<p>I'm interested in being a neuroscience pre med. I'm worried about the competition level in JHU, but it is closer to home. What are your thoughts on both schools?</p>
<p>Those are both two of my three top schools. JHU is slightly better for medicine, but Duke has a more vibrant social scene. Both are incredible schools academically and you cannot really go wrong with either. They both have incredible technologies and opportunities at the students disposal. I really depends on the environment you like better and which one you get a better “feel” from. However, considering you posted this on the JHU thread I’m guessing you slightly favor JHU over Duke right now.</p>
<p>Haha you guessed it! Thanks for the input.</p>
<p>^This person doesn’t know what she is talking about. No one at Hopkins is prevented from applying to whatever program they want. It is true that a student with weak credentials may not get a positive recommendation but that is true everywhere. A school that only gives rave recommendations for its students wouldn’t have much credibility with graduate schools.</p>
<p>Hopkins and Duke are both great schools and academic peers. Ignore the trolls.</p>
<p>yeah…and I’ve heard from people who actually go there that the competitiveness is mostly a rumor and that if you hang out with good people it’s not like that.</p>
<p>From the student tour guide on my Hopkins campus tour - the competitiveness is indeed largely a rumor, as kids are competing against the common educational system, and their own selves, not against one another. If anything, study groups and peer tutoring are very common amongst students, and the student body is mainly very close to one another and help each other out a lot.</p>
<p>Pre meds need to keep in mind Duke has grade inflation and JHU has grade deflation. The average Dukie has a 3.55 GPA and the average JHU student has a 3.28. When it comes time to apply to med school I’ll take my chances with a 3.55 from Duke.</p>
<p>JHU is extremely grade deflated whereas Duke has very inflated grades and the people there prepare you for med school by telling you ‘secret tips’…for instance, the dean said they train students on how to ace interviews…he said most students will be looking through their notes b4 an interview, however you’re being watched at all times…the minute you step into the room, that’s when the test begins…the secret tip was to chit chat with others around you, because like he said you’re being evaluated on everything… JHU doesn’t really prep you like that as Duke does…my 2 cents…</p>
<p>Hopkins alum and current MD/PhD student here – neither Duke or Hopkins is going to give you any secret information that’s going to get you into medical school. Frankly, the choice between the two is going to have zero impact on medical schools admissions, so focus on what college you think is a better fit for you. Medical school admissions committees know what a X.XX GPA means at different schools and you’re going to be evaluated in the context of your own background, so while Hopkins may have an overall slightly lower average GPA, it’s not going to make a difference in the long run.</p>
<p>I’m so tired of people bashing JHU with untrue rumors.
@alicejohnson NO, people here are not competitive and cutthroat. I was slightly scared as a pre-frosh because of people like you who kept saying that students here are terribly immoral, but this rumor is really not true. I’ve been here for a month and I know that people are very nice and kind - they’re always willing to help you. I do group work every week and we’re always very willing to share our ideas and stuff. The professors here are also nice - I have yet to meet one that’s not willing to help you when you come to their office hours and ask for help.</p>
<p>JHU parent here - D is a junior and has been very happy at JHU. It is hard and there is grade deflation, but grad schools and informed employers know it. A 3.5 at JHU is not the same as a 3.5 at most schools. In D’s world, students are pushing themselves not bashing each other. She is involved in multiple activities and has different circles of friends, and each is a supportive, positive community. Many of her friends are pre-med and are helpful to each other. No Duke bashing here, just trying to correct some misconceptions. With regard to Duke, the campus environment is quite different from JHU. Homewood is a fabulous, one-location, urban campus. Duke is less urban and more spread out. Both are great, but one might be a better fit. Good luck.</p>
<p>Tanman gave some very good advice. Let me add one more common sense one, don’t go to the school you believe will leave you miserable!! </p>
<p>I completed my residency from JH and my best friend completed her’s at Duke. Neither place had some secret medical knowledge. I definitely experienced a tougher competitive environment but she had a much more demanding environment. Neither were cutthroat at all. In retrospect, our experiences were really determined by our perception. I thought everyone around me was brilliant and she thought her cohorts were asking a lot from her. What both places had in common was an almost unlimited opportunity to conduct and participate in research. I came across UG and medical students all of the time during my residency. At the end of the day, we chose the best location and environment for us to succeed. That’s what you need to do is succeed to get to the next level.</p>
<p>momof2kids–thanks! I think the city life will be good for me since I grew up in the suburbs and I kind of want to see what it’s like.
frugaldoctor–what do you mean that you experienced a tougher competitive environment at JHU if you don’t mean that it was cutthroat?</p>
<p>My cohorts were super smart, very ambitious, and very accomplished. The attendings were cutting edge, at least the ones I looked up to. Even a good majority of the med students were gifted. I feared being seen as the dumb one. So, I studied, read, and worked so much harder than my friends at other programs. It was never a cutthroat environment at JHH, everybody helped out. I could have coasted, but I was too self conscious to do that. The medical schools they attended didn’t make a difference. In fact, I believed I had by far the best education coming in than my classmates. But the pace that they learned was astounding.</p>
<p>I had a colleague with 2 PHDs. Several already completed other residencies. While others published research. You see what I mean?</p>
<p>Another school that you might want to look into for pre med is WUSTL. The advising and support for pre meds at WUSTL is phenomenal and the student body is generally seen as collaborative and friendly. But that’s just the stereotype. The pre med at WUSTL, like at any other top school is extremely challenging. Also, there are a number of Merit scholarships (competitive) at WUSTL that offer students full rides of Half rides which I would really recommend everyone to look into.</p>
<p>I have a daughter at Hopkins and one at Duke. Duke has been much more competitive than Hopkins. Don’t believe the rumors. :)</p>
<p>singme, I am interested in your statement. DS has decided to apply to Duke but not Hopkins. Apparently “rumors” let him to believe that Hopkins is too competitive for a pre-med to be able to maintain high GPA. Do you have any specific advice?</p>
<p>4beardolls, both of my daughters are getting bachelor of science degrees. The one at Duke has been more stressed out by her peers, while the one at Hopkins is in a much more cooperative learning environment. For example, at Hopkins there’s an undergraduate area called the PUC (Physics Undergrad Computer) lab that students meet in regularly to work on problem sets and other class assignments or just hang out in. They play on intramural sports teams together and meet weekly for presentations and pizza. It seems that my daughter at Duke is more on her own for assignments and studying within her major.</p>
<p>Also, I suggest your son apply to Hopkins anyway and he can decide what fits best once he knows where he has been accepted. It’s really not much extra work to add one more application….and Duke has been getting ever crazier with its admissions rate. I just saw that early applications are up 26% this year, and last year they filled 44% of the freshman class with early applicants. So odds are tough for anyone applying there. I think it’s always good to keep options open once the early apps are done.</p>
<p>Thanks, singme. I just looked up Hopkins and they don’t need additional essays! DS will definitely be OK with applying since mom is one who have to pay the application fee. I will give it a serious consideration. DS is also applying to WUSTL (here in the Midwest) and it maybe more similar to Hopkins.</p>