The highly anticipated “Best Medical Schools” rankings from U.S. News & World Report have been delayed for the second year in a row, with a new tentative release date set for late July. This delay comes as schools are being re-surveyed and significant changes are being made to the methodology of the rankings.
According to U.S. News, the new rankings will include specialty rankings based on data from the American Academy of Family Physicians, focusing on primary care fields, student diversity, and graduates practicing in underserved areas. However, the rankings will no longer include bibliometric data or rankings of specialty areas in medical research due to challenges in verifying faculty affiliations and research practices.
Medical schools that submitted surveys to U.S. News last fall and earlier this year have been asked to verify and correct their data by June 21. The rankings will be based on a similar methodology as last year, with reputational factors excluded and other ranking factors upweighted to compensate.
This year’s delay and changes come amidst ongoing controversy surrounding the rankings, with several top medical schools opting out of participating last year. Despite these challenges, U.S. News remains committed to providing valuable insights for prospective medical students and the healthcare industry.
Stay tuned for the release of the rankings in late July to see how your favorite medical schools stack up in this year’s evaluation.