<p>D has been accepted to JHU, Duke, and Harvard Biomedical Engineering programs, she is waitlisted at MIT. Her #1 choice is still MIT, but since she is waitlisted there and the chance of being accepted is almost 0%, we need to decide before May 1 between JHU, Duke, or Harvard BME program until we hear from MIT. In-state she already has a free ride scholarships covering everything from tuition, fees, books, room & board, miscelleaneous, study abroad, and more, but the BME program is not as good as JHU, Duke, or MIT. The question is which college is better? Thanks.</p>
<p>JHU has the #1 BME in the country… held in high esteem by employers. That being said Duke is still great at #3. So it really comes down to what school she prefers… idk much about BME at Harvard. Although Harvard is obviously the most prestigious out of the 3 schools, the same cannot be said about its BME.</p>
<p>I would go to Duke over JHU for the simple reason that Duke is much, much less cutthroat than Hopkins. My friend is a BME major at JHU, and he is not a big fan of the atmosphere there. He visited me on Duke’s campus a few months ago and absolutely loved it. He joked that he had forgotten what having a social life entails.
Let me be very clear, JHU is an incredible academic institution. It’s just the atmosphere that leaves something to be desired. Duke students strike a happy medium between being competitive and easygoing, the same can’t be said for JHU. Harvard is not known for its BME program, and it makes little sense to attend a college solely because it is prestigious.
MIT suffers from the same problem as JHU (its atmosphere is overtly competitive) and the focus of its program is slightly different (look into it).
If you relish intense competition, I would recommend JHU (or MIT). However, if you are looking for a well rounded college experience, go to Duke. Remember that it is important to grow holistically while you are in college, and that you will perform more admirably if you are happy at the college that you choose to attend.</p>
<p>^is this what dookies have to resort to now? You ■■■■■ extremely hard on numerous boards. We have posters that have gone to Duke and JHU on here (and they unequivocally disagree with your anecdotal shred of garbage). I chose Hopkins over Duke a few years back. Social life was not a concern before I made the choice nor after. I also have friends who go to JHU and Duke. They never make weird claims that JHU or Duke is more competitive than another school.</p>
<p>^^ I wonder where your “fact” comes from. It is a fiction. If you didn’t attend the school, how can you make that claim?</p>
<p>It’s funny because all the people who say that Hopkins is cutthroat go to other schools. We JHU students must be extraordinarily dull that everyone else knows more about us than we do.</p>
<p>What is funny is that every good school has that small segment of students that believe success is a zero sum game. If someone does well it means they don’t. If you are worried about JHU cut throat why not Harvard? Harvard has a reputation of having kids that believe that the world revolves around them so they’ll do anything to make sure it stays like that.</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies. We are going to visit the colleges this month.</p>
<p>@GAILFORCE - Not sure where you get your info, but I can tell you unequivocally that MIT is NOT competitive. On the contrary, students are extraordinarily collaborative (within allowed limits) and group work on psets is generally expected. Collaboration is needed to get through - and it’s great training for the future, as engineering and science require teamwork for success!</p>
<p>I know less about JHU, but it was a top consideration for a couple of my kids. My impression was that it was similarly collaborative - at least in the engineering school.</p>
<p>JHU is #1 for BME, so you can’t go wrong there! Note that MIT has Biological Engineering (not BME) as a major, although a BME minor is available for other courses (as long as there’s not too much overlap with the major). Baltimore is so-so, but it’s so easy to get to DC or Philly on the weekend.</p>
<p>Of course, Duke is quite good in BME, too, but it’s a completely different environment. If your daughter likes that big-college-sports environment, it’s probably fun. (I’ve heard the basketball games are great!) </p>
<p>HOWEVER, if she’s not 100% sure that she wants BME, it would be hard to pass up Harvard. Harvard seems to be investing a lot in their SEAS and, although it will never be MIT (I say as an alum), I’m sure it will be perfectly fine!! Good luck to your daughter in her decision and congrats on having such great options!</p>