<p>1) I wouldn’t say that everyone wants to get into the top few - just the prestige whores.</p>
<p>2) If you just want to go into private practice (ie see patients all day, every day) then it really doesn’t matter where you go. It’s probably smart to go the place that’s the least expensive.</p>
<p>3) If you are interested in doing research, or a position in academic medicine, it will be beneficial to go to a higher ranked school. How much benefit? I’m not really sure - likely, to at least some extent depends on what your research topic of choice is. Is there a huge difference between going to the #5 and the #10 ranked schools? Probably not. #5 vs #55 - certainly greater, but it’s not going to prevent you from entering the field completely, you’ll just have less opportunities (even that’s not a guarantee).</p>
<p>3) There may be some benefit in getting into the more difficult residencies, especially to the top programs in that field. How much? not really sure. It’s probably more accurate to say it’s never going to hurt your chances getting into a top residency program in a competitive field if you go to a highly ranked school. What the actual benefit might be is harder to determine.</p>