JHU vs UCLA

Colleges & Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
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<p>I was not entirely sure if I wanted to post this on CC, but I really couldn't decide between these last two and I would definitely appreciate any help.</p>

<p>I'm an international student from Australia, so visiting these campuses at this time is pretty much out of the question. I've managed to narrow down my choices to these two, but I am sort of stuck between the two.</p>

<p>I'm planning on majoring in Mechanical Engineering and probably delve into Aerospace should I go to UCLA. I'm planning on going to grad school a few years after I graduate, either Law or Business school. </p>

<p>I've sort of jotted down what I like about both schools down below, so anything extra that you can comment on would help a lot!</p>

<p>UCLA:
- Los Angeles! This is probably one of the biggest reasons why I'm really keen on UCLA. We don't really have anything like LA in Australia. The busy and lively environment just seems like an absolutely amazing place with lots of things to do outside of academics.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>A large student body. Just getting to meet lots of new people and trying out all the various different clubs/sports teams. (Football, baseball etc. All the stuff we don't have over here!)</p></li>
<li><p>The school spirit. Most of the Bruins that I see are absolutely in love with their school. They turn up to all the football games and stuff like that. That sort of experience is something that I'm quite interested in experiencing (compared to all the (more than likely false) rumours about miserable students at JHU...=P)</p></li>
</ul>

<p>JHU:
- Very academic orientated. Well, of course, the academics will play a huge role. And JHU's non-structured core curriculum would allow me lots of flexibility in choosing my subjects. Its strong program will also put me in good stead for graduate school.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Research opportunities. Being able to do research right from freshman year is an experience that you won't be able to find in most places. </p></li>
<li><p>A small student body. This might seem at odds with UCLA, but I honestly don't think I'll mind either. At JHU, I'll be able to get familiar with most of the student body; that in itself is a nice aspect of the school.</p></li>
<li><p>Private school. More hand-holding, I guess. Having someone who would be able to advice me on academic issues would be a great help, especially since I'll be halfway around the world. </p></li>
<li><p>Prestige. I'm not going to lie and say that JHU's prestige isn't being considered at all.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>It might seem as though I'd prefer JHU since its list is much longer but I've been to LA many times, and I know I'll enjoy it there. I have no idea how Baltimore compares to it though.</p>

<p>I guess what my real dilemma is, is that I'm comparing SoCal to JHU. Would I prefer going to a university in SoCal (and not a bad one at all) or would I prefer going to Hopkins? </p>

<p>If you guys could provide me with <em>anything</em> at all, I'd definitely appreciate it. Thanks!</p>

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<p>The reality is LA is better after you finish college. You won’t be 21 for a while so you can’t go anywhere legit and UCLA is in westwood, which isn’t exactly LA - you won’t get off campus much honestly without a car and nobody has a car at UCLA. On top of that, you’ll be fighting with literally THOUSANDS of students for access to TA’s (not a lot of professor’s teaching) and 85% of the students are from California. It’s a very homogenous student body at UCLA. That said, I think the points about school spirit are definitely taken - great sports, great weather. You will have a lot more choices of classes though being a public school. </p>

<p>For Hopkins, it’s in a major city on the east coast so you get Baltimore and DC, Philly and NYC on the train line. It is a longer flight to and from Australia however. The attention you’ll get at JHU should be a huge factor in your decision. The average class of students is something like 20 give or take and faculty teach almost all the classes there. It’s a small student body (freshman class = 1200 students) meaning you’ll get to know people easily. You’ll have a lot of research opportunities and prestige of the school - being a Hopkins grad lasts forever. </p>

<p>I think overall UCLA and Hopkins are great - but UCLA is a VERY large public school with students mostly from California. Hopkins is an exceptionally well regarded research university that is well known world wide (important if you want to go back to Australia) that has students form all over the world.</p>

<p>GL with your choice - you have great options.</p>

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<p>Which one is cheaper? YOu seem to like JHU more, so if they cost the same, go to JHU</p>

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<p>Wealth managed to capture many of my worries in that one post. Thank you, it really helped to see my thoughts through someone else’s perspective. </p>

<p>Hopkins seems to be very well known in academic circles, but most of my friends that I talk to have absolutely no idea what JHU is. Until I tell them that “House went there.”</p>

<p>Also, JHU is about 10k more a year, I think. Since UCLA is a state and all.</p>

<p>Really not quite sure what I want, but I guess it’s much better than having no decision to make at all. Thanks for the replies guys!</p>

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<p>Haha, Shoyz. When I first told my friends I got into JHU… they started saying that line from Step Brothers. Now they call me “Johnny Hopkins”.</p>

<p>Another thing to consider: even if you don’t like JHU, first semester grades are covered and unless you flunk out second semester, your academic profile won’t look drastically different. So I’d imagine it would be easy to transfer out to a school you were already accepted to if you don’t like it at JHU</p>

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<p>actually Shoyz, with the cost of LA, and the fact that you’re out-of-state, UCLA might be more costly in the long run.</p>

<p>I know that if you’re out of state, every cost added together will make UCLA and JHU similar in tuition. In which case, I would argue that JHU is the much better bargain.</p>

7

<p>Ah, I was under the impression that it was rather hard to transfer out as a sophomore. In any case, it’ll probably be a little hard to get everything settled again if I have to move to the other coast and organise everything from Australia, so hopefully I get it right the first time.</p>

<p>But yeah, everything considered, JHU isn’t that much more expensive than UCLA.</p>

