<p>Sorry to be posting one of these “versus” threads but I could really use some different perspectives on this crazy choice I have to make.</p>
<p>So I visited JHU and I loved it. The campus are beautiful, the food is good, the dorms are spacious, the people are nice, and Baltimore rocks! Plus I’m a Woodrow Wilson Fellow so that’s an added bonus because I hope to go into a career in medical research (like MD/PhD) in the future. Really all the negative things about JHU on CC (bad food, bad area, antisocial ppl) all were false which was good in a sense (bad in another sense because it makes this decision so much harder).</p>
<p>So I asked some of the student guides to give their opinion of JHU vs. Brown and most told me JHU is far more “intense” than Brown and the research opps are better at JHU.</p>
<p>So I’m kind of torn because I can either go to JHU which has amazing research that’s relevant to my career aspirations but also a “harsh” grading system or I can go to Brown which has a great undergraduate experience, somewhat easier grading system, but not as much medical research going on.</p>
<p>I hope I’m not trying to sound lazy, but given the fact I want to spend a significant amount of time on research during my college years I think I need to take into account the rigor of a school.</p>
<p>As always, any help will be greatly appreciated!!!</p>
<p>Personally, I think nothing tops Hopkins as medical school and some of its residency programs. I have found that when anyone wants to illustrate the caliber of a specific med school, they end up comparing it to Hopkins. Having said that, I really believe that the emphasis in "medical research" at the undergraduate level that some people talk about wanting to have is misinformed, overrated, unrealistic and unnecessary. You won't be doing any "very intense" research in undergrad anyway and any top tier university will provide you with the opportunity to do some research so you can "buff up" your resume for med school. Remember that you have four more years after college plus another 4 of residency!!! A lot of med schools are also looking for caring, well balanced students that have good social skills and have shown they have the ability to interact with "people" ( not rats nor test tubes ) Your undergrad ECs and activities should reflect that.</p>
<p>MovieBuff is right on. Hopkins is one of the very best places...to do your MD/PhD. </p>
<p>As an undergrad at Brown you will still have access to a wealth of world famous laboratories. AND you will have a less cut-throat pre-med environment to do the things you need to do to get into Hopkins med</p>
<p>So today I visited Brown and, as expected, I loved it and can really see myself there next year. I had a personal tour of the Life Sciences Buildings and the Molecular Medicine Library which really opened my eyes to undergraduate research. My question for everyone is that, I see that JHU has so much research and I received a $10,000 research scholarship at JHU, can I pass that up? I know Brown has a large, diverse number of labs but compared to JHU (especially in cancer, the field I am interested in) Brown doesn't have as much research.</p>
<p>That being said, Brown has such a great enviornment. The diverse, intellectual atmosphere of Brown is so amazing that I feel that I can't pass it up. But my parents are continually putting down Brown for the reason above. According to them I should be selecting JHU because it is better for my research and my aspirations to go into medicine. </p>
<p>While I see their point, I feel that Brown offers a great education that can be just as rigorous as JHU but also diverse (without being forced to be so diverse).</p>
<p>On a final note, are Brown students allowed to take graduate classes?</p>
<p>Yeah, definitely. The figure was in the BDH a few weeks ago. Around 20ish% of the undergrad, if I'm not mistaken, take grad classes.</p>
<p>I'll be a first semester junior taking a grad course next semester and I have a few friends who have already taken them. It's far more likely to happen in certain fields over others.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, that was something I forgot to ask today. Does anyone have any insight to the conflict of interest I posted above? Any help would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>What did you choose finally (just curious)?</p>
<p>He chose Brown. Here is a quote from another thread.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Well I'll be attending Brown this year (2 more weeks!!), and the only thing that is really appealing to me is the separate PLME undergraduate research grant fund, then again I'm more interested in research than medicine. But just as everyone said, it is still 8 years
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Oh cool. Tough decision though, for a person like him.</p>