Most OVERRATED and UNDERRATED schools?

[timurx]

thought this might be intersting...be sure to say why too

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[wutwinb]

Do you mean med schools or undergrads?

 

[AlexMorph]

He probably means med. schools; I don't quite know what he hopes to accomplish with this thread, but I'm betting it will die out rather quickly.

 

[TexanGirl]

JHU - the most overrated medical school.

Every single movie or show I've watched that features a doctor always has one that graduates from JHU. Way overused in pop culture.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

What are we supposed to base our opinion of this on? Our vast knowledge of the inner-workings of every medical school?

 

[blurry]

Even though is a totally absurd thread, probably started by an anti-social gunner, I'll have to throw in my vote for Stewart University as the most underrated. Seriously, who starts such inane threads at 11:45 on a Saturday night and thinks it would be fun/interesting?

 

[littlealex]

JHU - the most overrated medical school.

Every single movie or show I've watched that features a doctor always has one that graduates from JHU. Way overused in pop culture.

Best hospital in the US, tests every 2 weeks, uber-intense students.
Not overrated.

 

[Cranial Gavage]

Even though is a totally absurd thread, probably started by an anti-social gunner, I'll have to throw in my vote for Stewart University as the most underrated. Seriously, who starts such inane threads at 11:45 on a Saturday night and thinks it would be fun/interesting?

👎 Boo, personal attacks.

 

[Cranial Gavage]

The original post raises an interesting question.

However- as TexasTriathlete pointed out- most of us can provide little more than speculation in response.

 

[BigMDT]

overrated = dartmouth. big name, not so great program.

 

[crimson138]

The original poster did ask for underrated schools too. Why is everyone bashing him saying he was trying to attack schools etc. I looked hoping that someone would be talking about how great some of the lesser known medical schools were. Hopefully some that I applied to.

 

[LEdaddy]

Yeah, I'm not sure why this thread sparked so much anger. The OP's post doesn't seem any more out of line than the typical obsessive, premed discussions that take pace on SDN.

 

[Jamorama]

overrated = jhu and harvard based either on the applicants they've accepted from my class, what i've heard from students there from my undergrad school, and my own visits when interviewing. big names. not so happy students. (this is of course a generalization and based on my own social network and students i encountered during my interview day)

underrated = rochester and maryland based on talking to medical professionals at various locations and other institutions and my own visits to each institution during interviews

of course, these are just my opinions and could definitely be untrue. this thread is highly subjective

 

[ADeadLois]

Yeah, I'm not sure why this thread sparked so much anger. The OP's post doesn't seem any more out of line than the typical obsessive, premed discussions that take pace on SDN.

Because no pre-med (or med student for that matter) is able to make these types of distinctions with credibility beyond second-hand, n=1 criteria.

 

[fisko82]

overrated: going to school in a big city, as if I'm going to have time to enjoy all there is to see and do while I'm overwhelmed with science material.

underrated: Iowa. They have some amazing facilities, lots of research opportunities, and a great teaching hospital that has several highly regarded specialties...and yet it seems often overlooked by applicants because of its location

 

[timurx]

The original poster did ask for underrated schools too. Why is everyone bashing him saying he was trying to attack schools etc. I looked hoping that someone would be talking about how great some of the lesser known medical schools were. Hopefully some that I applied to.

thank you...at least one person isn't bashing me for starting this thread...

you guys need to calm down! seriously...do most of us have ANY credibility on rating these schools? Prolly not. Is this thread HIGHLY subjective? Yes.

It just for kicks...not meant to start any flames...and im not just wondering about overrated med schools, i asked for underrated ones as well.

To the vast majority of the above posters--> just breathe.

 

[notdeadyet]

MOST UNDERRATED: The school you slapped down tuition for amongst the small handful that accepted you.

MOST OVERRATED: The ones who didn't even send you a secondary.

 

[DwyaneWade]

Just to be objective for a minute:

The most underrated school: UMiami

The most overrated school: Everyone else.

 

[SoFlaKnight]

^DW, I'm beginning to forget what it feels like to watch the Miami 'M'eat win a game...Oh well, Luke Jackson was a solid pickup...


...Enough threadjacking from me😀

 

[axlaxl1]

One thing that I would like to know is what gives a school its ranking and what makes a school not ranked? I.e. I went to interview at U.M. and I thought they had amazing things going for them, the eye institute, the human genome institute, ectera. But, they are not ranked? I don't really get it sometimes. As well, I have been to ranked schools but I guess on face a little tour isn't going to tell why a school is as powerful and highly ranked as it is or is not.

 

[Jathin]

One thing that I would like to know is what gives a school its ranking and what makes a school not ranked? I.e. I went to interview at U.M. and I thought they had amazing things going for them, the eye institute, the human genome institute, ectera. But, they are not ranked? I don't really get it sometimes. As well, I have been to ranked schools but I guess on face a little tour isn't going to tell why a school is as powerful and highly ranked as it is or is not.

