In reviewing the med school rankings, they were pretty predictably ho-hum. After all, schools don’t change a ton in one year. Most changes were minor and amounted to a shuffling of the deck chairs. However, there were a couple of big jumps that meant new members in the Top 10 for Research and for Primary Care.
1. In the research category, the Mayo Clinic leaped from #20 to #6 since last year.
2. In the primary care category, UC Davis jumped from #18 to #10, thus joining the top 10. Due to a four-way tie for 8th place last year, there were actually eleven schools in the 2018’s “Top 10.” This year the University of Minnesota and the University of Texas SW both dropped out of the top 10, ranking #12 and #19 respectively.
Top 10 Research Medical Schools in 2019
| Rank | Program | Location | Tuition | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvard University | Boston, MA | $69,800 | 715 |
| 2 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | $51,900 | 485 |
| 3 | New York University (Langone) | New York, NY | $52,814 | 531 |
| 3 | Stanford University | Stanford, CA | $56.229 | 482 |
| 5 | University of California - San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $34,386 (in-state) $46,631 (out-of-state) | 607 |
| 6 | Mayo Clinic School of Medicine | Rochester, MN | $49,900 | 263 |
| 6 | University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) | Philadelphia, PA | $55,928 | 595 |
| 8 | University of California - Los Angeles (Geffen) | Los Angeles, CA | $34,116 (in-state) $46,361 (out-of-state) | 727 |
| 8 | Washington University in St. Louis | St. Louis, MO | $63,230 | 494 |
| 10 | Duke Universtiy | Durham, NC | $57,100 | 486 |
Top 10 Primary Care Medical Schools in 2019
| Rank | Program | Location | Tuition | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | $27,637 (in-state) $54,526 (out-of-state) | 833 |
| 2 | University of California - San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $34,386 (in-state) $46,631 (out-of-state) | 607 |
| 3 | University of Washington | Seattle, WA | $35,490 (in-state) $65, 199 (out-of-state) | 1042 |
| 4 | University of California - Los Angeles (Geffen) | Los Angeles, CA | $34,116 (in-state) $46,361 (out-of-state) | 727 |
| 5 | Baylor College of Medicine | Houston, TX | $29,900 | 736 |
| 5 | Oregon Health and Science University | Portland, OR | $41,596 (in-state) $62,700 (out-of-state) | 592 |
| 7 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI | $35,725 (in-state) $54,566 (out-of-state) | 717 |
| 8 | University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) | Philadelphia, PA | $55,928 | 595 |
| 9 | University of Colorado | Aurora, CO | $37,850 (in-state) $63,806 (out-of-state) | 708 |
| 10 | University of California - Davis | Sacramento, CA | $37,092 (in-state) $49,337 (out-of-state) | 450 |
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U.S. News Methodology
If you are going to use the rankings as measures of educational quality, which we advise against, at least understand what they are measuring.
U.S. News & World Report ranked all 144 medical schools accredited in 2017 by the Liason Committee on Medical Education as well as all 33 schools of osteopathic medicine accredited in 2017 by the American Osteopathic Association. The schools were surveyed in fall 2017 and early 2018. Of the 177 schools surveyed, 124 responded and submitted the data needed to determine the rankings based on the indicators used in the medical school research model.
The same 177 schools were also surveyed for the primary care rankings, and the same 124 schools supplied the data needed to calculate those rankings.
The rankings were based on a weighted average of the following indicators (more on methodology here).
• Quality assessment score (weighted by 0.30 for the research medical school model and 0.40 for the primary care medical school model)
• Peer assessment score (0.15 for the research medical school model – down from 0.20 last year, 0.25 for the primary care medical school model)
• Assessment score by residency directors (0.15 for the research medical school model – down from 0.20, 0.15 for the primary care medical school model)
• Research activity score (0.40 in the research medical school model only)
• Total NIH research activity score (0.15)
• Average NIH research activity per faculty member score (0.15)
• Total non-NIH federal research activity score (0.025)
• Average non-NIH federal research activity per faculty member score (0.025)
• Total non-federal research activity score (0.025)
• Average nonfederal research activity per faculty member score (0.025)
• Primary care rate score (0.30 in the primary care medical school model only)
• Student selectivity score (0.20 in the research medical school model, 0.15 in the primary care medical school model)
• Median MCAT total score (0.13 in the research medical school model, 0.975 in the primary care medical school model)
• Median undergraduate GPA score (0.06 in the research medical school model, 0.045 in the primary care medical school model)
• Acceptance rate score (0.01 in the research model, 0.0075 in the primary care medical school model)
• Faculty resources score (0.10 in the research medical school model, 0.15 in the primary care medical school model)
Related Resources:
• Navigate the Med School Maze: 12 Tips From Start to Acceptance, a free guide
• Medical School Selectivity Index [Can I Get Into My Dream School?]
• How To Research Medical Schools