The USA has always been the top priority destination for students aspiring for a medical career. It is renowned in the top list due to numerous reasons which include quality education, critical thinking oriented teaching rather than focusing on academics, and research is the best among the features of US Medical Schools. These features make the Medical Schools highly competitive in getting admission. Over 50,000 students apply for Bachelors in Medicine in the top-ranked US universities which imply students have to clear competitive exams. Once you got an admission your career path is secure enough to accomplish all your dreams. There are so many Medical schools in the USA offering education in medicine but each of them is different based on the courses they offer, research or primary care-oriented, and so on. This article will help you to narrow down your search in finding top medical colleges in the USA.
These rankings are based on the acceptance rate, competitive exams, student-faculty ratio, residency programs, and the overall funding received by the universities.
Harvard University
Harvard University is well-known as a research university located in Massachusetts, established in 1636. University has got affiliations from NAICU, AICUM, AAU, and URA. It serves as a parent institution for >Harvard Medical School (HMS) which was founded in 1782. It is one of the prestigious medical schools in the United States holding first place in ranking for research in Medicine. About 11,694 academic faculties are available for nurturing the young doctors as well as the researchers. The student capacity offered for different courses are listed below:
- MD – 712
- PhD – 915
- DMD – 140
- Master’s – 269
- DMSc – 39
Unlike other medical schools, HMS is not constrained under a single hospital rather collaborate with several teaching hospitals and research institutions in the Boston area for providing early clinical education. Admissions for the MD programs are highly competitive with an acceptance rate of 3.3%. The selection process is based on academic records, applicant essays, MCAT scores, letters of evaluation, extracurricular activities, summer occupations, life experiences, and experience in the health field including research or community work. This one is the top medical colleges in the USA.
John Hopkins University
John Hopkins University was established 144 years ago in 1876 in Baltimore, Maryland. Eastern Baltimore is occupied with 3 medical institutions comprise of the School of Medicine, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and School of Nursing. John Hopkins School of Medicine; is known for its biomedical research. It has gained popularity in receiving several grants for researches by the National Institution of Health. John Hopkins Hospital serves as the parent hospital. The academic staff strength is 2,980 full-time and 1,270 part-time faculties. The program list includes M.D, graduate programs, dual degree (combining M.D-PhD, M.D-MPH, MD-MS, MD-MBA), and residency and fellowship programs. The acceptance rate is 3.9%.
The admission process consists of three main steps:-
- Complete AMCAS Application (American Medical College Application Service)
- Complete the Secondary Application
Stanford University
Stanford University School of medicine was founded in the year 1908 in Stanford, California to provide research-intensive programs and modern medical methods in its curriculum. Stanford Health Care was ranked as the fourth-best hospital in California and took first place in conducting adult heart transplantation in the United States. The School of medicine offers 1,948 full-time academic staff following a new method of teaching ‘Flipped Classroom’ where traditional lecture classes are delivered in online mode so that students can learn at their own pace and can utilize the classroom time for interactive learning. The Stanford School of Medicine offers several programs classified as degree, professional, summer and youth programs. The 6-degree courses include MD, PA, MS, and Dual-degree and undergraduate studies. This one is the top medical colleges in the USA.
The student capacity at Stanford is 500 with an acceptance rate of 2.5%. The admission procedure starts in May, students can apply through AMCAS. The selected applications are reviewed and asked to attend an interview.
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is the host institution of Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, located in Philadelphia. It is established in the year 1765, deemed as one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and one among the seven Ivy League Medical Schools. The Penn Med School maintains a 3:1 student-faculty ratio with 766 medical students and 2300 full-time academic staffs. The next best feature is the teaching hospitals offering the best medical education consists of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, and the Children’s hospital in Philadelphia.
In addition to the MD program, Penn Med School broadens its course list to Ph.D., MS, and Dual-degree where students are allowed to earn their dual-degree from any school at the University Of Pennsylvania. The acceptance rate is 4%. The applicant must have an average undergraduate GPA of 3.86 and an MCAT score of 520.6.
University of California-San Francisco
The UCSF (University of California-San Francisco) school of medicine, top-ranked in the number of research recipients by the National Institute of Health. It was founded in the year 1864, located at the base of Mount Sutro in San Francisco, entitled formerly as Toland Medical College. This medical school is affiliated to UCSF Medical Center with 2,643 full-time academic staffs including noble prize winners. It provides MD, MD/Ph.D., Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), MS/MD, UC Berkeley/UCSF Joint Medical Program (JMP). However, getting admission is a big task as its enrollment rate is about 1.98%. This one is the top medical colleges in the USA.
Columbia University
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the medical school of Columbia University founded in the year 1767 and affiliated to New York-Presbyterian Hospital. It is situated at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. It has made efforts in replacing loans with scholarships so that the aspirants could be able to overcome their financial burdens. The course list includes MD, 3 year PhD to MD program for those who have completed a PhD in a biological or related science, MSTP, Columbia-Bassett MD. The enrollment ratios are daunting since only 258 students are selected out of 7,500 applicants for the 2022 class.
University of California-Los Angels
Los Angeles School of Medicine is the second medical school of UCSF, renamed to David Geffen School of Medicine in 2001. It was established in the year 1951 in Los Angeles, in close proximity to UCLA rendering an opportunity to get exposure to the university’s main campus life. The overall student enrollment is 713 in which 120 enrol for MD programs. The students can practice in one of the 21 affiliated hospitals in Los Angeles. The acceptance rate is 1.2% with MCAT cutoff 512. The best feature is it allows students to take a year off after completing the 4-year curriculum for pursuing research under the assistance of UCLA mentors. The dual-degree programs offered are MD-PhD, MD-DDS, MD-MBA, MD-MPH, MD-MPP. This one is the top medical colleges in the USA.
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington School of Medicine is a promising institution in biomedical research as well as public health care. It was founded in the year 1946 has grown drastically as one of the top recipients receiving Federal Research Funding after Harvard Medical School. This Med School had raised many service-learning projects and offers health care programs to provide access for those who cannot travel long distances. The acceptance rate is 4.1% where only 377 applicants are selected out of 8000. The notable residency programs are family practice, primary care, paediatrics, and cardiothoracic surgery.
Cornell University
The medical school of Cornell University is formally known as the Joan & Sanford I. Weil Medical College. It is established in the year 1898 as Cornell University Medical College and is situated at York Avenue in New York City. The tri-institutional MD/PhD is introduced primarily by Weil Medical College in 1991 and also provides MD, MD/MBA (dual-degree from Johnson School of Management). It is one of the highly competitive institutions that receive 6,000 applications annually where only 106 got selected after meeting both academic and personal standards. This one is the top medical colleges in the USA.
Yale University
Yale school of medicine was established in the year 1810, situated in New Haven, which was primarily the medical institution of Yale College. It is known for the abode of the largest modern libraries Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Libraries. The number of academic staffs is 5,166 out of which 70 of them are the National Academy of Science members. The acceptance rate is about 6.5%. The admission procedure includes completion of AMCAS, Yale Secondary application, MCAT scores (520), and letter of recommendation. The selected applicants are selected after the successful completion of the interview.
