the ultimate poll

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What are the top 5 med schools?

  • Harvard

    Votes: 181 80.4%

  • Johns Hopkins

    Votes: 191 84.9%

  • Yale

    Votes: 71 31.6%

  • Stanford

    Votes: 89 39.6%

  • Columbia

    Votes: 38 16.9%

  • UCSF

    Votes: 101 44.9%

  • UCLA

    Votes: 36 16.0%

  • University of Pennsylvania

    Votes: 69 30.7%

  • Washington University in St. Louis

    Votes: 93 41.3%

  • Duke

    Votes: 52 23.1%

  • University of Washington

    Votes: 34 15.1%

  • Michigan

    Votes: 33 14.7%

  • Baylor

    Votes: 43 19.1%

  • Cornell

    Votes: 20 8.9%

  • Mayo

    Votes: 76 33.8%

  • University of Chicago

    Votes: 32 14.2%
  • Total voters
    225
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monalisa23

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I'm new to this forum and wanted to get a sense of what premeds/med students think are the top 5 medical schools in the US. For this poll, the most important factors are reputation, quality of training, and residency placement in the most competitive fields at the top hospitals (in this order of importance).
 
Nice poll
 
Just to start, in 2003 the Wall Street Journal claimed Harvard, Hopkins, Yale, UCSF, and Columbia as the top 5 med schools based on "a consensus of grad-school deans we interviewed, top recruiters and published grad-school rankings." These schools were not ranked in any particular order.

http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/college/feederschools.htm

Look towards the bottom of the page.
 
I've added the poll...sorry, I'm new to this. Anyway, I added a good number of choices. Just pick 5, and let's see what happens...isn't anyone the least bit curious?!?
 
monalisa23 said:
I've added the poll...sorry, I'm new to this. Anyway, I added a good number of choices. Just pick 5, and let's see what happens...isn't anyone the least bit curious?!?
Click to expand...

Not really. The majority of premed/med students aren't on SDN. Also those who don't know about a lot of these schools will most likely pick schools that they are familiar with. Those who attend one the schools on the list will probably pick the school that they are in. They probably won't pick a school that rejected them. So what I'm trying to say is that you will proabably get results based on opinions and biases(is that even a word?) rather than facts. I.E. I chose Columbia because I'm a native New Yorker. I chose Mayo because a lot of SDNers have good things to say about it. And the other 3, I will choose in the same manner that I elected student government officials, by how "nice" their name sounds.

If I come across as rude then I'm sorry. That is in no way shape or form my intention
 
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TamarMD said:
Not really. The majority of premed/med students aren't on SDN. Also those who don't know about a lot of these schools will most likely pick schools that they are familiar with. Those who attend one the schools on the list will probably pick the school that they are in. They probably won't pick a school that rejected them. So what I'm trying to say is that you will proabably get results based on opinions and biases(is that even a word?) rather than facts. I.E. I chose Columbia because I'm a native New Yorker. I chose Mayo because a lot of SDNers have good things to say about it. And the other 3, I will choose in the same manner that I elected student government officials, by how "nice" their name sounds.

If I come across as rude then I'm sorry. That is in no way shape or form my intention
Click to expand...

You're right...still curious though how the poll turns out.
 
For all the people ripping on this thread and saying it will be a waste/failure, a lot of people are voting. Of course there will be biases, that's inherent in any poll on a message board. I like this poll because I'm curious myself as to what those biases are. The funny thing is I bet the people who put down this poll were some of the first to vote in it.
 
Seriously, why isn't Stewart on there!! 😀

Yeh, the results of this poll really won't matter and it is kind of a waste of time. (kind of like those threads on College Confidential where the high schoolers try to say that the University they want to go to is more prestigious than _____ University)
 
where is ponce
 
the only schools on that list i would even consider going to are Duke, UCLA, and UCSF. not to say that the other ones arent great....just not my cup of tea.
 
