How Would You Rank the Medical Programs?

<p>In your personal opinion, in what order would you rank of all the guaranteed med programs?</p>

<p>interesting question...take my thoughts with a grain of salt, its just my opinion</p>

<p>couple things i consider important: cost, undergrad/med school quality, prog requirements</p>

<p>and remember, this is the PROGRAM and its qualities we're talking about, not just the US News rankings</p>

<p>so off the top of my head...</p>

<p>Tier 1
Rice/Baylor MSP (undergrad is sick, BCM is simply too good to pass up, prog reqs are fair)
NU HPME (i dont think NU is worth the money, but Feinberg is also too good to pass up)
Case Western PPSP (Case undergrad is iffy, but they give out lots of money)</p>

<p>Tier 2
Brown PLME (undergrad amazing but costly...their med school is iffy to me)
USC Bacc/MD (disgustingly expensive, but they seem pretty liberal with money, solid med school)
UMiami HPM (expensive but very liberal with money, sick undergrad experience, solid med school)
VCU/MCV G-med (excellent honors college for undergrad, the med school is solid, very liberal with money)
PSU/JMC (good undergrad, solid med school, very expensive)
BU/BU (decent med school, very expensive, iono about the money scene)
OSU EAP (iffy undergrad, decent med school, expensive for OOS)</p>

<p>Tier 3
Washu/Washu (the med school is amazing, but the prog reqs are ridiculous)
UIC GPPA (only for instate, cheap, decent med school, awful undergrad)
GW/GW (way too expensive, not too great with money)</p>

<p>Interesting. Thanks for your opinion, I was just curious how some people felt about this. I agree with you, you need to look at the whole picture, not just USNEWS rankings (which in my opinion are overrated). </p>

<p>Keep posting guys!</p>

<p>GoBroncos00
What you meant "sick undergrad experience" of Umiami HPM ?
Thanks.</p>

<p>I think he means "fun." My son was very interested in UMiami's program. I think he might have chosen it. He was offered the Singer Scholarship so financially, it would have been a great choice. He loved the idea of spending 8 years in shorts and flip flops. Of course, the sports were a bonus as was his uncle living in FL with spring training season tickets. During undergrad as a neurobiology major and during med school, he hoped to somehow get involved with Dr. Barth Green and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. UM had lots of positives but c'est la vie. He didn't get in.</p>

<p>hey, yea, South Beach amazing even if you are not into clubbing. the academics at UMiami are excellent and extremely flexible in terms of what they allow you to do. the campuses are all open to undergrad students in terms of research and internships. add that with the weather, and HPM...and its sick</p>

<p>This may be biased, but I really think that USC is worth its price tag.</p>

<p>1) If you get into the Bacc/MD, it's almost guaranteed you're getting the Trustee (full tuition) or the Presidential (half tuition) scholarship. They also have a hefty endowment to dole out federal aid if you apply by the deadline.</p>

<p>2) Even though Keck is somewhat frowned upon on the East Coast (which I think is a stupid stigma), it's the premier medical school on the West Coast. This past year, all the UC schools switched to digital imaging and got rid of their "gross anatomy" labs, something that a lot of medical residency directors were not pleased to see because it's essential to get experience on an actual human body. Meanwhile, Keck is taking huge steps towards technological advancement with a new USC+LA Med Center and a new hospital. It's really an up and coming med school.</p>

<p>3) USC has such a slew of great programs that, when you look at the Bacc/MD requirements once you get into the program, you have the room to do whatever you want and study whatever you want. It opens up a ton of doors academically.</p>

<p>4) Never underestimate the power of almuni. The "USC Mafia" is infamous in many, many fields and medicine is no exception.</p>

<p>5) I think the overall experience that one would get at USC (especially undergrad) is extremely unique and not comparable to the other BA/MD programs out there. The research, the spirit, the location, etc...you really can't get that anywhere else.</p>

<p>
[quote]
This past year, all the UC schools switched to digital imaging and got rid of their "gross anatomy" labs, something that a lot of medical residency directors were not pleased to see because it's essential to get experience on an actual human body.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Say wat?</p>

<p>I think you meant they got rid of their histology slides (which most med schools are doing nowadays) and switched to digital imaging. I haven't seen a school go w/o an anatomy lab.</p>

