The 2012 U.S. News Medical School Rankings have been released! I picked up a copy to see how the University of Pennsylvania fared. U.S. News has again ranked University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine #2, much to my delight (we will never pass Harvard due to the N.I.H. research dollars they bring in, but so what). As I mentioned last year, many students apply to medical school based solely on rankings and ultimately choose the highest-ranked program they are accepted to, without any regard to fit or other softer measures. This is a mistake, for many reasons…
I must admit I was happy to see that the University of Pennsylvania had kept its lead on Johns Hopkins for the #2 spot for the 2012 U.S. News list of best medical schools. What does this really mean? Nothing, of course. Both remain fantastic medical schools, with excellent faculty and graduates who have access to the best residency programs throughout the country.
The critical question for pre-medical students should not be “what is the best medical school” but rather “what is the best medical school FOR ME?” No matter how much effort U.S. News puts in to their medical school ranking algorithms, they will never be able to answer this question for you.
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