JHU vs. Cornell

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
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<p>Dog, i believe it was you who made the statement that Cornell is more "prestigious" because of its Ivy League affiliation. My points was that rather than be something Cornell should gloat about, its one of the main reasons Cornell gets the credit it does, whereas a school like Hopkins is prestigious because of its academic prowess rather than an affiliation with other schools. If anything, the other Ivies look down on Cornell as do people from other equivelant schools, so i would definately not use that as a selling point.</p>

<p>Also while im here, i want to apologize if we are coming off harsh, but that matter of fact is that your arguments are basically 100% wrong, so if you are going to say something negative about Hopkins as compared to its peers, itd be appreciated if you had some valid, researched points. Its obvious that Hopkins is competing only with the best of the best across almost every field, so please refrain from propogating inaccuracies.</p>

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<p>OH come on those rankings are clearly based on nothing. I also did not say that Cornell was a bad institution at all. It goes without saying that Cornell is among the finest schools in the country and the world. However, the argument was on prestige and my response was that Cornell benefits greatly from its affiliation with the Ivy league yet is often looked down upon. That ranking says absolutely nothing to dispute my point. Sorry</p>

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<p>First of all, for a person that is claiming "use objective and valid points to back up your argument," you are not even abiding by your own rules. Show me one valid source showing that "Cornell is often looked down upon" that is actually from a legit source not some convo on CC by a group of teenagers that know nothing, but claim to.</p>

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<p>Actually, I don't think Cornell is looked down upon because many of its programs are stong enough to compete with the best, including Ivies. For example, if someone wants to do Ivy engineering, that student is much more likely to choose Cornell over HYP, even if he is admitted to all of those schools. If Cornell is looked down upon, then it is probably because of its state affiliation, large size, and high admit rate, not because its academics are weak. Since Cornell's academics are excellent, anyone "looking down" on Cornell is a victim of elitism and irrationality. The concept of "prestige" is only important when applying to grad schools and for jobs, and employers are quite familiar with both JHU and Cornell. Any "prestige" difference is between them is quite irrelevant.</p>

<p>Of course, both Hopkins and Cornell degrees will take you anywhere you want to go, so why argue?</p>

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<p>The fact is that prestige is not a quantifiable characteristic, and as such my observation was just that, an observation from having talked with people in various professional fields (mostly academic) including faculty from peer institutions who regarded most schools with "oh they are great" yet often referred to Cornell with comments such as "Why would you go to Cornell?" </p>

<p>Again, obviously CU is a fantastic school im not trying to degrade it, just responding to the previously posed statement that it was more prestigious than Hopkins and that a degree in English or History from JHU would cause employers to look down on someone. Obviously, the individual attacking Hopkins has very little concept of the real world and the value of the JHU education.</p>

<p>We didnt start the argument ElectronicError, I personally was responding to the spreading of amazingly inaccurate information about JHU.</p>

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<p>HA, UC Berkeley is ranked higher than Yale, MIT, and Princeton? Wow, that's messed up. Just because it's on the internet does not mean they are valid sources of information.</p>

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<p>UCB is one of the world's great research powerhouses (although the undergrad experience is questionable).</p>

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<p>Oh, I'm sure it is. I'm not meaning to bash on Berkeley. I was just saying that information is questionable regardless.</p>

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<p>Actually, when I told teachers that I got into the schools that I did and mentioned JHU, they all were like wow, but they were like you aren't going there or are you, I was like why do you ask and they were all like that school is in a pretty dangerous location. Something that JHU likes to keep private but is not such a private issue that some of its students have been attacked/killed in the past. This is not something to take lightly. Also, I never said that Cornell was more prestigious. You are the one that is suggesting the contrary that JHU is more prestigious and I do not think that one person would agree with you on that. Also, you can't deny that at JHU, if you are a history/eng/social science major, it is a lot easier to do well and also it is a lot easier to be admitted if you are planning on doing one of those majors rather than pre-med. Nonetheless, JHU is a fabulous school and lets just end this stupid debate.</p>

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<p>i think that instead of talking about heresay about jhu's safety, you should look more at the #'s check out the campus security webpage... compare jhu to other colleges in terms of crime, you will see that is not horrendous. btw Dog, you say you got into such great schools like cornell, rice, jhu, etc...the people who go to these schools dont go there so they dont have to be competitive and work hard, its quite the opposite really. if you are turned off from JHU cuz of 'cutthroat competition' (also heresay, you should talk to students who go there) then you really shouldnt go to any of the schools you got into, because you are obviously not ready for the challenging education that all the great schools you got into provide. JHU has healthy competition, and everyone i talked to there would agree. So if you dont wanna work hard and compete in college, then dont go... dont talk out of your @$$ about stuff you dont know.</p>

