<p>Hey Ace of Spades (if that is your “real” name):)</p>
<p>While I understand your point, I also have to agree with others. Heck, to be honest, if admitted to an umbrella program I would almost be more eager to join a dept that falls under the medical school than one that does not simply for issues of funding (ie Cell and Molec vs Biology).</p>
<p>That said, I think there are probably a great number of schools that have a medical school that are not in the top tiers for biomedical research. Virgin islands and Guam aside, take for example the University of Central Florida. Ok, they are just building their medical school, and hopefully that helps bring in money but I would be hard pressed to list it even in the top three tiers when it comes to biomedical research. I mean, they do not even have the money to have interview weekends for prospective students, and their stipend is ridiculously low (I think it is around $18k). When I think of top tier schools I think they at least would have the funds to fly prospective students in to see the school.</p>
<p>So yeah, I get your point in theory, but I do not think you can really say med school=top tier without qualification. There are plenty of exceptions.</p>