Most underrated medical school? (2015 edition)

[Chansey]

Which medical schools do you think deserve more love?

I'll start: Ohio State University!

I interviewed a while ago. I haven't heard back, but the institution really blew me away. The medical campus is huge. It has state-of-the-art facilities, and the nicest fitness center I've ever seen. The campus is gigantic, and alive with energy. Rent and gas in Columbus are insanely cheap. The staff and faculty I interviewed with were extremely hospitable. Definitely one of the nicest interview experiences I've had. And for those interested in research, Ohio State's MD/PhD program was granted NIH funding in 2011, making it an official "MSTP" program.

There are some cons:
- Columbus is not NYC / Philly / Chicago / San Francisco.
- You'll be outnumbered 100:1 by undergrads (I personally don't mind this.)
- More famous for football than medicine

That being said, Ohio State is a phenomenal school. I fully expect it to climb the US News rankings in the future.

What are you thoughts!?

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[Doug Underhill]

The weird thing about Ohio State is that they have anatomy as a pre-req, and they're not fond of waiving it.

 

[Chansey]

The weird thing about Ohio State is that they have anatomy as a pre-req, and they're not fond of waiving it.

Good point. I forgot about that. (Though the anatomy pre-req is before you *matriculate*. It's not required for acceptance. And OSU isn't picky about where you take anatomy. Most of the students I talked to took an an online anatomy course to fulfill the requirement once they decided they were going to OSU.)

 

[Lord Osis]

Is this something that premeds can rightfully judge?

 

[Chansey]

Is this something that premeds can rightfully judge?

We probably don't know as much about a school as a medical student, but I formed my impressions based on my interview experience. Other pre-meds might have done a lot of reading on a specific school, or had research/work experience there. I don't think pre-meds are totally ignorant.

 

[cs24]

Weird thread.. OSU also just changed their curriculum, hopefully its getting better but it was a bit of a cluster at first. They also changed up their clinical rotations in a very strange way. I'm glad I didn't attend.

IMO, it is a bit ridiculous for you to start a thread about how great any school is if all you have done is attended an interview. I know that what I would want out of a medical school has changed a great deal now that I'm actually in one. A lot of things premeds think is important before starting are completely inconsequential. (Eg early clinical exposure, student:cadaver ratio, etc.)

 

[Chansey]

Weird thread.. OSU also just changed their curriculum, hopefully its getting better but it was a bit of a cluster at first. They also changed up their clinical rotations in a very strange way. I'm glad I didn't attend.

IMO, it is a bit ridiculous for you to start a thread about how great any school is if all you have done is attended an interview. I know that what I would want out of a medical school has changed a great deal now that I'm actually in one. A lot of things premeds think is important before starting are completely inconsequential. (Eg early clinical exposure, student:cadaver ratio, etc.)

How do you know OSU's curriculum was a cluster**** if you didn't attend? You're criticizing me for praising a school I've never attended, while you're essentially doing the same thing by bashing a school you've never attended.

I wanted to hear more about "lesser known schools" that deserve more love. I'm not saying OSU is the best school ever and everyone should attend. I'm saying it's a school that pleasantly surprised me. Out of the several interviews I've attended, OSU stood out.

If you have a school you think is better deserving of the title "most underrated," please share.

 

[Lucca]

Stanford. It's number 2 but should be number 1.

 

[psychgirl95]

I rarely see people talk about UAB here, so IMO it is a bit underrated. But then again, maybe I'm just a bit biased.

 

[Chansey]

I rarely see people talk about UAB here, so IMO it is a bit underrated. But then again, maybe I'm just a bit biased.

Fun fact: University of Alabama - Birmingham is ranked #43 in research by US News - the same as Georgetown! 15% of last years incoming class came from out-of-state.

 

[nm825]

Fun fact: University of Alabama - Birmingham is ranked #43 in research by US News - the same as Georgetown! 15% of last years incoming class came from out-of-state.

But Georgetown has a football team.

 

[Chansey]

But Georgetown has a football team.

Too soon, too soon....

(For those that don't understand the joke.)

 

[allantois]

But Georgetown has a football team.

Last thing to worry about your medical school..

 

[psychgirl95]

Fun fact: University of Alabama - Birmingham is ranked #43 in research by US News - the same as Georgetown! 15% of last years incoming class came from out-of-state.

