<p>I've been accepted at all three. Right now, I am leaning heavily towards Columbia because it is closer to where I live (CT) and because I love the Core Curriculum, campus environment, et cetera, more so than with the other two (don't get me wrong, the other schools look really good to me as well). However, I plan on applying to medical school, and majoring in biology as an undergraduate, so I would like to know if there is a significant difference with the level of preparation (for med school admissions purposes) that the other schools can offer. I know these are all great schools, but it is hard for me to objectively compare them because their websites are all obviously designed to promote the schools. I've heard more about Cornell and Johns Hopkins for Biology specifically, but that might just be coincidental.</p>
<p>I found the campus environment at Columbia to be rather cold. Certainly not a place where I'd like to spend my college years (maybe grad school). Cornell is too big and impersonal. Johns Hopkins has it all: it a relatively small school with a country club like campus and a tight knit, friendly community; JHU also has Baltimore and DC nearby. It's easy to take the train from Baltimore to NYC or to CT, where you live. While JHU doesn't have a core, it requires its Arts & Sciences students (bio majors) to take a substantial amount of humanities or social science courses so you'll definitely get a well rounded education and plenty of academic freedom. It's more difficult to change majors at Columbia b/c of the core there. Johns Hopkins is stronger than Columbia and Cornell in biology and there are more opportunities for student research at Hopkins. They are all great schools. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. Does anybody by chance have information on medical school acceptance stats for these schools?</p>
<p>If I were you, I wouldn't worry about comparing medical school acceptance rates for Cornell, Columbia & Johns Hopkins- b/c they're all going to be well above the national average. I can tell you this... more students at Johns Hopkins Med went to JHU undergrad than any other college. About 13 of the 120 JHU freshmen medical students (over 10%) are JHU grads and about 8 are Harvard grads. At Harvard Med, Harvard is the most represented undergrad college.</p>
<p>I meant more like if someone just happened to have them... </p>
<p>Barry, those stats might just be reflections of larger numbers of undergraduates applying to the med school at the university they attended, or they might be a school's preference to its own students, but unfortunately there is no way to tell without more data. </p>
<p>Any other opinions on these schools?</p>