Rankings

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

wjin06

Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2004
Messages
204
Reaction score
0
How important and accurately reflective of quality of education and/or prestige are rankings for med schools? I've heard that the only ones that really count are rankings for "research" med schools and not the primary care lists. I've also heard that they shouldn't come into your school selection at all. I've already applied to a number of schools, but I'm starting to consider adding even more so I'm trying to figure out if I should consider rankings significantly (again) or not.

Members don't see this ad.
 
How important and accurately reflective of quality of education and/or prestige are rankings for med schools? I've heard that the only ones that really count are rankings for "research" med schools and not the primary care lists. I've also heard that they shouldn't come into your school selection at all. I've already applied to a number of schools, but I'm starting to consider adding even more so I'm trying to figure out if I should consider rankings significantly (again) or not.

see sig.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Excellent signature.
 
How important and accurately reflective of quality of education and/or prestige are rankings for med schools? I've heard that the only ones that really count are rankings for "research" med schools and not the primary care lists. I've also heard that they shouldn't come into your school selection at all. I've already applied to a number of schools, but I'm starting to consider adding even more so I'm trying to figure out if I should consider rankings significantly (again) or not.

As the prior poster indicated, rankings are only as good as their design, and only can tell you what they are designed to tell you -- and they are not designed to tell you which school is "better" than which. The research ranking is a very loose ranking of which school brings in more research money, and as such is perhaps a very loose ranking of prestige, because big name grants often go to (or establish) big name scientists who tend to be lured in by big name places. Will this affect your experience while in med school? Probably not. But do med students have much else to go on in terms of which school to pick over which? Probably not.
You can use rankings, but know that they simply don't mean a great deal. I certainly wouldn't worry about the distinctions between schools 5 or 10 ranks away from each other. But generally the schools ranked in the top dozen have some advantages in terms of research opportunities, infrastructure and connections than the schools ranked 60+. It becomes more fuzzy if you try to peg things down closer.
 
Is there a way then to decide whether a school is "good enough" for you to apply to? Not just whether a school is right for you or not? I'm not at all trying to sound haughty, but for instance, I've been strongly advised numerous times not to apply to schools in the Caribbean.
 
Is there a way then to decide whether a school is "good enough" for you to apply to? Not just whether a school is right for you or not? I'm not at all trying to sound haughty, but for instance, I've been strongly advised numerous times not to apply to schools in the Caribbean.

Through this process I have come to learn that there is no such thing as a bad U.S. Medical school. I based my entire selection on schools with stats close to mine in places I would like to live. I put a huuuuge emphasis on places that I would like to live. Also you can look at a schools curriculum and match list, although most match lists that I have seen seem oddly similar, which can only mean you can get anywhere from anywhere if you work hard. And yea, stay away from foreign schools if you can.
 
I think it can be said that the same goes for undergrad rankings. They don't really matter that much.
 
I think it can be said that the same goes for undergrad rankings. They don't really matter that much.
Hmmm, I beg to differ. There are WAY more undergrads than med schools, and obviously there's going to be a lot of variation in terms of quality of professors, students, and resources. Also, with med schools you have the USMLEs to set everyone equal and make sure that a school's education is up to par. With undergrad, there is no such thing.
 
Hmmm, I beg to differ. There are WAY more undergrads than med schools, and obviously there's going to be a lot of variation in terms of quality of professors, students, and resources. Also, with med schools you have the USMLEs to set everyone equal and make sure that a school's education is up to par. With undergrad, there is no such thing.


It's called the MCAT.
 
It's called the MCAT.
Not everyone who goes to undergrad takes the MCAT.

And with the fact that some people manage to score like 10 points higher on their rewrites, it's pretty clear that it's not your undergrad that's responsible for your score - otherwise there wouldn't be that much personal variation.
 
Not everyone who goes to undergrad takes the MCAT.

And with the fact that some people manage to score like 10 points higher on their rewrites, it's pretty clear that it's not your undergrad that's responsible for your score - otherwise there wouldn't be that much personal variation.

I fail to see your point. You can study really hard or not for your USMLE too, it is a standardized test. No not everyone takes the MCAT from undergrad, but this is a med forum and I don't care much for other majors.
 
the #1 thing that factors into med school rankings is research grant $
 
I fail to see your point. You can study really hard or not for your USMLE too, it is a standardized test. No not everyone takes the MCAT from undergrad, but this is a med forum and I don't care much for other majors.
Yes, you fail to see my point. There's no standardized test that measures the quality of your education in undergrad. You don't go to undergrad websites and see the "*Whatever test* pass rates" on there as a selling point for potential applicants. Some people in undergrad take the MCAT, some GRE, some GMAT, some LSAT, and many never end up taking a standardized test again. The only kind of correlation there might be between undergrad and graduate test scores would be stemming from the fact that people who get into prestigious undergrads are bound to be good standardized test takers, because they had to have scored highly on the SATs or ACTs to get into those schools. But you don't know how many of those high scorers just went to their state school instead because it was cheap and close to home, either.
 
Yes, you fail to see my point. There's no standardized test that measures the quality of your education in undergrad. You don't go to undergrad websites and see the "*Whatever test* pass rates" on there as a selling point for potential applicants. Some people in undergrad take the MCAT, some GRE, some GMAT, some LSAT, and many never end up taking a standardized test again. The only kind of correlation there might be between undergrad and graduate test scores would be stemming from the fact that people who get into prestigious undergrads are bound to be good standardized test takers, because they had to have scored highly on the SATs or ACTs to get into those schools. But you don't know how many of those high scorers just went to their state school instead because it was cheap and close to home, either.

Right...how is that different than med school and the USMLE?

Actually, don't answer that. I'm going to take a nap, maybe someone else feels like arguing this. See ya.
 
Rankings do matter a bit. It's more about how well you do, getting honors, doing well on the USMLE, etc.

For better or worse, on average, kids with M.D.s from Haaaarvard, JHU, Stanfurd, Dook, UCSF and Washu probably do better in matching competitively than some of the unranked schools. But then again, there may be some selection bias here, the kids that get into Harvard or JHU usually have some phenomenal academic cred that other "unranked schools" may be unable to recruit.

Most of the top schools have better connections to NIH, research grants, very well-known faculty (who can write great residency letters) and a track record of producing academic clinicians.

Granted, if you want to be a PCP, it ain't going to matter all that much where you go or where you do residency. But if you're aiming to be the head of the pediatrics neurosurg dept at <insert famous hospital here>, go with the best fit and the best research school.

If you're lucky enough to get into Yale and Duke (or other similarly ranked schools), I wouldn't stress it too much, since the difference in rank between 5 and 10 is negligible.
 
Top