Go to the USNews website and look at the ranking index. Part of the way ranking is done is a peer-evaluation, which means it inherently takes reputation into account.

 

[axlaxl1]

Go to the USNews website and look at the ranking index. Part of the way ranking is done is a peer-evaluation, which means it inherently takes reputation into account.

Ahhh that makes a little more sense. Who are the peers exactly?

 

[nka1985]

Best hospital in the US, tests every 2 weeks, uber-intense students.
Not overrated.

I agree that JHU is not overrated, but "tests every two weeks" doesn't really prove that. I think a lot of schools do this (VCU included).

overrated = dartmouth. big name, not so great program.

I've heard this pretty often-even many Dartmouth Med grads say it's overrated.

 

[spanamit]

JHU is definitely not overrated! One simple metric is that not only most U.S. physicians consider JHU to be the best, but also, most foreign doctors consider JHU to be the shining star of medicine. JHU's reputation is impeccable.

I don't remember the exact statistic, but it was something like 1 in 3 Americans would like to go to JHU if they could for their medical treatment.

 

[ufgrad00]

I will agree, Miami is really underrated compared to the other schools I have seen. Even though I have only been to a handful of schools, I still believe Miami is underrated, especially if you compare their programs and facilities to schools that are ranked in the 30's by US News. Maybe they just don't promote themselves enough.

In Florida, I have seen advertisments for hospitals that incorporate the advantages of having an academic background, like UF&Shands, Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic, and a Duke affiliated Hospital in Indian River County. Maybe the only thing Miami is lacking is more name recognition.

 

[DrunkMD]

overrated: going to school in a big city, as if I'm going to have time to enjoy all there is to see and do while I'm overwhelmed with science material.

underrated: Iowa. They have some amazing facilities, lots of research opportunities, and a great teaching hospital that has several highly regarded specialties...and yet it seems often overlooked by applicants because of its location

I agree with you that you would have very little time to play around in a big city during medical school, but I think the value lies elswhere. In a big city, you have the opportunity to see a more diverse group of cases and patients, especially if the city has a big international population.

 

[axlaxl1]

I will agree, Miami is really underrated compared to the other schools I have seen. Even though I have only been to a handful of schools, I still believe Miami is underrated, especially if you compare their programs and facilities to schools that are ranked in the 30's by US News. Maybe they just don't promote themselves enough.

In Florida, I have seen advertisments for hospitals that incorporate the advantages of having an academic background, like UF&Shands, Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic, and a Duke affiliated Hospital in Indian River County. Maybe the only thing Miami is lacking is more name recognition.

I agree, it is like it is all there but it really isn't connected together with the students or something. I dunno. I thought it was an amazing program and oppertunity. As well, I kind or thought Jackson is amazing but it seemed like the network of hospitals could be a little more exanded upon and networked to give an even more diverse experience. However, with that said one could go to broward and palm beach county I am sure.

 

[Booner]

I'll throw in a few reasons why I am especially pleased with the choice I made to come to Saint Louis University. To begin with I have been very impressed with the faculty and their desire to help students. I've only seen faculty be more than willing to do something to better the students' experiences here. Of course we've had a couple of boring/crappy lecturers (there will always be a few everywhere), but the course directors and most of the other teachers have been extremely helpful. Second, I like how our classes are set up. First year: 10 intense weeks of anatomy, followed by three 8 week blocks with two subjects a piece. Throughout all of those are some less time intensive once a week courses, but the main courses are set up as stated. Second year courses are organ system-based, taking one system at a time. This set-up just makes sense to me. In both of the first two years there is an elective once a week during the spring. Third year obviously begins rotations, with the option to reschedule a core clerkship until fourth year in order to rotate in the areas you're interested in. There are ample areas for students to study both individually and in groups. For the last few years our USMLE scores have been increasing and last year our average was 228 or 229.
I'm not too big into research and we obviously don't get the amount of NIH funds that the other school in St. Louis does, but we did just complete a new research building in order to begin procuring more research funds/interests.
These are just a few of the things that I've seen in SLU that I have been rather impressed with and the only downside I've been able to find is the price. But if you're trying to decide between a few schools that are above 35K or so, I'd give SLU some thought.
So, is SLU underrated? If we're using SDN exposure as the measurement, I'd defintely say so, but I'm sure there are a lot of those throughout the nation.

 

[DwyaneWade]

^DW, I'm beginning to forget what it feels like to watch the Miami 'M'eat win a game...Oh well, Luke Jackson was a solid pickup...


...Enough threadjacking from me😀

Last night was really disappointing, they are close in a lot of games but they just seem to be missing that "spark". I still have faith tho, back in 2003 they started 6-17 and made the playoffs as a 4 seed. Anything can happen in the East.

