It’s Over!!!
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So, obviously mission fit is important. And net cost of attendance after merit and/or financial aid is huge. And yes, some schools are better for this and for that, etc.
What I'm interested in is an all other things being equal discussion--I know, a complete fiction.
But there is so much talk on here about Top 3, Top 5, Top 10, Top 20, Top 25, etc. I am assuming this is based mostly on US News rankings.
I'm wondering what most of us think are the most important factors in ranking medical schools (I know, they are of dubious value to begin with).
It seems to me that the reputation rank is the truest expression of the true rank of medical schools--what other med schools and residency directors feel about a particular school. And perhaps it is best to view these in bands.
For example, using 2023 and 2024 USNWR data, the top 20 or so based on reputation might be something like this:
Hopkins, Harvard (Maybe UCSF too)
UCSF, Stanford, Penn
Michigan, Wash U, Duke, Columbia
UCLA, Vanderbilt, Washington
Pitt, Northwestern, Yale, Mayo, Cornell
NYU, Chicago, Emory, UNC
Now obviously these bands are fairly arbitrary, and one could argue they should be narrower or broader.
This of course also assumes US News is correctly polling Med School peers and Residency Directors.
And it also leads to strange anomalies. For example, it seems Michigan and Chicago are often compared as very close peer schools here, and in where should I go discussions, if anything Chicago seems to have the slight edge. But if you look at the reputation ranks, Michigan seems to have the edge.
So just wondering people thoughts on the "true" rankings of med schools. Not interested in discussing the value of such rankings.
And please, let's not let this get out of control. This is an honest question. Not looking for fights or discussions about how none of this matters.
What I'm interested in is an all other things being equal discussion--I know, a complete fiction.
But there is so much talk on here about Top 3, Top 5, Top 10, Top 20, Top 25, etc. I am assuming this is based mostly on US News rankings.
I'm wondering what most of us think are the most important factors in ranking medical schools (I know, they are of dubious value to begin with).
It seems to me that the reputation rank is the truest expression of the true rank of medical schools--what other med schools and residency directors feel about a particular school. And perhaps it is best to view these in bands.
For example, using 2023 and 2024 USNWR data, the top 20 or so based on reputation might be something like this:
Hopkins, Harvard (Maybe UCSF too)
UCSF, Stanford, Penn
Michigan, Wash U, Duke, Columbia
UCLA, Vanderbilt, Washington
Pitt, Northwestern, Yale, Mayo, Cornell
NYU, Chicago, Emory, UNC
Now obviously these bands are fairly arbitrary, and one could argue they should be narrower or broader.
This of course also assumes US News is correctly polling Med School peers and Residency Directors.
And it also leads to strange anomalies. For example, it seems Michigan and Chicago are often compared as very close peer schools here, and in where should I go discussions, if anything Chicago seems to have the slight edge. But if you look at the reputation ranks, Michigan seems to have the edge.
So just wondering people thoughts on the "true" rankings of med schools. Not interested in discussing the value of such rankings.
And please, let's not let this get out of control. This is an honest question. Not looking for fights or discussions about how none of this matters.
