<p>Any ideas? I'd like to major in bio/premed. Which school is easier/less cutthroat? How's the social life and the environment? Thanks.</p>
<p>Duke has less of a cut-throat culture. More laidback.</p>
<p>Duke has the most drunken social scene, JHU has the harbor but it seems to be more competetive, Cornell has crazy hockey.</p>
<p>Not JHU - they call the kids who have a good time "the hopkins 500." Basically 10-15% of the school goes out and is social vs. I would guess 75% at Duke. Duke is the winner among these three with everything factored in, espcially for a pre-med. Cornell is a pre-med pressure cooker.</p>
<p>Id go to Duke.</p>
<p>I'm at JHU. I never heard the phrase "the hopkins 500" before I got to CC.</p>
<p>Hung out with 20 hopkins kids the other night in DC (Friday). They mentioned the hopkins 500, as did my former roommate who regretted going to JHU. JHU isn't a community with alot of spirit outside of Lacrosse. If you don't care about this, its a great school. But if you do other places are much better options. Duke offers equal or more prestige and a better social life, its a no brainer.</p>
<p>i think Duke will offer you the most social freedom. The social life and Cornell is excellent, but the academics can be very difficult. Go to Cornell if you care more about the education rather than "where can i get the highest GPA?" In light of academics, Cornell offers more coures and more departments than duke does. You might want to take this into account.</p>
<p>Duke's harder to get into though, but its what you learn in school that counts - Duke has grade inflation and maybe that will hurt its students competing for grad schools</p>
<p>JHU is intense but top notch programs, and of course great LaX </p>
<p>I like Baltimore the best of the cities as well, though the actual neighborhood where JHU is located isn't the best</p>
<p>Duke is the best of the three by far.</p>
<p>as far as academics go, i'd put the order as Cornell, Duke, JHU. Duke does great in the US News rankings but i think it's overrated. Comming from the Northeast, I had no idea duke was a good school until my senior year in high school when i actually took an in-depth look at the school. Seems like duke is alot more popular in the south but is overshadowed by the ivy league schools in the northeast.</p>
<p>JHU is definitely the most cutthroat out of all of them. Also, the area around JHU is pretty bad looking.</p>
<p>Not to pick on gomestar, but I wouldn't pay much attention to regional prestige. The people who matter (e.g. grad/professional schools, employers), even in the Northeast, know how good Duke is.</p>
<p>That said, here are some rankings</p>
<p>Prestige: </p>
<p>Duke = Cornell = JHU</p>
<p>Unhelpful, maybe, but enough to let you know you shouldn't pay your decision on that. ;)</p>
<p>Cutthroatedness</p>
<p>JHU worse than Cornell worse than Duke</p>
<p>Pre-med at JHU is insane. If you're worried about how cutthroat your peers are going to be, avoid it.</p>
<p>Grade Inflation</p>
<p>Duke has more than Cornell which equals (pre-med) JHU</p>
<p>Not that I think you should base a decision on that, or that Duke is easy by any means, but Cornell and JHU are known to be harsher graders.</p>
<p>Social Life</p>
<p>Duke better than Cornell and JHU...</p>
<p>...but that depends on what you're looking for. If you want a frank critique of the Duke social scene, PM me.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Duke is the best of the three by far.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I love these blanket statements that have no weight behind them besides USNWR and the stereotypical junk that is parroted here by clueless high schoolers.</p>
<p>"Not to pick on gomestar, but I wouldn't pay much attention to regional prestige. The people who matter (e.g. grad/professional schools, employers), even in the Northeast, know how good Duke is."</p>
<p>i failed to leave out the fact that both of my parents recruit college students to work for two Fortune 500 companies. Although they've heard of duke and know it's a good school, neither of them are willing to run down to the carolinas to recruit duke students. There's no need to when they can just go right to schools like MIT, Cooper Union, all 8 of the ivys to pick up recent grads. Certainly a duke resume will be looked at if submitted, but my point in the northeast is there are dozens of equal if not better schools close to home that will produce equally good students that employers can travel 4-5 hours at most to get them.</p>
<p>I'd go with Cornell or Duke. Cornell's cutthroat atmosphere is a bit exaggerated. Yes, Cornell is harder than Duke, but not by as much as you'd think. If you like a good challenge and are up to it, I'd recommend Cornell. If you prefer a more laidback environment and big-time basketball, go to Duke. You can't lose either way. </p>
<p>There are several things to factor in. Duke is significantly warmer than Cornell. Cornell's winters are longer and colder. Cornell is significantly safer than Duke. Durham has a crime problem and it is actually getting worse. Back in 1992, when I was chosing universities, the reason I crossed out Duke was the number of crimes that took place on Duke's campus and from what I understand, it has gotten worse over the years. Ithaca is a small city with limited options and it is kind of secluded. Durham, although not the safest of towns, does have more options. Duke has a slightly stronger alumni network, but Cornell's New York network is stronger than Duke's and Cornell is more internationally recognized. </p>
<p>Is it just me or did the fat lady start singing! hehe</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins would be my choice.. why? I just really like it there.. there is intensity--I think the "cutthroat" rumors are garbage and those that aren't social there wouldnt be social anywhere. </p>
<p>Way to get into 3 great schools</p>
<p>This is just a peronal anecdote, but some students that graduated my HS a year before me and went to Johns Hopkins also mentioned the lack of social life there (they didn't use the word Hopkins 500, but what they told me did corroborate the term's significance). According to them, there are a lot of premeds at JHU, and this creates a pretty intense, pressure-cooker atmosphere. Also, the surrounding area has nothing to do. They told me a lot of students in their dorm drink in their rooms, play computer or video games, or just study through the weekend.</p>
<p>I literally have never met anyone at JHU who loved it, especially compared to the happiness that students at other schools exude.</p>
<p>Wow. tough choice. JH is out, dont like tough neighborhood. So its
Cornell or Duke. Cornell is a weak ivy. So its Duke.</p>