You left off the University of Alabama and Vanderbilt. Those are definitely two of the best in the world.
 
gasdf1234567 said:
For all the people ripping on this thread and saying it will be a waste/failure, a lot of people are voting. Of course there will be biases, that's inherent in any poll on a message board. I like this poll because I'm curious myself as to what those biases are. The funny thing is I bet the people who put down this poll were some of the first to vote in it.
Click to expand...

haha....youre funny. Since when the does amount of people voting make a poll and/or its outcomes mean anything special?? Despite what conspiracy theorists say, I bet a lot of people voted for bush in 04' and look what happened there:smack:
 
If UCLA, UCSF, and U dub are up there...then UNC and UVA should be as well.
 
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buy us news. they probably have more information than any of us (though who knows, maybe its skewed in some way?)
 
deadhorse.gif
 
Top 5 for what? Research? Residency? Weather? Culture? Primary care? Fellatio from relatives? Strip clubs? Undergrad tail? Cooperative atmosphere? Raging toolbags? Pervasive drug use? Pervasive religious student composition? Public health? International medicine? Rural medicine? Dermatology?

Med schools is this nation are as diverse as the field of medicine is. No school is good at everything. Every school is good at something.
 
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ZagDoc said:
Top 5 for what? Research? Residency? Weather? Culture? Primary care? Fellatio from relatives? Strip clubs? Undergrad tail? Cooperative atmosphere? Raging toolbags? Pervasive drug use? Pervasive religious student composition? Public health? International medicine? Rural medicine? Dermatology?

Med schools is this nation are as diverse as the field of medicine is. No school is good at everything. Every school is good at something.
Click to expand...

For this poll, just factor in the overall reputation, prestige, and residency placement in the most competitive fields at the top hospitals.
 
monalisa23 said:
For this poll, just factor in the overall reputation, prestige, and residency placement in the most competitive fields at the top hospitals.
Click to expand...

Ok, please quantify the following:

-overall reputation
-prestige
-competitive fields
-residency placement
-top hospitals
 
ChubbyChaser said:
If UCLA, UCSF, and U dub are up there...then UNC and UVA should be as well.
Click to expand...

If you're really THAT concerned about the potential of UNC and UVA being denied a top 5 spot in this poll, then you should make another poll that asks: Are UNC and UVA top 5 med schools? I was quite confident that those two schools would not garner enough votes to put them into the top 5, so I didn't bother adding them (they're still both very good schools).

Let's be honest here, all US med schools are good...this was just a quick "yo mama" poll (as someone put it so nicely).
 
monalisa23 said:
For this poll, just factor in the overall reputation, prestige, and residency placement in the most competitive fields at the top hospitals.
Click to expand...

-Don't know what you mean by "overall reputation." Some places are known to be cash cows for NIH money, others great at primary care, others great at "diversity." I cant think of any school that is highly regarded at everything.

-You'll find that "prestige" is essentially a paper tiger when it comes to medical school. It becomes more relevant in residency due to the talent and skill of the clinicians/surgeons training you, but in med school everyone has to learn the same crap and the differences in the ability of the schools to teach said crap varies so little its really splitting hairs.

-Residency placement is very much personally driven by you. You get the board scores, the honors on your 3rd year clerkships, and the appropriate letters of recommendation. No school name on your residency application is going to get you a spot you don't deserve, and no school name on your app is going to keep you out of a spot you do deserve.

-The "top hospitals" vary by every single field. So really, the concept of "top hospitals" or "top programs" is essentially silly to pine over until you know exactly what area of medicine you want to shoot for.
 
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ZagDoc said:
-Don't know what you mean by "overall reputation." Some places are known to be cash cows for NIH money, others great at primary care, others great at "diversity." I cant think of any school that is highly regarded at everything.

-You'll find that "prestige" is essentially a paper tiger when it comes to medical school. It becomes more relevant in residency due to the talent and skill of the clinicians/surgeons training you, but in med school everyone has to learn the same crap and the differences in the ability of the schools to teach said crap varies so little its really splitting hairs.

-Residency placement is very much personally driven by you. You get the board scores, the honors on your 3rd year clerkships, and the appropriate letters of recommendation. No name on your residency application is going to get you a spot you don't deserve, and no name on your app is going to keep you out of a spot you do deserve.

