Chicago vs. JHU - Help!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>Hi everyone. I'm considering my college prospects across the ocean in Amsterdam but my options just make my head spin. I was accepted at the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Middlebury College, and Bowdoin College. I still need to decide between going to a liberal arts college and a research university, but this is the perfect place to compare Chicago and Hopkins.</p>

<p>I want to major either in the Humanities or International Relations (broad interests I know) but I think that both Hopkins and Chicago are great in these areas. From what I've read as well often the holistic experience matters more in undergraduate years than departemental reputations. Both Hopkins and Chicago seem incredibly challenging.</p>

<p>Hopkins provides freedom, research opportunities, and the advantage of less graduate students. Chicago has a structured Core Curriculum, the life of the mind, and a sprawling wealth of opportunities. At a small liberal arts college I would probably receive more personal attention and perhaps better teaching, but not necessarily the excitement of these universities.</p>

<p>Both schools are known for research but both argue in their marketing that they do not want students to sink or swim, but to succeed. If anyone is in the same boat or has some critical advice please help!</p>

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<p>Congratulations on your wonderful options. From your post, it seems as if you have decided that the more cosmopolitan research uni's might better meet your needs and personality then the LAC's. Bowdoin's pretty idyllic, though, and the surrounding area wonderful if you like hiking and canoeing and such. They also keep getting the best food rankings for colleges. A minor point but one that does impact your everyday life.</p>

<p>I am not familiar with JHU - something about them just didn't click with my son and we never looked at it.</p>

<p>I can speak to something in you mentioned in your post - the quality of teaching at Chicago. My son is currenly a second year at Chicago, and has experienced over 15 different prof's at this point. Thus far, they have all been very good to excellent, which I find pretty phenomenal. He could even understand them all - accents did not get in the way of teaching. The only poor instruction has has had was professor that subbed in on one of his classes - so there is at least one prof out there that has the classic monotone delivery/put the class to sleep teaching style. But not, is seems to me, very many.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for your congratulations. Its fantastic to talk that your son goes to Chicago! I was not sure whether or not Chicago would be overly research oriented so its great to know that your son has had good classroom experiences. Perhaps you might be able to answer some of these questions.</p>

<p>Have most of those introductory classes been small seminars or large lectures? Have teaching assistants led discussion sections? </p>

<p>I may be foolishly dealing with stereotypes (because I never visited Chicago) but is the reputation "where the fun comes to die accurate"? I have heard that Chicago offers an incredible variety and constant flurry of opportunities, but its easy to get socially estranged, and lost within your own world, within the large institution. Is this true?</p>

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<p>These were the main schools I was deciding between, too.</p>

<p>You say that Hopkins provides freedom, research opportunities, and the advantage of fewer grad students. Chicago does have the structured core, so you can't just take whatever classes you want for all of your time here. On the other hand, you'll graduate--no matter what your major--having had a true liberal arts education that will enrich your future academic experiences and, in my opinion, your entire life and thought process. There are also tons of research opportunities on campus, mainly because of those grad schools, grad students, and all the research they're doing. Idad said something in another post which also struck me as true: I have never heard of an undergrad looking for a research opportunity in any field who wasn't able to find one. There are tons of students doing research, some paid, in all departments. It's nice having such highly regarded grad schools, too, because it adds to the prestige of the school. Few institutions have such widely regarded graduate academic disciplines, professional schools, and undergraduate learning.</p>

<p>The teaching at Chicago is probably better than at many small liberal arts colleges. This is mainly because of the importance placed on the core. Many core classes are discussion based. This means that classes are kept small, usually 15-22 students (though there are some core classes that end up with only a couple of students), usually around 18. Because of the small size and discussion format, the professor gets to know each student quite well. These small sections have professors from different departments in the University. Some are very famous professors in their fields and others are grad students teaching here on fellowship. Note that the grad students tend to be excellent; they are on their way to being professors, and most only have their dissertations to finish. There are some larger classes. I think the largest class at the school is Introduction to Microeconomics taught by Allen Sanderson. The class generally has over 100 students. This term it has about 150. The thing is, this class works well as a lecture. There is no need for it to be a small seminar, and the lecturer is quite popular. If you make any kind of effort, you can get to know him on a higher level, as well. There are some classes that have about 30 students. I have experienced teaching assistants or writing tutors leading the discussion in a core class on a couple of occassions. This is usually when the discussion is about a topic that the TA has more extensive knowledge of, such as if the class is reading a book involved in his or her thesis or research.</p>

<p>You can't get lost, really. There are strict advising requirements, and the advisors tend to be excellent. You will be kept up to date on opportunities by joining email lists that will email out when something comes up. There is a wonderful House system (think: Harry Potter) that will keep you socially involved, even if you make no effort to make any friends in your classes or activities or randomly on the quads.</p>

