<p>I know this is in the Hopkins thread, but I'm trying to get both sides of the story before I make my decision.
I've narrowed down my college choices to Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon, and I plan to major in biomedical engineering. I'm extremely grateful that JHU accepted me into the BME program since it is the best in the nation and has incredible resources to go along with that, but on the other hand, CMU gave me a $19,500 per year merit scholarship while JHU didn't give me any financial aid. In addition, I've read in some places that it is best to have some traditional engineering experience when going into BME, and CMU has students double major in BME and another type of engineering (if I went there, I would probably go with chemical, and I'm wondering if people think about this at all at JHU). Any thoughts on the two programs or the schools in general in terms of life as an undergrad (dorm experience, food, collaborative vs competitive atmosphere, etc)?
I'm torn between the two at the moment and plan to revisit both, but any input would be appreciated!</p>
<p>I can only speak on behalf of Hopkins, but hopefully I can help you out. Hopkins is the place for BME. All of my friends who are in the BME program absolutely love it. I don’t think anyone double majors in BME and something else, but I can’t be completely sure on that. You can search this forum and [Welcome</a> to the Hopkins Forums](<a href=“http://forums.hopkins-interactive.com/index/]Welcome”>http://forums.hopkins-interactive.com/index/) for the answers to most of your questions, but I’ll give you my brief perspective on some of the things you asked.</p>
<p>Dorm Experience: Dorm life is great. A lot of people end up bonding with the kinds on their floor or in their house and end up making some of their closest friends freshman year. With that said, you can still make friends with people outside of your dorm. I currently live in Wolman, but my closest friends all live in AMR II</p>
<p>Food: Eh. I’m not a big fan of the Fresh Food Cafe (the freshmen cafeteria) but many are. I consider myself a very picky eater haha. However, the other dining halls and restaurants around campus are very nice. There is an Einsteins located in The Charles Street Market (CharMar), which is a mini-mart that also makes sandwiches and paninis. Levering is another dining hall, primarily used by upperclassmen, but has great food like burgers and stuff. There’s also great places within walking distance that are really great: Tamber’s, Charles Village Pub, Sandellas, Maxie’s, etc. </p>
<p>Atmosphere: Definitely collaborative. I don’t know where JHU gets this rep for being cutthroat, but no one I have talked to has ever seen it live up to that stereotype. Everyone here is more than willing to help you in your classes with concepts you are struggling with or anything of the sort. </p>
<p>Hope this helps - and good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>Baltimore’s wayyyy cooler than Pittsburg!</p>
<p>no doubs jhu for bio eng. CMU is very good (especially for computer science and electrical engineering), but JHU is the #1 school for bio-medical engineering. Plus from the poeple I have talked to you get a better undergraduate experience at Hopkins than at Carnegie.</p>