<p>Hello all. I would really appreciate any advice or input regarding which would be a better choice: the Biomedical Engineering Program at Johns Hopkins University or the Physician-Scientist 7 year program at RPI and Albany Medical school. My main goal in life is to be a doctor and potentially a neurosurgeon so I understand that the RPI/AMC program will get me there faster and guarantees me spot in med school. However, I cannot give up the thought of me potentially do well at Hopkins (a dream school of mine for a while) and the number of opportunities for medical school and great residency offers. So if anyone has any experience with either program or has any advice, it would be much appreciated. I've heard pros and ccons about both programs so I am pretty torn. Thanks again!</p>
<p>I’d advise you to go for the “sure thing” and enroll in RPI. You have NO idea how many students would give anything to KNOW they will be going to Med school!
The pre-med atmosphere at JHU is INCREDIBLY competitive, and your UG GRADES are a HUGE factor in not only where but IF you would even be accepted in Med school. Only 50% of med school applicants end up being accepted anywhere . Do you really want to take the chance that that might happen to you?
So count your many blessings, enroll in RPI, and aim for JHU for your Neurosurgery residency.</p>
<p>“The pre-med atmosphere at JHU is INCREDIBLY competitive, and your UG GRADES are a HUGE factor in not only where but IF you would even be accepted in Med school.”</p>
<p>Did you actually attend JHU or is this more speculative hearsay with CAPITALIZED letters for extra imaginative emphasis? Because I did, and it’s more collaborative than competitive for premeds. We’re pretty tired of shooting down this rumor stemming from the late 80s. </p>
<p>The question is how committed are you to medicine, OP? because if you’re not 100% sure (and even if you are to an extent), Hopkins might be the way to go. Assuming you do ok or well, you’d have a much better graduate school or medical school selection. Should you change your mind on medicine, you’d have better prospects for jobs coming out of Hopkins as well (in anything, let alone top biomedical firms such as medtronic and genentech who would not go to RPI). You might even have a chance at free MD/Ph.D. programs (there are some posters from Hopkins on here who could speak to that - a rarer occurrence at RPI, I’d imagine)</p>
<p>Assuming you do ok or well is the key here OP - not because of competitive classmates as some might erroneously suggest, but because of the rigorous curriculum and likely heavier workload you’d be exposed to academically in BME at Hopkins. Visit both schools, think more about your future, and decide how ambitious you want to be. You can’t go wrong here.</p>
<p>menloparkmom: Thank you for your reply. I do understand how difficult medical applications as well as admissions can be as my sister is currently in the process of applying to medical school and maintaining undergraduate activities, grades, etc. I think my main worry here is “what could have been”. Albany Medical School from what I have read is not a top 50 medical school, and although I understand how thankful I should be to get into a medical school at all, I am worried about not getting a great residency position since I went to AMC versus, going to JHU, doing well or OK, potentially getting into a top 50 or top 30 medical school and getting a great residency position. Additionally, its Johns Hopkins University. I can only imagine the sound mentoring and top knotch research opportunities I will have the opportunity to benefit from living and going to school at JHU. Whereas at AMC, although the research and mentoring will still be great, I feel that JHU’s will be superior. The only downside to JHU is of course potentially not doing well and all my dreams going down the drain. I don’t know I am really torn. Both going to JHU and being a doctor have been big dreams for me so imagining that I will potentially have to choose one or the other is upsetting.</p>
<p>Blah 2009: First, thank you for your reply. Were you in the biomedical engineering program at JHU? Currently, while it may seem premature and rather close-minded I guess, I am pretty committed to medicine. I honestly could not see myself doing anything else besides medicine or clinical research. The main thing I worry about is that, especially at such a rigorous program like BME at JHU, although one may be very ambitious and have the self motivation to be successful and do whatever it takes to be successful, I feel like there comes a point where physically and mentally it becomes too much. So the main worry I have is that even if I am self motivated, sacrifice social life, sacrifice sleep, very rarely waste time, and do everything I can to promote my success: Will it be enough? Even if I put all my focus on being successful academically, even to go as far as to disregard enjoying college life and being active on campus, will it be enough? Even if I put all my time into it, do I have the intellectual capability of being successful in BME at JHU? (And by successful I mean hopefully a 3.6 or 3.7 GPA because that seems like about as low as you can have to get into a medical school) </p>
<p>And of course I’ve read alot online about how cut-throat JHU is and how students are not friends and are not willing to help each other because they don’t want competition for medical school. But you seem to have experienced something else? I’d love to hear about all you’re willing to share about you time at JHU and of course and advice or comments you have on my situation.</p>
<p>Thanks again to you both.</p>
<p>Most of the online cutthroat rumor stuff is just that. I challenge you to visit campus or speak to recent alums and see if you can get them to concur with the campus being competitive - I’d wager money that you woudn’t be able to. Post this in the JHU sub-forum where actual JHU students/alums can give you advice</p>
<p>Admittedly an anecdote, my college roommate was literally one of the most party hard people I knew on campus. Maybe I can pass along his info to you or have him post here. He was BME, graduated with a 3.65 or so, and is at Columbia med now. He to me exemplifies the antithesis of a studious scholar as he was out every other night…=).</p>