<p>I just want some opinions about this issue. I to double major in computer engineering and Classics (preferably with separate degrees).</p>
<p>JHU is tempting me with their 5 year MSE/BA program with grad fellowship in final year (money isn't an issue as both schools cost the same but it's always good to save some dollars). I know Brown has a similar 5 year program but it seems rarer for students to take this path and it isn't specifically advertised (I don't even know if it's possible with engineering). Alternatively, Brown advertises a ScB/AB 5 year program but I could've received a masters at JHU plus a grad fellowship. I want to make the most of my time so I will also want to convert my A-Levels (Chem, phys, maths) and AS-levels, if they accept it, (English, Latin, Classics) into credit. How many semesters could I save at JHU?</p>
<p>I want to pursue a graduate degree in either engineering or Classics but I'm not sure which one at the moment so I'm keeping both options alive with a double major (preferably with separate degrees). </p>
<p>Both Brown and JHU allow me to double major and both allow me to do what I want and are on the east coast. JHU is more research-oriented (more opportunities to do research = easier to apply to engineering grad school elsewhere; also save some time with a masters) but Brown's classics department is stronger (if I decide to do a classics grad degree). I know students at Brown are generally very happy and students have a collaborative attitude. JHU is probably similar.</p>
<p>As an international student, I won't be able to visit any of the two campuses before decision deadline. </p>
<p>I would like some input on other factors to consider.</p>
<p>Hopkins is probably the better school academically, but Providence is arguably nicer/safer than Baltimore and Brown is very “hot” right now in the popularity contest category.</p>
<p>Yes, I would agree that JHU has the edge academically (I’ve read a number of articles about grade inflation at Brown). It also has almost no core requirements (4 out of the approximately ~40 classes you take at JHU must be outside of your area of study but that’s nothing). Brown is “hot” though and has a reputation for being somewhat artsy. Outside of Writing Sems, JHU is not super artsy.</p>
<p>At Brown, the more likely path for you would be a 5 year combined ScB/Masters in Computer science, and you could also complete the requirements to have a double major in Classics with that track. The CS majors are a very hot commodity, and the number of required courses would fit better with doing 2 majors (called concentrations at Brown). An engineering concentration is difficult/ almost impossible to fit in a second major, but you can take all the rest of your classes in classics if you want. You don’t have to decide about the 5th year/ masters until later in your undergrad. (flexibility). JHU is better rated in some undergrad fields, maybe?? but overall it is considered a “safety” school for top US students in top high schools who are looking at Brown etc. It’s rep is primarily for the grad school, and because of that, you have to decide how much being taught by the primary faculty vs grad students is a factor. Also, I spend a fair amount of time in both areas and Providence>Baltimore, definitely. (except that I prefer crabcakes to lobster.)</p>
<p>No one here claimed JHU was harder to get in than brown, but to say JHU is a “safety” school for Brown? No. Hardly. And yes, JHU is a hell of a lot better rated than Brown in most departments. Brown is a complete and utter joke in engineering anyways. Most undergrad engineering majors do not have brown on their radar screen. Brown is even more of a joke at Stanford and on the west coast, where it has no regional prestige.</p>
<p>Hopkins isn’t really anyone’s safety btw. I know two people who got into Brown RD but aren’t considering it (weaker funding, hippy culture, etc). It’s a matter of personal taste…jhu vs brown.
jhu has a lot of money for student research. brown can’t really compete with that.
The classics dept in the hopkins is quite small and intimate btw (so I’ve heard).</p>
<p>Haha, so you are the second person in the forum who is just like me! I am also planning to do engineering + classics at JHU. Brown, as some above pinpointed, is famous for liberal arts and the “Ivy name.” Hopkins is famous for everything, including liberal arts (small faculty + prestige) and engineering (many more opportunities). It all boils down to your personal likings. If you are looking to show off and be famous instead of entirely focusing on your studies, then go for Brown. There are much more opportunities at JHU and I think one of the reasons it is so renowned is because of its “silence” in terms of not bragging and being bragged over. Everyone wants to succeed and no one wants to show off. Saying that it is a “safety” because of weird reasons that Brown is an Ivy and it is not, is like saying that you want to be educated merely for showing off your ‘Ivy’ degree.</p>
<p>I personally would go with Brown due to it having the highest grade inflation among all top schools (lol), and for the fact that it’s very laid back, probably the most laid back top school. However, both schools are equal in prestige and you can’t go wrong with either, it’s more of a personal fit from here.</p>
<p>Brown and JHU are both excellent choices, especially given your interests. My experience is that Brown has a slightly better rep in the business world and JHU has a slightly better rep in academia, but they’re pretty much peers in every sense. </p>
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<p>I can’t say anything about how Brown does it, but I think a double major is doable at JHU. An undergraduate degree might have 120 credits in total. At JHU the ECE major requires 42 credits in EE or CS, 24 math/applied math credits, and 16 science credits. The classics requirements are definitely smaller than this, so a double major is possible. </p>
