectfully disagree with Penn State being equal to Jeff and Temple, just because of its location - but I'm a city person so that is just my opinion
 
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pooghe said:
My opinion, which is not worth much: Penn>Pitt>Penn State=Jefferson=Temple>Drexel
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I would rank them similarly. IMO, Temple and Jefferson produce better clinicians than Penn (I can't speak for Pitt) as that is more their focus than Penn. Both school's stressed training strong clinicians when I interviewed there. I've also had many doctors at the hospital where I used to work (mostly graduates from the medical schools in the Philadelphia area) tell me the same thing, so I'm guessing that's a common opinion of the schools around here. Some of them also implied Jefferson's reputation among the community used to be ahead of Temple's but that has shifted recently. YMMV there, but Temple has definitely made a lot of improvements since they were put on probation several years ago.

I interviewed at Jeff, Temple and Drexel (I was rejected pre-interview from Penn). My class seems very happy and when I interviewed here it was one of the things that most appealed to me about the school. Jefferson students are pretty happy, too. When I interviewed, the Drexel students seemed pretty apathetic about being there. Maybe it's because it was a weekend, but they weren't into it at all and it was a big turn-off.
 
I haven't interviewed at any of those schools besides Pitt. I personally liked the school and the students I met seemed happy. The thing that stands out the most at Pitt is the abundance of opportunities, both clinical and research. It is the only med school in the area and UPMC has so many different hospitals/clinical sites. I didn't get to see all the hospitals, obviously, but they have a women's hospital, a children's hospital, a VA (I think), and general hospitals serving different areas. One downside is that the population isn't extremely diverse.
Penn is ranked the highest, and if research and prestige are your thing, that would be your best bet. For me, a place like Temple is also appealing because of the population their hospital serves.
These would be my rankings:
Research: Penn>Pitt> all the others
Clinical: depends on what you want- Penn may not be the top one for this although HUP and CHOP are supposed to be really awesome hospitals so who knows????
 
Interviewed at both penn and pitt, both are great schools. Never got invites from temple, jefferson, penn state, nor drexel, so never had a chance to visit them, but I'm sure they are great too! PA has a lot of awesome schools! =D
 
Geekchick921 said:
I would rank them similarly. IMO, Temple and Jefferson produce better clinicians than Penn (I can't speak for Pitt) as that is more their focus than Penn. Both school's stressed training strong clinicians when I interviewed there. I've also had many doctors at the hospital where I used to work (mostly graduates from the medical schools in the Philadelphia area) tell me the same thing, so I'm guessing that's a common opinion of the schools around here. Some of them also implied Jefferson's reputation among the community used to be ahead of Temple's but that has shifted recently. YMMV there, but Temple has definitely made a lot of improvements since they were put on probation several years ago.

I interviewed at Jeff, Temple and Drexel (I was rejected pre-interview from Penn). My class seems very happy and when I interviewed here it was one of the things that most appealed to me about the school. Jefferson students are pretty happy, too. When I interviewed, the Drexel students seemed pretty apathetic about being there. Maybe it's because it was a weekend, but they weren't into it at all and it was a big turn-off.
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I'm sure I was your student interviewer, and I'm pretty happy with Drexel. Weekend interview days are weird though, man. That might account for it. Cramming the usual 45-minute chat into a the narrow weekend student interview window is tough.
 
QuizzicalApe said:
I'm sure I was your student interviewer, and I'm pretty happy with Drexel. Weekend interview days are weird though, man. That might account for it. Cramming the usual 45-minute chat into a the narrow weekend student interview window is tough.
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I don't doubt the weekend interviews are weird (I just didn't want to take another day off work!) but if you were my interviewer, you were good in my book. However, there were other people (students and admins) that said/did some things that I didn't like. More than one person said to me, "Well, you know, we're not Harvard." 😕 I know that! It was just awkward, kinda like being on a first date and your date kept making self-deprecating comments. They didn't sell me on the school.

I didn't say so in this thread, but I have mentioned it before, that I wouldn't be surprised if people were just off their game that day. Lots of people in last year's SSD thread were really impressed with the school.
 
IlDestriero said:
Que?😕
Did you mean are?
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yes, I did- sorry for the confusing wording! I meant to imply that I haven't been there, so my knowledge is not first-hand, but I have heard amazing things about these hospitals.
 
So no one has specific opinions about Penn State?
 
Personal experience at Drexel. I interviewed on the first day of their new shuttle schedule and because of that, they were a little disorganized. Long story short, there were 4 of us waiting on campus for the shuttle to take us to the city where our interviews would be. The shuttle was 15 minutes late so a student offered to drive all four of us to our interview site. Definitely left a good impression on me for the school.
 
