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If you’re a premed student hoping to maximize your chances of getting into medical school, there are several aspects of your application within your control—your GPA, MCAT score, and extracurricular accomplishments are reflections of the time and effort you dedicate to achieving in each area.

But what if you attend a state school that’s not ranked in the top 20? Or a small liberal arts school? Will your medical school admissions odds be harmed if you didn’t attend an Ivy League institution?

On the other hand, what if you attend a notoriously difficult school with a strong reputation, like Johns Hopkins, Washington University in St. Louis, Vanderbilt, or the University of Chicago? Will slightly lower grades be looked over given your program’s rigor? We often hear from students who have, say, a 3.6 GPA at a rigorous school, but claim that they would have achieved a 3.8+ GPA had they attended their local, less rigorous state school.

Regardless of your context, you might be wondering, “How much does the reputation of my undergraduate school matter when applying to medical school?”

We wish there was some sort of lookup table telling us that a 3.5 at School A corresponds to a 3.7 at School B. Unfortunately, no such table or formula exists, nor will it ever.

The question of how the strength, prestige, and overall reputation of your prospective undergraduate institution affects your chances of getting into a good medical school is a complex one. The short answer is: yes, your undergrad matters for med school. And while it does play a role in admissions, it’s neither the most nor least significant factor.

How are medical schools ranked?

Quality Assessment

Quality assessment incorporates qualitative opinions of medical schools and is composed of two equally weighted indicators totaling 30% of each school’s rank. In previous editions, quality assessment totaled 40% of the primary care medical school rankings but was reduced in this edition to make room for a new primary care outcome measure.

Peer assessment score (weighted by 0.15 for the research medical school model; 0.15 – down from 0.25 previously – for the primary care medical school model): Medical and osteopathic school deans, deans of academic affairs, and heads of internal medicine or directors of admissions separately rated the quality of research and primary care programs on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding). Respondents who did not know enough about a school to evaluate it marked “don’t know.” A school’s research peer assessment score and primary care peer assessment score were both the average of its 1-5 ratings received in those areas.

Both research and primary care programs were rated separately on a single survey instrument U.S. News administered in fall 2020 through early 2021. Twenty-eight percent of recipients responded.

Assessment score by residency directors (0.15 for the research medical school model; 0.15 for the primary care medical school model): Residency program directors rated the quality of either research or primary care programs on a 1-5 scale of marginal to outstanding. Respondents who did not know enough about a program to evaluate it marked “don’t know.” A school’s residency directory assessment score for research and residency director assessment score for primary care were both the three-year weighted averages of their 1-5 ratings received in those areas.

For its most recent data collection, U.S. News administered two entirely separate survey instruments in fall 2020 and early 2021. One survey pertained to research and was sent to a sample of residency program directors in fields outside primary care, including surgery, psychiatry and radiology. The other survey involved primary care and was sent to residency directors designated by schools as mainly involved in the primary care fields of family medicine, pediatrics and internal medicine. In summer 2020, the medical schools supplied U.S. News the names of all of the residency program directors who were sent either of the residency program director surveys.

Student Selectivity

Student selectivity reflects medical schools that can best administer high-quality rigorous programs if their enrollees demonstrated accomplishment as undergraduates. Its three indicators sum to 20% of the research medical school model and 15% in the primary care medical school model.

Median Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT, score (0.13 in the research medical school model; 0.0975 in the primary care medical school model): This is the median MCAT score of the 2020 entering class. The median scores were converted to a common 0-100 percentile scale for the ranking.

On usnews.com, only users with a U.S. News Medical School Compass subscription can view the MCAT scores.

Median undergraduate GPA (0.06 in the research medical school model; 0.045 in the primary care medical school model): This is the median undergraduate GPA of the 2020 entering class.

Acceptance rate (0.01 in the research medical school model; 0.0075 in the primary care medical school model): This is the proportion of applicants for the 2020 entering class who were offered admission.

