What are the top ranked medical schools?

According to US News [1], the following lists the top 20 medical schools for 2012:

1. Harvard University
2. Johns Hopkins University
2. University of Pennsylvania (Perelman)
4. Stanford University
5.  University of California--San Francisco
6. Washington University in St. Louis
7. Yale University
8. Columbia University
9. Duke University
10. University of Chicago (Pritzker)
10. University of Washington
13. University of California--Los Angeles (Geffen)
14. Vanderbilt University
15. University of Pittsburgh
16. Cornell University (Weill)
16. University of California--San Diego
18. Mount Sinai School of Medicine
18. Northwestern University (Feinberg)
20. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

What can we take from this list? Let us first look at their methodology, or what factors they use to score the schools [2]. As of 2011, there were 126 medical schools fully accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education; of these, 114 schools provided data needed to calculate rankings based on their model. 

Each school is given a score based on a weighted average of the following factors: peer assessment score (weighted by 0.20), assessment score by residency directors (0.20), research activity (0.30), total research activity (0.15), average research activity per faculty member (0.15), student selectivity (0.20), mean MCAT score (0.13), mean undergraduate GPA (0.06), acceptance rate (0.01), faculty resources (0.10). 

Indicators were standardized according to their means, which were then weighted, totaled, and rescaled so that the highest ranking school received a score of 100. Each school thereafter received their percentage of the highest score. Schools with equivalent scores are given the same rank as can be seen in the above list.

Thus we can see that research activity plays the largest role in determining rankings, with student selectivity and outside assessment scores following closely behind. So roughly, a school's ranking reflects the quality of the student body, the school's involvement in research, and the general reputation of the school by peers and residency directors.

Rankings are also important for residency admissions, networking opportunities, and finding a position in academic medicine later on. However, applicants should not neglect other factors that are commonly overlooked by ranking systems, such as quality of clinical training, academic resources, opportunities for students, the school's hospital network, and individual fit to the school's vision and philosophy. These factors may sometimes outweigh the benefits that may be conferred by a higher ranked school.

1. Best Medical Schools
2. Methodology: Medical Schools