I’m dead-set on going to medical school after receiving a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience or Cognitive Science (I’m willing to choose a different major though). I have a full-ride scholarship to both these schools, but I’m struggling to decide which one. I’ve visited both schools and enjoyed both of their campus environments.
Johns Hopkins is traditionally known as one of the best (if not the best) pre-med schools in the U.S. Rice is also known as a great school for pre-med students, but it is not as well known nationally as Hopkins. Both have great research opportunities (Rice with the Texas Medical Center and Hopkins with its medical school).
I’m very concerned about the difficulty of Hopkins versus that of Rice since GPA is very important for medical school. Each school has its pros and cons and offers similar opportunities in research, clubs, and community service for those wanting to go to Med school.
Does anyone have any opinions or information about either school that might shift my opinion? Which school would you choose if you were in my situation?
They’re both great for medical school. JHU is well-known for its medical and health research, which is different from being well-known for pre-med. There are obviously a myriad of medical and health research opportunities at JHU - but, as you pointed out, there are at Rice, too. You can get an excellent pre-med education at either, so I think your choice should be about which school fits you better and where you’d rather spend four years.
If I were making the choice, I’d choose Rice. It’s a smaller, more undergraduate-focused university, and I feel like I’d get more personal attention from professors there. There’d be more opportunities to get involved at research since there are fewer students, and I find Houston a more attractive city than Baltimore (in a hypothetical sense). The residential college system at Rice also sounds great. JHU always struck me as very pre-professional and much more focused on graduate students.
True, GPA matters but medical school admissions committees are smarter than you might think. They know the academic standards of JHU (i.e., through the roof!) and they take that into account. Believe me, I know (BS in biology from JHU with solid but not stellar GPA; MD Harvard). You go to Hopkins and take it seriously and getting into medical school will not be a problem.
RICE!! JHU has a great medical school and does incredible research…but that means that their focus isn’t really on their undergrads. It’s also in a rough part of town and it’s definitely more competitive and less fun. Rice is one of the happiest schools in the country and dedicates more time and energy towards undergrads. It’s in a beautiful part of Houston and definitely wins on the weather front. It’s very close to some great hospitals in Houston, so you wouldn’t be missing out in terms of internships/research opportunities. The residential college system is great for making strong friendships, and the honor code there is fantastic. I applied to both and I would take Rice over JHU hands-down.