Medical schools ranked by strength of student (LePepe score)

[LePepe]

A couple of weeks ago I asked if anyone had a list of medical schools ranked by their matriculant LePepe score (GPA * 10 + MCAT). A rogue mod locked my thread because he said I was trolling. I was not. I really wanted that list.

So I made a list myself, composed of all the schools for which I could find the GPA/MCAT data.

The assumption that most people make is that the US News Ranking correlates strongly with the academic strength of students at a particular school. I was curious if this was really the case or not. For many schools, it's not.

Here are the 5 schools that are most slighted by the US News Rankings. I didn't include schools with LePepe z-scores that had a magnitude of .3 or less because I feel like things get murky when you get too close to the average:
(US News -> LePepe Score Ranking, Δ)
1. Hofstra (71 -> 29, +42)
2. St. Louis University (67 -> 26, +41)
3. Yeshiva University (Einstein) (35 -> 16, +19)
4. University of Virginia (27 -> 12, +15)
5. University of Miami (Miller) (48 -> 35, + 13)

Here are the schools that are most overrated by the US News Rankings. Some of these schools have low z-scores, but I included them anyway because the change in their rankings was so dramatic:
1. University of Washington (12 -> 69, -57)
2. University of Utah (40 -> 82, -42)
3. University of California—Davis (45 -> 87, -42)
4. Oregon Health and Science University (29 -> 70, -41)
5. University of Alabama—Birmingham (35 -> 72, -37)
6. Georgetown University (45 -> 79, -34)
7. University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill (24 -> 56, -32)
8. Wake Forest University (53 -> 85, -32)
9. University of Colorado (35 -> 63, -28)
10. University of Vermont (56 -> 81, -25)

Here is the full list:

Rank. School / LePepe Score / Z-score

Top 10 (z-score ≥ 1.5)
1. University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) / 76.6 / 2.1
2. New York University (Langone) / 76.1 / 2.
3. University of Chicago (Pritzker) / 75.8 / 1.9
4. Columbia University / 75.7 / 1.9
4. Vanderbilt University / 75.7 / 1.9
6. Washington University in St. Louis / 75.5 / 1.8
7. Johns Hopkins University / 75. / 1.7
7. Stanford University / 75. / 1.7
9. Northwestern University (Feinberg) / 74.7 / 1.6
10. Yale University / 74.2 / 1.5

Top 25 (z-score ≥ .9)
11. Harvard University / 74.1 / 1.4
12. University of Virginia / 73.8 / 1.4
13. Case Western Reserve University / 73.6 / 1.3
13. Baylor College of Medicine / 73.6 / 1.3
15. Cornell University (Weill) / 73.4 / 1.3
16. Yeshiva University (Einstein) / 73.2 / 1.2
17. Duke University / 73. / 1.1
18. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai / 72.7 / 1.1
19. Boston University / 72.5 / 1.
19. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center / 72.5 / 1.
21. University of California—San Francisco / 72.4 / 1.
22. University of California—San Diego / 72.2 / .9
22. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor / 72.2 / .9
24. University of Southern California (Keck) / 72. / .9
24. Ohio State University / 72. / .9
24. St. Louis University / 72. / .9

Top 50 (z-score > 0)
27. Brown University (Alpert) / 71.8 / .8
28. University of Florida / 71.6 / .8
29. Hofstra University / 71.4 / .7
30. University of Pittsburgh / 71.2 / .7
31. Emory University / 71. / .6
32. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine / 71. / .6
33. University of Cincinnati / 70.6 / .5
34. University of California—Los Angeles (Geffen) / 70.2 / .4
35. University of Miami (Miller) / 70.1 / .4
36. University of Rochester / 70.1 / .4
37. University of California—Irvine / 70. / .4
38. Dartmouth College (Geisel) / 69.9 / .3
39. University of Maryland / 69.9 / .3
40. University of Illinois / 69.8 / .3
41. University of Connecticut / 69.7 / .3
42. University of Wisconsin—Madison / 69.7 / .3
43. University of South Florida / 69.7 / .3
44. University of Iowa (Carver) / 69.4 / .2
45. University of South Dakota (Sanford) / 69.4 / .2
46. Temple University (Katz) / 69.3 / .2
47. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center / 69.3 / .2
48. Thomas Jefferson University (Kimmel) / 69.2 / .2
49. Stony Brook University—SUNY / 69. / .1
50. University of Massachusetts—Worcester / 69. / .1
51. Rutgers New Jersey Medical School—Newark / 68.9 / .1
52. University of Central Florida / 68.9 / .1

