<p>I'm looking at UVA and Hopkins right now and am looking to see if going the JHU is worth the hefty price.</p>
<p>I'm thinking about majoring in EE and later looking to go into the nanotech field. I'm sure this will change, but I know I will major in some sort of engineering or physics. I like the opportunities JHU offers especially for delving into research early on and the 5yr grad option. </p>
<p>I love Hopkins, but is it worth it?</p>
<p>Both are great schools. Since you live in Virgina, you should definitely visit both schools. I don’t know much about UVA, or the EE department at Hopkins, but I can tell you that the physics department at Hopkins is very, very good. And as you pointed out, getting research, especially in the physics department, is not hard at all even as a freshman.</p>
<p>Man, it’s funny. Lot’s of us seem to be in the same situation!
Even though I live in Texas, I’m debating the cheaper public school, A&M, or JHU! The price is definitely a factor lol and location for me since it’s a completely different place up there!
But as far as the programs…JHU probably has great programs for whatever you want to do… ESPECIALLY anything science-related. I would agree with YanksDolphins; take a visit to both. That will help you decide :D</p>
<p>“I love Hopkins, but is it worth it?”</p>
<p>Yes, if you get scholarship money.</p>
<p>I think a visit is definitely in order. I think the quality of what UVA offers is within striking distance of what Hopkins offers but UVA is a state school and everyone’s from VA so it lacks that “global institution” feeling that Hopkins has. Hopkins is also very innovation centric so that can play out in different ways. For EE, you’ll get A LOT of attention at Hopkins as it is a very concentrated department with a lot of opportunity for independent study and research.</p>
<p>As for A&M, I think the quality is drastically different. Hopkins will definitely give you an exceptional undergraduate experience and kick open doors for you that A&M will not. I hope you get to campus DillonJay!</p>
<p>If money is a big issue then take that into consideration. </p>
<p>I would not have come to JHU if I didn’t get a nice fin aid package, not because I don’t think the school is worth it, but because I didn’t want to drown myself in undergrad debt. Some schools are better than others, as JHU is of course! But if it came between 2 schools I reallly loved and one had a slightly better ____ program, but that one would kill my pockets, I wouldn’t choose that school. But for some, money is not an issue and they are fine. </p>
<p>This being said, I loooove JHU, I’m just saying that money was THE most important factor for me and my fam. Most people aren’t like that, so I just wanted to give a different perspective. In the end you will do well wherever you go, and you and your parents have to decide how far reaching the benefits of a certain school are for YOU and you personally.</p>
<p>and with THAT being said, if it came between school A and school B and school A was cheaper but you HATED IT SO MUCH then I would reconsider the money thing haha. </p>
<p>But yes try to make it to campus if you can and see for yourself. Even if you visit and decide Hopkins is not for you, you won’t regret it because you won’t be left wondering “what if?”. :)</p>
<p>^^ I see! yes that is what I was thinking! haha
My parents have no clue lol, so I was trying to tell them this, but they seem to think it doesn’t matter where I go hahaha
They’re pretty convinced now though. I drilled it in their heads that JHU will definitely be better if I want to go the medical route…hahaha
and thanks very much!
are you a student there?? I’m just curious 
you’re helpful lol</p>
<p>^^I am a student here. I would feel strange if I were impersonating a student but trying to answer questions.lol. </p>
<p>Just keep in mind: many students come to JHU because they want to be a doctor. But there is no magic single bullet that guarantees you will get into a top notch med school. There is no preference for JHU undergrads at JHU medical school. If you see a lot there, it’s because they conquered the hard JHU cirriculum and did many other things. They took advantage of the stellar pre professional advising program here and were not afraid to go and get help with course work when they needed it.</p>
<p>And many of these students decide that pre med is not for them. Maybe because it’s too hard or maybe because they wanted to be a doc for the wrong reasons, or maybe because they found that they like ___major better. </p>
<p>And if that happens, the important thing is…is there something else here for them? ie Bobby comes in as bio pre med and decided he does not wanna be a doc…what else can Bobby do? Is he stuck at a school with yucky majors that he wouldn’t like? or does the school have strong areas of study outside of pre med that he would be interested in?</p>
<p>It’s hard here. I think it’s one of the toughest schools in the country. But it’s oh so doable if you do the right things (get help, not load your schedule with a billion science and math classes that you can’t study well for and then you get bad grades, etc) and enjoyable at the same time.</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>Well, I didn’t mean drop out of pre med for the wrong reasons, I meant start out as pre med for the wrong reasons (heck, not even necessarily wrong reasons, you may just not want to do it anymore and that’s fine!) then drop out. Which is absolutely fine.</p>
<p>Everything is not insanely hard. I don’t mean to make jhu sound impossible. If you want that A then yea you’re gonna have to work hard, ie master the material, ask questions when you don’t get way in advance of the test, work with each other to talk about the notes and explain them well, re copy your notes and try to understand, do some problems, etc etc. It’s quite doable. I mean tough as in “you can get it if you try and ask questions but don’t expect to get an A if you started studying 2 days ago and your test is today” type thing.</p>
<p>I think what gives us the edge with pre med is the rigor of the sciences here and the research opps and proximity to the school of med for shadowing doctors and research opps and the pre professional advising office and all the help it gives.</p>
<p>when you visit talk to your hosts about their classes and they will be very honest with you. ask what they like, don’t like etc. Many kids become disillusioned because they’re used to easy studying or not studying at all but you can’t do that here. Just do the nest you can. Last year was a huge transition for me and I used to think that I could have gone to an easier school and gotten a better science GPA, but I’m happy I am here because the grades mean something. If I got a B or B+…oh well, it’s my B+ and it means something, it’s not grade inflated.
So think realistically about what is important to you and what you want from a school. Can you see yourself here? Can you deal with maybe getting fewer As than you are used to (and hey you may be brilliant and have no issue with that!!)? Can you ask for help when you need it (you have everything at your disposal at JHU, you have to go after it)? Can you be around students who are very academic and driven and motivated, or will you always be comparing yourself and your grades to them? Do you want a huge sports school? etc.</p>
<p>I hope you enjoy your visit! :)</p>