Medical School Rankings

A medical school is defined as a secondary-educational school or institution that specializes in the education
of medicine. Aside from basic medical degrees, medical schools generally offer programs for students to receive a Master’s Degree, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), and a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. Medical schools are also involved in many other important tasks besides the education of medicine. Many are responsible for employing medical researchers and conducting research, as well as operating one or more hospitals. The most common subjects taught in medical schools are human anatomy, biochemistry, pharmacology, immunology, neurology, internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, genetics, and pathology.

Applying to Medical Schools– Facts and Figures:
Although it is useful for students to understand medical school rankings before applying to schools, it also should be known that just being accepted to a medical school is quite an achievement, let alone having been accepted to a top institution in medical school ranking. Applying to medical schools is more often than not a difficult and frustrating process for ambitious students looking to make a career in medicine. Students failing to enter into a school for the first time should not give up, however. Currently, the number of medical schools in the United States is 129, with 17,759 students enrolled in 2007 and 67,000 students enrolled in 2008. With this ever-increasing number, it is even more difficult than ever before to be accepted to the top schools in the country.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMA) has recently changed policy for medical students, calling for an increase by 30 percent of medical school enrollments by the year 2015. Although this is good news for prospective medical school students, there is only a 45 percent national acceptance rate. These figures prove time and time again that pursuing a career in medicine not only takes patience and hard work, but high ambition as well. The average college GPA for students accepted to medical school was 3.5. The average score on the MCAT was 28.

Medical School Rankings:
Now that the bitter truth has been exposed, those students ambitious enough to try their luck with top-of-the-list medical school rankings can look no further than the schools below, who have showed excellence in two major categories in the medical educational community– research and primary care. These medical school rankings have been established by the U.S. News and World Report magazine. Medical school ranking is a procedure that is left up to much debate, though this magazine has gained a reputable image since it has been ranking schools in the U.S.

Research Medical School Ranking:

1. Harvard University
2. Johns Hopkins University
3. Washington University in St. Louis
4. Duke university
5. University of Pennsylvania
6. University of California San Francisco
7. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
8. Stanford University
9. University of Michigan Ann Arbor
10. Yale University

Primary Care Medical School Ranking:

1. University of Washington
2. Oregon Health & Science University
3. University of California San Francisco
4. Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
5. University of Minnesota Duluth
6. University of California San Diego
7. University of New Mexico
8. University of Wisconsin Madison
9. University of Iowa (Roy J. & Lucille A. Carver)
10. University of Minnesota Twin Cities
11. University of Rochester