Oh cool, I didn't know that.

But Georgetown has a football team.

Well we used too have one too.
You should see how mad everyone still is around here.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Texas tech El Paso

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Stanford. It's number 2 but should be number 1.

Lol, you beat me to it

 

[alpinism]

I'll throw out a few:

Cincinnati - cheap for IS (29K) decent for OOS (47K), low COL, good research, top residencies in EM/Peds, great facilities, good rotations, systems based curriculum, integrated courses on nutrition, most students are fun/down to earth (I've met a bunch at conferences).

UNC - cheap for IS (21K) decent for OOS (48K), low COL, great research, many competitive residencies, good rotations, systems based curriculum, top public health school, tons of international opportunities, great college atmosphere and sports.

UT Houston - ridiculously cheap, good research, great rotations at some of the best/busiest hospitals in the country (MD Anderson, Memorial).

(disclaimer- I don't attend any of the above)

 

[sazerac]

Any medical school classified as Unranked (did not return survey), because they will forever be confused with Rank Not Published (low tier) medical schools.

 

[Feelgood Inc]

But Georgetown has a football team.

lol, barely.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

University of Iowa and FAU

 

[dellprecision]

Which medical schools do you think deserve more love?

I'll start: Ohio State University!

I interviewed a while ago. I haven't heard back, but the institution really blew me away. The medical campus is huge. It has state-of-the-art facilities, and the nicest fitness center I've ever seen. The campus is gigantic, and alive with energy. Rent and gas in Columbus are insanely cheap. The staff and faculty I interviewed with were extremely hospitable. Definitely one of the nicest interview experiences I've had. And for those interested in research, Ohio State's MD/PhD program was granted NIH funding in 2011, making it an official "MSTP" program.

There are some cons:
- Columbus is not NYC / Philly / Chicago / San Francisco.
- You'll be outnumbered 100:1 by undergrads (I personally don't mind this.)
- More famous for football than medicine

That being said, Ohio State is a phenomenal school. I fully expect it to climb the US News rankings in the future.

What are you thoughts!?

I'm not sure if OSU necessarily has an amazing and underrated program, or if they simply have fantastic and aggressive interview day marketing. Out of all the places I went to, they probably sold themselves the second best (the first was Duke, who was just on another level). OSU said things like "Our rankings don't reflect how good we actually are.", which of course made me wonder to myself "Why don't they? It's your word (and the word of every other med school that wants to be ranked higher) against an objective source."

I liked their pre-clerkship clinical exposures as they seemed to be much more in-depth than what other schools offered, but I also feel like the "prestige" associated with a school is also often reflected in how well a school places students into competitive programs and specialties, whereas OSU's strengths all seem to gravitate mostly towards primary care.

 

[Entadus]

I'll throw out a few:

Cincinnati - cheap for IS (29K) decent for OOS (47K), low COL, good research, top residencies in EM/Peds, great facilities, good rotations, systems based curriculum, integrated courses on nutrition, most students are fun/down to earth (I've met a bunch at conferences).

UNC - cheap for IS (21K) decent for OOS (48K), low COL, great research, many competitive residencies, good rotations, systems based curriculum, top public health school, tons of international opportunities, great college atmosphere and sports.

UT Houston - ridiculously cheap, good research, great rotations at some of the best/busiest hospitals in the country (MD Anderson, Memorial).

(disclaimer- I don't attend any of the above)

I'll second Cincinnati (huge diamond in the rough) and throw in Creighton as well. People tend to judge it purely on the name/ranking instead of the wonderful people and philosophy of the school.

 

[WillburCobb]

UND - solid hockey team and WillburCobb - 'nuff said.

 

[Bovary]

Ohio state actually now offers their own online anatomy course that satisfies the requirement. It's a weird requirement still, but they make it easy to finish up before matriculation.

I also thought Ohio State aggressively marketed themselves during the interview. Ultimately I was relatively unimpressed by the (lack of perceptible) ambition in their students. Was everyone super friendly? Absolutely! But no one was "gunning" for competitive residencies, which I actually think is a desirable attitude in a student body. It doesn't necessarily mean competition, just lofty goals (Duke wins out here so much, which I love).

 

[deleted436726]

The one that accepts me

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

UC Irvine
UC Davis

 

[AlteredScale]

Harvard

 

[Bovary]

I've heard Pitt described as underrated.