<p>When I visited both UCSD and UCSF, they were both bragging about how their students don't spend any time in the anatomy lab any more, they use this high tech digital imaging software. I was really disappointed because I think that's part of the fun of going through med school, lol.</p>

<p>UCSF uses prosection which means the bodies are cut up for you (so you spend less time digging through the fat). Some people (particularly the ones that hate anatomy) like this because this means they can spend less time in the smelly lab. Some people (those who like to cut people) want the dissection experience so they prefer traditional anatomy.</p>

<p>However, either way, you have to spend time in anatomy lab. If you really want to cut, some schools that have prosection (like UCLA) will let you stay over the summer and dissect the cadavers for next year's class. That's if you truly don't want to miss out on the experience.</p>

<p>answer to a previous question: UMKC does not include gross anatomy in their formal curriculum--you look at models other stuff. This i learned while interviewing there. They offer a dissection "elective" for their year 5 and 6 students. Then again, this med school is iffy, not like USC or and of the UC schools for that matter.</p>

<p>Are you sure? I don't see how a med school can be accredited if they're teaching anatomy from models.</p>

<p>veryy sure, i asked our tour guide who was a year 5 twice, and my dad was told the same thing on the parent tour</p>

<p>Yeah, but I think (and no offense to the people who got into this program), the UMKC program is iffy to begin with. I mean 6 years to get through med school? That seems slightly excessive to me.</p>

<p>Anyway, I mostly agree with Broncos. Personally, I'd add PLME and the Bacc/MD to Tier 1 because I think Brown/Alpert, as expensive as it may be, is an "ivy league" education and the name alone is enough to score a residency that many people couldn't get using the regular route. As for Keck, it may not be ranked AS high as Feinberg or Baylor, but I think with the new center, hospital and technology, they're an up and coming med school. Besides, the requirements for the Bacc/MD once in the program are really lenient comparative to the other programs.</p>

<p>ppenguin, I think you might be favoring USC a little too much because you are going there :P. Of course, the only reason I am calling you out on it may just be because I have to justify to myself picking the BU program over the USC one since i got both. but who knows. </p>

<p>I agree that Rice and NU are the top ones, with PPSP in 3rd (although some have told me PPSP requirements are high and undergrad is stressful...so idk).</p>

<p>Brown is pretty good too, and the med school is much cheaper in comparison to many med schools, which may or may not make up for the exorbitant undergrad cost depending on your financial situation.</p>

<p>USC bacc/md I must say set up their bacc/md interviews and tours VERY well and thus I, as everyone else, was very impressed with the program, etc. Still, other programs have just as lenient requirements. Keck is a good med school for sure but the new center, tech, etc. I feel is considered more impressive because of their bacc/md marketing skills. Also, their med school is pretty expensive and their average med student loans are no lower (and in fact significantly higher than national average) than most other places.</p>

<p>Again, I'm not bashing bacc/md as I think it is near the top of 2nd tier, but I am just putting it in perspective compared to other programs.</p>

<p>Keck is the premiere medical school on the West Coast? How on earth could you possibly be figuring this? It is perhaps school #6 of 9, and more likely 7.</p>

<p>This is a ridiculous thing to say.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Yeah, but I think (and no offense to the people who got into this program), the UMKC program is iffy to begin with. I mean 6 years to get through med school? That seems slightly excessive to me.

[/quote]
No, hun, it's 6 years for undergrad + med school. Two years undergrad, four year medical school.</p>

<p>Ok, ok, so I may be a little biased. That and the fact that I was tired and I forgot that USC is also on the west coast with UCLA, UCSF, UCSD...you know, the entire UC system >_<.</p>

<p>In respect to the Case PPSP, I also heard that the program requirements were super crazy and that they're considering raising them? It was just something a friend mentioned in passing, but that's why I kind of passed on going there. I still insist the PLME is a "Tier 1" school though. It IS an Ivy League.</p>

<p>And, xInland, I know that, I think it's a little crazy to shove yourself through that in 6 years. It seems to me like a lot of valuable experience is lost through that. But again, that's just me.</p>

<p>And Stanford and UWash. And probably even Irvine.</p>