 

[DwyaneWade]

I will agree, Miami is really underrated compared to the other schools I have seen. Even though I have only been to a handful of schools, I still believe Miami is underrated, especially if you compare their programs and facilities to schools that are ranked in the 30's by US News. Maybe they just don't promote themselves enough.

In Florida, I have seen advertisments for hospitals that incorporate the advantages of having an academic background, like UF&Shands, Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic, and a Duke affiliated Hospital in Indian River County. Maybe the only thing Miami is lacking is more name recognition.

Well I was actually joking since this thread is a farce but Miami, given the fact it is a good-weather city, rapidly expanding research, good clinical opportunities, great residency matches, not surprising that admission is becoming more and more competitive.

 

[Cranial Gavage]

Name recognition strongly influences our perception of a medical school's ranking. For the general public, this name recognition results largely from coverage by the news media. Medical discoveries (clinical or basic science) consistently make headlines, so medical schools affiliated with major research institutions tend to be better known to the laity.

As a result, a student could misjudge the value of a school by relying on simple name recognition to differentiate between institutions.

 

[NYGirl12]

My vote goes to Rochester for the most underrated. The students are among the brightest in the country, great curriculum and facilities and brilliant professors. Now only if it's in California . . . 🙄

 

[154465]

Maybe it's because I'm at undergrad here. And maybe it's because this is my #1 choice for med school. Maybe I have been exposed to the school more than any other. But I would have to say that Wayne State is pretty underrated by everyone.

 

[potato head]

ha ha

 

[ufgrad00]

The carjackings in the lot makes JHU a one of a kind patient experience!

 

[Mountain Cow]

University of Alabama might be underrated.

Just got back from visiting (my 5th interview) and I was very impressed by the people I met, facilities, and curriculum.

 

[LaMusicienne]

Harvard's a bit underrated, IMHO. They really need a better publicist.

 

[maestro1625]

.

 

[greg1184]

Well I was actually joking since this thread is a farce but Miami, given the fact it is a good-weather city, rapidly expanding research, good clinical opportunities, great residency matches, not surprising that admission is becoming more and more competitive.

Adding the "Miller School of Medicine" tag to it really helps give it a catch name too. Dean Goldschmidt has been amazing trying to put this school on the map.

 

[flaahless]

I think Tulane is underrated. That school is amazing.

 

[ufgrad00]

Thats it, I say we do a Miami hijacking of this thread.

GO CANES!!!!

 

[Phoenix.]

Check out my posts #17 & 28 in this thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=478198

 

[flaahless]

Check out my posts #17 & 28 in this thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=478198

Yeah Mayo is nice. But Minnesota 👎

 

[doinmybest5840]

Yeah Mayo is nice. But Minnesota 👎

Agreed. Some would even question Minnesota's status as a state.

 

[maestro1625]

.

 

[Phoenix.]

that's a lot to say from the increasingly irrelevant state of michigan.

For what it's worth, I lived in Michigan for a few years, and I remember people had a blast circulating jokes via email about just how cold and miserable it was in Minnesota. But personally, I think people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Anyway, I still think Mayo Medical School is vastly underrated in the pre-med mind. And in general too. When I mentioned I was going to interview at Mayo, the invariable response was, "They have a med school?"

 

[154465]

For what it's worth, I lived in Michigan for a few years, and I remember people had a blast circulating jokes via email about just how cold and miserable it was in Minnesota. But personally, I think people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Anyway, I still think Mayo Medical School is vastly underrated in the pre-med mind. And in general too. When I mentioned I was going to interview at Mayo, the invariable response was, "They have a med school?"

I loves me some Mayo and I'm really jealous of your interview!

It's funny, every time I think I might not get in this cycle I think to myself "I can try really hard next cycle for a shot at Mayo." It makes me feel just a tiny bit better.

 

[flaahless]

For what it's worth, I lived in Michigan for a few years, and I remember people had a blast circulating jokes via email about just how cold and miserable it was in Minnesota. But personally, I think people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Anyway, I still think Mayo Medical School is vastly underrated in the pre-med mind. And in general too. When I mentioned I was going to interview at Mayo, the invariable response was, "They have a med school?"

Really? Mayo is very impressive. Dr. Cameron went there. 👍

 

[Running Water]

Yeah Mayo is nice. But Minnesota 👎

yeah i suppose MN must not be cool as CA since it is one of the most progressive states in the entire nation--consistently rated as having one of the best education systems along with excellent health care coverage (91% residents are covered), high standard of living, nation's lowest premature death rate, highest percentage of residents who engage in exercise--plus being at the forefront in such measures as banning smoking in certain public locales, banning mercury from cosmetics, and other noble deeds. CA isn't superficial or anything but seriously who elects a celebrity as governor?

 

[Vihsadas]

Someone said that Maryland is underrated. I mean, they definitely don't have the name recognition of JHU (same vicinity), but maryland is often in the top ranks. I think they were 25th recently?