What medical schools are considered top tier?

[cg1]

Originally posted by indianboy
Just wanted to let you know that by that definition you just called Creighton (among others) a top tier med school. You're lucky this site isn't hosted in Britain, you could have been sued for libel.

Hope that Helps.

P 'Holier than Thou' ShankOut

Well, that did sound holier than thou. It's not out of the realm of possibilities that people could consider Creighton as a top tier school, yet you wouldn't know it by your "clarification".

When I created my definition below, I was thinking of Division 1 for football; which is the biggest college sport that people follow; and it costs the most money.

So I might re-work my definition so that Division 1 applies only to football. And if a school meets the criteria below except for the football clause, but plays Division 1 basketball, which is the 2nd most followed college sport, then they could be 2nd tier.

So by that, Creighton would be 2nd tier, but Pitt would be top tier.

Here's my definition:

I consider an *undergrad* school in the top tier if it is either a Top 50 ranked school (& there are a lot of rankings out there) or a Division 1 school.

For example:

The University of Pittsburgh is not a Top 50 ranked University. But they are Division 1, so I consider their undergrad a top tier.

I consider a *medical* school in the top tier if it is either a Top 50 ranked medical school or if its undergrad is a Top 50 ranked school or if its undergrad is Division 1.

(Of course, Pitt's medical school is ranked, so even if their undergrad wasn't a Division 1 school and even despite the fact that their undergrad is not ranked, I'd consider their medical school top tier.)

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[jdg222]

Originally posted by cg1
When I created my definition below, I was thinking of Division 1 for football; which is the biggest college sport that people follow; and it costs the most money.

What in the world does a football division have to do with medschool ratings??? Or even undergraduate ratings? If you consider a school good because it has a division I football team, then you're crazy. Or maybe I just don't understand what you're saying.

 

[isidella]

Originally posted by ktat72
if any of you had to make a prediction, where would UMKC stand in the list of medical schools?

The six year program. . . my prediction is pretty low. . .but hey, who am I ? Make the best out of your situation and you will succeed.

 

[cg1]

Originally posted by jdg222
What in the world does a football division have to do with medschool ratings

Football has nothing to do with medical ratings, but as was stated in the 'Stanford versus Hopkins' thread, you gotta face that "prestige" comes a lot from sports programs. And imho, prestige helps a school be considered "top tier". The words "top tier" mean absolutely nothing. Let's say that again.

N.O.T.H.I.N.G.

It's all a matter of opinion of what is considered top tier. It's like saying, "Oh, that's a really good school". They are both unqualified statements...and it's a matter of opinion.

 

[batman123]

Here's a suggested breakdown of schools (no insults intended, this is just my opinion); schools in each tier are listed in an arbitrary order

Tier 1: JHU, Harvard
Tier 2: Wash U-St. Louis, Penn, Duke, UCSF
Tier 3: Columbia, Yale, Mich, Stanford, UCLA, Cornell, Univ. of Washington (Seattle)
Between Tier 3 and 4: Baylor, Mayo, UT-Southwestern
Tier 4: Vandy, Pitt, Chicago, Emory, Case western, Northwesternm Emory, UCSD
Tier 5: Mount Sinai, UVA, NYU, Rochester, UNC-Chapel Hill, UAB

I think that after that, the schools are about equal in quality. Again this is just my opnion; I don't mean to piss anyone off.

 

[tBw]

Gazzoks batman! WashU and UCSF are second tier?? Now I can resign from SDN in peace - I've actually heard it all! (and no offense batman - I know your just expressing an opinion..)

 

[aquaboy]

If we broke it down like law schools there are 4 tiers. Since there are about 150 U.S. medical schools (including osteopathic schools) then they would be broken down into groups of roughly 35 schools per group. SO the top 35 schools in U.S. news would be Tier 1 and so on and so forth. It's hard to break down and how good a school is depends on your personality and what you want to do (primary care vs. research). Just a thought on one possible way med schools can be broken down into tiers.

 

[heelshmeel]

Originally posted by batman123
Here's a suggested breakdown of schools (no insults intended, this is just my opinion); schools in each tier are listed in an arbitrary order

Tier 1: JHU, Harvard
Tier 2: Wash U-St. Louis, Penn, Duke, UCSF
Tier 3: Columbia, Yale, Mich, Stanford, UCLA, Cornell, Univ. of Washington (Seattle)
Between Tier 3 and 4: Baylor, Mayo, UT-Southwestern
Tier 4: Vandy, Pitt, Chicago, Emory, Case western, Northwesternm Emory, UCSD
Tier 5: Mount Sinai, UVA, NYU, Rochester, UNC-Chapel Hill, UAB

I think that after that, the schools are about equal in quality. Again this is just my opnion; I don't mean to piss anyone off.

Stanford in the second tier? Baylor/Mayo is 'between tier 3 and 4'... those tier placements just dont "sound" right to my ears but then again, whatever works for you...

One more thing, what kreno suggested before about the prestigious quality of the medical school matters. Another word of advice though... go to where you will be most happy...

