Top 10 US Medical Schools

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

mdquestion

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2009
Messages
157
Reaction score
0
Throw away the US News Rankings. How would you rank the Top 10 medical schools in the US? I've included mine below.

1. Harvard
2. Hopkins
3. UCSF
4. Penn
5. Stanford
6. Yale
7. Duke
8. Columbia
9. UChicago
10. WashU

Members don't see this ad.
 
Throw away the US News Rankings. How would you rank the Top 10 medical schools in the US? I've included mine below.

1. Harvard
2. Hopkins
3. UCSF
4. Penn
5. Stanford
6. Yale
7. Duke
8. Columbia
9. UChicago
10. WashU

what makes them your top 10?
 
I've never attended any medical school so it would be pretty hard for me to rank them. In fact, I doubt there's many people on here who have attended even one, let alone more than one.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Throw away the US News Rankings. How would you rank the Top 10 medical schools in the US? I've included mine below.

1. Harvard
2. Hopkins
3. UCSF
4. Penn
5. Stanford
6. Yale
7. Duke
8. Columbia
9. UChicago
10. WashU

Well...that looks awfully similar to the US News Ranking list....:rolleyes:
 
Rakings based on my perception of med school prestige:

1. Harvard
2. Johns Hopkins
3. UCSF
4. UPenn
5. Duke
6. Yale
7. Stanford
8. Columbia
9. UCLA
10. WashU

Pretty similar to the OP's, except UCLA > UoC, and Duke > Yale > Stanford instead of Stanford > Yale > Duke.
 
1. The school that accepts you

2. The school that waitlists you

3. The school that you didn't apply to

4. The school that rejected you

5. The school that rejected you pre secondary.
 
Baylor
UT-Southwestern
UT-San Antonio
UT-Houston
UTMB-Galveston
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Texas Tech-El Paso
TCOM
Harvard

:D

Hah! My list would be quite similar! (Except UTSW would be above Baylor in mine, because after 10+ years, I'm tired of living in Houston.)

1. The school that accepts you

2. The school that waitlists you

3. The school that you didn't apply to

4. The school that rejected you

5. The school that rejected you pre secondary.

Haha. So, so true. :D
 
Hah! My list would be quite similar! (Except UTSW would be above Baylor in mine, because after 10+ years, I'm tired of living in Houston.)
Ha! Both schools are great, I think in a lot of cases it comes down to where you want to spend the next 4 years of your life. :)
 
Members don't see this ad :)
HMS
UCSF
Hopkins
Stanford
Wash U
Penn
Duke
Michigan
Yale
UCLA

arbitrariness...

Funny that no one has u wash on their lists ;)
 
My ranking would be based solely upon residency director ratings, since I think they would know best/they're the ones that we're trying to impress.

Yes, its a subset of the UsNews score, but I think its the only thing that matters from the UsNews ranking. NIH funding is variable, and I don't think it amounts to that much because all of the top schools have "enough" research money. As for average MCAT/GPA of the students, well that is the students' accomplishment, not the medical schools.

Here's the top10 by Residency Director from 2010:

1. Hopkins (4.8)
2. Harvard (4.7)
3. WashU (4.6)
3. Duke (4.6)
5. Upenn (4.5)
5. UCSF (4.5)
5. Stanford (4.5)
5. U Mich (4.5)
9. Columbia (4.4)
10. U Chicago (4.3)
10. Cornell (4.3)

The ratings are obviously out of 5, with 5 being the PERFECT research medical school. Only one school comes to mind...Princeton University College of Physicians and Ballers...
 
Throw away the US News Rankings. How would you rank the Top 10 medical schools in the US? I've included mine below.

1. Harvard
2. Hopkins
3. UCSF
4. Penn
5. Stanford
6. Yale
7. Duke
8. Columbia
9. UChicago
10. WashU

...Where are you getting this stuff from? Furthermore, what happens if you don't like research, then these schools are no better than most for just training you to be a clinician.

My methodology would be somehow quantifying a school's history of match lists by residency as a function of specialty, but that would never happen...so...
 
Last edited:
Honestly I don't find residency director rankings all that useful because it's so specialty dependent. Some schools have great departments in certain specialties where you'll be able to get great letters from top people in the field, while other departments are average or even mediocre.

Also, the methodology is pretty suspect, who are they inviting to fill out the forms? Also, the response rate is low, so a given school could change the rankings a lot if all their ppl reply.
 
1) Stony Brook
2) NYU
3) Columbia
4) Weill-Cornell
5) Sinai
6) Upstate
7) Rochester
8) Downstate
9) Albany
10) NYMC
11) Buffalo
12) Einstein
and coming soon... 13) Hofstra!


mmmm... such a delicious list
 
Call me a bit biased, but my #1 is definitely KCOM! :)

Followed by UCSD (gotta represent my undergrad), UNC, Duke and Wake Forest (woot for my home state of NC!)
 
...Where are you getting this stuff from? Furthermore, what happens if you don't like research, then these schools are no better than most for just training you to be a clinician.

My methodology would be somehow quantifying a school's history of match lists by residency as a function of specialty, but that would never happen...so...

