rank my choices

[Sam02281990]

I am going to apply for medical school this summer. My school advisers told me that my profile probably let me get into the schools ranked between 10th to 50th positions by the U.S News. I excluded several schools I will not apply for. For the rest of them, I need your opinions on their academic strength, prestige, and location advantage. My career goal is to practice academic medicine in the west coast states. Can anyone rank these schools from his/her own perspective? I need your inputs to help me further narrow down the list. Thanks in advance.

BALYOR
BOSTON
BROWN
DUKE
CASE WESTERN RESEARVE
CHICARGO
EMORY
GEORGETOWN
MARTMOUTH
MICHIGAN
NORTHWESTERN
NYU
Pittsburgh
ROCHESTER
TUFTS
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
USC (Keck)
UVA
U. OF WASHINGTON
Vanderbilt
WAKE FOREST

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[DokterMom]

That's a pretty top-heavy list. I'm assuming you've got the stats to make it appropriate? (35+ MCAT, 3.8+GPA, strong clinical and ECs, no weak spots?)

Baylor has a strong Texas bias (75%, I think) so not your most likely bet.

I'd also take a close look at the number of applications each school receives and the number interviewed. If I recall, some of those schools get HUGE numbers of applications.

 

[AlgernonMed]

I think it's going to be difficult for anyone to really rank these schools. Not only will people have many biases, but a lot of it depends on what you're looking for (research, location, etc.). While some might be good for others, they may not be a good fit for you.

 

[Sam02281990]

I would like to practice academic medicine in CA because my family live there and relative connections are there. I know the ideal schools are Stanford and UCSF. Since my profile may not give me enough chance to go these schools, I am searching for other qualified schools. My advisers told me that some CA school, like UCLA, UCSD, and USC, although not as prestige as Stanford and UCSD, can also prepare me for my goal, so do some top schools located in the eastern coast. But I am not sure which ones in my list are qualified. For example, someone told me some lower-rank CA schools may not be a right place for me despite they site in CA. In the other hand, I know if I get graduated from some top eastern schools like HMS or Hopkins, the chance for me to get a residence spot in decent CA med schools should be high. But many eastern schools may not have a lot of connections to the west and if attending, I will most probably not return to the west. Can you suggest me which schools in my original list are not good for me? Thanks again.

 

[MDMomma]

I second the Baylor sentiment--they really seem to prefer in state applicants, unless you're top tier.

 

[Daodejing]

Lots of factors go into choosing where to apply, let alone matriculate to. So, make sure you know which ones are important to you. Since you wanted a ranking, this is how I would personally do it:

1. Case College Track (Cleveland Clinic)
2. Vanderbilt
3. Duke
4. Michigan
5. UChicago
6. Baylor
7. UWash
8. UCLA
9. Case University Track
10. Pitt
11. NYU
12. Emory
13. Northwestern
14. Boston
15. Tufts
16. Brown
17. UC Irvine
18. Wake Forest
19. Dartmouth
20. UVA
21. USC
22. Rochester
23. UC Davis
24. Georgetown

 

[113]

I'm personally a fan of:

1. CHICARGO
2. MARTMOUTH
3. BALYOR
4. CASE WESTERN RESEARVE

 

[mcloaf]

Don't bother with University of Washington,

 

[Daodejing]

Don't bother with University of Washington,

+1, forgot to mention unless you're in WWAMI.

 

[487806]

I'm personally a fan of:

1. CHICARGO
2. MARTMOUTH
3. BALYOR
4. CASE WESTERN RESEARVE

Agreed with this list.

 

[Omppu27]

Lots of advisers are idiots... Not all, but lots don't really know what they're talking about from what I've heard.

Why don't you tell us for info about application ( GPA, MCAT, state residency, ECs) so we can better rank these for you.

Also, is there a certain type of curriculum you're looking for? This is a pretty important factor for me. PBL can go eff itself...

 

[CognitiveSci]

First off, unless your advisers have been ADCOMS at those top schools, I don't see why they would tell you that. Getting into medical school is not guaranteed to anyone, even people with 4.0's. An applicant with a 3.6 might get in over someone with a 4.0 because their overall application was stronger and they may be a more interesting person.

Posting your stats would really help to "rank". But I can definitely say your list is a little top heavy right now. Make sure to look at other factors besides name, such as location, research-heavy, residency, etc

 

[Sam02281990]

I understood getting into med schools is part of numbers and part of fortune. I will add several safety schools. But, I need to decide my targeting schools which cannot be too many. Too expensive to apply all schools in the list plus 5 - 6 safety ones. My status is MCAT 35 and GPA 3.85, English and math double major with biology minor, average volunteer/shadowing, average ECs, many leadership, researches on both 'dry' and 'wet' lab studies, three co-authors papers published in journals with impact factor 5+. How do I pick 7 - 8 schools from the following that will prepare me for practicing academic medicine in CA. Thank you all for comments.


BALYOR
BOSTON
BROWN
DUKE
CASE WESTERN RESEARVE
CHICARGO
EMORY
GEORGETOWN
MARTMOUTH
MICHIGAN
NORTHWESTERN
NYU
Pittsburgh
ROCHESTER
TUFTS
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
USC (Keck)
UVA
U. OF WASHINGTON
Vanderbilt
WAKE FOREST

 

[DrCaliBoy]

Duke
UCLA
Chicago
Michigan
Case
Based on your emphasis on research, duke is first because you use a whole year on a project and you still graduate in 4 yrs.