<p>Between being Johns Hopkins University pre-med and a student in the Union/Albany Medical College combined program, which would you choose?
Just need help deciding.
Thanks.</p>
<p>JHU BME or regular? I’ve heard Hopkins overall is very grueling for UG but doing well there means a lot for med school apps. At the same time, their premed committee won’t write you a LoR (essentially stopping you from applying) if they feel your GPA and ECs aren’t strong enough. </p>
<p>It depends on how much stress you are willing to tolerate in UG and if the risk of not getting into med school is worth potentially getting in somewhere much better than Albany. I personally would go with Hopkins if FA was equal, but it’s not a clear choice</p>
<p>I would recommend Union/Albany. JHU is very competitive environment and is not a collaborative environment and hence I believe is not conducive for free learning. The area outside JHU is not safe. If inside the campus, it is too competitive and not collaborative, it is not healthy!</p>
<p>Another vote for Union/Albany. As posters above stated clearly, JHU means cut-throat in pre-med. You need to evaluate yourself if you can sustain the commitment levels, hard work, eye on the ball all FOUR years without loosing traction. It’s a bet you can take but you only will know.</p>
<p>So basically your responses in this thread are based on pure hearsay. But if you do have the logic of hypermom (i love the BS to BS to random interjected “hence” deduction there), I probably wouldn’t go to Hopkins, either. Go on campus and speak to actual students there NOW to get real accounts. I’ve known friends who are now in med school and graduated from Hopkins last year and a few years before. I.E., recent first hand accounts. I can tell you it’s a collaborative environment based on their accounts. It was not uncommon to hear about students helping one another practice med school interviews and study in groups for the MCAT and classes. But again, go visit and ask the students personally instead of basing it off of conjecture by these posters who don’t go there.Additionally, The recommendation letter committee is based purely on GPA and character (with a low 3.2 GPA threshold - this is around the average GPA for ALL undergrads (this figure includes the grade deflated engineering students). You would have a higher GPA as a bio major if you are slightly below average in bio. Graduating from Hopkins, you will find a lot more doors open both in terms of med school or career options as opposed to Union. This is due to both reputation and a huge disparity in resources between Hopkins and Union.</p>
<p>thanks a lot for the responses. it’s definitely tough. and just in case anyone was wondering, I think I would like to major in public health, in case that changes anything, although I would have no problem with majoring in biology at union. I know I save A LOT of stress going to union, but I also limit myself a lot as well as blah pointed out so well.</p>
<p>If it was a Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford caliber school, the experience at one of those schools would be unparalleled, but JHU isn’t so great of a school that it may be worth the extra stress. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great school and many would love to go there, but thinking about the practical side Union/Albany looks better. Also, i’ve heard mixed things about JHU pre-med. I’ve heard it’s a lot of work, but manageable. And while there are those competitive types, people generally collaborate. Good luck with your decision - it is a tough debate indeed.</p>
<p>it really is quite the toss up…it’s difficult to come up with a correct answer here.</p>
<p>“If it was a Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford caliber school, the experience at one of those schools would be unparalleled, but JHU isn’t so great of a school that it may be worth the extra stress. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great school and many would love to go there, but thinking about the practical side Union/Albany looks better. Also, i’ve heard mixed things about JHU pre-med. I’ve heard it’s a lot of work, but manageable. And while there are those competitive types, people generally collaborate. Good luck with your decision - it is a tough debate indeed.”</p>
<p>But again, how would you know this? You didn’t go to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Stanford. How would you know the experience is unparalleled? Or what the experience is like at JHU? I attended Stanford, and even I’m not arrogant enough to make that statement. Again with the hearsay from people who’ve attended none of the institutions mentioned.</p>
<p>Remember the Union/Albany program is focused on business side of things. You do have to give up a few summers but you also get an MBA with that MD degree.</p>
<p>When I was at one of my BS/MD interviews (NJMS), I met a JHU alum who took a gap year before applying to med school. She was interviewing at the same three schools I was interviewing at. The difference was that she had several stressful years at JHU before getting to a similar stage. This is just one account, so don’t take it too seriously. There’s a chance you’ll get to a better medical school but there’s a high risk that you won’t. If cost isn’t an issue and you really do not mind going to Union/Albany, then I would take that route.</p>