What about this:

Here's the top10 by Residency Director from 2010:

1. Hopkins (4.8)
2. Harvard (4.7)
3. WashU (4.6)
3. Duke (4.6)
5. Upenn (4.5)
5. UCSF (4.5)
5. Stanford (4.5)
5. U Mich (4.5)
9. Columbia (4.4)
10. U Chicago (4.3)
10. Cornell (4.3)

I'm sure the residency directors' collective rankings correlates pretty well with what you described.
 
Also, the methodology is pretty suspect, who are they inviting to fill out the forms? Also, the response rate is low, so a given school could change the rankings a lot if all their ppl reply.

Pretty much this :shrug:

Go somewhere that you'll be happy to live for four years. Even better if you can do that at a place won't saddle you with a crippling amount of debt, if possible. Not much you can do beyond that.
 
Seriously, the best school is the cheapest one that accepts you.
 
Seriously, the best school is the cheapest one that accepts you.
Not necessarily.

If you just want to be a clinician, sure. But some schools train you to become more than doctors (policy, research, etc). Then...the larger institutions (often more expensive) have the resources that afford more opportunities for you.
 
One the stupidest most irresponsible guys in my fraternity got into UCSF. I'd put UCSF way down.
 
To answer the question what makes these schools top ten or top ranked...

asked the same questions to several professors, one used to be at Harvard for 13 years, one used to be at Wash U of St. Louis for 7 years and now at Columbia, one used to be at University of Cincinatti and now in Rutgers

Their answer was exactly the same. The primary education for M.D degree in any US medical schools are very similar. professional school's academia is very similar with common goal of getting the MD license.. pretty much self explanatory. Clinical experience may vary a little bit, but the scope and volume of such experience is very similar as well.

the difference is the research curriculum. how much support/ resource is available, how much money they have for such program and so on...

something to consider if someone's applying for an MD/PHD
 
the #1 med school in the states is the one that accepts you first.
 
Mine is definitely biased by my research interests, but here we go:

1) Michigan (was my #1 before I got in, for the record :))
2) U Wash
3) UCSF
4) Harvard
5) Wash U
6) Duke
7) Baylor
8) Hopkins
9) UTSW
10) Stanford
 
1) The one where you're happiest
2) JHU
3) Harvard
4) WUSTL
4) UCSF
4) Stanford
7) Penn
8) Michigan
9) Columbia
10) Duke
 
Last edited:
1. Albany Medical College
2. Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
3. Baylor College of Medicine
4. Boston University School of Medicine
5. Brown Medical School
6. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
7. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
8. Creighton University School of Medicine
9. Dartmouth Medical School
10. David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA
 
I went to Drexel, and I have no idea how it compares to other schools.

I think that somene would have to have experience at multiple schools or to interact with graduates from multiple schools to have a valid opinion.
 
1. Albany Medical College
2. Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
3. Baylor College of Medicine
4. Boston University School of Medicine
5. Brown Medical School
6. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
7. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
8. Creighton University School of Medicine
9. Dartmouth Medical School
10. David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA

:laugh:
 
Personal preference ranking. obviously waaaay more important then residency rankings.

1. Cornell - Qatar
2. Columbia
3. Yale
4. Vandy
5. UofColorado
6, UTSW
7. UofToronto
8. UofHawaii
9. Mayo
10. UofWashington
 
The top 10 list for those at which I interviewed based on educational model (it was the #1 priority for me):

1. Mayo
2. JHU (very close, but too many students and not as many paid opportunities)
3. Virginia Tech (we'll see if it lives up to what they say it will be)
4. University of Rochester
T-5. Georgetown
T-5. George Washington
7. SUNY Upstate
8. Stony Brook
9. University of South Carolina
T-10. SUNY Buffalo
T-10. SUNY Downstate

Unranked: Wake Forest

I can't speak for the schools that I didn't explore in person to cut through admissions BS and regional bias.
 
I love and value JHU, Wash U in St. Louis, U Penn and they are confident in their ranking too...(always on the top)
been to all campuses and stayed for weeks...jesus i don't care how good school is... i don't want to live there lol

that being said, Michigan :thumbup: Harvard :thumbup: Yale :thumbup: UCSF :thumbup:
 
what makes them your top 10?

Interesting list! There are too many to name. I'm surprised Duke isn't on there. My list is not about prestige, and doesn't corresponds more to location (and/or financial feasibility):

1. SUNY Downstate
2. Einstein
3. NYMC
4. Sinai
5. Columbia
6. NYU
7. Harvard
8. BU
9. UPenn
10. Temple

M
 
1. UPenn
2. Pitt
3. Penn State
4. Temple
5. Drexel
6. Thomas Jefferson
7. Commonwealth
8. Harvard
9. John Hopkins
10. Columbia

:D:p
 
#1 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
#2 WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
#3 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
#4 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
#5 UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

Adapted from playboy's top 10 party schools..:D

Save ur application money on the rest....
 
Outside of Harvard, UCSF, Hopkins...it doesn't really matter.


Its awesome to go to school in Cali if you can as the weather rocks.

I just have to comment on the several times UTSW and Baylor have been listed. I interviewed at both places a couple years back and have friends at both places, lets just say UTSW>>>>>>>>>>>Baylor. Baylor faculty came off as very arrogant people and their facilities suck. Couple that with the miserable weather in Houston, thier rep is definitely overblown.
 
1. Harvard
2. Hopkins
3. UCSF
4. Penn
5. Michigan
6. WashU
7. Duke
8. UWash
9. Pitt
10. Uchicago
 
Top