Poll: How important are rankings in your selection of a medical school?

Get Your Med School Admissions Questions Answered!
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Poll: How are important are rankings in your selection of a medical school?

  • It is the most important factor in choosing a school.

    Votes: 6 3.7%

  • It is very important.

    Votes: 40 24.8%

  • It is somewhat of a factor.

    Votes: 74 46.0%

  • It is the least important factor.

    Votes: 19 11.8%

  • I don't care about rankings at all.

    Votes: 22 13.7%
  • Total voters
    161
B

BigMDT

FO SHO
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2007
Messages
341
Reaction score
4
I was just wondering where most people stand on this issue. US News rankings are often criticized and , even if accurate, many claim it is the "fit" that matters most in selecting a med school. Im curious, how important is the ranking of a school for you in deciding the school you will MATRICULATE to?


a. it is the most important factor in choosing a school

b. it is very important

c. it is somewhat of a factor

d. it is the least important factor.

e. I don't care about rankings at all.
Members don't see this ad.
 
Since I'm on the clinical side instead of research, I don't care at all whether I get into Harvard (didn't apply) or my state school...

...I just want to get in!
 
Depends... #10 vs. #50? I go to the #10 school, not because it's ranked #10 but there must be a reason for that besides the silly research dollars that inflate the rankings so much.
However, #10 vs. #19 (which is what I have to deal with), rankings aren't as important as people make them out to be.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
DescentFan said:
Since I'm on the clinical side instead of research, I don't care at all whether I get into Harvard (didn't apply) or my state school...

...I just want to get in!
Click to expand...

I am also in the 'I don't give a crap' group.
 
Wow. Right now it's a tie between caring about them and not caring about them at all.
 
I'm interested in a school that will train me to be an effective clinician. Rankings, other than clinical rankings, mean little. Even clinical rankings mean little: schools get more money for being highly-ranked, which they use to keep their facilities modern and court the very best students, which in turn keeps them high on the ranks, which in turn keeps them well-funded...

That's a cycle I don't wish to propagate :)
 
flaahless said:
Hahaha I don't think my humor was noticed. But thanks for the link anyway. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

I skipped the mandatory "chewing out" on purpose since it's Christmas time. :D
 
If you are talking about the USNWR rankings, then I'd say they are not completely baseless, but definitely take them with more than a few grains of salt. Examine their ranking criteria carefully. If they correspond with your own criteria, then perhaps they'd matter a bit more. Nevertheless, I strongly advocate coming up with your OWN ranking system, based on what factors YOU find important, rather than relying on some magazine company.
 
Meh... I don't really care. My top-choice school isn't on the USNWR top rankings and it hasn't affect my opinion of it in the slightest.

I'll just stick to my own rankings for medical schools, based on the time-honored standard of "Schools I'm interested in attending because I like them and think I would be happy there."
 
Members don't see this ad :)
wow.


"somewhat" is doing very well.

i would have thought "most" would be stronger. i encourage more people to poll.
 
USNWR might have some God-awful stats backing up their rankings, but when you think about it: does it even matter? The bad science I mean. Think about it: everyone here would probably agree that, right or wrong, USNWR rankings are given a lot of respect by a lot of people. Therefore, accurate or not, they will influence a lot of decisions. As someone else already posted: more of the "great" students will go to the top ranked schools which gives them more popularity, better numbers, higher ranking next year, more research money, more money from proud alumni, which means more improvements, more research, more respect amongst residency directors, etc, etc.

Honestly you could have one of those television fortune tellers pick the list... if that's the list people respect, it will become self-fulfilling.

SO.... for the above reasons I definitely give a good deal of weight to the general rankings (top 10, top 20, top 30...) of the USNWR list. As long as I feel that I "fit" well at a school and am OK with its location... ranking is pretty much going to be the deciding factor.
 
StealthNerd said:
USNWR might have some God-awful stats backing up their rankings, but when you think about it: does it even matter? The bad science I mean. Think about it: everyone here would probably agree that, right or wrong, USNWR rankings are given a lot of respect by a lot of people. Therefore, accurate or not, they will influence a lot of decisions. As someone else already posted: more of the "great" students will go to the top ranked schools which gives them more popularity, better numbers, higher ranking next year, more research money, more money from proud alumni, which means more improvements, more research, more respect amongst residency directors, etc, etc.

Honestly you could have one of those television fortune tellers pick the list... if that's the list people respect, it will become self-fulfilling.

SO.... for the above reasons I definitely give a good deal of weight to the general rankings (top 10, top 20, top 30...) of the USNWR list. As long as I feel that I "fit" well at a school and am OK with its location... ranking is pretty much going to be the deciding factor.
Click to expand...

Maybe if residency directors used the same rankings list as pre-meds do, then that'd be 100% true. Sadly, most pre-meds don't know that it's not.

Plus, rankings may be one thing, but that won't get you the best board score possible, and everyone should know that that IS the important thing to worry about: whether the school you pick will actually be good for YOU. If only people had the common sense to remember that!
 
Depressed genius that can't get out of bed at the best school in some ranking won't out-score a ***** who actually gets out of bed to take the boards. :)
 
TheRealMD said:
Maybe if residency directors used the same rankings list as pre-meds do, then that'd be 100% true. Sadly, most pre-meds don't know that it's not.

Plus, rankings may be one thing, but that won't get you the best board score possible, and everyone should know that that IS the important thing to worry about: whether the school you pick will actually be good for YOU. If only people had the common sense to remember that!
Click to expand...

Maxprime said:
Depressed genius that can't get out of bed at the best school in some ranking won't out-score a ***** who actually gets out of bed to take the boards. :)
Click to expand...