-The "top hospitals" vary by every single field. So really, the concept of "top hospitals" or "top programs" is essentially silly to pine over until you know exactly what area of medicine you want to shoot for.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity ZagDoc, which med school are you currently attending? If this is too personal on the public forum, just PM me. Thanks.
 
SirGecko said:
So basically this is the "yo mama" poll. As in which med school will yo mama be able to brag about the most.
Click to expand...

That's actually a totally different thing. While it's nice Hopkins is "winning" right now, Harvard wins any "yo mama" poll hands down, and while their medical school is excellent, that also has more to do with their law, business, and undergraduate schools. Basically, yo mama and all her friends know about Harvard, no matter what field you're in, but a lot of lay people don't know how great a place like UCSF is, for example, 'cause they don't have a football team.

Basically, if you're going into medicine to impress your mother's friends, try to get into Harvard. If you're trying to learn medicine, Harvard or any of about 128 other places are all pretty damn good. I went to Hopkins cause I got the best vibe here, but that's not true for everyone, and trying to rank "gut feel" is obviously pointless.

If you're talking about prestige and residency placement as others have suggested, I still think it's too close to call. Maybe you can try to come up with two or three "tiers," but you're really going to be quibbling at that point.
 
monalisa23 said:
Just out of curiosity ZagDoc, which med school are you currently attending? If this is too personal on the public forum, just PM me. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Haha my anonymity on this forum was lost long ago. I attend OHSU.
 
Yea you're right...this is better than a "yo mamma" poll. haha. Here we have people who are interested in going to med school (or are already in med school), have probably done some research on the subject, and have probably interacted with people in the medical profession, which should give them some decent idea of what schools are considered "top 5" material based on prestige, residency placement in competitive fields, hospital recognition, etc. Also, there is a negligible difference between Hopkins and Harvard in this poll (they are both wayyy ahead of the pack).
 
monalisa23 said:
If you're really THAT concerned about the potential of UNC and UVA being denied a top 5 spot in this poll, then you should make another poll that asks: Are UNC and UVA top 5 med schools? I was quite confident that those two schools would not garner enough votes to put them into the top 5, so I didn't bother adding them (they're still both very good schools).

Let's be honest here, all US med schools are good...this was just a quick "yo mama" poll (as someone put it so nicely).
Click to expand...
UTSW, OHSU, North Western, Case western, Mt. Sinai, Pitt, NYU??....HELLO!
 
ChubbyChaser said:
UTSW, OHSU, North Western, Case western, Mt. Sinai, Pitt, NYU??....HELLO!
Click to expand...

If I included those schools, I would have to include about 40 others. Seriously, I just wanted to take a quick survey. Leaving schools off the list was not meant to be an insult. All US med schools are very hard to get into and provide great education!!!! Also, please give your peers some credit...there are about 130+ people who have placed their votes...if I had left off a significant number of potential top 5 schools, most people would not vote
 
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monalisa23 said:
If I included those schools, I would have to include about 40 others. Seriously, I just wanted to take a quick survey. Leaving schools off the list was not meant to be an insult. All US med schools are very hard to get into and provide great education!!!! Also, please give your peers some credit...there are about 130+ people who have placed their votes...if I had left off a significant number of potential top 5 schools, most people would not be able to pick their 5.
Click to expand...

I think you're missing the point people are trying to make. Let me dumb it down for your simple mind: no one cares.

If you want a list of what majority of pre-meds think are the "Top 5" medical schools, go spend your allowance money on the USNews rankings. Take from them what you will but bear in mind, however flawed they are, no one really cares to come up with something they'd call a better list with definite rankings. No one can come up with a truly objective list. So since people on SDN generally don't take kindly to such pointless threads and increasingly daft questions, I suggest you just quit trying to find an answer and go back to studying like a good pre-med should be.
 
noskill said:
I think you're missing the point people are trying to make. Let me dumb it down for your simple mind: no one cares.

If you want a list of what majority of pre-meds think are the "Top 5" medical schools, go spend your allowance money on the USNews rankings. Take from them what you will but bear in mind, however flawed they are, no one really cares to come up with something they'd call a better list with definite rankings. No one can come up with a truly objective list. So since people on SDN generally don't take kindly to such pointless threads and increasingly daft questions, I suggest you just quit trying to find an answer and go back to studying like a good pre-med should be.
Click to expand...

