The Hopkins School of Medicine was ranked second in the nation on the "Best Graduate Schools 2005" list, released by U.S. News & World Report.
Hopkins's ranking, behind Harvard Medical School at number one, was up from last year's third-place spot.
Before last year, the Hopkins School of Medicine had been ranked second for 13 years in a row.
Although administrators thought the rankings reflected the School of Medicine's sustained quality, David G. Nichols, vice dean for education at the School of Medicine, stated that the ranking is not the most important thing to consider in choosing a medical school.
"The overall point score differences among the top schools are minor. All are excellent medical schools," Nichols said.
"Our focus is less on numerical scores and more on finding and nurturing the most promising young people as physicians and scientists," he added.
According to Nichols, the medical school will not be drastically changing in response to the ranking.
The school will continue to do "more of the same. Find the best talent. Create an environment in which they can thrive," Nichols commented.
He added that Hopkins medical school does not need a certain ranking to increase its popularity, as the school already receives close to 6,000 primary applications for 120 slots.
The ranking is calculated from several components. The deans and senior faculty of the different schools and the directors of intern-residency programs are asked to score the schools out of five total points.
Multiple independent numbers, such as the acceptance rate and the amount of research awarded to the medical school, are factored into the total ranking.
Hopkins and Harvard both had dean and senior faculty ranking scores of 4.9 out of 5, and residency directors' assessment scores of 4.8 out of 5.
Hopkins' acceptance rate is 5.8 percent, 0.9 percent higher than Harvard's acceptance rate of 4.9 percent.
Students had mixed reactions to the rankings.
"I think we're really lucky to have such close ties to such a prestigious medical institution," sophomore Aamir Abbas said. "Even undergraduates are able to benefit from the excellence of the medical school."
However, some students did not think that the rankings matter in terms of future plans.
"Well, I don't think there is an issue," said junior Fareed Riyaz. "[The ranking] takes into account a lot of different variables, but in terms of going to a medical school, it's a very personal decision. The school has to fit the person."
Riyaz added, "Too many people focus on numbers, rather than if the school is right for them."
In specialty research rankings, Hopkins was ranked number one in internal medicine, geriatrics and drug/alcohol abuse, in which it was tied with Harvard.
Hopkins was also ranked second in AIDS research, behind the University of California, San Francisco, ranked third in pediatrics and fourth in women's health.
In an unrelated listing of the top primary care medical schools, the Hopkins School of Medicine was ranked 23rd, an improvement over a ranking of 46 last year.
The other medical schools in the top 10 were Washington University in St. Louis, University of Pennsylvania, University of California-San Francisco, Duke University, University of Washington, Stanford University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
