I’m contemplating whether to apply to washu early decision or johns hopkins early decision for biomedical engineering (bme). I have great stats and extra curriculars so that isnt too much of my concern as applying to the right college. I visited washu and loved it. The atmosphere was great. I know that Johns Hopkins is definitely the better school for bme and its closer to home but Im scared that the rigorous curriculum is going to lead me to a miserable 4 years. I really want to ED to one of those schools for sure but can’t decide.
never assume you will get in to either of those schools.
I would add another school–carnegie mellon
http://www.bme.cmu.edu/ugprog/index.html
it is an awesome school in a great great city. I have yet to meet a person who has been to pittsburgh and not said wow that was an awesome city ! followed by I never knew !
My advise would be to not use the ED card unless you are 99.9 % sure you have the right school for you. If you are struggling with this decision, ED is not the right choice. This is coming from a mom who has a kid that used the ED card and it was absolutely the way to go for him. But for my other kid, it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.
I second looking into CMU. My S loves Pittsburgh and we are from an awesome city- Austin Tx (so quite the bar to hold other cities up to).
What makes you think Wash U is any less rigorous than JH? If rigor makes you miserable don’t apply to either one.
Pretty simple. WashU because you loved it. Always pick the school that fits you. They say happy students are successful students. You are correct tHe culture is very different so it’s important to be happy not miserable. 
BME by nature is a rigorous program since you’re covering topics in both biology and engineering. Both schools will be rigorous so don’t let that be the deciding factor here. Is there a particular career you’re leaning towards with a BME degree? I know it’s early to make that decision, but that could be helpful for you to consider if you’re set on something. I don’t know about WashU’s pre-med support if that’s what you’re interested in pursuing, but I can attest that JHU has stellar pre-med advising and I know quite a few BME’s at JHU who later went to med school.
I would consider expanding your options based on the tensions going on in those areas with the violence / riots
Easy. You visited WashU and you loved it. Bam, done. ED WashU then.
Baltimore and St. Louis are two cities I wouldn’t want to live in right now.
They are prestige peers. So choose on fit, finances, and class offerings/schedules.
And add another reach or two, a few matches, and at least one safety.
You might want to add Rice to your list. It’s a peer school of JHU and WashU, and it’s strong in BME.
It’s located in a very nice area of Houston, and–like WashU–it traditionally ranks quite high on the quality-of-life scale.
I recall a number of CC posters actually debating between Rice and WashU for BME.
Informative, please stop talking about things you know nothing apart. WashU is in a gorgeous area of St Louis, with expensive old mansions on one side, an upscale/business section on the other, and a park. It’s not remotely Ferguson. Your argument is about as unsophisticated as saying you wouldn’t want to go to school in Cambridge because there’s trouble in South Boston.
The area where JHU is located (Homewood campus) is also quite respectable and safe. Based on four years’ residence there and on just a brief visit to the Wash U area, I’d say that the environs of Wash U are more upscale.
Wash U is becoming ever more competitive and closing the gap with JHU with respect to admission rates.
They are both great schools. I’d not do early decision unless I had visited both and was clear about my preferences.
Where do you prefer your riots? >:) Just kidding!
Some of the neighborhoods around JHU (Homewood, Guilford, Roland Park, Hampden) really aren’t too shabby.
http://d3ka0sx7noujy3.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/guilford-colonial-revival.jpg
http://marketurbanism.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/roland-park.jpg
http://i1.wp.com/fishbowl.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/med_ridgewood1.jpg
http://web.mit.edu/bletham/www/bestof/IMG_0906.jpg
http://thephotoworkshops.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/IMG_1935.jpg