Well let's see here. Since when did 149 people on SDN (number of people who have voted thus far) become "no one"? Also, I have several people telling me that I did not include enough schools in the poll. If no one cared, I'm not sure why they would be telling me to EXPAND the poll. Clearly, some people care....just because you don't care, it doesn't mean everyone else is "no one". You have a very egocentric view of the world. I also find it funny that you have posted on this thread twice already, so you're clearly looking at the rsults, which again would indicate that you care somewhat (perhaps subconsciously). 🙄

noskill, just out of curiosity, which medical school are you attending?
 
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monalisa23 said:
Well let's see here. Since when did 149 people on SDN (number of people who have voted thus far) become "no one"? Also, I have several people telling me that I did not include enough schools in the poll. If no one cared, I'm not sure why they would be telling me to EXPAND the poll. Clearly, some people care....just because you don't care, it doesn't mean everyone else is "no one". You have a very egocentric view of the world. I also find it funny that you have posted on this thread twice already, so you're clearly looking at the rsults, which again would indicate that you care somewhat (perhaps subconsciously). 🙄

noskill, just out of curiosity, which medical school are you attending?
Click to expand...

You'll notice a distinct rift between the pre-meds and the medical students on this subject. Pre-meds eat, sleep, and have sex with rankings. They want to get into the "best" school to get the "best" education to get into the "best" residency at the "best" hospital. That's why you got so many votes in this poll. But notice what the medical students in this thread have posted.

What we, from the other side, are trying to tell you, is that these "rankings" and "tiers" are largely a paper tiger. Yes, some schools are loaded with more all star faculty than others or use NIH money to wipe their asses in the bathroom or are maybe able to pick and choose a more dynamic and interesting student body, but really... the differences in the curriculum are negligible. You all have to learn the same stuff for the USMLE. Everyone's MS3 year sucks. The boards are the great equalizer, and you can get into the top residencies coming from pretty much any allopathic school in the nation. Everything in medical school is earned from individual performance. From the other side, no medical school really demonstrates they are significantly "better" than any other. (Yes, even Harvard. *gasp*) Name dropping the name of your institution will not get you any favors in medicine. You have to earn it the hard way.

So you guys can quibble and salivate over school names all you want, but we're telling you that it really just doesn't matter.

I also notice that for every person who contends your viewpoint on this thread, you ask them what medical school they attend. Why? Because if they aren't coming from one of your magical and mythical top 5 schools they somehow lack credibility? The fact that we are in medical school and have seen the machinations and you haven't should be enough to lend credibility to our claims.
 
For what it's worth, I think reputation is more important than the SDN consensus, and less important than what most mothers think.

For what it's worth, the majority of people who matched at my #1 choice for residency came from "top 10" institutions. I'm happy with my #2, but I think that if I had gone to one of the "top 10" schools that accepted me, I would probably have gotten one of those spots. My scores were nearly the highest applying in my specialty, my letters strong but not from huge names (which seems to matter more than I thought last year), and my clinical evals universally strong. I didn't know that my #1 would be my favorite until interview day, so I did my away rotations at a different program (that I ended up not liking) and couldn't make connections that way.

Reputation isn't everything, but it can make the process easier. Beyond a vaguely defined top 10-20, I don't think it matters.
 
monalisa23 said:
Well let's see here. Since when did 149 people on SDN (number of people who have voted thus far) become "no one"?
Click to expand...

150 people voting out of over 1,500 views. Yeah... sure people care about your awesome vote!!!

monalisa23 said:
Also, I have several people telling me that I did not include enough schools in the poll. If no one cared, I'm not sure why they would be telling me to EXPAND the poll. Clearly, some people care....
Click to expand...

That doesn't mean they care. It simply means you're too oblivious to understand the point they're trying to make. Again, let me dumb it down for you unheedful mind: you can't make a list.

monalisa23 said:
You have a very egocentric view of the world.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I like to think I'd make a great doctor one day (don't tell me what you think, I really don't care).

monalisa23 said:
noskill, just out of curiosity, which medical school are you attending
Click to expand...

