Medical School "Tiers" - What Do You Think?

[Freddy Pharkas]

I read a post earlier about getting into a "Tier 1 or Tier 2" medical school and began wondering about a couple of things.

1. Are the so-called tiers based on the US News research ranking of medical schools? I'm guessing they must be since no one else I know of ranks them.

2. How many tiers are there anyway? 3, 4, 5?

3. Are the top 20 or 30 US News Ranked schools in Tier 1 or the Top-Tier, or is it say the top 10 or 15? I guess this is related to what you think about #2.

I know this is an imprecise thing we're talking about, but I am interested in hearing peoples' opinions about it.

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[mmmapricots]

bump...tiers are meaningless, but i'd love to know what people thing anyway

 

[drizzt3117]

There are no tiers per se, as there are in law school rankings. If you want to compare schools, use the entering stat averages, which are usually a proxy for how good the school is.

 

[ADeadLois]

There are no tiers per se, as there are in law school rankings. If you want to compare schools, use the entering stat averages, which are usually a proxy for how good the school is.

Stat averages are a sign of how competitive a school is, not necessarily how "good" it is.

 

[postbacker]

Stat averages are a sign of how competitive a school is, not necessarily how "good" it is.

I agree with this...stat averages, which are tied to the the "rankings" and "tiers," tell you how competitive admissions are (or said differently, how "prestigious" med schools are)...all things are relative, though - you are either a competitive med school applicant or not, so apply broadly...no such thing as a safety...no sure bets...

 

[45408]

Stat averages are a sign of how competitive a school is, not necessarily how "good" it is.

Exactly. People will always want to be in California, so any school out there will be more competitive to get into, even if they were all mediocre schools in terms of physician training.

The US News rankings are based on research, and if you have no interest in research, then the rankings are not particularly relevant. The "best" med school would be one that you felt comfortable at, was in a good location, cost very little money, and prepared you very well for the USMLE and had an excellent reputation for strong clinician training amongst residency directors. There is no school that fits those criteria for everyone.

 

[Bartelby]

1. Are the so-called tiers based on the US News research ranking of medical schools? I'm guessing they must be since no one else I know of ranks them.

2. How many tiers are there anyway? 3, 4, 5?

3. Are the top 20 or 30 US News Ranked schools in Tier 1 or the Top-Tier, or is it say the top 10 or 15? I guess this is related to what you think about #2.

1. I think people make up "tiers" on the fly, based roughly on US News rankings.

2. How many do you want? Go for it! Usually, though, people say three.

3. If you go to a "top ten" school, the top ten are probably tier one. If you go to a "top 25" school, the top 25 are probably tier one. It varies.

In general I am glad the "tier" concept never caught on in medical school rankings. It would be bad for doctors who went to "tier three" schools who would have to work against the stigma of having attended a "bad school" when in reality medical education is standardized and everyone should know what they are doing by the time they graduate.

 

[Corker]

Exactly. People will always want to be in California, so any school out there will be more competitive to get into, even if they were all mediocre schools in terms of physician training.

The US News rankings are based on research, and if you have no interest in research, then the rankings are not particularly relevant. The "best" med school would be one that you felt comfortable at, was in a good location, cost very little money, and prepared you very well for the USMLE and had an excellent reputation for strong clinician training amongst residency directors. There is no school that fits those criteria for everyone.

Another factor might be to get yourself located in an area where you might want to do a residency (or with a school that commonly matches with the place you might want to do residency.) You can always do "audition" rotations, but being in the right locale from the start doesn't hurt.

 

[Lshapley]

Generally, I feel that medical schools try to create their own, unique culture. They then go out and try to find students that fit into their culture and philosophy. As a result, breaking the schools into tiers just seems like folly. You can even argue that schools that would clearly be first tier (JHU and Harvard) are working more towards creating a certain student body that fits into their culture and philosophy more so than just the ones that look best on paper.

 

[MacGyver]

With 30 new medical schools coming out, the number of tiers is about to go up.

Right now I'd say there are 3 tiers: uber-elite (top 20 or so), state univ tier, and the mediocre private tier.

Pretty soon there will be a 4th tier for outright ****ty schools (I'm looking at you, RVU and AT Still/Mesa)

 

[smcin001]

1st tier = schools I have no chance at, and should waste money applying

2nd tier = school I might have a chance at

3rd tier = slightly better chances than those above

4th tier = 3rd world med schools, which I would dominate at

 

[Freddy Pharkas]

If you go to a "top ten" school, the top ten are probably tier one. If you go to a "top 25" school, the top 25 are probably tier one. It varies.

Good point.

 

[Long Dong]

IMHO after the top 10 the name of your school doesn't matter much come residency time.

 

[167649]

Right now I'd say there are 3 tiers: uber-elite (top 20 or so), state univ tier, and the mediocre private tier.

I refuse to pay any attention to someone's opinion when they include the word "uber" anywhere in their comments.

 

[Vihsadas]

I refuse to pay any attention to someone's opinion when they include the word "uber" anywhere in their comments.

LOL.

Okay, what about 'Mecha-Godzilla Tier'?

I believe that tiers are not important for the reality of how good a school is. Unfortunatley, the 'ranking' system is important for admissions committee into medical school (ranking for undegraduate institutions). While it's true that ranking MIGHT affect your MD application, These kinds of rankings are not as meaningful when you are actually IN medical school. Work your ass off, kill your boards, and then noone is going to question your training.

 

[Depakote]

Tier 1: LCME accredited school.
Tier 2: doesn't meet the above criteria

 

[TexasTriathlete]

"Tiers" are real, and it is divided like this:

Tier 1
GA-PCOM

Tier 2
Stanford
Harvard
Cornell
Columbia
Baylor
UT-Southwestern
UPenn
Mayo
PCOM-Philly
Yale
Northwestern
Hopkins
Dook
U of Washington

Tier 3
All other schools

 

[Law2Doc]

I read a post earlier about getting into a "Tier 1 or Tier 2" medical school and began wondering about a couple of things.

1. Are the so-called tiers based on the US News research ranking of medical schools? I'm guessing they must be since no one else I know of ranks them.

2. How many tiers are there anyway? 3, 4, 5?

3. Are the top 20 or 30 US News Ranked schools in Tier 1 or the Top-Tier, or is it say the top 10 or 15? I guess this is related to what you think about #2.

I know this is an imprecise thing we're talking about, but I am interested in hearing peoples' opinions about it.

There are no reputable ranking services or publications that divide med schools by tier. US News ranks them by number, but the methodology is pretty suspect, there isn't really any basis for using such rankings to call one med school "better" than a lower ranked one, and the difference between schools several handful of numbers apart in the rankings frequently turns on some off campus adjunct professor's research project funding that has very little to do with the med school, let alone it's quality. I wouldn't waste time creating your own tiers, and since nobody other than a few misguided posters uses that terminology, it basically will make you sound like a newbie if you do.

 

[nonesuchgirl]

1st tier = schools I have no chance at, and should waste money applying

2nd tier = school I might have a chance at

3rd tier = slightly better chances than those above

4th tier = 3rd world med schools, which I would dominate at

*chokes on peppermint stick* I like this.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

There are no reputable ranking services or publications that divide med schools by tier. US News ranks them by number, but the methodology is pretty suspect, there isn't really any basis for using such rankings to call one med school "better" than a lower ranked one, and the difference between schools several handful of numbers apart in the rankings frequently turns on some off campus adjunct professor's research project funding that has very little to do with the med school, let alone it's quality. I wouldn't waste time creating your own tiers, and since nobody other than a few misguided posters uses that terminology, it basically will make you sound like a newbie if you do.

Another thing to remember, sure US News may call your school #12, but as Law2Doc said, that's based very little on how well they train you. Sure, that's impressive in a brochure or when asking for money from alumni, but it's not going to be as impressive to people "in the know" about how those rankings are made. That group includes program directors for residencies.