Emory (atlanta) or JHU (baltimore), which is a livelier city, in terms of fun things to do, arts and culture, safety, restaurants? Thanks!
Outside of Florida, Atlanta is the commercial hub of the Southeast. You will certainly be able to find things to do.
Depends entirely on your style and what broader regional culture you’re looking for. There is a LOT to do in ATL, if you’re interested in metropolitan Southern culture. Baltimore has a more mid-atlantic feel (caught between Northeastern influence and some Southern stuff that creeps up from VA) and Baltimore as a city can be… rougher than ATL (certainly more so than the part of ATL Emory is in). If you want access to the kind of culture you’ll find in large, Northeastern cities, you’ll be better off in Baltimore since you’re reasonably close to Philly and D.C. Personally I found ATL less satisfying for things like ballet, opera, classical music, art museums and musical theatre (the Fox, the main venue in ATL for musicals/theater is awful). If you’re in Baltimore, you’re a hop, skip & jump away from the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center in D.C. But for safety + restaurants, ATL has a lot going for it. Emory is in a very safe area with an emerging young/hip/techy sub-culture (thanks to Tech, Emory, and ATL becoming a Southeastern hub for business). The restaurant scene in particularly has been improving leaps and bounds of late (lots of Top Chef alum w/ restaurants there LOL).
Baltimore is right near DC and closer to phili, nyc
much more to do there
This is really about personal fit. I’d pick Baltimore over Atlanta any day, but I prefer an edgier urban vibe (and easy access to DC and Philly). Atlanta feels more preppy to me. But you can probably find ‘your space’ in both cities.
Atlanta is not preppy as a whole. Emory could be considered preppy, but I will leave that to others with more actual experience with that school. Atlanta is a hodge podge of cultures, and most everyone you meet is not an original Atlanta native. So we collect folks from all across the country (and internationally) and have mixed success with melting all those cultures together.
I would not pin your final college decision on which city you think is the best. Look at each campus, factor in the immediate surrounding area if you must, and be sure to visit the campus at different times as the vibe could change from season to season. I do know Emory is not the rah rah sports campus, but it doesn’t seem to curb the appeal of the school. And they have an incredible swim program, not sure of other sports there. But it is not the main focus of the school.
Good luck with your college search.
Well Hon, the pit beef in Baltimore is better than a pork chop sandwich in Atlanta. If you get the joke, you’ll enjoy the “Hon” festival in Baltimore.