I am very fortunate to have been recently admitted to Johns Hopkins University BME and the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. At either school, I will be on the Pre-Med track and I am about 90% set on going to medical school. The cost is almost identical at both for my family. I will be visiting both schools within the next few weeks, but due to COVID-19, I’m not sure that I will get an accurate feel for each school since the campuses will be relatively empty.
Initially, I was ecstatic to be admitted to Johns Hopkins BME, especially since it is the #1 program in the country. However, I’m worried about the “cut-throat” environment and lack of social life that is often attributed to JHU. I’m also worried that due to the sheer number of pre-med students, I will have to work significantly harder to get into medical school than I would at other places.
It seems like the environment at WashU will be more relaxed and collaborative compared to JHU. It is also a great school for pre-med, but are its resources comparable to JHU? Is it worth turning down JHU BME for WashU solely for the student life aspect? Does WashU have any benefits over JHU outside of the social environment and JHU’s stress culture?
Additionally, if I choose not to go to medical school, will JHU and WashU provide me with similar opportunities after graduation? Since WashU typically has less name recognition, will this impact my career at all?
Thank you in advance, any help at all is greatly appreciated!