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<p>Amen Kam. </p>

<p>Dog there ARE actually people who feel JHU might have the edge in prestige, just like some feel Cornell does, so thats not an accurate statement. Furthermore, Kam is totally right, the on-campus crime situation is not like the off campus crime situation. But again, this is not worse at JHU than it is at any of the other major Universities in crummy areas. In fact, it was not long ago that UPenn was grappling with murders and had to update security. You should also know Hopkins has just gone through stage 1 of a monster security update, the first ($2M in a matter of weeks/months) has been completed and the difference is definately noticable on campus. I think this debate has gone as far as its going to go...Hopkins is undeniably of the best caliber academic institution and competes well with even the very best schools.</p>

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<p>Dog congrats on your acceptances, those are all great schools and good luck. Wish you were a little more informed about Johns Hopkins, but it all comes down to how you feel anyway. </p>

<p>I just came back from Johns Hopkins and I learned a lot about it, the most important is that it is NOT just premed! Its humanities programs are very strong, particularly IR and writing seminars. If you are looking to major in IR, Hopkins is really the place to be, especially right now. </p>

<p>But first as above their on-campus security is very good. Security guards will pick you up from anywhere on campus and within a one (1) mile radius to bring you back to your dorm, library, or anywhere on campus. You do have to adapt to living in a city (not walking alone at night, etc), but thats really not a big deal. </p>

<p>Arguing its prestige is pretty much useless. I remember it being ranked 14 in the nation when I applied, with several number 1 spots in specific majors, and they have an abundance of programs in top 10, most of which are in liberal arts. I am not sure what you would classify Hopkins as. I've seen JHU called a liberal arts institution, but at they same time they are the most funded university in the nation. Research connections there are second to none, and in more than just sciences, certainly much more than just premed areas.</p>

<p>In liberal arts majors as well, most students do some type of research. IR students for example might study abroad and do international studies (a paper, not just a class) for their form of research. About 70% of Hopkins students engage in some type of research, and this spans the whole student body. By the way, their IR is the most popular major, its not some obscure minority in the shadow of bio/chem/engineering, its definitely a player on all levels. </p>

<p>It is definitely hard to judge academics when visiting a school. You don't really know what its like to learn and study there. If someone came to your high school for one day, think of the skewed impression they would get. My high school is nationally ranked, but there are still tons of classes with students playing cards, sleeping, basically appearing like they could not physically care less, but that does not mean there isn't a lot of learning that goes on. So after seeing some classes (which I thought were great), I decided I should not really be judging the academics with such a limited perspective in an environment much more complex than high school. This is basically putting faith in their academic numbers, and letting their social aspects speak for themselves. </p>

<p>Anyway to see how the students operate, I talked to a good number of students and they all seem pretty laid back; they all reacted pretty much the same way to the question of competition, its "healthy" and you work for your grade. Sounds a lot like a tough high school, a paraphrase of one student: "If you stay on top of things and study, you can earn your A in general (some classes are impossible in their depth of material), and if youre average, you'll get a B." If you don't try, really depends on you, still might get an A in some classes but in the classes which are known to be tough, you'll probably bomb. </p>

<p>Research is probably the most attractive quality about Hopkins. As I understand, it is really an education tool, and of course great preparation for your actual career (which oh sadly is not reading books and taking tests). But the important thing about THIS is you are not pressured into it, because while JHU is a research university, its small size classes and intimate environment lead you to forget about it when you aren't engaged in research, and embrace it when you are. </p>

<p>Hopkins realizes its student life quality blew for a long time. They are doing A LOT to improve this. They received a $25 million gift for their beautification project. The campus is awesome, a really tight package, easy to find your way around, and a good bit traditional looking. Definitely an indication of its price though, but they are literally pouring money into all of their programs and it is a great time to be undergraduate. In the past year they have erected SEVEN buildings, all for undergraduates. There is a huge NASA-related building going up right now, as well as freshman and sophomore dorms. Anyway, its a must to do your own research to see if it fits your interests.. I personally dont think its possible to argue it JHU "has the edge in prestige" and be objective about it. The academics are there and solid.. so thats my rating of the academic-social experience (since they are so related). Any JHU or Cornell students out there?</p>

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<p>I chose Cornell . . . if anyone was interested.</p>

