I keep reading on here "rank based off where you will be happy" and while yes there is merit to that, that should not be the only factor. I got accepted to medical schools close to my support system but turned those down for a more prestigous med school far away where I knew I would be less happy. 4 years later I am so thankful to have done that and not only did i open up doors I couldn't at the other schools, I have grown so much as a person and this would not have happened had I gone to the schools I would have been happier at< it depends the inidvidual definition of happiness. Some people value prestige while other value family. Residency might be different from medical school and it matters less in terms of job market. < okay but someone choosing to rank a top program isn't necesarily doing it for the "prestige". They could be doing it because they want to learn from renowned faculty, because they want to open up more doors in the future, because they want to grow more as a person etc. I find it hard to believe people are ranking Harvard or NYU #1 just because they want the "prestige" of saying they trained there< I did not intend to dichotomize using prestige as just one factor. People also care about things like you decide to pursue. There is NO universal rule < Agreed, I am just playing devil's advocate btw. I am not seeing too many people sharing my perspective on here openly.< thx for sharing your voice! Everyone's voice needs to be heard < how does OP know they wouldn't have "grown as much as a person" at any other school, considering their point of reference is only one school? < I'm OP because the city my school is in has taught me so much vs the other schools are close to home. I wouldn't have had this added perspective of my new city < but you can't actually be 100% sure about this. you have only had the one experience < This is not true. I experienced my home city for 25 years and I know for a fact I could not have had the experiecnes that my much, much bigger city afforded me in med school. It wasn't just my institutition, it was the city it was in