<p>@Blah2009, You’re right. We should attend every single one of our choices for several years before deciding on one. </p>
<p>I’m not sure about you, but this is not a possibility for most people. We have to make decisions based on limited information we obtain from students who attend those schools, visit the schools, and crunch some numbers. I have visited all of the mentioned schools and talked to students in both programs so I know what I would choose.</p>
<p>I agree, rankings and the opinions of alumni are all most people have to judge a school by. There is enough praise heaped on HYPSM that it’s safe to assume they do offer something superior to other schools, the only question is to what extent. The opinions of many alumni combined trump that of a single source.</p>
<p>I am just going to add my(admittedly highly biased) opinion here. I am freshman in the LIM Union/Albany program, and I absolutely love it. Union is a great school, and while not Johns Hopkins, still has very intelligent students and a great campus community. The program itself is great as well–your first trimester you are already taking a grad class towards the MBA and all the other LIM students are great. While classes are not a walk in the park, I also am not overly stressed, and have time for a lot of extracurriculars and generally having a great college experience.</p>
<p>If you want more specific information feel free to PM me. (I know when I was deciding last year, I was still somewhat confused as to what exactly LIM entailed).</p>
<p>That being said, I have friends who go to JHU(although they are not premed) and they like it there as well.</p>
<p>Hi thestartingline,
I would like to have an idea how to choose courses for the next fall at Union 2013 and also which dorm is the best to live and study without being interrupted by unnecessary noises. Thanks.</p>
<p>Personally, I would chose the combined program. Hopkins is tough for premed. There is a big risk in going there for undergrad because a lot of people realize that they don’t have the academic aptitude to achieve a competitive GPA for med school and subsequently change majors. </p>
<p>My friend is in Hopkins BME and it’s tough for him. I don’t believe he gets much sleep…</p>
<p>I think you are comparing apples with oranges here. If you are sure about becoming a Doctor go for the combined program. Like they say “A bird in hand is better than the two in the bush”. JHU is a great school but you are taking a chance. You may get into a great med school after graduating from there or you may never get into any medical school at all (depending on your grades, MCAT, Interview, etc.). If are very confident in your ability and would like to take up the challenge go for it. As far as cooperative environment is concerned, it is also a no brainer that there is a lot more cooperation in BS/MD programs than Pre-med programs. The reason is obvious. There is little competition between BS/MD students because their place in med school is already guaranteed. Actually, there is a lot of cooperation because no one wants their fellows to drown and not able to stay in the program. In a pre-med program there may be some cooperation but at the same time there is a lot of competition. My observations are also based on my experience with one of such programs. I have taught pre-med students for several years at a BS/MD school (both the ones in UG Pre-med and BS/MD undergratuates).</p>
<p>My son has decided to turn down JHU Biomed for a 7 year bs/md program for same reasons discussed in this thread. One year back it would have been unimaginable to think that he would walk away from such an exclusive program. But a guaranteed admission to any MD program is a gift on a platter and it makes no sense turning it down. So my advise, as a parent who is currently going through the same process, is that you should seriously consider joining the Union/AMC program. btw, AMC is an excellent medical college with great match results. Current Dean of Harvard Brigham women’s hospital is a graduate of the AMC combined bs/md program.</p>
<p>matrix007, is your son going to BU SMED? I got lunch with someone picking between BU and JHU recently.</p>
<p>Just to chime in, I chose BU over Hopkins BME and UPenn for the reasons outlined here, and it’s pretty common to turn down top 10 schools for programs from what I’ve heard. The lower stress and easier requirements are so nice. I’m wrapping up my first year at BU, and so glad that we don’t have the same GPA/MCAT requirements or need to build resumes like other premeds.</p>
<p>No @neoevolution my son has decided to join the 7 year program at Northwestern - with no MCAT requirement, its a real gift I think - though I agree with you that a guaranteed seat at BU with nominal MCAT requirement is a great choice. Congratulations and hope you are enjoying BU and Boston.</p>