I guess to be fair I should include my experience with students at Temple. I stayed with a friend of mine from undergrad the night before so went with him to his anatomy lecture before the interview day began. Obviously stuck out in a lecture room (me wearing a suit vs everyone else in scrubs). Before class started a couple of students came to talk to me and were really enthusiastic about Temple. The lecturer himself was amazing (Schneck).

PM me for my opinions on Pitt 😀
 
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MedicalName said:
I guess to be fair I should include my experience with students at Temple. I stayed with a friend of mine from undergrad the night before so went with him to his anatomy lecture before the interview day began. Obviously stuck out in a lecture room (me wearing a suit vs everyone else in scrubs). Before class started a couple of students came to talk to me and were really enthusiastic about Temple. The lecturer himself was amazing (Schneck).

PM me for my opinions on Pitt 😀
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Schneck is the man!
 
elblackwell said:
I haven't interviewed at any of those schools besides Pitt. I personally liked the school and the students I met seemed happy. The thing that stands out the most at Pitt is the abundance of opportunities, both clinical and research. It is the only med school in the area and UPMC has so many different hospitals/clinical sites. I didn't get to see all the hospitals, obviously, but they have a women's hospital, a children's hospital, a VA (I think), and general hospitals serving different areas. One downside is that the population isn't extremely diverse.
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um...:uhno:


monkeyMD said:
So no one has specific opinions about Penn State?
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I think Penn State is a good school, but you have to be the right fit to want to go there. If you are very interested in Pediatrics, PSU would be a great place because that is one of their specialties. Personally, I grew up about 30 minutes away from Hershey, and I'll tell you that there is nothing to do there, or in the surrounding area.
 
Ismet said:
um...:uhno:

This is what I heard from people when I visited. I was also told that if one is interested in working with underserved populations in community health settings, you may not get the opportunities you want at Pitt. Maybe that is wrong, and if it is, please let me know...
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Geekchick921 said:
IMO, Temple and Jefferson produce better clinicians than Penn
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Are you serious?? Then again, that is your opinion and we all are entitled to one, yet I am really curious how you have arrived to that conclusion. Penn is considered by many the best medical school in the country. Its residency match list rivals Hopkins and Harvard 's. And as far as clinical training, its curriculum has only 1.5 years of basic sciences with full clinical rotations beginning in the spring of M2 year. Students get assigned patients from day one, taking H&Ps, following actual patients with chronic illnesses and working in teams of 6 or 7.

Penn is one of only two medical schools in the country that is ranked within the top ten in both research (2) and primary care (9) (The other one is UCSF, which i believe is 5 and 4 respectively).

Drexel has a very convoluted history as a medical school (changed hands a few times, affiliated hospitals went bankrupt, etc). It is considered a safety for many and a school of last resort for most. It is ranked 91 in research and not ranked at all in primary care.

Pittsburg is ranked 28 primary care, 14 research

Jefferson is ranked 63 primary care, 60 research

Temple is ranked 92 primary care, 45 research

Penn State is NOT ranked in neither

Since we are talking about opinions, in the opinion of USNews it would go: Penn > Pitt > Jefferson > Temple > Penn State = Drexel

I have never heard of anyone turning down Penn for any of the other schools in Philadelphia, on the other hand, I do know several people who have turned down Harvard and Hopkins for Penn. You go figure 🙄
 
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honestly rankings really don't matter as much imo...its about how hard you work at that particular school....you can go to "top" places from whatever school you go to if you work your tail off.
 
elblackwell said:
This is what I heard from people when I visited. I was also told that if one is interested in working with underserved populations in community health settings, you may not get the opportunities you want at Pitt. Maybe that is wrong, and if it is, please let me know...
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Older bro did a visiting rotation here...for a full week he treated no one besides the homeless. Pittsburgh is definitely diverse
 
underdog427 said:
honestly rankings really don't matter as much imo...its about how hard you work at that particular school....you can go to "top" places from whatever school you go to if you work your tail off.
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If you are interested in primary care and planning on going into clinical medicine rankings are useless. However, if you are interested in academic medicine or in one of the more competitive specialties (rads, plastics, ortho, derm, rad onc), the school you come from will make it "easier" to go to "top" places.
 
elblackwell said:
Ismet said:
um...:uhno:

This is what I heard from people when I visited. I was also told that if one is interested in working with underserved populations in community health settings, you may not get the opportunities you want at Pitt. Maybe that is wrong, and if it is, please let me know...
Click to expand...

MedicalName said:
Older bro did a visiting rotation here...for a full week he treated no one besides the homeless. Pittsburgh is definitely diverse
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IMO, there's a difference between "diverse" and "disadvantaged/underserved." I think Pitt offers the entire gamut of patients, from underserved to completely far from underserved. With the cohesiveness of UPMC and the many different hospitals in different locations around the city, you will definitely get a diverse experience, which includes but is not limited to underserved populations. I volunteer in a UPMC hospital that is in a very nice/expensive area of town, and still, many of the patients I see are homeless/uninsured/underserved.

