By the end of that century, Rush was among the nation's largest and most distinguished medical schools,[citation needed] becoming a major supplier of physicians to rural areas in the Middle and far West.[citation needed] The college sought an academic affiliation with a major university, a common practice among independent medical schools of that era. In 1898, the school affiliated with the University of Chicago. During its first century of operation, more than 10,000 physicians received their training at Rush Medical College.[citation needed]