These are basically my top three choices (yes, I know they’re pretty different from each other), and I was just wondering if anyone had some thoughts on them. You don’t need to compare them to each other if you don’t really know enough to do so - just sharing your knowledge about one of them is fine! I’m so lost in making this decision that basically anything helps at this point 
Side note, I also have a full tuition scholarship at Temple University as an option, but my family can afford the three schools mentioned above, so money isn’t much of an issue.
I’m probably pre-med (I know that a state school is basically fine for pre-med and that some people will tell me to just save the money, but I don’t want to miss out on a potentially better education, ESPECIALLY if I decide to change my field), if that factors into your comments.
Thanks, guys!
It depends if you would like a smaller school or a larger university. When I visited Swarthmore I fell in love with the campus, but not the student body. I liked the small campus and the beautiful buildings, but I didn’t find the students or staff to be overly welcoming or friendly. The same goes for Hopkins. Gorgeous campus, iffy student body. While both schools are great and I’m sure you would be successful at either, I’d choose Vanderbilt. I also feel as though they would have the most flexibility if you decide to change your major. Best of luck with your decision and congrats on all your acceptances!
Some basic thoughts of what I know (friends of S1 and S2 attend both schools):
Swarthmore is beautiful, can get to downtown Philly within 30 min or so, but basically no real college town within easy walking distance. Lots of events on campus so it may not matter to you. Very liberal student body, academically focused. S1 applied, but is not attending.
Johns Hopkins is a nice campus bordering a very rough section of Baltimore. You definitely need to be careful walking alone in the evening, and even in a group need to use street-smarts. Lots of small shops and restaurants within walking distance, downtown Baltimore with 15 min or so.Very academic student body, slightly more ‘normal’ than Swarthmore (not as nerdy/ultra liberal). We live about 45 min from there, and S2 has participated in many hs activities on campus the past 2 years. He considered applying, but decided he wanted to experience a new environment for college.
Are you close by or far? Swarthmore is probably 45 min. from the airport, Hopkins about 20 min.
How do you feel about Greek life and sports? I think most Swatties would hate the SEC culture aspect of Vanderbilt. The culture is so, so different between these two. JHU is more in the middle.
For a less intense pre-med Vanderbilt or Swarthmore > JHU, and you wouldn’t be sacrificing much if you decided to switch fields.
I’d say Vanderbilt but only if you are not opposed to Greek life.
They are so different it basically comes down to fit. If you are thinking you might switch majors, it might make sense to pick the school which has a lot of majors and is easy to switch.
Also look at placement rates into medical school and grade deflation.
@Nattybow2015 thank you! Did you find the students at Hopkins to be too competitive? As a pre-med student I’m especially worried about Swat and JHU because they’re notorious for harsh grading/curves.
@marylandfour I really liked Vandy, but am on the border of ruling it out because of how far it is from home. I live in PA, so I basically have no option other than flying there (no trains go down to Nashville). Swat is an hour away by car (just under 1.5 by train), and Baltimore is 2.5 hours by car, 1.75 by train.
@Hanna I’m not very into the idea of Greek life. I’m a teetotaler, so alcohol isn’t something I necessarily want to be around. That was one of my issues with Vandy - I felt like social life was very centered around alcohol.
@dblazer I actually looked it up and found out that the average GPA of the accepted Swat med student is like 3.58 (compared to a national avg of 3.6something), which to me is indicative of very rigorous courses. Also, students at Swat have the unofficial motto: “anywhere else it would’ve been an A!” so I’m worried about my GPA being low (and a solid GPA is important for med school). Why would you say that Swat will be a less intense premed experience? I know that Hopkins is very competitive, and it’s one of the reasons I’m kind of iffy about it.
@scholarme Ahh the issue is that I see myself fitting in everywhere!
Thanks for all the help so far, everyone! I really appreciate it!
I’m visiting Hopkins this week and Swat next week (already went to Vandy), so hopefully I’ll have a better idea of fit soon Keep the opinions coming!
Because this is the internet and people get to say anything they want, even if they are making it up.
Another example of “you get what you pay for”. Admission rates can be easily manipulated by any college that wants to by using their committee letter to discourage applicants from applying to med school. These 3 are all top notch colleges and I doubt they care to do so, but then again I’ve never been a med applicant from any of them.
Hanna is a private college admission counselor these days (I believe) and her advice is always reliable.
But since your soliciting anonymous advice, here’s mine. Just about any college (including these 3) is going to be fine for preparing for med school, provided you take the steps to be a strong candidate. They’re not going to force you to do them, its up to you. Since these schools are so different, pick the one where you feel most at home.
I have a strong preference for LACs over larger universities for undergraduate education, so I’d love to go to Swarthmore for undergrad and save Johns Hopkins for graduate school.
I wouldn’t eliminate Vandy based on distance, unless you’re planning on regular trips home. (nothing wrong with that If you are!) Most campuses are alcohol centered to some degree. But these same campuses usually also have a solid cadre of students who aren’t into that scene. Particularly pre-med students!
this is indeed partly the case since I wasn’t aware of the grade deflation; however, I think there is a case to be made about going to a smaller school (in this case much smaller school) where you will not be competing with as many students for the same resources, attention from professors, etc. the students/culture are quite different from a school like JHU so that’s something to consider when you visit as well.
Just in case the future generations want to know where I’m getting my Swat pre-med info from: http://www.swarthmore.edu/health-sciences-office/guide-to-premedical-studies-swarthmore-college
Quotes of note from the link include: “In 2012, the national average GPA for matriculating medical school students was a 3.68 and the Swarthmore average GPA for accepted students was 3.52” and “There is no GPA cut-off for obtaining a Health Sciences Advisory Committee letter of recommendation.”
And @dblazer I definitely see where you’re coming from. I know that at Swat, I’ll probably get more prof attention than at JHU. My question is, is the difference in prof attention really THAT significant? (As in, will the amount of face-to-face time really be that much lower? And will that possible lack of attention really affect me?)
As always, I know that there’s some risk involved in asking anonymous internet users for college advice, but at this point, I’ll take what I can get 
@marshmallowpop there probably would be quite a difference in the individual attention just given the size of the school in comparison to JHU but it probably wouldn’t make that much of a difference unless you appreciate the small classroom setting. It would, however, be easier to get quality LORs at Swarthmore. I would say it makes sense to avoid a school with grade deflation like Swarthmore, but it doesn’t seem like JHU is too much better in that regard. Def talk to pre-meds where you visit because i’m a random guy on the internet.
I would attend Vanderbilt or JHU given those choices. I went to grad school at Vandy and loved it. I am not a southerner and I found Vandy and Nashville both to be awesome. Swat is great school too. I just think you’d enjoy Vandy more.