Given the competitive landscape of medical school admissions, most premeds are happy
to get into any medical school.
But is there value in putting in extra effort to get into a top-ranked program?
How much does medical school ranking matter?
Let’s find out.
Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.
When discussing the importance of medical school ranking, it’s common to look at it
through the lens of residency matching, as that’s the next step in training.
Additionally, getting into residency has become increasingly competitive in recent years.
This is especially true for students who choose to pursue a highly competitive specialty such
as plastic surgery, ENT, or dermatology.
When it comes to medical school ranking, there are often two sides to the argument.
On the one hand, some believe that it doesn’t matter where you go and that matching into
a competitive residency is all about individual metrics such as Step scores, research, and
letters of recommendation.
On the other hand, some believe that medical school ranking is incredibly important and
there are better opportunities at top institutions that help with your scores, research, letters,
and other factors.
But who’s right?
Let’s explore both sides of the argument and answer the question once and for all:
how important is medical school ranking?
One of the most common arguments in favor of attending a top-ranked institution is that
you will get a better education and have opportunities that aren’t available at lower-ranked programs.
The average Step 1 score for students from a top 20 medical school is 238 while the average
Step 1 score for all schools is 232.
This lends support to the idea that top medical schools offer a better education thus increasing
your chances of matching into a competitive residency.
The counterargument, however, is that it is typically more difficult to gain admission
to a top medical school.
As such, students who attend these institutions are stronger students at baseline.
The average MCAT for matriculants at top 20 medical schools is 520 whereas the average
MCAT for all matriculants is 512.
For reference, a 520 on the MCAT is a 97th percentile score whereas a 512 is an 84th
percentile score.
In addition, the average GPA for all medical school matriculants is 3.75 whereas the average
GPA at top 10 programs is 3.88.
As such, the differences we see in Step scores may have to do less with curriculums or instructors
and more to do with individual differences between students.
This lends support to the argument that medical school prestige doesn’t matter as top students
are likely to perform well regardless of the medical school they attend.
That said, it is impossible to determine whether this is a chicken or an egg phenomenon.
Will going to a top-ranked program make you a better doctor?
Possibly.
On one hand, national standards are rigid and implemented in every school.
On the other hand, some schools teach these better than others.
Ultimately the work you put in is the most important factor in whether you become a great
doctor, but the medical school you attend can shift that up or down in terms of both
effort and outcome.
Another important factor to consider is access to clinical rotations in your specialties
of interest.
Larger, top-ranked academic institutions are much more likely to have programs in your
desired specialties or subspecialties than lower-ranked schools.
Since over 50% of medical students change their intended specialty, there is further
utility in attending a program with wide specialty exposure.
While this isn’t a hard and fast rule, as some lower ranked institutions have access
to large academic hospitals with a wide breadth of specialties, the trend holds true.
Having access to your desired specialty is important.
This will allow you to network with doctors in the field and gain much more experience,
research, and strong letters of recommendation with less effort and friction than attending
a medical school without that specific specialty.
Can you match into ENT without having an ENT program at your medical school?
Absolutely, but it will be more challenging.
That being said, there are numerous other factors that you need to consider when choosing
a medical school outside of prestige, curriculum, and access to specialties.
This includes location, cost of living, family, and much more.
We have an entire blog post discussing the various factors to consider when choosing
a medical school - link in the description.
Now that we’ve explored how medical school prestige affects students, how much do residency
program directors care about medical school rankings?
According to the 2021 NRMP Program Director Survey, a large proportion of residency program
directors do consider medical school reputation when deciding which students to interview.
In terms of the more competitive specialties, approximately 46% of plastic surgery PDs and
36% of ENT PDs consider medical school reputation when deciding who to interview.
For lower-tier specialties, the numbers are similar with 40% of internal medicine PDs
and 30% of family medicine PDs considering medical school reputation.
Another way to interpret these numbers, however, is that between 50-70% of program directors
do not consider medical school reputation in residency matching.
As such, you are likely to find a great deal of variation between individual programs.
Program directors at top residencies are more likely to consider a student’s “pedigree”,
meaning the quality of their medical school and even undergraduate institution, more so
than program directors at less iconic programs.
Put simply, while medical school ranking is important, not every program director considers
it.
It is important to note, however, that as of January 2022, USMLE Step 1 has become a
pass-fail.
Given that this exam was one of the most important metrics in determining one’s competitiveness
for residency and it will no longer be used to stratify students, other metrics such as
Step 2 score, number of publications, AOA status, and medical school prestige may be
weighted more heavily moving forward.
Although much of the weight from Step 1 going pass-fail will likely be passed onto Step
2CK, we may see medical school prestige become a more important factor in residency admissions.
So how important is medical school ranking?
In short, it matters but there are still other factors you need to consider.
At the end of the day, going to a top medical school doesn’t guarantee you a good match,
nor does going to a newer or lower-ranked school doom you.
It is important to consider your personal and professional goals and choose the medical
school that aligns most with your priorities.
Should you turn down a full-ride scholarship to your state school to attend a top 20 medical
school?
That’s a question only you can decide.
You need to think about your desires, priorities, and what you’re hoping to get out of a career
in medicine.
If your dream is to get into a hypercompetitive specialty, become academic faculty at a top
research institution, or get into a high-ranking position at a hospital, then medical school
prestige may be more important for you.
On the other hand, if you know you want to practice family medicine or pediatrics in
your home state, medical school prestige may matter less.
One thing to consider, however, is that the majority of medical students change their
minds about what specialty they want to pursue during medical school.
For this reason, attending a higher-ranked medical school with greater access to a variety
of specialties may allow you to keep more of your options open.
You should also keep in mind the law of diminishing returns.
The benefits of attending a top 5 institution versus a top 20 institution are going to be
less than the benefits of attending a top 20 school instead of an average or lower-tier
medical school.
For instance, when I was accepted to UC San Diego, which was ranked number 14 at the time,
I was still considering other top 5 schools.
But after looking at the pros and cons of attending each program, I determined that
UCSD better fit my desires and preferences over other top 5 programs with more name recognition.
Although attending a top-tier medical school may give you an advantage over other medical
students when it comes to matching into your desired residency program, it is far from
the most important piece of the puzzle.
Factors such as your Step 2CK, clinical grades, research experience, and letters of recommendation
are much more important in determining your acceptance into a program.
What primarily separates those who are successful from those who are not isn’t the school
that they attended, but rather their willingness to adapt and push forward.
If you find yourself getting discouraged because your dream specialty is highly competitive
or your medical school isn’t highly ranked, stop right there.
Your ability to match into your desired specialty is less a function of prestige and more a
function of proper preparation, constantly improving, and putting in the work.
If you’re applying to medical school, do everything you can to get into the best program
possible.
But once you’re in medical school, don’t worry about prestige and focus on the other
factors within your control.
At Med School Insiders, our mission is to empower a generation of happier, healthier,
and more effective future doctors.
From medical school and residency application help to crushing your MCAT and USMLE, we’ve
got your back.
We know what you’re going through and can help you excel on your exams and help put
you in the best light possible with your medical school and residency applications.
And our results speak for themselves.
We’ve become the fastest-growing company in the space with the highest satisfaction
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See for yourself and learn more at MedSchoolInsiders.com.
Thank you all so much for watching.
If you enjoyed this video, be sure to check out How to Get Into Medical School with a
Low GPA or this other video.
Much love, and I’ll see you guys there.