I know the May 1st decision deadline passed just last week, but due to a delay in my financial aid award, I was given an extension. I have narrowed my decision down to Cornell and Johns Hopkins, but I’m having a really difficult time deciding which one to attend.
Please note: financial aid awards are the same at both schools, my intended major/academic concentration is neuroscience, and my pre-professional track is pre-med.
I had the privilege of visiting both over spring break, and I loved them both (maybe Cornell a tad more in terms of the campus). My goal, at the end of the day, is to prepare myself for a career in (clinical) medicine, but I’m not really sure which would be the better school. I know JHU is generally better regarded in the medical community - not sure if that matters. At the same time, I do know that things can get really competitive (at both schools). If anyone has any first-hand experiences with pre-med at either/both schools, that would be amazing. Anything helps at this point — I’ve been going back and forth between the two for over a month and still can’t come to a consensus.
Also, does anyone know what the med school admissions stats are for both schools and/or any other information that might be useful?
Would you you be in psychology at Arts and Sciences ? Or neurobiology in CALS, etc.
Did you talk to pre health advisors at each? https://prehealthadvising.cornell.edu/
If you are very sure that you will want medicine and that you can do the tough pre-reqs, I’d go with Hopkins. Of course, you can achieve your goals at either school, but the simple fact is that Cornell is in a relatively isolated rural area, whereas Hopkins is in a major city, with immediate access to major hospitals for shadowing, clinical research, and clinical volunteering. Yes, Cornell has associated clinical programs - but they are 4 hours away, in NYC! The nearest major city with big city hospitals are Syracuse and Rochester, 60 and 90 min drive away. It’s not that you cannot get the clinical stuff in over summers and possibly locally during the school year - it’s just that there is so much less available in a relatively small town, vs a big city, that if you’re really on the fence, and you are sure that you’re going to continue with premed (lots of people wind up switching out of it, stymied by the tough science and math, or coming to the realization that they’re simply not cut out for clinical medicine), in my mind, Hopkins provides more opportunity.
But yeah, Cornell is beautiful, Ithaca is cute, and you can definitely still do premed at Cornell and be just as successful. You’d just have to work a bit harder to figure out the clinical exposure.
I agree that the clinical opportunities in Ithaca seem less than possibly in Baltimore/ JHU.
I suggest checking with prehealth advisors at each (Cornell & JHU) to understand better whether there is any support for clinical or research experiences in your major. Or, you will be left to your own devices and competing.
This matters less than one thinks. If you are considering shadowing or something like that…you can do that during school vacations which is what MANY premed students do.
You can take the required courses to apply to medical school at both of these colleges. Pick the one where you will be happiest…because happy kids get better grades than unhappy ones.
Think about the things OTHER than the academics at these two colleges…which really are pretty equal.
Weather? Do you love cold winters, and snow? You will see more of that and for longer at Cornell than Hopkins?
Do you want to live in an urban area, or a college town. Cornell is a terrific and gorgeous campus in a great small college town. Your choice.
Does the cache of “Ivy League” have importance to you?
Congratulations on two terrific acceptances.
Oh…lastly, where do you think you can prepare for your Plan B in case medical school doesn’t work out?
I started Cornell with premed intentions. There were plenty of clinical opportunities on or near campus. I was a medical assistant for three years at the student medical center and started EMT training. Others worked at the community hospital. Lots of research opportunities as well and then summer internships and experiences are wide open.
Do you know if students at Cornell place well in medical schools? In your experience, was it somewhat manageable to balance academics with co-curricular activities?
Both Cornell and Hopkins are highly respected colleges. Both are going to be highly competitive within pre-med classes. Really, the academic experience is likely to be very similar. The difference is, does the student want to live in Ithaca, or in Baltimore? The biggest difference for a premed is going to be ease of access during the school year to hospitals for shadowing, volunteering, clinical work.
It sounds to me like you prefer Cornell so I would go with that. Both will be challenging and somewhat competitive, but you will get a great education and can do well at either. Both are great choices!
I’d choose the school you prefer in terms of vibe, culture, location/environment, etc.
These are peers academically – very strong all-around.
Both send plenty of kids to med school.
It’s up to you to put in the work to earn a high GPA, get the necessary medical experience, and kill it on the MCAT.
It sounds like you prefer Cornell on these qualitative “fit” variables. If that is the case, then you should choose Cornell unless there is a compelling advantage for Hopkins which you haven’t mentioned.
If all else fails, I think I’d study public health. Hopkins has a fabulous PH school and associated undergrad courses.That said, Cornell is more of a liberal arts education. Hopkins does have distribution requirements, but they’re much less exhaustive — something to encourage students to broaden their academic horizons, if you will. Cornell is a school that I’ve loved for a long time; Hopkins was a last-minute addition to my college list, but I’ve come to love it just as much as Cornell. In terms of the weather, I live in CA and don’t have much of a preference between the two. I feel slightly confused in terms of prestige. Hopkins is ranked higher, but I’m not sure that matters. Does anyone have any thoughts in this regard?
I would say the compelling advantage for Hopkins is the med campus being right in Baltimore. I love this and how medically-oriented the school is. I’m just not sure if that pressures students into taking on more responsibilities during the school year. I also like the class sizes at Hopkins a bit more. For Cornell, I think I click more with the students. But again, I haven’t had the opportunity to connect with anyone at Hopkins. I’ve tried to reach out via their student connection, but no one seems to respond.
I arrange schools in tiers, rather than ranking them one-by-one. I have Cornell and Hopkins in the same tier, along with Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, and Northwestern. I see those schools as, essentially, equals.
So overall, I think that Hopkins and Cornell are about even at the undergrad level – Cornell might be a little more broadly strong, while Hopkins has notable spikes in many sciencey fields, international relations, and English (last I checked).
(Cornell is also notable in fields like Engineering, CS, and Business/Dyson – but I think it’s fair to say, they aren’t lacking quality in any program they offer)
Many, many kids who plan on med school end up changing their minds about it while in school. So it might be worth your time to devise a Plan B, and compare the two based on alternative majors and the ease of switching into other majors.
Both of these schools do well in terms of placing qualified students into medical school.
Your post-undergrad outcome will be MUCH more dependent on what you accomplish at college rather than which one of these outstanding schools you choose to attend.
Both will be the same in terms of premed preparation and competition.
However, imagine you don’t get into Med School - remove premed from the equation entirely: where do you think is the best fit for your 4 years of undergrad?
Hmmm… I’m not too sure how to assess that. Any suggestions?
I know Cornell, as you mentioned, is strong across the board. Hopkins is a STEM school, but it has fantastic humanities, international relations, and public health programs too. In terms of changing majors, both schools give students the leeway to explore their academic and professional interests the first two years before officially declaring a major at the end of sophomore year. I’m not sure there’s much of a difference in that sense, but please do let me know if you have any other thoughts.