<p>Thanks guys.</p>

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<p>hi, i’m int’l too but I chose JHU over UCLA :)</p>

<p>but then i’m a pre-med w/ mechanical engineering major</p>

<p>i thought JHU had better premed(sends more to med school) and has many research opportunities
I didn’t like UCLA b/c of its size, to me it’s quite huge
and thought it won’t have as academic & sophisticated environment as JHU
since it’s state school w/ rule that automatically accept some percentage of Cal. high school students</p>

<p>also i know a person who’s now a sophomore at JHU (also premed) and she seems to very enjoy there
which overrule all the cutthroat rumors</p>

<p>btw if you’re looking at grad school in USA, esp. ones in East coast
one told me that those grads like private schools in east better than state school</p>

<p>just my few thoughts :)</p>

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<p>Yes, it is true that UCLA will take a certain percentage of California students, but you need to take a look at a map of California. California is huge and diversified. People come from cities, small farming towns, beach towns, the desert towns, the mountain villages, wine country, agricultural areas, etc. And the people… some places have high populations of immigrants from Mexico, China, Russia, Europe, Vietnam, etc. </p>

<p>It’s not the same as saying “all the students are from Ohio or all the students are from Korea.” California is much more diversified than many small nations. </p>

<p>One thing that I would consider if I was coming from Australia is the economic impact the cutbacks will have on the UC system next year. More will be announced in June and plans are already underway to make additional cutbacks in 2010-2011. You may have to take summer courses or go 5 or 6 years to complete your degree if you can’t get into the required GEs and courses. This may affect your plans if you were thinking about going home to visit during the summer.</p>

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<p>Out of State Tuition, Fees, Room, Board, etc. at UCLA is probably $45,000. At JHU probably $52,000.</p>

<p>The $7,000 differential is not much in my view. Combined with the fact that you might require an extra summer or summer + fall quarter to graduate UCLA, I think the finances even out.</p>

<p>In that case, smaller is usually better. Advising will be better at JHU.</p>

<p>My call – JHU.</p>

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<p>Oh? Where are you from, Fav? If you’re even lurking on here anymore.</p>

<p>UCLA’s size appeals to me because I love meeting new people. I’m the person who sort of goes around and talks to everyone at events and parties, so in that sense, I do like UCLA. On that same note, the size is a little off-putting because of how competitive it would be to get into good classes etc. </p>

<p>The one thing that’s nice about UCLA though, is that it would be easier to beat the bell-curve and come out with better grades than at JHU. No offense to any UCLA students. </p>

<p>However, I didn’t know about grad schools much preferring private schools to state schools. I figured the name mattered, but not all that much compared to <em>what</em> you did while you were at wherever you were.</p>

<p>@lagunal: I have to admit that I haven’t actually considered the cutbacks on the UC system. I will definitely take that into account. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Aye, the difference without having to spend any additional years there could be much worse. </p>

<p>Advising at JHU will indeed be much better, and that’s why I’m sort of stuck between JHU and SoCal. The atmosphere at SoCal wouldn’t be close to what it would be at Baltimore. That doesn’t make my decision any easier! Bah.</p>

<p>I think they should give us 4 months like we did them. Is that too much to ask for? Haha.</p>

<p>EDIT: I have no idea why I double posted instead of editing my previous post. Sorry!</p>

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<p>Just a note - from what I’ve heard, JHU is not handholding at all. But nor are schools like Cornell or NYU (and many others). If you always need advising and have trouble being independent, then JHU would not be the right place for you.
Good luck!</p>

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<p>Oh, I’m not that bad. </p>

<p>I just meant that having some advising is better than having none at all. More couldn’t possibly hurt, right?</p>

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<p>Yeah - JHU has some of the best advising. I believe they have daily walk-in hours on campus. This is the most compelling argument:</p>

<p>UCLA = 6,000 freshmen
JHU = 1,200 freshmen</p>

<p>GL</p>

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<p>Shoyz: Jhu is no tiny LAC like you are somehow picturing it to be. lol. Sure, you might be very social…but there are still 1,200 undergrads in your year alone! There’s well over 4000-5000 students on campus. You’ll run into a new face every day. I guarantee you that. </p>

<p>As far as what someone said about handholding: in a way similar to UPenn, Cornell, Columbia, UChicago, Northwestern, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Georgetown, to list but a few, Johns Hopkins has a fantastic set of advisors, but does not rigorously mandate that you meet with them or have them steer you through your college years. If you want dependence, look at Dartmouth, Brown, maybe Princeton, and the rest of the LACs. </p>

<p>With that said, Hopkins advising is truly top notch. The highest rate of direct to post-graduate students is found at Hopkins, meaning that straight out of undergrad, 80%+ of the typical hopkins graduating class goes directly into grad school with no in-between year, etc. That’s pretty phenomenal considering one of Hopkins’ competitors, Duke, only sends half that amount. </p>

<p>Also, if you want opportunities, Hopkins will give you more. UCLA, even if only 20% of 6000 students (in your year) were great/determined (which is not true, as UCLA is very very top notch as well), that still leaves you with 1200 competitors…which is the same number of undergrads in your year in total at hopkins ;)</p>

<p>Trust me, once you’ve been to LA for any more than a year, and it will start to get boring. It is certainly no NYC. From Baltimore, though, you can also get easy access to Washington DC, the capital of this country, Philadelphia, New York City, and from there, what else do you need? lol</p>