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<p>By the way, do you think that Chicago caters to a different crowd than Hopkins does? Of course all sources must be taken with a grain of salt, but supposedly by synthesizing student comments the Princeton Review describes Chicago students as being:</p>

<p>"Typically "wonkish, nerdy, cloistered, extremely studious, and religiously dedicated to academic performance," Chicago students are "brilliant, on par with those at any other school, but not the kind of people that you want to have a casual conversation with." That is somewhat attributed to "personal hygiene and social skills [that] are sometimes lacking," and partly because "we ask seemingly strange questions. This is only because, after a few years at Chicago, we only see questions in terms of ?useful' or ?useless.' Strange questions are often the most useful, and we eventually forget that normal people avoid asking the strange questions." The school has attempted to recruit beyond its nerdish base, bringing in more students of the frat boy/jock variety. Most agree the efforts are counterproductive. One student writes, "Chicago has a reputation for its antisocial, elitist student body, but when it tries to change this reputation, it just erodes the reason for its greatness."</p>

<p>Whereas it describes Hopkins students as being:
""The typical Hopkins student," in the words of one respondent, "is Asian or white," and is "social, but not overly so, and spends more time studying than socializing." He or she is "very driven, with clear-cut career and professional goals." For a sizeable set, those goals include medical school, so if you attend JHU, "expect to know a lot of doctors about 10 years down the road." Although hard work is a common denominator for almost all undergraduates, once you get past it, you find that the student body is "very ethnically, economically, and politically diverse." "There are athletes, nerds, religious groups, liberals, and conservatives," and people from all races."</p>

<p>Chicago seems to attract intellectual, abstract thinkers whereas Hopkins draws ambitious, high-powered climbers. Is the difference so clear cut? Both student bodies seem committed to academics above all but in different ways for different purposes. Are these stereotypes, or is there an actual foundation?</p>

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<p>The Chicago description isn't all that accurate, so the JHU one probably isn't either.
[quote]
Chicago seems to attract intellectual, abstract thinkers whereas Hopkins draws ambitious, high-powered climbers. [...] Are these stereotypes, or is there an actual foundation?

[/quote]
Stereotypes have foundations. These stereotypes tend to be true, at least in comparison to other places, but there are students of the other type at each school, and many students who embody aspects of both.</p>

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<p>Thank you for being so helpful! Over the past couple of days several more questions have cropped up.</p>

<p>In terms of size, while Chicago and Hopkins have the same amount of undergraduates, Chicago's campus seems much busier. I plan to major in International Studies (although I also like the idea of a liberal arts education and keeping an open mind) and Chicago seems to offer even more than Hopkins in the form of the Center for International Studies, and other affiliated think tanks. Beyond the quality of the day to day experience so much seems happening at Chicago. However as a student bogged down by the work load do the ample offerings of the university make a significant difference to the experience.</p>

<p>Another difference between Chicago and Hopkins seems to be the organization of the university. Chicago at least from my understanding seems more fragmented with dormitories and buildings spread throughout the neighborhood while the Homewood Campus centralizes all activitity in an exclusive campus area. Are these accurate perceptions?</p>

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<p>Can we continue this discussion, anyone?</p>

<p>I'm still torn between JHU and Chicago for pre-med. I contacted the Office of Health Professions Advising, and all that they would tell me is:</p>

<p>"our [med school] acceptance rate for students using our office is typically 15-20% higher per year than the national average"</p>

<p>i don't know, i really did like JHU, it's just that reading around on CC i get the feeling that it isn't nearly as academically respected as UChicago...</p>

<p>HELP! only what, a week to go?!</p>

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<p>chriscap,</p>

<p>Relax, you're trying to split hairs on a question that is probably not answerable.</p>

<p>FWIW, I sit on the medical school (specifically MD-PhD) admissions committee for a northeast medical school. What matters more than anything is that you pursue a rigorous education and excel at what you are doing. If you excel at a school with a reputation as strong as <em>either</em> U of C or JHU you will get into medical school. </p>

<p>For example, we tend to weight "real" research experience (as opposed to "I held a pipetteman for 15 minutes") very high and both JHU and U of C have tons of opportunities to engage in research -- even starting as a freshman.</p>

<p>Again, read these threads to get a feel for what these schools are like and where you think you will be happiest (that counts-- college is supposed to be <strong>fun</strong>, trust me, a fair amount of med school is not fun). My daughter is interested in both (she's thinking Int. Studies) and she found them profoundly different, but liked them both in their own way.</p>

<p>Outstanding students from almost any college or university get accepted into medical school. Getting in is far more dependent on what the individual does with the resources at hand than where they go.</p>

<p>Good luck and try not to stress-- you have two fantastic choices there.</p>

<p>JT</p>

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<p>I'm not sure how much we can help you anymore, Chris. It's your call. Both are great schools, but they're quite different in their focus and atmosphere. You can do well at either.</p>