Johns Hopkins vs. Columbia Decision

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So here is my situation: I happily have had my mind wrapped around going to Johns Hopkins for about a month now, when, to my surprise, yesterday I got off the wait-list at Columbia! I am split pretty evenly in my decision, but here are some of my thoughts -
oh and just so we have some background, I am a student undecided as to what exactly I want to devote myself too, but I know I want to do something with business. I've always had a passion for antiquity, and I would be interested in trying my hand in mech engineering. I live on a farm, but despite that, or perhaps because of it, I am also comfortable in cities and fairly social. What led me to Hopkins and Columbia, among other things, is the sense of intellectual curiosity that abounds in both campuses. SO on to thoughts - </p>

<p>I know Columbia places a premium on the "core," and although I would most likely take some of the required classes anyways, I do not really like the idea of being told which classes I have to take. At Hopkins, although they have specific distribution requirements, nowhere do they tell you you have to take a specific class. </p>

<p>Additionally, My initial plan for Hopkins was to double major in something particularly useful for a career in business - economics or such - and in something that I am just passionate about - early choices include archaeology or the classics - and to acquire a minor as well. That is obviously a fair amount of credits, but at Hopkins you have intersession courses which help, as well as the small but potentially very useful fact that classes that fall into the requirements of separate majors can fulfill them both. Columbia has neither of those. </p>

<p>Then there is the issue of NYC, which could end up being the absolute best thing about going to Columbia or the worst thing - my reasoning being that on one hand I'm guessing much of the social life happens off campus, but on the other hand, if you had NYC in your backyard, why WOULDN'T social life happen there. </p>

<p>I have also heard that A) Columbia as a whole lacks school spirit and B) the Undergrads are left to fend for themselves by admin. Now, I understand that those two concepts are relative ones but I'm curious as to how much validity those statements carry.</p>

<p>Of course Columbia undoubtedly comes with more prestige, and academically it is a better fit for someone who is more directed towards the humanities (all be it with a nagging urge to really give engineering a go). Perhaps there will also be more to do there as well, however I feel for some subtle reason that Hopkins is a better fit in every other way. </p>

<p>So, I'd love to hear from JHU students, Columbia students, and especially anyone who is familiar with both. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance to anyone who responds!</p>

2

<p>NYC vs. Baltimore? One negative to Hopkins you are overlooking is that 25% of students are pre-med and possibly more at the start.</p>

3

<p>As someone with friends at both schools, you will get a great education at both. If you are uncertain what you want to do with yourself in the future, Columbia could be a better choice for you then Hopkins. While I am a fan of the open curriculum, Columbia’s core is small and has relatively interesting classes to make sure you are well rounded. My vote is on Columbia. The campus is beautiful and the students are amazing! But undergrads have a lot of support academically and personally, so don’t worry about that! GOOD LUCK!</p>

4

<p>I would go with Columbia. You can’t trade the value of an Ivy degree.</p>

5

<p>I’d go with Columbia.</p>

6

<p>Tough choice. my cousin had the same dilemma and chose Hopkins. You’ll be happy with either one.</p>

7

<p>tough call. if you might be interested in engineering, JHU would far and away be the better choice here (Fu foundation sucks to be frank).</p>

<p>“Perhaps there will also be more to do there as well, however I feel for some subtle reason that Hopkins is a better fit in every other way.”</p>

<p>Sometimes you go with your gut. If prestige had driven me like some of the others on this thread are touting (“you can’t underestimate an ivy degree…lol”), I’d had gone to MIT and been miserable.</p>

8

<p>^^^ </p>

<p>??? MIT isn’t an ivy.</p>

9

<p>Same thought (prestige is important) behind it, though, which is the idea.</p>

10

<p>The difference in prestige between JHU and Columbia is pretty small. One could be interchangeable for the other depending on the field (JHU for anything bio or engineering related, Columbia for english or history). The other posters are exaggerating their own perceived disparities. We’re not talking about Southeastern Missouri versus Stanford here. More like Northwestern versus Cornell.</p>

11

<p>I’d pick Columbia, but that has to do with personal fit (I’d prefer NYC to Baltimore.)</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>He’s not saying that it is. His primary statement (exclude the parenthetical statement, like this one) makes perfect sense; his parenthetical statement mocks oblivious east coasters who regard the Ivy League as the pinnacle of American universities…</p>

12

<p>Go where you feel at home</p>

13

<p>We’ve had students at my son’s boarding school who found the core at Columbia to be a step backward in their education. They were bored–something that wasn’t happening with them in high school. That’s the only thing that prevented my son from applying, so that’s something to consider if you come from a strong academic school.</p>

14

<p>I wouldn’t necessarily dismiss Hopkins if you’re interested in humanities. Although people think Columbia is good for humanities and Hopkins is a science/engineering school, Hopkins has really strong humanities programs esp. in history, english, writing seminars, near eastern studies, and many other departments ranked in top 10 except that at Hopkins all of our humanities classes are small (i was even in a 2 person class-we met in a professor’s office). Also we also do offer a similar version of the core course as Columbia does- it’s called the Great Books Seminar offered to freshmen, but it’s optional. </p>

<p>And people who just say go to Columbia because it’s in the Ivy League are clearly very uninformed. If you’re trying to choose between Columbia or Cal State, yes most people would choose Columbia, but if you are comparing very top schools, it’s really just splitting hair. Don’t listen to people who are somehow obsessed with an athletic conference.</p>