Many people on this site, and this forum in particular don't seem to have a firm grasp on reality WRT school prestige. Their idea of no name schools and what really would be considered a "no name school" is not even close. There are plenty of small tier 2 and 3 schools with excellent academic reputations, both regionally and nationally, however they lack several of the factors that drive the rankings. This is particularly true for medical schools where the rankings are heavily driven by research dollars. All allopathic schools should put out strong clinicians. The top 1/2-2/3 are probably, on average, better than the lower 1/2-1/3. And the top 10 or 20 are probably a bit better than the rest, mostly due to research opportunities available to a motivated student. For the average student it's really all the same. You can get a 250 on step one at EVMS or Harvard. The average may be higher in the top 10, but that's likely driven by more highly motivated overachievers and not a significant difference in teaching. I will say EVMS might be the worst school out there, IMHO. I had the displeasure of working with an intern from there. Nicest guy, old South (if you know what I mean), probably 10/10 on his interviews, BUT the absolute worst clinician imaginable. He washed out. It saved countless lives and lawsuits.
