<p>I'm stuck in between these two schools, although ill be visiting both soon. I plan on focusing heavily on biology and genetics, as I plan on getting an md phd in genetics. I am also interested in traveling abroad and writing. Writing, although not related to my career, has always been my passion. Both schools are amazing and I need some insight. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>I’ll come back later with a better response (class in 8 minutes) but look up the Hopkins writing seminar program- it’s really good</p>
<p>Congratulations on your acceptance to Johns Hopkins and UPenn.</p>
<p>I’m currently a freshmen at Johns Hopkins University, and I’m a pre-med student myself. I will give you some overview of what JHU is like.
(1) Classes are challenging(esp. science) but professors/TAs are very engaging and supportive that you will be prepared well by the time you take MCAT. (Also, we have Pass/Fail system for Fall semester of freshmen year so that you will have ample time to adapt to a new environment away from home.)
(2) Tons of Research/Internship opportunities. If you are thinking about taking MD/PhD path, JHU is the perfect place for you. There are countless research opportunities whether it is basic or clinical. You can visit Hopkins website to find out more about our research programs. (Lots of scientists and researchers come to Johns Hopkins for research because we are the best!)
(3) Johns Hopkins is best in science and Biomedical engineering. Only downside to JHU is that majors other than science, engineering, Writing Seminars, and International Studies are not as good as the majors I indicated. Other majors are improving tremendously but still lagging far behind sciences.
(4) Clinical/Hospital experiences: JHMI is only 10-15 minutes away from our main Homewood campus! Also, there are so many other clinics and hospitals in proximity. You can gain great insight of Pre-health career through numerous health-affiliated experiences/opportunities. Also, doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital are very approachable and encouraging.
(5) A lot of student organization/groups and social activities. Also, Academic Advising and Pre-Professional Advising faculties are brilliant.</p>
<p>If you want to become a doctor/scientist/researcher, I suggest you to consider matriculating at Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>As a current Hopkins student, I would say choose UPenn if you think you can do well in a tougher environment. Otherwise, choose Hopkins. Contrary to popular belief, the required pre-med classes at Hopkins are not that difficult if you put in the effort. Bio1,2 Chem1,2 Physics1,2 and Calc1/2 were all repeats of high school AP classes. The only semi-difficult ones are Orgo1/2 and Biochem. However, I will say the labs, especially Orgo lab and biochem lab, are pretty difficult.</p>
<p>I’m biased. I choose Hopkins over Penn and Brown (but it was, alas, a long time ago). And my son choose Hopkins over Penn much more recently. But both Penn and Hopkins are great schools so you can’t make a major mistake. </p>
<p>But I will share this with you. A good friend of mine is a senior professor at Penn. When my son was deciding where to go, I told him to talk to my friend (who I assumed would be pushing Penn) as a counterbalance to his Dad who is a big Hopkins booster. To my surprise, my friend told my son that, based on the inside information that he has, he considers Hopkins to be the stronger school academically overall compared to Penn.</p>
<p>Both schools have similar problems with their neighborhoods. At Penn, you are fine if you walk east, toward Center City. But walk a few blocks west and you are quickly in a bad West Philly neighborhood. At Hopkins, the areas immediately adjacent to the Homewood campus are fine in all directions (although a bit sketchy to the south) and remain fine if you go west or north. But walk more than a few blocks to the east and its not so great (although there are much worse parts of Baltimore than Waverly).</p>
<p>So the real important question is whether you would prefer to be called a Blue Jay or a Quaker? Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your input! I really want to go to Hopkins. It seems to be the choice for me right now, but it would be a little too expensive for my family. I am going to push for making it happen, though. I think it’ll be worth it. I haven’t received the financial aid from Penn so if it turns out to be way better, I don’t think I can still make Hopkins my choice.</p>
<p>Hey, I got into Hopkins and Cornell. I am definitely settling on Hopkins because Hopkins has way better pre med than most ivys (other than Harvard). As far as medical schools go, Harvard is ranked #1, Stanford #2, and Johns Hopkins #3, so I think its worthit. Plus, many pre meds from Hopkins get into medical school (and one of the hardest parts about becoming a doctor is getting into med school). I can’t speak about UPenn, but I know my Brother’s friend who went to Cornell Pre med and graduated with pretty great grades; she couldn’t get into med school in the US. That really scares me! And I think that UPenn and Cornell are similar in the amount of pre meds that get into med school (not 100% sure). Also, I know Hopkins is very expensive but they do give out A LOT of aid: they covered me with $51,000. And the ivys are notoriously stingy. But see how it goes, and I would say that if UPenn gives you A LOT more money then you should probably go there because nothing is more of a drage than student debt! Good luck</p>
<p>@VictoriaB1 The reason why “many premeds from Hopkins get into medical school” is because they have a screening process that will end up discouraging many weaker applicants so they don’t apply for medical school, so the percentage is actually inflated.</p>
<p>On that note, does anyone know what percentage get screened out? I’m thinking about Hopkins and I need to know how hard it is.</p>
<p>You have a point but I am sure many applicants from ivys are discouraged to apply to medical school because they don’t feel they will get in with all the competition, so the percentages are probably inflated for many schools, but it is a hard thing to prove.
I still think Hopkins has one of the best pre med programs, but good luck on whatever you choose!</p>
<p>The Pre-Professional Advisors at Hopkins (and, frankly, at every other top undergraduate school) do not exist to discourage students; they exist to provide advice and support. But they also have to be honest with students about their chances or, otherwise, they are misleading them and building up unwarranted expectations. Let’s face it, if you have a 3.0 average you are not going to be accepted to a US medical school. But some students, when faced with the truth, complain that they are being discouraged from applying in order to protect Hopkins’ stellar record of medical school admissions. It’s hogwash.</p>
<p>Hopkins will give students a favorable recommendation for medical school when and if the student has a record which demonstrates that they are likely to do well in medical school. And for students who don’t make the grade, Hopkins will not provide a favorable recommendation. That’s not mean. That’s life. Hopkins doesn’t prevent anyone from applying to medical school ( or any other professional or graduate program). But you are not entitled to a favorable recommendation just because you graduate.</p>