A school you could only dream of getting into. I'll give you a hint: it's a school in your poll. Don't ask such stupid questions assuming that because I think your poll is stupid and refuse to acknowledge "top 5" schools that I go to one most people would consider "low-tier." It's very presumptive and I take offense to it.

monalisa23 said:
I also find it funny that you have posted on this thread twice already, so you're clearly looking at the rsults, which again would indicate that you care somewhat (perhaps subconsciously). 🙄
Click to expand...

No, I don't care. It's an anonymous internet forum, why should I care? Maybe I want to see how naive pre-meds view my current medical school to other big name ones; or maybe I was just bored one weekend; or maybe I just enjoy watching you get cut up and made fun of by other medical students. Who knows... who cares. 🙄
 
ZagDoc said:
Yes, some schools are loaded with more all star faculty than others or use NIH money to wipe their asses in the bathroom or are maybe able to pick and choose a more dynamic and interesting student body, but really... the differences in the curriculum are negligible. You all have to learn the same stuff for the USMLE. Everyone's MS3 year sucks. The boards are the great equalizer, and you can get into the top residencies coming from pretty much any allopathic school in the nation. Everything in medical school is earned from individual performance. From the other side, no medical school really demonstrates they are significantly "better" than any other. (Yes, even Harvard. *gasp*) Name dropping the name of your institution will not get you any favors in medicine. You have to earn it the hard way.
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention this. I heard from a few places that Harvard's curriculum actually doesn't prepare their students adequately enough for the USMLE Step I. Apparently they cut the teachings short on a couple of subjects covered on the exam (can't remember if it was path or pharm).
 
lord_jeebus said:
For what it's worth, I think reputation is more important than the SDN consensus, and less important than what most mothers think.

For what it's worth, the majority of people who matched at my #1 choice for residency came from "top 10" institutions. I'm happy with my #2, but I think that if I had gone to one of the "top 10" schools that accepted me, I would probably have gotten one of those spots. My scores were nearly the highest applying in my specialty, my letters strong but not from huge names (which seems to matter more than I thought last year), and my clinical evals universally strong. I didn't know that my #1 would be my favorite until interview day, so I did my away rotations at a different program (that I ended up not liking) and couldn't make connections that way.

Reputation isn't everything, but it can make the process easier. Beyond a vaguely defined top 10-20, I don't think it matters.
Click to expand...

I definitely agree with this but think an important distinction must be made. Medicine is a lot more "who you know" than "where you're from." Having the name "UCLA" on a residency application may raise an eyebrow but, at least from what I've garnered from talking to RDs, won't make your application. However, having the name of a big wig in whatever field you're applying into on one of your LORs is a major factor. Big wigs do tend to gravitate towards certain institutions, which can be an asset to medical students there, but there are nationally regarded physicians at schools all around the nation. For a pre-med to say "I need to get into one of these 5 schools so I can get into the residency of my dreams" without knowing even what area of medicine they want to go into or if there are faculty there that can aid their residency application seems a bit short-sighted. What if the "top 5" institution is loaded with world renowned clinicians... except in the area of medicine you are attempting to match in? Than that "top 5" distinction really becomes negligible to that student in the match.
 
noskill said:
A school you could only dream of getting into. I'll give you a hint: it's a school in your poll. Don't ask such stupid questions assuming that because I think your poll is stupid and refuse to acknowledge "top 5" schools that I go to one most people would consider "low-tier." It's very presumptive and I take offense to it.
Click to expand...

Well don't be shy noskill...which school do you attend? ZagDoc was kind enough to share that information.
 
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noskill said:
That doesn't mean they care. It simply means you're too oblivious to understand the point they're trying to make. Again, let me dumb it down for you unheedful mind: you can't make a list.
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to make a list...I'm taking a quick survey. If you're really pissed about lists, you should direct your attention to US News, Wall Street Journal, Business Week....they're the ones make millions of dollars from selling lists. 🙄
 
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