History
Rush Medical College was one of the first medical colleges in the state of Illinois and was chartered in 1837, two days before the city of Chicago was chartered, and opened with 22 students on December 4, 1843. Its founder, Dr. Daniel Brainard, named the school in honor of Dr. Benjamin Rush, the only physician with medical school training to sign the Declaration of Independence and who would later teach Meriwether Lewis the basic medical skills for his expedition with William Clark to the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Rush was also known as the "Father of American Psychiatry. "
During its 1st century of operation, more than 10,000 physicians received their training at Rush Medical College; a "Rush Doctor" was a highly-prized commodity in the American West of the 19th century. Rush Medical College was affiliated with the University of Chicago from 1898 until 1942. With the onset of World War II, the medical college temporarily suspended its educational program, though it continued its corporate existence. Its faculty continued undergraduate and graduate teaching of medicine and the biological sciences as members of the faculty of the University of Illinois. The charter of the medical college was reactivated in 1969 when it became part of Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, which changed its name in 2003 to Rush University Medical Center to reflect the important role education and research play in its patient care mission. In 1971, Rush Medical College reopened with a class of 66 first-year students and 33 third-year students.
Since 1972, Rush Medical College has been part of Rush University. Rush Medical College affiliates include its teaching hospital Rush University Medical Center, nearby John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, and NorthShore University HealthSystem – Skokie Hospital (formerly known as Rush North Shore Medical Center)
Rush Medical College ranks among America's 10 medical schools with the lowest acceptance rates. Out of 6,488 applicants, only 246 were accepted for the class of 2014, with an acceptance rate of only 3.8% of the applicant pool. In 2012, US News World Report ranks Rush 62nd among U.S. M.D. medical schools.
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