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<p>No. Traditionally, both JHU and Brown are “target” schools for students who are realistically aiming for at a shot at HYPMS. However, I think that both Brown and Hopkins are increasingly selective and are becoming “reaches for anyone”. I think that they’re both equally prestigious. </p>
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<p>Not true. The overall undergraduate ranking of JHU (13) is actually slightly higher than Brown (15). As a research university JHU is much stronger, but I don’t think that an undergraduate should use that as their primary basis for a decision. </p>
<p>Also you’re making it seem like JHU classes are mostly taught by grad students, which is simply untrue. Maybe Calculus is taught by grad students (I don’t know if this is the case. I think that you can make the case for Brown without taking cheap shots at Hopkins. </p>
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<p>I’d agree with this, although Baltimore does have some nice features: the inner harbor, the medical school, MLB and NFL stadiums.</p>
<p>In all honesty, it will be what you make of it at both schools. That said, I’d like to mention a few things about Hopkins which I think are important to note:</p>
<p>Hopkins is a very challenging school where you will work for your education. It is rated as one of the most challenging schools in the world and therefor attracts students, like yourself, from many different countries and backgrounds. This means a lot of things. It means you’ll learn a lot in your four/five years there and it also means you get what you went for. At Hopkins, there are world class professors teaching, doing research and world class students who really go with the sense that their education is their number one priority. They largely love to learn and engage with their peers. </p>
<p>I think on some level, it takes a different type of person to go to Hopkins because of what the school represents: academia, scholarship, research, globalism. It really is a global meeting of the minds which I think everyone really loves. It was one of my favorite parts of Hopkins when I was there. </p>
<p>Neither Hopkins nor Brown will give you and edge when it comes to getting jobs/internships etc. They are apples and oranges but both highly respected, though I do think that Brown does have that neoliberalism reputation (whether true or not) which can come across as a little ‘soft’ as a school. </p>
<p>One of the major differences also is that Hopkins has all Division III sports besides Lacrosse and Brown is all Division I. There are a lot of recruited athletes at Brown and they do make up a large portion of the class and that is to be taken into consideration.</p>
<p>Overall, you have to know what you want out of your college. Being in Baltimore is easy to get to with an international airport nearby (BWI) and has mild winters and a wonderful fall and spring. The campus is gorgeous and Baltimore does have it’s charm not to mention affordable for students.</p>
<p>Looking at what you have written JHU does offer exactly what you want and doing two degrees is quite common at Hopkins and you won’t hit any administrative barriers at JHU when you want to do that. </p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck and sincerely hope that you’ll join the Johns Hopkins University community. I did so years back and I have never regretted it!</p>
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but overall it is considered a “safety” school for top US students in top high schools who are looking at Brown etc. </p>
<p>I may have stated this a bit harshly, but in the area I’m involved in HS student admissions students who are applying to Ivies for liberal arts, or Engineering/science programs like MIT, CM, Standford, who may get one or 2 acceptances from those lists, and some rejections, seem to all get into JHU, and local prep school admissions counselors recommend it as one of these students “alternative backups”. Maybe it’s just a numbers game. (and very few go to JHU if they get into one of those other schools). Just what I’ve seen over the past 10 yrs or so.</p>
<p>complete and utter bullshi t. I have friends and JHU alum classmates who went to St.Paul’s school, andover, exeter and local prep schools gilman (where I went) and friends school. JHU was treated as a tough school (especially with an acceptance rate around 20%) and they were advised as such. Tell me, what “schools” are you referring to?</p>
<p>Brown ■■■■■ is insecure about Brown being ranked below JHU and being the weakest of the Ivies. If you’re going to ■■■■■ JHU, you would do better by making believable insults rather than claiming that most classes at JHU are taught by grad students, that JHU is only known for its grad school, or that JHU is a safety for Brown, CMU, and “Standford”. </p>
<p>On a serious note, I stand by my earlier assessment that both JHU and Brown are both fine universities and that JHU is a bit better known in academia and Brown is a bit better known in the world of business. I don’t think there is an overall difference in quality. </p>
<p>I don’t think that the joke would be any different if Brown were replaced with JHU. The joke is that Lisa is so prestige-conscious that she’s upset by the prospect of going to a top 15 school like Brown and not a top 5 school.</p>
<p>@BrownAlum: JHU internationally would actually be way more prestigious than Brown, JHU is a very tough school to get into. JHU tops Brown in both national and world rankings(By far).</p>
<p>Also, BrownAlum, you went to Brown, but can’t spell correctly? wow lol</p>
<p>@al6200 A great clip, but there are also ones that mock Stanford and Vassar. (I particularly like the Stanford clip because I almost went there).</p>
<p>Brown was my first choice coming out of high school. It’s a great school, but I’ve realized that for the most part, Hopkins is superior academically. The atmosphere is definitely better at Brown, and it may have more of a prestige factor, but Hopkins is the superior academic choice, especially for engineering.</p>
<p>Just as an aside, 96% of classes at JHU are taught by professors, the remaining 4% are introductory language classes, which are taught by TAs, and lab sections, which are also taught by TAs.</p>