 

[cs24]

How do you know OSU's curriculum was a cluster**** if you didn't attend? You're criticizing me for praising a school I've never attended, while you're essentially doing the same thing by bashing a school you've never attended.

I wanted to hear more about "lesser known schools" that deserve more love. I'm not saying OSU is the best school ever and everyone should attend. I'm saying it's a school that pleasantly surprised me. Out of the several interviews I've attended, OSU stood out.

If you have a school you think is better deserving of the title "most underrated," please share.

I know several people who attend OSU, and know a great deal about their curriculum, rings, shelf scheduling, etc.

I didn't throw out a name into the fray because, as you have so astutely pointed out, I (and everyone else that can possibly reply to this thread) have only attended one medical school at most, and as such can only comment intelligently about that one school and maybe one other (eg if a significant other attends that school). Actually, most people in pre-Allo have attended zero medical schools, and as such know next to nothing about ANY school they might bring up. Additionally, having never attended medical school they don't even know what they really would want out of said medical school. Sounds like a recipe for a bunch of useless information to me.

How the hell would I know if my school deserved more hype than it gets? I like it, and if I were to reply seriously to this thread, I would say "Cincinnati is a great school for X,Y, and Z" but anyone who likes their current school would say the same thing.

 

[IgEdoc]

Stanford. It's number 2 but should be number 1.

Nah...you're thinking of 33.3 miles Northward

 

[Shams al Deen]

UVA is way underrated in terms of its perception with the lay person.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

I was extremely surprised to see that OSU has an accepted average 35 mcat. I looked it up because of this thread and thought it would be around 31 or 32 for some reason. I also didn't realize how many OOS they interview. I wish I would have applied there.

 

[dellprecision]

I was extremely surprised to see that OSU has an accepted average 35 mcat. I looked it up because of this thread and thought it would be around 31 or 32 for some reason. I also didn't realize how many OOS they interview. I wish I would have applied there.

The vibe that I got from them during my interview day was that they're trying to shoot themselves up the rankings by trying to recruit more and more high-stat applicants.

 

[Lamel]

I've heard Pitt described as underrated.

Maybe for the layperson, but in medical circles its very highly rated.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Maybe for the layperson, but in medical circles its very highly rated.

Same for UCSF.

 

[Entadus]

UVA is way underrated in terms of its perception with the lay person.

Who cares what the layperson thinks about a particular med school? And what does the layperson know about med schools anyway?

 

[Lucca]

Who cares what the layperson thinks about a particular med school? And what does the layperson know about med schools anyway?

The lion does not concern himself with the opinions of the sheep.

Pitt also DOMINATES at Volleyball so there's that.

 

[bear2roo]

USF Morsani

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

USC

 

[Shams al Deen]

Who cares what the layperson thinks about a particular med school? And what does the layperson know about med schools anyway?

It's cool to name drop a big name school. But the thread question can be answered in 2 ways. Underrated by general public or underrated in academic medical circles.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Wash U

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Wash U

Isn't Wash U a top 10 med school? How is it underrated?

 

[W19]

University of Central Florida

 

[miamiheatfan]

Wake Forest, University of Florida, Medical College of Wisconsin, and University of Miami.

 

[miamiheatfan]

Also, Top 25 schools are not underrated.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Isn't Wash U a top 10 med school? How is it underrated?

I wasn't being facetious. Many people outside of the medical world are unaware of its existence. Also, I feel that it's overlooked by med school applicants due to its location.

You can have prestige and still be underrated. For example, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and Tim Duncan are recognized as some of the greatest NBA players ever, yet they're still underrated IMO.

 

[ridethecliche]

Any medical school classified as Unranked (did not return survey), because they will forever be confused with Rank Not Published (low tier) medical schools.

Haha, that explains Albany!

 

[Lucca]

Dell Medical School. It isn't't even open but most of you have no idea how awesome living in Austin is compared to anywhere else in Texas.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

I wasn't being facetious. Many people outside of the medical world are unaware of its existence. Also, I feel that it's overlooked by med school applicants due to its location.

You can have prestige and still be underrated. For example, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and Tim Duncan are recognized as some of the greatest NBA players ever, yet they're still underrated IMO.

Well STL is awesome, so people are missing out lol

 

[AlteredScale]

Well STL is awesome, so people are missing out lol

I'm hoping to visit there next year from KC!