Faculty Resources

Faculty resources is a single ranking factor used in both the research and primary care rankings measuring faculty productivity.

Faculty resources (0.10 in the research medical school model; 0.15 in the primary care medical school model): Faculty resources were measured as the ratio of full-time faculty to full-time M.D. or D.O. students in 2020. U.S. News used a logarithmic transformation of the original value for the faculty-student ratio since it had a skewed distribution. This logarithmic transformation rescaled the data and allowed for a more normalized and uniform spread of values across the indicator.

Based on recommendations from medical school deans who wanted to ensure accurate and standardized reporting of faculty counts, U.S. News instructed medical schools to report the same total full-time medical school faculty counts they report annually to the LCME and to the American Association of Medical Colleges.

Research Activity

Research activity is used in the research ranking model only. Its two indicators were weighted in total at 40%.

Total federal research activity (0.25): This is measured by the total dollar amount of federal (direct costs) grants and contracts recorded at each medical school and its affiliates, plus the total federal grants and contracts (facilities and administrative costs) at each medical school and its affiliates for 2019. Previously, this indicator was based solely on National Institutes of Health, or NIH, grants.

Average federal research activity per faculty member (0.15): This is measured by the total dollar amount of federal (direct costs) grants and contracts recorded at each medical school and its affiliates, plus the total federal grants and contracts (facilities and administrative costs) at each medical school and its affiliates per total full-time faculty member as reported by medical schools to the American Association of Medical Colleges for 2019. Previously, this indicator was based solely on NIH grants.

Based on recommendations from a group of medical school deans, U.S. News calculated both indicators solely on medical school financing data on federal grants and contracts using information each medical school is required to file yearly with the LCME for fiscal year 2018-2019. Each medical school separately reported this data to U.S. News from its LCME Part 1-A Schedule B form and supplied a PDF or equivalent of that part of the LCME form. Then U.S. News cross-checked each school’s data to validate and verify its submission.

The medical school deans made the point that using data from each school’s LCME filing was the most comprehensive, verifiable measure of total federal research activity at medical schools available, and it includes NIH grants. The medical school deans thought this was a much more accurate picture of the magnitude and scope of federally funded research conducted at medical schools than just using NIH grants, as U.S. News had done previously. Other sources of federally funded research include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Defense – Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, National Science Foundation, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Primary Care Production

Primary care productionis used in the primary care ranking model only. Its two indicators were weighted in total at 40%.

Medical school graduates practicing in primary care specialties (0.30): This new indicator measures the proportion of a medical school’s 2012-2014 graduates who are practicing in a primary care specialty as of 2020. It’s a fuller measure of a schools’ imprint in primary care than exclusively assessing the proportions of graduates in primary care residencies. U.S. News worked with the Robert Graham Center – a division of the American Academy of Family Physicians – as the data provider.

Medical school graduates into primary care residencies (0.10, previously 0.30): The percentages of a school’s M.D. or D.O. graduates entering primary care residencies in the fields of family practice, pediatrics and internal medicine were averaged over 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Does it matter which medical school you go to uk?

The UK has 32 medical schools, and all of them offer the same degree. Unlike other degree courses, medical schools are not ranked as to which is the most prestigious. No matter where you study medicine in the UK, you will receive the same training and education. While some medical schools require higher grades to get in than others do, this is only because of the limited number of places and not because of the higher quality of the degree. In short, all medical degrees are regarded equally, no matter where they are from.

Quality assurance

Because most medical graduates (although not all) end up working for the National Health Service (NHS), all medical schools have to have the same high standards. While other degrees provide honour degrees, where different levels are awarded such as a first, second or third class honours, medical school operates on a simple pass or fail system. Therefore, anybody passing a medical degree is deemed to have achieved the same high competency level in all areas and is considered safe to practice medicine. 

