Emory or Johns Hopkins

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello - </p>

<p>I am a transfer student going into my sophomore year and after the process of applying and narrowing down have come to either attending Emory or Johns Hopkins. I am most likely going to be a biology major and maybe considering neuroscience, not premed. I live in the Philadephia area so Hopkins is close, but the distance for Emory doesn't really bother me, and the tuition for both schools would be about the same for me. I am looking for a solid science education but also a well-rounded one in the liberal arts, and would like to be at a place that had a good community where the students are into their education. I would also like to join music/theater groups and get involved with campus activities. Any thoughts/opinions would be great, thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think JHU has better reputation than Emory does.</p>

3

<p>Emory. JH really needs to work on well-roundedness.</p>

4

<p>JHU is cutthroat killer pre-med, I think even if you aren't pre-med it might be a suffocating enviorment for you. </p>

<p>JHU is overall a better school academically, but in the bigger picture Emory might be better for you. Just visit both and see which one you like better.</p>

5

<p>JHU overall.</p>

<p>The competitiveness is a turn-off but Emory will probably not be as good academically or prestige-wise.</p>

6

<p>I was a student at JHU some years ago and can tell you that the non-science courses there have always been of high quality, as is the theater group, where I spent a lot of my time. Yeah, there were pre-med throats there, but I just ignored them and had a fine time. I'm not familiar with Emory, but I believe you can find what you're looking for at Hopkins.</p>

7

<p>I would say JHU despite the ugly campus and ummmm an atmosphere that is left wanting.</p>

8

<p>My friend's sister is going into her senior year at JHU and loves it. She gets invovled in pretty much everything, hence she is a Neuroscience major with minors in Theatre (with which she had no previous experience but is great at) and Music Performance - french horn at the Peabody Institute which as you probably know is in collaboration w/JHU. She tried to get me to go there because she loves it so much! Smoke&Mirrors is right, I've heard the campus is not very pretty, but Baltimore is a lively city.</p>

9

<p>laydownthebeat, have you visited the JHU campus? Although the previous two posters would have you believe otherwise, I think of JHU's campus as one of the most beautiful I've visited. It's compact yet spacious, despite the seeming contradiction there, an oasis of calm in the midst of a city, and it just exudes serenity in many areas. I don't think you'd be disappointed by the campus at all.</p>

10

<p>I attended both Emory and Hopkins as a graduate student. While I was at these schools, I got to know a number of undergrads fairly well. I still have ties at both schools and know a number of undergrads currently there.</p>

<p>First, in terms of a campus, they are both gorgeous. The grounds and buildings are definitely attractive and well kept up. </p>

<p>At both schools, bio is a strength. Each school has a wide range of majors, but the emphasis at Hopkins is heavier on the sciences than at Emory. That doesn't mean there aren't certain humanities programs that are strong at Hopkins. Creative writing is one example. I was in a doctoral program in history that was quite sound. However, if you compare the two schools as a whole, Emory is more "well rounded". </p>

<p>There are good and bad things about having such a strong science emphasis. Hopkins has a stronger reputation in bio and has long been regarded as a "powerhouse", but the competition among the students can be intense....so intense that some are unhappy. Many of the bio students are there because they ultimately want into the med school (or another very highly ranked med school). Some are willing to study with no breaks at all, although others fit in EC's. The undergrads I knew did complain about competition between students. You have to want that kind of intense atmosphere to be happy at JHU. </p>

<p>Emory is no picnic. You will work hard, but it won't be the same intensity as JHU. What Emory does have is fantastic internship possibilities, even for students in their first two years. The presence of the CDC, the Yerkes Primate Lab, the headquarters of the American Cancer Society, etc. is invaluable. </p>

<p>In a very real sense, you can't lose here. Either school would be excellent. So what you really have to judge is not so much the school, but what kind of student and person you are. On the whole, you will have more chances for theater and music groups at Emory, simply because your schedule won't be quite so tight. Some students love pressure and challenge thrown to them from all sides; other students prefer a tiny bit less pressure and more opportunities to explore other parts of their life. While both Emory and JHU are great schools, there is a difference in tone. </p>

<p>Just to let you know my bias, I chose to transfer out of Hopkins after one year (I finished my program at Brown) because I just didn't like the pressure cooker aspects of the school. I enjoyed my time at Emory immensely, although I was enrolled in a very different program for a second master's so it is hard to compare the two (like apples and oranges).</p>

11

<p>Out of these two, I'd go for JHU since it is the stronger one in the sciences & does in fact (despite stereotypes) have plenty of Humanities programs ranked in the Top Ten.</p>

12

<p>I visited Johns Hopkins in april and after the visit picked another school because I disliked it so much. That being said, it sounds like it offers a lot of the things you're looking for. The academics are top-notch and the students there are very into school. They also have a lot of music groups, the girl I stayed with was in an accapella group and she loved it. There were about 4 or 5 other groups I met so I think you would certainly find a group you enjoyed. It is very cut-throat pre-med, but I think you'll find the humanities programs are very good but a little less competitive. The main turn off for me was the social aspect that I felt was very limited. I don't know very much about Emory so I can't give you much to compare it to, but I hope this has helped.</p>

13

<p>Thanks so much for your posts, it's great to have these different perspectives. I have visited both campuses, and I thought both were beautiful despite some of you disagreeing. Another thing I have been thinking about which some of you mentioned is the difference between the city of JHU and the more suburbian environment of Emory.</p>

<p>It sounds from what I've heard that Baltimore is a great city, but I don't think I'd like it to be the main focus of social life as opposed to having more on campus things where the undergrads could be around eachother more. On the same note, from what I've heard it doesn't seem that there is a big sense of community at Emory but there might be more at JHU.</p>

<p>I'm also glad some people talked about the cut-throat atmosphere, I would like to work and learn as an undergraduate but I don't think I would want to be in a "pressure cooker" like Cami talked about.</p>

14

<p>To stereotype, I wouldnt want to get stabbed so I would go to Emory.,</p>

15

<p>i really loved the neigborhood and campus at jhu, and it didn't really seem like a bad neighborhood at all, to me</p>

<p>Hopkins is my vote</p>

16

<p>Bad joke, bobbobbob. :o</p>

<p>I would say that the campus at JHU is "beautiful" but kinda boring. Although, I think JHU is a notch above Emory. Why not visit both and see which one you like better?</p>

17

<p>Hopkins .. </p>

<p>but make sure you visit both!...</p>

18

<p>I have actually already visited both, and I did like both campuses. Unfortunately I couldn't visit them when there were students around though so I did miss out on a sort of general feel for both places. Because of that and the fact that I liked both of them, I didn't have a good idea of which I liked more even after visiting.</p>