I totally agree with both of you, which is why I said that for me, fit comes before ranking. But, as I explained to my spouse... the bottom line is I intend to straight up ace the **** out of the boards regardless of the school. Pretty solid plan, I'd say. :D
 
Step 1 scores are best correlated with your MCAT......both are standardized tests.

Most faculty MDs (except for the ones at Vermont for some reason) ive met feel that the boards are in no way an accurate reflection of the quality of education at a given school anyways (and most docs who said this were at schools where board exams were through the roof)

i wouldnt pick a school based on board scores....i think its just important that you pick a school that has a curriculum that at least "fits" your learning style so you can learn the stuff. hint: if you like structure in the first 2 years...dont go to yale.
 
BigMDT said:
Step 1 scores are best correlated with your MCAT......both are standardized tests.

Most faculty MDs (except for the ones at Vermont for some reason) ive met feel that the boards are in no way an accurate reflection of the quality of education at a given school anyways (and most docs who said this were at schools where board exams were through the roof)

i wouldnt pick a school based on board scores....i think its just important that you pick a school that has a curriculum that at least "fits" your learning style so you can learn the stuff. hint: if you like structure in the first 2 years...dont go to yale.
Click to expand...

:laugh: I am sure someone from Yale will disagree
 
I would like to know, for those of you who say that you don't care at all about rankings, do you care about perceived prestige of the school? In other words, do you care about going to a school that future patients and colleagues will likely recognize and respect? (Basically, you might just think that the rankings are so poorly done that they do not really correlate with prestige, but you still care about prestige?)

I certainly understand that the most important factor is getting your education and achieving your career goals, which you can do at any school you choose. Can you say, though, that you honestly do not care whether people will see your school as a place that trains "the best and the brightest?"
 
if I'm going to drop $200k+ on my education, one of my factors (but not the sole factor) is definitely going to be prestiege/reputation. That said, if we're talking about USNews rankings, there isn't much difference to me for a school that's ranked 6th versus one that's ranked 35th. Lots more important things...say tuition? teaching style? location?
 
BigMDT said:
im serious......there are NO GRADES the first two years.
Click to expand...

No grades has nothing to do with whether or not they have a structured curriculum. Exams do exist at Yale (they're optional and anonymous), which implies there are structured syllabi.
 
TexasMD2B said:
yea, but if i choose A&M or UTMB over UCLA, i'm a *****, right?
Click to expand...

Hmm...

yes.

Actually, let's think logically about this. If you were able to get into UCLA, then certainly you should be able to get into a school like A&M or UTMB with.... more prestige. It's not pleasant to say, but that's the truth. Best of both worlds anyway.

Plus, if you applied, I assume you wanted it. Thus, you become a *****. :p
 
Found this survey of Rads program directors. On pages 8 and 9 they rate various selection criteria for getting int'd and then ranked. Thought it might be useful here. I knew region was a consideration, but it tickles me that its in the same league as research exp according to this. 89 programs responded which is about half the total I think.

http://www.apdr.org/directors/pdffiles/2005SurveyResults.pdf
 
StealthNerd said:
I totally agree with both of you, which is why I said that for me, fit comes before ranking. But, as I explained to my spouse... the bottom line is I intend to straight up ace the **** out of the boards regardless of the school. Pretty solid plan, I'd say. :D
Click to expand...

Fit does come before ranking. It is way more important, because that has the potential to translate into you getting the most out of your education and killing those boards. Any advantages that the school's rank has in residency application are negligible.

BigMDT said:
I was just wondering where most people stand on this issue. US News rankings are often criticized and , even if accurate, many claim it is the "fit" that matters most in selecting a med school. Im curious, how important is the ranking of a school for you in deciding the school you will MATRICULATE to?


a. it is the most important factor in choosing a school

b. it is very important

c. it is somewhat of a factor

d. it is the least important factor.

e. I don't care about rankings at all.
Click to expand...


This poll will not necessarily reflect the opinions of all premeds, as those of us who post on SDN, are generally and stereotypically number and ranking ****** who all want to get into a top 20 school. I would guess that in all premeds, the importance of ranking is the least important factor.

flaahless said:
Hahaha I don't think my humor was noticed. But thanks for the link anyway. :thumbup:
Click to expand...
I noticed!
 
texas beat asu tonight......rankings smankings.....
 
I think I am in the position of many applicants. I didn't care one bit before I got my first acceptance. Now that I have been accepted at a decent school that I really liked, it would take an acceptance from a much higher ranked school to change my mind.
 
BoilerWolverine said:
I think I am in the position of many applicants. I didn't care one bit before I got my first acceptance. Now that I have been accepted at a decent school that I really liked, it would take an acceptance from a much higher ranked school to change my mind.
Click to expand...

congrats on cincinnati, BW!!!
 
BigMDT said:
texas beat asu tonight......rankings smankings.....
Click to expand...

The entire year of college football was the biggest crapshoot of all time. The bowl system predates the NCAA and needs to be replaced with playoffs as every other division of football and every other sport has done.

That said, Arizona State was overrated this year. Carpenter is a bi*** and his line can't block for crap. But give Erickson a couple years to find a real qb and beef up his front, I think we've only seen the surface of them.

At least it was that young Texas coach who probably did one of the dumbest things of all time...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
2023-2024 Medical School Rankings
Replies
2
Views
2K
chilly_md
chilly_md
sammed
  • Locked
Medical school 2023/2024 rankings
Replies
8
Views
6K
gyngyn
gyngyn
ItAintEasyBeingCheesy
  • Locked
2024 USNWR Medical School Rankings
Replies
4
Views
2K
gyngyn
gyngyn
It’s Over!!!
  • Locked
The "real" med school rankings
Replies
2
Views
1K
gyngyn
gyngyn
I
How important is med school ranking
Replies
14
Views
2K
butidontwantto
B
Top