Average and Below Average (Z-scores ≤ 0)
53. Drexel University / 68.8 / 0
54. University of Texas Health Science Center—Houston / 68.8 / 0
55. Tufts University / 68.7 / 0
56. University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill / 68.6 / 0
57. Wayne State University / 68.5 / 0
58. University at Buffalo—SUNY (Jacobs) / 68.5 / 0
59. University of Kentucky / 68.5 / 0
60. University of Missouri / 68.4 / -.1
61. University of Minnesota / 68.3 / -.1
62. University of Kansas Medical Center / 68.2 / -.1
63. University of Colorado / 68.1 / -.1
64. Eastern Virginia Medical School / 68. / -.2
65. New York Medical College / 68. / -.2
66. Augusta University / 68. / -.2
67. George Washington University / 68. / -.2
68. Indiana University—Indianapolis / 68. / -.2
69. Oregon Health and Science University / 67.9 / -.2
70. University of Washington / 67.9 / -.2
71. Rush University / 67.8 / -.2
72. University of Hawaii—Manoa (Burns) / 67.7 / -.2
73. University of Alabama—Birmingham / 67.7 / -.2
74. University of Texas Health Science Center—San Antonio / 67.7 / -.2
75. Creighton University / 67.6 / -.3
76. Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School—New Brunswick / 67.5 / -.3
77. University of Nevada / 67.5 / -.3
78. University of Oklahoma / 67.4 / -.3
79. Georgetown University / 67.3 / -.3
80. University of Nebraska Medical Center / 67.3 / -.3
81. University of Vermont / 67.3 / -.3
82. University of Tennessee Health Science Center / 67. / -.4
83. University of Utah / 67. / -.4
84. Texas A&M Health Science Center / 66.9 / -.4
85. Wake Forest University / 66.8 / -.5
86. University of Arizona / 66.6 / -.5
87. University of California—Davis / 66.4 / -.6
88. West Virginia University / 66.2 / -.6
89. East Tennessee State University (Quillen) / 66.2 / -.6
90. University of Toledo / 66. / -.7
91. Medical University of South Carolina / 66. / -.7
92. University of Louisville / 66. / -.7

DO Tier
93. Rocky Vista University / 65.6 / -.8
94. East Carolina University (Brody) / 65.5 / -.8
95. Rowan University / 65.2 / -.9
96. University of New Mexico / 65.1 / -.9
97. University of North Texas Health Science Center / 65. / -.9
98. Wright State University (Boonshoft) / 64.8 / -1.
99. Marshall University (Edwards) / 64.6 / -1.
100. Michigan State University (College of Human Medicine) / 64.4 / -1.1
101. University of New England / 64.4 / -1.1
102. Florida State University / 64.1 / -1.2
103. Western University of Health Sciences / 63.7 / -1.3
104. Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences / 63.4 / -1.4
105. Michigan State University (College of Osteopathic Medicine) / 63.2 / -1.4
106. Nova Southeastern University / 62.9 / -1.5
107. Ohio University / 62.9 / -1.5
108. Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine / 62.5 / -1.6
109. Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine / 62.3 / -1.6
110. Oklahoma State University / 62.3 / -1.6
111. Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences / 61.9 / -1.8
112. Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine—Virginia, Carolinas, and Auburn / 61. / -2.
113. Howard University / 60.8 / -2.
114. Lincoln Memorial University (DeBusk) / 60.5 / -2.1
115. University of Pikeville / 60. / -2.3
116. West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine / 60. / -2.3

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[jcorpsmanMD]

Why?

 

[LePepe]

Why?

Because I feel like currently people are using the US News Rankings as a means of guesstimating how strong a medical student is academically, and I don't think that the facts show that to be an accurate means of assessing academic strength.

 

[Jalby]

Does Hofstra have a big endowment?? Did they get a large gift to start??

 

[LePepe]

Does Hofstra have a big endowment?? Did they get a large gift to start??

I think so. It seems like a lot of the students in the inaugural class got substantial scholarships. They have the backing of the Northwell Health system, which seems to be a big deal in New York.

 

[medguy24]

I think so. It seems like a lot of the students in the inaugural class got substantial scholarships. They have the backing of the Northwell Health system, which seems to be a big deal in New York.

Very cool list!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[seeinghowitgoes]

Think the list is cool!

Always think it's helpful to remember rankings are arbitrary and do not imply that one place will be better for every individual - that it's important to consider what you want from a medical school to make sure that your personal criteria are being captured by the ranking method. Personally I don't think mcat or GPA of current students would mean much to me when selecting a school (care more about research money, curricular design, location, cost, etc), but I think alternatives like this are still helpful to bring to the conscious mind my aforementioned point.

 

[LizzyM]

How did you develop the LePeep score? 😵

Look at the schools with the highest scores (students with strongest academic records). All are "number ******". The next tier are those schools that are choosing students on the basis of something other than numbers and that may be research productivity, substantial volunteer, scholarly, or clinical experience. Also those schools that because of their name/location can still attract talented applicants without throwing huge scholarships at them. At the bottom are the schools that are hamstrung by out-of-state restrictions on enrollment meaning they have a much smaller pool to draw from.

 

[efle]

First I think MCAT alone is a better proxy than LizzyM because high GPAs are not hard to find at all. E.g. SLU is up there at WashU level by avg GPA.

Second even just MCAT isn't a great proxy, schools like UCLA vs Hofstra you'll get a very backwards idea of competitiveness and/or reputation

 

[Dagrimsta1]

I think so. It seems like a lot of the students in the inaugural class got substantial scholarships. They have the backing of the Northwell Health system, which seems to be a big deal in New York.