Because this standard is set so high, and there are no rewards for achieving excellence beyond this level, medical schools cannot be ranked as to which one is the best, although different schools will have variable pass and fail rates. However, this is rarely due to the teaching, but in the quality of the candidates and the number of places available.

Employment prospects

After graduating from medical school, all graduates have to apply for foundation jobs. The medical school that a junior doctor attended is never taken into account when positions are allocated for these foundation jobs. Employers are never privy to what school a candidate attended until after the selection process, and instead, health services award positions mathematically depending on where in the medical school a student was in comparison to others of the same year. Employers may also ask students to sit an interview and pass a series of judgement tests.

Because the NHS is a national organisation, the amount of doctors in any given area also plays a factor as to where a junior doctor will end up working. National coverage can differ up and down the country, so a junior doctor that may struggle to find a foundation position, in say London, may find it easier in Birmingham, Manchester or Edinburgh. However, no matter where the location, there is never a surplus of junior doctors, so every medical school graduate, no matter where they attained their degree, ends up finding a place eventually.

Do medical school rankings really matter?

Do you have to go to a top medical school in order to accomplish your dreams?  Premedical students ask these questions often.  It’s really a subset of the larger question which is “How do I choose which medical schools to apply to?”

But back to the rankings.  In the Internet age, information is ubiquitous, and there’s always a new med school rank list being published by some authority. These rankings, in turn, make premedical students nervous and question whether or not they need to go to a top medical school.  Certainly, if you have the opportunity to attend a top medical school then hey, if you can afford it why not take it?  The real challenge comes when you have that acceptance letter from a top program, but you have an acceptance letter and a nice financial package from a lower ranked program.   Here are a few things you should know before worrying too much.

1. Anybody can make a rank list. This is very important to keep in mind when researching medical schools. If you are going to rely on a rank list, make sure it’s a credible one. Always review their ranking methodology. There are certain respected and reputable organizations that put a great deal of effort into their ranking systems, and these should be taken at greater face value. Still, that is not to say that their systems are perfect, but if you are going to consider school ranks, make sure to choose a respected organization.

2. Not all rank lists rank the same things. Rank lists tend to focus on research, primary care, or opinion surveys. Depending on what is most important to you, be sure you are looking at a list that reflects that. For example, if you don’t care about research, you might not place so much weight on the research ranks. I do caution however that because premedical students usually are not certain about what specific field they will pursue, be open to research when starting medical school as something might pique your interest.

3. Patients don’t really care how your medical school ranked. It’s great to go to a top ranked place, and that has many bonuses. But when it comes to direct patient interactions, your patients won’t really care where you went. To confirm this, I asked several people where their doctor went to medical school, and a whopping 0 percent knew the answer. I know, you’re reading this and saying well my doctor went to [insert school name]. OK, you’re the exception, and you’re obviously more interested in medical schools because you are reading this blog. For the most part, your patients will only care that you know what you are doing and that you treat them well. Doctors don’t build their clientele by advertising where they got their MD; they do so by being excellent in their practice.

4. Doctors don’t really care how your medical school ranked. As a practicing physician now, I can tell you that doctors don’t ask each other where they went to medical school. As a matter of fact, the question that is typically asked is “Where did you do your training?” And by training, we are referring to residency and fellowship, not medical school. Here’s what’s most important for premeds to understand. You get your MD or DO in medical school, but you become a doctor in residency. Nobody will let a fresh medical school graduate take care of them because, in reality, they don’t know how to practice medicine yet. Residency is where you get your clinical training and fellowship is a further specialization. When choosing a medical school, put more value on what residency programs can this help you get into, rather than how the medical school ranks. Then when it is time to choose a residency, you should pay a little more attention to the ranking systems then because that truly affects how strong of a clinician you will be.