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<p>so did ii :)</p>

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<p>Congratulations to both of you! Now, you just have to work on building up your resistance to cold weather. :)</p>

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<p>btw, i live in syracuse, and the weather in ithaca is basically the same... 6 months of snow, and after that 5 months of rain and clouds, and bout 1 month of sunshine altogether all year... temp gets to -25 sometimes, but -10 is VERY common... expect almost 160+ in of snow each season!! im leaving this region for b'more thank god</p>

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<p>I honestly hate this bickering. According to the most elite prep schools, Phillips Andover and Exeter, Cornell had a similar admissions rate to JHU this year and the year before. Both were around 50-60%. This was an off year in JHU admissions due to the two murders. It is definitive certain admits with admittedly low stats this year were admitted to JHU who would not have been admitted in years past to cushion the expected low yield. However, reputation wise Cornell is on par with JHU. Employers view JHU and Cornell in the same light as shown by the companies who visit both campuses and the hiring rates. Cornell has an edge in investment banking recruitments however due to their exceptional econ and business programs which JHU lacks. For the most part however JHU's name recognition is on par with cornell's as evident by US news and other ranking's using such marks as peer assessment score. Its tough to gauge prestige however as mojobari has done. And as a highschooler, he has no insight into such matters as he has yet to go into the workforce. Personally I know lots of people here who have gone on to JHU over ivies. I have myself and others I have met here have chosen this place over several said ivies (cornell, columbia, penn) due to the unique research opportunities available. The job prospects are good. JHU loses no prestige over the other ivies expect for harvard,yale,princeton and columbia. In the end however personal anecdontes such as mojobaris and mine are not definitive. I only have acceptance letters and personal preferences in hand to prove my assertions. To argue cornell holds an advantage over JHU is moot as the general public cannot name the ivy league. As someone who is entering the ivy league, Mojobari you should know this. When pressed the public may name harvard,yale,princeton, mit, and stanford but it is extremely doubtful they will know the other true ivies. Employers view JHU and cornell in the same light. In time you will come to realize this.</p>

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<p>Also of note, JHU goes even and more than 50% at times with Cornell and Dartmouth with regards to cross admits. It loses however to all other ivies. This is sensitive information within the admissions office. As for people who continue to argue Cornell's pretige based on its ivy affiliation, I'd like to show you this: <a href="http://www.cornellreview.org/viewart.cgi?num=295%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cornellreview.org/viewart.cgi?num=295&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Fact of the matter is at every school students have a condescending view of peer schools. Cornell students are mistaken however if they think their school is more respected than JHU, Uchicago or other similarly ranked schools. They are all on par at the least with each having their own individually unique strengths.</p>

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<p>Collegiate, how presumptuous of you to assume that I based my final decision on Cornell's affiliation with the Ivy League. Granted, I originally thought that Cornell topped Hopkins in terms of prestige, but over time I learned that this wasn't the case. I visited both schools, and was struck by the sense of community at Cornell. This was lacking at JHU. I don't plan on majoring in science. After talking with SEVERAL students at Hopkins, I learned that non-science/non-engineering students are looked down on at JHU, and that some students go so far as to call humanities students members of the "arts and crafts" school. Yeah, a great example of how hopkins fosters a sense of community and learning in ALL subject fields. I visited two classes taught by TA's. Both were poorly run. The students in both of these classes were unprepared, only two students had done the assigned reading. I couldn't wait to get off of that campus.</p>

<p>When I visited Cornell, I felt at home. I was welcomed by the student body, and was given the opportunity to sit in on excellent classes. The American studies dept. was excellent, and music at Cornell is superb.</p>

<p>My views of both schools evolved, in that I started to look beyond prestige and ranking as factors in making my decision. Collegiate, anyone who uses magazines and online articles to make their final decision without taking other factors into account is just plain misinformed.</p>

<p>On a trivial note, my uncle is a member of the administration at Yale. His colleagues all think that I made the right choice.</p>

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<p>JHU is a wonderful, i mean FABULOUS institution of higher education. However, there are some important things to note about the school that definetely hurt JHU. First of all, its location is a MINUS, despite it being located in/near a big city. Baltimore isn't a new york city or los angeles or a chicago. Its a nice city, however, it is extremely dangerous. Most Hopkins students from what I have observed over the years do not go into Baltimore for the fear of not returning in one peace. Also, I have heard that Hopkins refuses to give recs for pre-med students they feel will not be successful when applying to med school. I see this as an incredible fault on behalf of Hopkins and its administration.</p>