Northwell is one of the biggest hospital systems in NY so it's a huge deal.

 

[LePepe]

First I think MCAT alone is a better proxy than LizzyM because high GPAs are not hard to find at all. E.g. SLU is up there at WashU level by avg GPA.

Second even just MCAT isn't a great proxy, schools like UCLA vs Hofstra you'll get a very backwards idea of competitiveness and/or reputation

For the record, SLU's average is 3.90 and 33, compared to UCLA's 3.72 and 33.

 

[efle]

For the record, SLU's average is 3.90 and 33, compared to UCLA's 3.72 and 33.

Even better. By GPA you're misled vs WashU, by MCAT you're misled vs UCLA.

 

[LePepe]

How did you develop the LePeep score? 😵

Completely independently. Newton vs Leibniz

 

[Pr1d3D0c]

From an applicant who is likely going to Hof next year, I am surely loving this 😉. Since I am not familiar with the USNWR methodology, what factors do you emphasize in your methodology in comparison to theirs? I assume you place an emphasis on MCAT/GPA, but does USNWR not also value those stats?

 

[Lawpy]

How did you develop the LePeep score? 😵

It's just the alt-right version of the LizzyM score that has been developed from alternative facts.

I think schools should be ranked by a metric that's a function of LizzyM scores, acceptance percentage, and research endowment. That could provide a more realistic picture than just LizzyM scores alone.

 

[sullen-burger]

I'm sure this took you some time to compile, which is respectable. I do not think anyone should go by this when making their school decisions, though (or any pure gpa and MCAT list). You make no inclusion of many other factors that go into a good school, as already mentioned above by multiple posts, which means that your method ignores very real confounding variables. But I guess your intention wasn't to make a school list to choose the best school, it was to prove that US News rankings was incorrect based on the assumption that people think better ranked schools have better number matriculants? Also as mentioned above, rankings are arbitrary anyway.




So for all the effort it took you, the intentions of the thread, and what this accomplishes for the greater understanding of our world around us, I give this thread 2/5 sullen-burgers.

 

[Lucca]

University of Washington is not an "overrated" school just because their numbers are lower than its peers. There is heavy in state bias at the school for one and, secondly, it is undoubtedly one of the best biomedical research institutions in the country on top of being near the top of the primary care rankings -- a very rare combo.

 

[Goro]

To add to my learned colleague's words, the only people who care about USN&WR rankings are starry-eyed pre-meds, and med school deans.

Which goes to show, the USNWR rankings are as much about marketing and positioning are they are anything. Use of this for by applicants for admissions is a ludicrous and simply stupid thing to do. With all the tools, studies, data, etc that have actual useful information to make an informed intelligent decision about school, relying on a news weekly with questionable methodology is beyond ridiculous.

 

[deleted820760]

Even better. By GPA you're misled vs WashU, by MCAT you're misled vs UCLA.

Or could it be that SLU is better than WashU and UCLA? Why would you dismiss objective data like GPA and MCAT score to go with reputation, which is subjective?

 

[Lucca]

Or could it be that SLU is better than WashU and UCLA? Why would you dismiss objective data like GPA and MCAT score to go with reputation, which is subjective?

Topkek

 

[efle]

Or could it be that SLU is better than WashU and UCLA? Why would you dismiss objective data like GPA and MCAT score to go with reputation, which is subjective?

Lmao good one

 

[IlDestriero]

The LePeep score is clearly superior to the biased Adcom LizzyM score.


--
Il Destriero

 

[mimelim]

Which goes to show, the USNWR rankings are as much about marketing and positioning are they are anything. Use of this for by applicants for admissions is a ludicrous and simply stupid thing to do. With all the tools, studies, data, etc that have actual useful information to make an informed intelligent decision about school, relying on a news weekly with questionable methodology is beyond ridiculous.

To add to my learned colleague's words, the only people who care about USN&WR rankings are starry-eyed pre-meds, and med school deans.

In terms of picking a medical school or impacting the process, I don't think either is particularly useful. However, if you put a gun to my head, I think USNews rankings provide more and better information than this.

 

[TehTeddy]

Part of me thinks this is a genuine attempt to clear ambiguity and misconception.

The other part things this is an elaborate attempt to replace the LizzyM with LePepe score, or at least make it a comparable metric, thus cementing himself in SDN history.

 

[LePepe]

I'm sure this took you some time to compile, which is respectable. I do not think anyone should go by this when making their school decisions, though (or any pure gpa and MCAT list). You make no inclusion of many other factors that go into a good school, as already mentioned above by multiple posts, which means that your method ignores very real confounding variables. But I guess your intention wasn't to make a school list to choose the best school, it was to prove that US News rankings was incorrect based on the assumption that people think better ranked schools have better number matriculants? Also as mentioned above, rankings are arbitrary anyway.




So for all the effort it took you, the intentions of the thread, and what this accomplishes for the greater understanding of our world around us, I give this thread 2/5 sullen-burgers.

Wow. That is a powerful endorsement. I will remember you for this when I become a dermatologist.