5. The top medical schools are on top for a reason. Taking into consideration everything I have said above, there is some great value to be gained from using reliable rank lists.  Medical schools that consistently rank at the top of these lists do so for a reason. There’s no denying that the top 10 are special in their own ways.  Their ability to repeatedly rank is in part a reflection of their culture to achieve excellence. Now, this matters!  Along my journey to become a board certified physician, I was able to train at a top program, and that desire to be the best was very evident.

In my personal opinion, you should always take ranking systems with a grain of salt. Your success is based more on you than the medical school you attend. However, you want to be at a place that has a culture which demonstrates they can help you to succeed. A medical school does not have to be on the top of the list to do that. I went to a school that wasn’t ranked too high, but I chose it because the students performed excellently, got among the best board scores in the country, and matched for residency very well.

Top feeder schools to medical school

Earning an excellent GPA in a rigorous, usually science-based major and scoring well on the MCATs are prerequisites to earning a spot in any American medical school. Those seeking a spot in the nation’s most selective medical programs need to meet that criteria AND bring other compelling factors to the table. One such factor can be the prestige of your undergraduate college. While attending an elite undergraduate school is not a prerequisite for gaining acceptance into an elite medical school, it certainly can help, as our analysis demonstrates.

The two lists that follow showcase the top 30 “feeder” schools into the most highly-ranked MD programs. On the first list, for each school, we look at the raw number of students who go on to attend elite MD programs, as well as the two MD programs enrolling the most graduates from that undergraduate school. The second list looks at the top 30 producers when adjusted for a school’s undergraduate enrollment, which allows us to highlight schools that may be smaller in size, but that still send a consistent flow of graduates to the world’s premier medical schools.

In order to identify “top feeder” colleges, we relied on publicly available data from LinkedIn, a professional networking site featuring profiles of approximately 170 million workers across the United States. Specifically, we identified and analyzed the undergraduate backgrounds of nearly 7500 individuals who enrolled at twenty five of America’s most reputable MD programs, including those at Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania (Perelman), New York University (Grossman), Stanford University, Columbia University, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, UCLA (Geffen), University of California-San Francisco, Washington University, Cornell University (Weill), Duke University, University of Washington, University of Pittsburgh, University of Michigan, Yale University, University of Chicago (Pritzker), Northwestern University (Feinberg), Vanderbilt University, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, University of California at San Diego, Baylor College of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Case Western Reserve University, and Emory University.

Top Feeder Rankings (by total graduates enrolled)

Rank (Total)	Institution	#MD Graduates	Top Med School (#1)	Top Med School (#2)
1	Harvard University	292	Harvard Medical School	Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
2	Duke University	256	Duke University School of Medicine	The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
3	Stanford University	245	Stanford University School of Medicine	University of California, San Diego – School of Medicine
4	Yale University	229	Yale University School of Medicine	Harvard Medical School
5	University of California, Berkeley	203	University of California, San Francisco – School of Medicine	University of California, San Diego – School of Medicine
6	University of Michigan	197	University of Michigan Medical School	Northwestern University – The Feinberg School of Medicine
7	Johns Hopkins University	184	The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine	Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
8	University of Pennsylvania	182	University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine	Emory University School of Medicine
9	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	180	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine	Duke University School of Medicine
10	Vanderbilt University	176	Vanderbilt University School of Medicine	Duke University School of Medicine
11	Cornell University	172	Weill Medical College of Cornell University	University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
12	Washington University in St. Louis	162	Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis	Emory University School of Medicine
13	Princeton University	152	University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine	Duke University School of Medicine
14	University of California, Los Angeles	151	David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA	University of California, San Diego – School of Medicine
15	Northwestern University	145	Northwestern University – The Feinberg School of Medicine	University of Michigan Medical School
16	Columbia University	139	Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons	New York University School of Medicine
17	Brown University	116	New York University School of Medicine	University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
18	University of California, San Diego	108	University of California, San Diego – School of Medicine	Stanford University School of Medicine
19	Dartmouth College	102	Emory University School of Medicine	University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
20	Emory University	94	Emory University School of Medicine	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine