<p>Right now, I think Rice has the edge when it comes to traditions/events/culture (I LOVE the Residential College System), while JHU is very academically prestigious (especially when it comes to BME).</p>
<p>If you were me, which would you choose and why? JHU will cost around 61-65k while Rice will cost around 54k for me.</p>
<p>I don’t think undergrad should cost someone 50-60k per year. That is so much. Go to our state school, honestly.</p>
<p>^I’m intl (no aid).</p>
<p>That’s why I thought. That is still a lot of money for undergrad. If you have someone paying for you, then chose JHU since its BME is outstanding (#1 I believe). Are you able to afford it? Or will you be 240,000 in debt?</p>
<p>You should pick the school you think you would be a better fit at. It seems like you might be leaning towards Rice, so I’ll tell you what I like about Rice.</p>
<p>Prestige wise, the schools are almost even. Yes JHU might have the #1 BME program, but Rice just as well-regarded for the sciences and quantitative subjects. I think Rice being in Houston and in Texas in general would provide you also with many more opportunities.</p>
<p>Rice, while being great academically, is also extremely laid-back (they have a reputation for being laid-back, plus this sentiment is echoed by all of the students I’ve spoken to). JHU seems to have the typical cutthroat environment of a prestigious college. Some people might prefer the extreme competition, some people might like a more laid-back one while still maintaining the high level of academics.</p>
<p>I think where Rice surpasses JHU though is in the individual attention paid to each student, and I think this is important for someone coming to the USA as an international student. Smaller student body, Residential College system (since you state that you love this aspect, I’m assuming you already know about it), smaller class sizes, better weather, O-week. Rice really does put lots of emphasis on its making its undergrads happy, and I think that is why you see Rice students consistently ranking as the happiest in the country.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong; JHU would be a fantastic choice too, but there is a lot more to college than the ranking of the program (especially since Rice is also great in the sciences).</p>
<p>^Since you didn’t go to JHU, I’d refrain from conjecturing about the atmosphere at other colleges. </p>
<p>It’s also surprising that Rice has a top 10 BME department despite having a a top 50 biology department (#42)</p>
<p>Prestige wise, JHU > Rice based on almost any metric.</p>
<p>Science and engineering wise, JHU has a decided edge in every single discipline as well. It’s not as close as the Rice poster would lead you to believe.</p>
<p>hello, hello again :D</p>
<p>@FutureDocSauve No, I won’t be in debt, but the extra 8k-10k for JHU is definitely quite substantial. I’m still deciding whether it’s worth it to pay the extra money just for an undergrad education, since BME usually requires a graduate degree.</p>
<p>@elijahcraig and Blah2009: JHU is undoubtedly the winner in terms of global prestige, especially in any medical-related field. (At least, more people know about JHU here, lol. I was always given the ultimate vacant stare when I mentioned ‘Rice’) A professor who had studied at both Rice and JHU, though, told me that Rice has more of an undergraduate focus (due to the exact reasons you said, elijah). I’m not sure about the ‘cutthroat’ environment in JHU, but I mostly believe that it’s a false rep that came from the 1980s. (I am slightly spooked by the amount of Asians - mainly from China - who are in the JHU BME FB group though… No offense - I’m also Asian :D)</p>
<p>Blah 2009, can you tell me how superior JHU is to Rice in terms of BME/BioE? Some people have told me that they’re not much apart anyway, so I’m confused.</p>
<p>accio,the BME at Hopkins does not actually require a graduate degree (although many get one anyway). I personally don’t know a huge amount about BME, but apparently at Hopkins, the BME program is unique since it breaks down into focuses/specializations. Also the professors at Hopkins are the top of their field. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, where many pre-med students intern, has been ranked #1 since they started the ranking system.
I could go on and on but I’m sure you get my point.</p>
<p>Thanks, AAustin!!
A BME student told me that job opportunities are currently <em>somewhat</em> scarce for all undergraduates, though, so I guess grad school is still the ‘safe’ option. She did say that Hopkins BME gives a slight edge over others, though. </p>
<p>Btw, I heard that earning a high GPA at Hopkins is pretty hard. Will this affect admission chances to grad school/jobs?</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins is a very well known school and grad schools are well aware of the deflationary grades at Hopkins. A lower GPA from Hopkins will be considered as good as a higher GPA elsewhere</p>
<p>OK, thank you so much AAustin 
I paid my deposit to JHU. Woohoo Blue Jaaaays!</p>
<p>Congratulations @accioknight for choosing Hopkins! While I’m not BME, I am taking a BME class this semester (Build-a-Genome AS.580.420) and I love it! I also have many friends who are BME and they all really enjoy it. All of the BME majors are really close, and they all seem to know each other. The professors are really caring and knowledgeable and are also at the top of their fields. At Hopkins, there are also MANY internship opportunities at Homewood, the Med Campus, or Hopkins Bayview. So if you are interested in doing research (for credit or pay) it is very easy to find and there are many areas you can conduct research in. I think that the research opportunities at Hopkins make it the best because, even if you don’t have a perfect GPA, you can have many internships on your resume (which look very good to employers or grad school).</p>