Choosing a school? Qualitative factors matter most.

This is a particularly hectic time of year for medical students, but the decisions they face with deciding where to apply and ultimately where to attend school are the same as students in other disciplines:

• What school is the best fit for me, and how do I assess fit?

• How much do I care about status and official rankings? What rankings matter to me?

• How much should I value extracurricular factors like location, proximity to family, etc.?

• What would I like to see in my cohort?

The list of relevant questions could go on and on.  With perhaps the exception of law school, where oftentimes the ranking of your school has a direct correlation with your post-graduate opportunities, students are wise to recall that finding the right fit for their needs and interests is much more important than the quest for status and prestige.  When a student fits a program, he or she will be well-supported by faculty, feel stimulated and challenged, have the opportunity to pursue personal interests (e.g. a particular medical specialty), and obtain a degree in a collegial environment of allied peers. 

So remember, reports like those offered by US News and World Report can only capture a small slice of the whole picture when evaluating schools.  It is the job of the student and those advising him or her to identify a relevant suite of factors and make decisions about where to apply and attend schools based on all of these factors.  At the end of the day, your education is what you make of it. The zealous pursuit of status is not a recipe for success or (perhaps more importantly) happiness and career satisfaction.