Just part of the equation
Medical school rankings can play an important role in determining which schools you apply to. But also part of the equation are tuition costs, travel expenses, housing options and other factors.
The choice to go to medical school is not one that you should make lightly. And neither is your choice of medical schools. In your quest for better understanding and to help ensure that you choose the right option for your needs, you should make use of U.S. medical school rankings. These rankings will tell you the standing of a particular school in relation to other education providers in a national setting. Using these rankings is an important part of attaining the exciting career that you want.
What do medical school rankings tell you?
Among the criteria used in ranking medical schools are peer assessment, residency director assessment, research activity, number of students going into primary care, student selectivity, MCAT score, GPA, acceptance rate and faculty resources.
Annual medical school rankings list schools by order of perceived quality, as well as the level of respect that school commands in the industry. However, these rankings also reflect something much more important than prestige – they reflect the quality of the education provided. Graduates of the best medical schools have an advantage when applying to residency programs and in academic medicine.
In addition to this information, rankings for U.S. medical schools can also give you other information. One of the most important pieces of information you will learn from this is what area of the medical industry the school focuses on. For instance, Johns Hopkins focuses on research, while the University of Washington is one of the top-ranked medical schools for primary care studies.
What are they used for?
Medical school rankings play an important role in several other areas, as well. For instance, for privately funded schools, higher rankings can lead to better funding through increased donations. Higher rankings can also lead to higher enrollment percentages and a more qualified student body.
In fact, the draw of these rankings on perspective students is one of the most important factors in the equation. For instance, would you consider going to a school that was ranked 10th on the list, if you were also accepted to the first or second school on the list? Obviously, if everything else was equal, you’d choose the best school available to you.
Therefore, medical schools strive to attain the highest rankings possible. However, you shouldn’t hang your entire decision on the ranking of a school. You should also factor in other items, such as tuition cost, travel expenses, lodging availability and more.
Other resources
Medical school ranking information from StudentDoc.com
Methodology of medical school rankings from US News
The Princeton Review provides medical school rankings and other information
Premed Guide
