Hey! I was just wondering what major differences there were between Johns Hopkins University and Washington University in St. Louis’s Pre-Med Programs. Which school would be better for a student planning to go to Medical School after Undergrad?
Thanks!
As a person who wanted to be premed in the past and researched it quite a bit, I’ll take a shot at your question.
In terms of medical prestige, Johns Hopkins wins. However, in terms of medical school preparation I’d say the two universities are pretty comparable. They both have great premedical advising and science classes. Research is also very big on both campuses.
I’d say the only noticeable difference between the two (besides prestige) would be the atmospheres of each school. JHU is notorious for being “cutthroat.” Wash. U., however, is known to be very collaborative and friendly.
Now, please note that JHU’s reputation as “cutthroat” has to be taken with a grain of salt. A lot of information/news tends to be skewed on the internet and there’s no doubt that the intensity of JHU has been exaggerated to a degree. A lot of the “JHU ruined my life” threads are most likely from disgruntled individuals. If I were you, I’d check out the student blogs that JHU has on their admissions website. They’re really helpful in getting to know more about JHU and getting the feel for the place.
This is a bit biased, but, I’d strongly consider Wash. U. I visited and it was honestly the most welcoming campus I’ve been on yet and I’ve visited Santa Clara, UCSD, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and Stanford so far! The students there are extremely intelligent, but also really down to earth. So Wash. U. (IMO) beats out JHU in terms of general atmosphere.
Other misc. things you need to consider are:
Academic Rigor:
Will Your GPA Suffer? I know WUSTL has a tendency for grade deflation and I’ve heard JHU does too, but I don’t know the extent of it at either school.
Competition:
Pre-med is tough. People are trying to get As and to do that you often have to step over people (figuratively) in the academic sense. Which school provides more internships/research?
Professors:
Will the professors be more focused on their own research? Are they accessible? It’s really important to maintain good relations with anybody you learn something from because they might be the person to ask for your letter of rec.
Objective Stats:
If you REALLY want to see which one is “better” just by numbers. Just google the top undergraduate feeder schools to the medical school that you want to go to.
I think both schools are great places for pre-med and you would be blessed to go to either one for premed. What you would really need to consider is which one is a better fit for you!
Disclaimer: I’m not hundred percent concrete on all these suggestions/information. Please don’t just take my word for it. Visit and research these schools too!
Best of luck!
@ForwardAlways With regards to JHU’s cutthroat reputation: I’m thinking of applying, and I heard from a family friend (who’s been working with Hopkins on some research these last few years) that student behavior - particularly in BME and similar areas - has been rather boorish in recent years. Sabotage of experiments is, from what he told me, quite common. So that’s definitely something to be prepared for (I don’t envy pre-med students).
Thank you so much!
@ForwardAlways
Both schools undeniably have excellent premed programs and outstanding academics. The bigger question is where do you feel most comfortable, and as a result, where do you think you’ll do better? At Hopkins I’ve experienced no such cut-throatedness in the BME department, but rather quite the opposite in that students are very collaborative and are willing to help each other out whenever possible. Overall, I love it here for so many different reasons. Before making the choice you definitely should visit each school because deciding on two schools solely based off of prestige for medical school is rubbish. Your success is a reflection of yourself and not just the school so it’s safe to say just going to either one of the two won’t get you a shoe in to medical school over any other school. PM me if you have any personal questions :)!
I’ve heard that JHU is extremely competitive for undergrads.