Harvard University is consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the United States. This private institution is comprised of 13 schools and institutions, including its exclusive medical school. "U.S. News and World Report" ranks the Harvard Medical School as the number one research medical school in the nation. Admission is highly competitive. In 2009, the Harvard Medical School had more than 5,000 applicants and accepted 165 students for the MD degree.
Founded by Benjamin Franklin, the University of Pennsylvania is one of the oldest colleges in the nation. In addition to its undergraduate college, this institution of higher learning is home to 12 graduate and professional schools, including the oldest medical school in the United States. The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has a top five ranking from "U.S. News and World Report." The medical school prides itself in the fields of patient care, medical education and biomedical research. As of 2008, only 154 students entered its selective medical school, and 21 percent were minorities. There were 725 medical students enrolled in this prestigious school in 2008.
The University of California at San Francisco, or UCSF, is one of the 10 campuses in the University of California system, and it is the only one dedicated to the health sciences. The UCSF School of Medicine is the only medical school in the nation to rank in the top five for both primary care and research, according to the "U.S. News and World Report" rankings.
Washington University in St. Louis is a prestigious institution of higher learning with more than 90 programs on the undergraduate and graduate level. The Washington University School of Medicine is one of the top five medical schools in the nation, and it prepares students for careers in public health, allied health, and medicine. Since its founding in 1891, this prestigious medical school has been associated with 17 Nobel laureates.