 

[Woots32]

I guess I've always thought of the tiers as roughly being in groups of 15-20. And I also try to factor the regional attitudes - for example, a school like Loyola will be more respected in the Midwest, where as some of the lesser-known southern schools that are probably just as good (if not better) may not carry the same name recognition, so their relative tier ranking will drop.

Just a guess.

 

[tBw]

Originally posted by batman123
Here's a suggested breakdown of schools (no insults intended, this is just my opinion); schools in each tier are listed in an arbitrary order

Tier 1: JHU, Harvard
Tier 2: Wash U-St. Louis, Penn, Duke, UCSF
Tier 3: Columbia, Yale, Mich, Stanford, UCLA, Cornell, Univ. of Washington (Seattle)
Between Tier 3 and 4: Baylor, Mayo, UT-Southwestern
Tier 4: Vandy, Pitt, Chicago, Emory, Case western, Northwesternm Emory, UCSD
Tier 5: Mount Sinai, UVA, NYU, Rochester, UNC-Chapel Hill, UAB

I think that after that, the schools are about equal in quality. Again this is just my opnion; I don't mean to piss anyone off.

Ok - and again no offense to batman in particular - but the above list is just USNews top 20 divided into 5 tiers....and thats why this thread is so bogus - because none of us no butt-crack anything about what schools are really any good other than really (a) the same preconceptions lay-people have (whatever's in our town or the Ivies) and (b) the USNews listing.

If I'm completely honest, I can regurgitate the USNews listing, but if I had been handed the above list of schools *before* all this med-app nonsense I would have looked at it and thought "Ok, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, they must be good"; I didn't originally know Yale had a med school; I then would have thought "what the hell are UVA and UT-Southwestern".

But maybe I'm just exceptionally ignorant and everyone else really does have some knowledge beyond USNews + Lay-person preconceptions...or maybe it's just because I don't care terribly much about these things...

 

[lola]

Originally posted by the boy wonder

But maybe I'm just exceptionally ignorant and everyone else really does have some knowledge beyond USNews + Lay-person preconceptions...

yeah, i think that's it

 

[tBw]

Originally posted by lola
yeah, i think that's it

Stop sassing me and answer your dang PMs!

 

[Moskeeto]

alas, it appears that all schools i have a chance of attending are in about the 25-35th tiers. maybe after i get my MD, i'll be able to get a job as a 2nd assitant to the janitor in some low class, run down vet emergency room in the outskirts of mobile, alabama.

 

[lola]

Originally posted by the boy wonder


Stop sassing me and answer your dang PMs!

dude, chill! i'm "working"

 

[Nirvana]

Originally posted by the boy wonder
If I'm completely honest, I can regurgitate the USNews listing, but if I had been handed the above list of schools *before* all this med-app nonsense I would have looked at it and thought "Ok, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, they must be good"; I didn't originally know Yale had a med school; I then would have thought "what the hell are UVA and UT-Southwestern".

That's pretty much what I would've thought.

Seriously, I think we've all created a monster in US News and World Report. I think many of the responses in this thread are as "legitimate" as what USNews tells us to think. I'm suspicious of the fact that School Rankings has become like the biggest side business (make that main business) of this magazine. You can't get to any ranked list without them asking for your money. Would their incentive be to keep the schools in the same rank from one year to the next, even if the schools should stay that way? Heck no.

Sure, Harvard and Penn & JHU area always going to be near the top for medicine. But I think much of USNews is based on payoffs and making a profit, because there's no reason for schools to drop or raise so many points within one year.

It's like someone else suggested in the US Snooze thread...this has become like the Design shows in the fashion industry. Every year, they say that the old designs are no good and that everything has changed with regards to "what's in fashion".

Why do they do this? Because if the designs weren't modified, then they wouldn't sell any new apparel !! Or they wouldn't sell their fashion magazines.

 

[ilovetexas]

quote:
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Originally posted by Nirvana
You could go to Stanford and not get as much clinical experience as say a school like UT Austin
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Ummm....there's no med school in Austin.
There's a great law school, a great MBA program, there are great bars and restaurants.

There are UT med schools in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Galveston...but alas, no Austin.

Que mala suerte.

 

[cg1]

Originally posted by yaoming
Arizona St is in Div I, and you consider them 1st Tier???????

Yoga Bear, u've got to be an idiot to consider mayo a second tier medical school/facility.

Sure, why not? ASU could be considered 1st Tier.

BTW, in case you hadn't seen my last post, I clarified what I think is a good definition of 1st Tier.

 

[Skaterbabe74]

quote:
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Originally posted by Nirvana
You could go to Stanford and not get as much clinical experience as say a school like UT Austin
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Um...I know that UT Austin doesn't have a medical campus. Do they do clinicals in Austin? and if so which campus are your first 2 years at? I'm still nowhere near the application process but if there's a possibility to do clinicals in Austin I would love to apply to whichever campus I need to in order to make that happen.


--Jessica, UCCS

 

[Tuesday Weld]

Sbabe,

Look two posts up and then get back to us.