Pittsburgh may not be quite as diverse as Philly overall, but I think the fact that UPMC is one force makes up for that (in that there aren't 4 medical schools vying for one city). This is all in contrast to Hershey, which is 91% white and a median income of $68K...
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Ismet said:
IMO, there's a difference between "diverse" and "disadvantaged/underserved." I think Pitt offers the entire gamut of patients, from underserved to completely far from underserved. With the cohesiveness of UPMC and the many different hospitals in different locations around the city, you will definitely get a diverse experience, which includes but is not limited to underserved populations.

Pittsburgh may not be quite as diverse as Philly overall, but I think the fact that UPMC is one force makes up for that (in that there aren't 4 medical schools vying for one city). This is all in contrast to Hershey, which is 91% white and a median income of $68K...
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Don't be too quick to speak with the feud going on between UPMC and Highmark right now, Temple is opening a branch campus in Pittsburgh's North side and Drexel already affiliates with AGH. UPMC is definitely a pseudo monopoly right meow but that may change in the next couple of years
 
So are you saying that if someone goes to State U, most likely they will not get into idk Upenn for residency...cause i know people who have done that and they were not questioned at all about their med school and the staff was more impressed with board scores.

BrainBuff said:
If you are interested in primary care and planning on going into clinical medicine rankings are useless. However, if you are interested in academic medicine or in one of the more competitive specialties (rads, plastics, ortho, derm, rad onc), the school you come from will make it "easier" to go to "top" places.
Click to expand...
 
MedicalName said:
Don't be too quick to speak with the feud going on between UPMC and Highmark right now, Temple is opening a branch campus in Pittsburgh's North side and Drexel already affiliates with AGH. UPMC is definitely a pseudo monopoly right meow but that may change in the next couple of years
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Oh I know about the Highmark issue. Actually, didn't know about Drexel being tied with Allegheny. I guess the point I was trying to make was that the UPMC facilities are multiple and far-reaching enough to get a very diverse exposure.

Also, KITTY! 🙂 🙂 🙂
 
underdog427 said:
So are you saying that if someone goes to State U, most likely they will not get into idk Upenn for residency...cause i know people who have done that and they were not questioned at all about their med school and the staff was more impressed with board scores.
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There ARE people from lower ranked schools who will get a top residency, but top ranked schools typically match more people to top residencies than lower ranked schools. High board scores will get you noticed whether you go to the best school or the worst school in the country.
 
underdog427 said:
So are you saying that if someone goes to State U, most likely they will not get into idk Upenn for residency...cause i know people who have done that and they were not questioned at all about their med school and the staff was more impressed with board scores.
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I did not say that. I said that it makes it "easier", that is all. Getting into a particular residency is a bit more personal than getting into a particular medical school. There is a lot of networking involved. But as far as board scores, "top" schools happen to turn out more students with higher board scores anyway, so if i follow your argument then residency program directors will be even more impressed.
 
BrainBuff said:
I did not say that. I said that it makes it "easier", that is all. Getting into a particular residency is a bit more personal than getting into a particular medical school. There is a lot of networking involved. But as far as board scores, "top" schools happen to turn out more students with higher board scores anyway, so if i follow your argument then residency program directors will be even more impressed.
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That's because top schools have top level students.....I doubt that a top level student would not get the same board scores if he/she went to a lower tier school but worked just as hard.

Definitely agree about elite med schools and residencies though. Top schools just have more funding and resources to get you on your way. Plus getting a LOR from a person at the peak of their field in derm/ortho/plastics/etc. on faculty at an elite school sure as hell beats getting a LOR from a no-name at Podunk StateU. Residency directors also love that pedigree and while they say that med school reputation ranks low on their list, when applying for a competitive specialty at an elite program everyone has 250+, AOA, honors in 3rd year, high impact research, etc. Having "Hopkins" or "Penn" or "UCSF" next to your name definitely makes you stand out compared to someone who has "GWU" or "Drexel" or "UC-Davis" next to their name.

SDN'ers are kidding themselves if they think there is no advantage gained in going to a top school, unless one knows for certain they want to go into non-academic primary care.
 
Just a heads up, Penn State Hershey doesn't participate in US News rankings, consensus is they would rank fairly well if they did. All the PA schools are pretty solid, and as long as you do well, you can match anywhere.

just sayin'

BrainBuff said:
Penn is one of only two medical schools in the country that is ranked within the top ten in both research (2) and primary care (9) (The other one is UCSF, which i believe is 5 and 4 respectively).

