<p>Harsh? Hell you have no idea what harsh is. At your age I was carrying an M16 and sleeping in the mud eating bugs or allowing them to eat me. All this in places I wasn’t very welcome. Harsh? How about staring at the Fulda Gap at Ivan with his SS22s and waiting to nuke his ass off the planet. That’s harsh. I was an enlistee not a draftee. I made a choice. Was it easy? No. Was it something I believed in. Yes. You have an opportunity to attend an exceptional place and benefit humanity. You made that choice when you filled out the app just like I did when I said I do. Now take the good and bad and do your best. If you achieve nothing else you will have gained something far more precious than anything you can imagine. Self esteem. Every decision we make affects the rest of our life. If you want certainty, try Descartes. Otherwise it is making the most of what opportunities life presents us. You have a gift, you owe it to yourself to fully explore it. Anything less and you fail yourself.</p>
<p>My friend got a 4.0 in neuro and is now at Stanford for an MD/PhD. It is definitely possible. But you should not choose your school based on where you think you will have a 4.0- Hopkins will be tough, but definitely rewarding.</p>
<p>Need more harsh? What you can do without travelling cross country is pay a visit to your local VA Hospital. See the injuries these people coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are struggling to overcome. By going to Hopkins you will be involved in the learning and research that will ultimately help these people. Many of these are going to need a lifetime of care. With your talents are you going to turn your back on them? By going to Hopkins you won’t be able to avoid being part of their betterment. Try your local Multiple Sclerosis Society. Take a look at what that does to people. Go to Hopkins and help them live better lives. I might even be your biggest cheerleader. OK that’s a little weird. My wife has MS so you may hold the key to helping her. (Personal interest)</p>
<p>Hey I also got into BME and I’m not sure about going there because the atmosphere seems a little off. I got into Rice University too, and the only thing stopping me from going there is the incredible prestige of Hopkins BME. These people that posted here are not the only ones having doubts/bad feelings about Hopkins.</p>
<p>However, I WILL NOT let anyone guilt me into accepting a place at BME since so many others would give various body parts to get in…I will base my decision on the quality of education, and what feels right for ME.</p>
<p>You have to visit - Hopkins is a VERY different place than it was 10 or even just 5 years ago. It’s fun, active, engaged and students love it there, especially during Lacrosse season. You’ll be at the school for four years 2010-2014 and the school offers incredible opportunities. The best research is to visit - see it through your own eyes, talk with students, reach out to faculty and eat on the campus!</p>
<p>This, as you know, is a very important decision and I’m sure the university didn’t take it lightly when you were applying and I think they expect that you take their offer of admission very, very seriously. Definitely go visit - it’s an incredible opportunity.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I definitely wouldn’t come to JHU JUST because of BME prestige. Yes, it’s the best BME program…but if you visit and see that you will not fit in with the atmosphere, then it’s not for you and no amount of BME prestige will ever undo that! But if you recently visited and didn’t like it after holistically evaluating JHU and Rice and wherever else, that’s fine and you shouldn’t come here, imo. The issue I have is when prospective students are psychologically primed by what and whomever, into having certain feelings about a school, and then end up not giving it a chance. I almost did that (had papers filled out another school all ready to mail out) but something caught my eye and I looked into it more, and saw that JHU had everything I was looking for.</p>
<p>So yea, just a few cents =] Good luck! And we give opinions on here bc people ask…but of course everything should be taken with a grain of salt and you make the best decision for you, as you’ve said. I actually was turned off by JHU for a while because of the prestige of the name and programs until I saw that the prestige was backed up by hardworking students and faculty. But the rest is history I guess.</p>
<p>And to whomever… I will never feel like love of learning is ever bs. It’s def not. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the solid advice Wealth and Bengie. This will be one of the bigger decisions of my life, and I appreciate your opinions.</p>
<p>How dare you act like you know me. Or act like you know anything I’ve been through
maybe harsh wasn’t the right word…maybe rude is what I should have said
but thank you lol I understand what you’re saying completely. I planned on doing just that…I was just looking for a little bit of inside guidance so I don’t make the wrong decision. I’d rather not go somewhere I’m going to hate, although I am very honored to be accepted.
And well yes I know Hopkins will obviously do that…but it’s not the only place that can get me there, is what I’m saying haha
And I’m really sorry to hear about that, it’s devastating
Matter of fact…I sort of help people like that already but indirectly… Last summer I started a nonprofit organization called “Deathbusters” and we host fundraisers to help local families diagnosed with devastating diseases. We’ve raised thousands of dollars for families in my community and its something I really love doing.
So yes I realize Hopkins could further better my opportunity to actually help these people first hand as a surgeon or doctor. I just wanted to make sure it was the right place for me since I’ve never even seen the school. 
But thanks everyone :)</p>
<p>and “wealthofinformation” I completely agree!
it would be smarter to go there and transfer to A&M if I didn’t like it than trying another route haha</p>
<p>I’m joining this discussion a bit late, but having graduated from Hopkins as a BME major and having spent two of the past three summers at Rice (and 3 of the last 4 in the Texas Medical Center), I wanted to chime in. I completely agree that you really need to visit both campuses (and stay overnight if you can) before making a decision. Hopkins and Rice are very similar in many ways, but I think the campus culture is somewhat different, and you may like one more than the other. </p>
<p>In terms of the BME programs, I think they’re both pretty strong undergrad programs. There are some major differences in how their undergrad programs are structured - the Hopkins program has fewer core BME requirements are more freedom with upper level BME courses within your “concentration” while the Rice program has more core BME requirements and fewer upper level BME choices. As a result, I think a Hopkins BME education would give you a lot more knowledge in a particular field of BME while the Rice curriculum will give you a much broader engineering basis in BME but less experience/knowledge in one particular area. I can see arguments on both sides as to which way is better, but I liked the Hopkins system because it allowed me to focus my studies on the area I was interested in and didn’t force me to take unrelated BME courses. </p>
<p>The Hopkins program has a greater total number of BME credits while the Rice program has fewer (94 vs 111), which affects the number of non-science classes you get to/have to take (depending on your attitude towards non-science classes). There are also differences in what type of non-science classes you have to take - Hopkins requires 18 credits of humanities and social sciences (together), of which 6 credits must be “writing intensive” courses, which Rice requires 12 credits each of humanities and of social sciences, as well as 2 physical activity classes. The Rice requirement makes you take a bigger variety of courses, while the Hopkins program lets you choose between doing the same, or picking one particular interest in the humanities/social sciences and studying it in details. The Hopkins program makes it quite easy for engineering students to pursue minors in non-science fields, and even makes double majoring possible (I was a BME/Econ double major). </p>
<p>I hope that helps! Feel free to respond or PM me with any questions!</p>
<p>Welcome to adulthood Dillonjay. That wonderful place where uncertainty reigns supreme. An open mind allowing in all the information and making the best informed decision. You will do well wherever you go. Best wishes. Don’t be afraid to trust yourself. It has been said, " Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the mastery of it."</p>
<p>hahaha I gotcha. 
Another reason I wanted to be sure I wanted to go there is because I don’t want to be playing with my parent’s money if they end up having to pay for some of it. lol
Thank you, I’m sure it will all work out wonderfully haha
It always does :D</p>
<p>I admire your class, DillonJay.</p>
<p>^^ I agree. =]
I like how this thread is exceptionally positive given the title! :)</p>
<p>Aw thanks! haha :)</p>