Here are 2 links related to JHU student health coverage and requirements. Insurance rates are not for the current year.
https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/student-health/insurance/
https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/registrar/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2018/06/ASEN-1819-Flyer.pdf
@whidbeyite2002 Thanks a lot for your opinion and the links!
The common theme from the students I knew was how intense the school was. My kids went to Cornell, which was also known for its intensity, but they had fun there. When D2 went to visit her best friend at JHU, she noticed a lot of drinking. At one point, she was concerned that her friend was drinking too much because of the pressure. My friend’s son, whom I’ve know since he was in grade school, also partied more than he should have.
The flip side of it is all of those young people are having great after lives - dream jobs and graduate schools.
And the reason for that is The Hop was founded as a research University, and what that means is that research is endemic to the undergrad experience by design. For those desiring grad school, this is a plus. Of course, research can also be had at Columbia.
No doubt that Columbia is strong in many areas, but so is Hopkins, which has top 20 programs in lit/hume too.
OP: agree with your points, 1 & 2. Disagree with points 3 thru 5. Hopkins is extremely prestigious, both domestically, and internationally, as is Columbia. Historically, Physics has been slightly stronger at Columbia, but Hopkins has pumped a lot of money into Astronomy & Astrophysics and is probably now ranked higher in that discipline.
If it matters, JHU undergrad is significantly smaller than Columbia.
While perhaps true, it doesn’t much matter when your (full pay) friends are going into town every weekend night while those who are on finaid eat in the dorm…
Can’t go wrong at either place.
I think that would be true anywhere, but based on my intel, there is a lot more free food at Columbia, whether it’s a lecture or a recruiting event. Just saying.
Research opportunities are pretty open given the Space Science telescope is on campus. Some people choose to stay over the summer and help out or go to JHU APL from a physics major perspective for internships.
@oldfort, given i’m a recent alum and can point to many classmates to dispute your anecdotes, I don’t think the picture is that cut and dry. The 6 year graduation rate (95%) and freshman retention rates (98%) are amongst the highest in the country which indicates satisfaction or students would transfer out.
More over, we have one of the highest alumni donation rates in the country (35%) dwarfing most of the other elite privates. Again, another factual point that dispels discontent.
Personally, I had a blast at Hopkins and went out quite a bit to Fells Point, Fed Hill, Inner Harbor east, etc etc yet still had time to do research and study amongst friends in study groups (again collaboration). Met my wife there, etc etc as did many of my friends.
Also, OP is not a premed which is more stressful (on a relative basis) stressful everywhere at any school.
Yep, JHU is much more well-rounded than people give it credit for. In fact, its humanities programs are arguably its finest departments. (I personally find it odd for a student interested in ancient civilizations to choose Columbia over JHU, but YMMV.) It’s true that a significant majority of undergraduates are majoring in a STEM field, though.
Also true. Average R&D expenditures in astronomy and astrophysics over the last 5 years:
Columbia - $8,338,400 per year
JHU - $28,578,000 per year
You’ll need a PhD for a career in physics. Nobody will care where you did your undergrad. Both schools are great springboards for PhD programs.
Re: “Research Opportunities” …
JHU, year after year, spends more money on R&D than any other university in the USA (by a rather wide margin over other big spenders such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Harvard, and Stanford). Much of that spending goes to medical R&D but if I’m not mistaken the Applied Physics Lab takes a big chunk, too.
https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingBySource&ds=herd
As for stress levels, I wonder how much of JHU’s “cutthroat” reputation comes from the number of students drawn to its premed program. I’ve seen no evidence to conclude other JHU programs are more/less stressful than similar programs at most other peer schools. Why would they be?
I’m inclined to recommend Hopkins for the OP, mainly because s/he likes the campus and curriculum better. In most other respects, they’re both great. Prestige differences (IMO) are immaterial, in the USA at least.
OP has never visited either campus.
Columbia campus is beautiful even though it is more compact.
The JHU campus is lovely too!
OP - My vote for your major would be JHU.
My daughter visited multiple times, sat in on classes, talked to profs, etc… and found the students to be very collaborative. There was nice exchange between students and profs and the students genuinely seemed happy. Much more so than many similarly ranked schools. I agree that pre-med majors have a different stress level but this doesn’t apply to you.