Drexel has a very convoluted history as a medical school (changed hands a few times, affiliated hospitals went bankrupt, etc). It is considered a safety for many and a school of last resort for most. It is ranked 91 in research and not ranked at all in primary care.

Pittsburg is ranked 28 primary care, 14 research

Jefferson is ranked 63 primary care, 60 research

Temple is ranked 92 primary care, 45 research

Penn State is NOT ranked in neither

Since we are talking about opinions, in the opinion of USNews it would go: Penn > Pitt > Jefferson > Temple > Penn State = Drexel

I have never heard of anyone turning down Penn for any of the other schools in Philadelphia, on the other hand, I do know several people who have turned down Harvard and Hopkins for Penn. You go figure 🙄
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Personal opinion on med school not being THAT important to get you a residency...for example, we've been talking that Pitt and UPMC is a pretty respectable program. Being interested in the school and anesthesiology in particular (a pretty competitive residency I would imagine) I looked it up.

http://www.anes.upmc.edu/personnel/residents/personnel_residents.aspx

17 DO residents, with DO being a field most people would laugh at. I personally know one of these DO residents and know that he also interviewed for residencies at Wake, John Hopkins and Harvard, but listed UPMC first for the match and got it (scored a 229 on USMLE).

Edit: But of course this is just my opinion, will probably be chastised now by SDN standards
Crush your step one and when you get an interview for the residency convince them you'll love to live and stay in that city and I think you can match there.
 
Penn = Pitt > Penn State > TCMC > Temple = Jefferson = Drexel

My personal ranking factors in academics (primarily clinical years), location (I loathe Philly), and class size (small > large). I really don't care much for school reputation and therefore don't factor it in; I feel like reputation is important for students who want to rely on their school's name to land them a competitive residency... I'd rather rely on hard work and awesome Step scores. 🙂
 
flatearth22 said:
That's because top schools have top level students.....I doubt that a top level student would not get the same board scores if he/she went to a lower tier school but worked just as hard.
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RollTide22 said:
I feel like reputation is important for students who want to rely on their school's name to land them a competitive residency... I'd rather rely on hard work and awesome Step scores
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The real pluses of attending a top school include having access to great facilities and resources, challenging patients, and being taught by top notch faculty. An environment catering to students will help them reach their best potential. It is undeniable that those facts (with your hard work) do represent an advantage towards getting those awesome Step scores.
 
penn > pitt > penn state = jefferson > temple > drexel > tcmc (at best, tcmc = drexel)

forgot to add tcmc before. being from the area and factoring in class size, curriculum, location, and reputation, this would be my best guess.
 
BrainBuff said:
The real pluses of attending a top school include having access to great facilities and resources, challenging patients, and being taught by top notch faculty. An environment catering to students will help them reach their best potential. It is undeniable that those facts (with your hard work) do represent an advantage towards getting those awesome Step scores.
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👍 Completely agree with you. I include all those aspects in "academics"... I consider "reputation" to simply represent the logo/name/snob factor, not necessarily the quality of the program (e.g. I believe the distinction between them is evidenced in that there are US med schools that have the amazing qualities you listed but without the brand name). I think every school in PA is a great option for various reasons; but personally, if I were one of the people who had an opportunity to attend a top school such as Penn or Pitt, I would never turn that option down for any other school --- because the incredible quality of education overpowers everything else such as location, cost, etc., independent of what I consider to be reputation.
 
having looked at detailed match statistics at my school i have to begrudgingly admit that the prestige of the school you go to, for a variety of reasons, is a pretty large factor in residency applications
 
BUMP for this, since I've been seeing Temple>Jefferson lately and TCMC has been in the news recently (new dean/off probation). I'd really like to hear some updated opinions on PA medschool rankings.
 
couldabeenadoc said:
BUMP for this, since I've been seeing Temple>Jefferson lately and TCMC has been in the news recently (new dean/off probation). I'd really like to hear some updated opinions on PA medschool rankings.
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I'd pick Jefferson over Temple. Jefferson is in a much better part of Philly, and everyone seems so happy there. It seems like a really relaxed (as far as med schools go) environment.
 
canibeadrplease said:
I'd pick Jefferson over Temple. Jefferson is in a much better part of Philly, and everyone seems so happy there. It seems like a really relaxed (as far as med schools go) environment.
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More relaxed at Jeff? Really? I noticed the opposite when I interviewed at both schools, and other people I've spoken to that interviewed at both felt the same way. Jefferson's certainly in a better area, no doubt, and both schools' students seemed happy. Temple students just struck me as more down to earth and genuine, which was part of why I chose it.
 
This is my personal ranking:

Penn > Pitt > Jefferson = PSU > Temple >> Drexel = TCMC

Temple has been moving up in the rankings though, and their new facilities are incredible.
 
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