<p>Chicago's great at making you feel stupid. I have no idea where I stand in relation to my peers, but I'm definitely not at the top. I like it that way.</p>
<p>45 percenter, I'm pretty sure most of the other interns here call them 'competitive' too. They aren't as nice as other chicks too. Penn guys in general are more fun than other Ivy league guys though - again, just from my perception out of the few I'm with at work.</p>
<p>I'd especially like to hear from WUSTL students and those that know Yale. Anybody able to comment on the atmoshphere at those two colleges?</p>
<p>Go to the forums for those colleges and do a post search using the words "cutthroat" or "cooperative" and you will find recent discussions. I tried to link to one but I guess I'm not doing it right.</p>
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Penn guys in general are more fun than other Ivy league guys though - again, just from my perception out of the few I'm with at work.
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</p>
<p>True story ;)</p>
<p>Where you working anyway</p>
<p>JHU is most competitive on the lacrosse field. Thethoughtprocess is a Duke student who just watched his team fall to Hopkins in the national championship game 2 out of the last 3 years. I don't blame him for being bitter.</p>
<p>Seriously, Hopkins is a competitive place--particularly for premeds, many of whom are grade obsessed. This is just as true at Duke as JHU. Its even true at--gasp--Brown. Yes, there are no University wide requirements at Brown and you can skip grades if you want---but if you want to go to med school you must take the normal complement of requirements and get good grades in them. But competition is different from cutthroat competition--which I consider to be where one student will try to sabotage another. I never found Hopkins to be cutthroat--although students do like to revel in the myth. Hence a comedy improv group on campus is named "Throat Culture." Most students are cooperative and help each other. I never considered competitiveness to be a bad thing. In fact, in tends to bring out the best from people. If find it odd and somewhat amusing that so many people on CC are proud to have gone to a competitive high school but shy away from competitive colleges.</p>
<p>I have news for you all. The REAL WORLD is competitive. Best to be ready for it.</p>
<p>yeah, when i was in chicago, my professor (or sensei..cause i was taking japanese) made me feel like i was the dumbest person on earth, and it really helps you learn when you do it.</p>
<p>"JHU is most competitive on the lacrosse field. Thethoughtprocess is a Duke student who just watched his team fall to Hopkins in the national championship game 2 out of the last 3 years. I don't blame him for being bitter."</p>
<p>bonanza, </p>
<p>I don't really care about lacrosse that much, though I did watch the championship and thought it was a cool game. And I think going from a canceled season to a really close match against JHU (the best team) is pretty sweet. But again, don't care about lacrosse that much.</p>
<p>JHU is known for much more cutthroat competition among premeds, and for a less vibrant social scene that goes hand-in-hand with that. It might be a function of grade deflation. The schools you mentioned such as Brown and Duke are more known for having friendly student bodies (and a higher average GPA). </p>
<p>johnnyk, </p>
<p>I'm working as a summer analyst in NYC, but I live less than an hour away from Penn so I visit my friends their and definitely find the kids more laid back and fun than almost any other top school academically (including Dartmouth and Brown, though it might just be that my friends at those schools aren't as cool).</p>
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I'm working as a summer analyst in NYC, but I live less than an hour away from Penn so I visit my friends their and definitely find the kids more laid back and fun.
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Except for the Wharton women. ;)</p>
<p>I actually don't disagree--but would simply emphasize your phrase "is known for." Yes--Hopkins does have a reputation for being less laid back than Brown or Duke. But reputation is differennt than reality--and reputation has more to do with what a place was like years ago than today. Today at least, most JHU students have fun as well as work hard. And the "cutthroat" stuff, frankly, was always a myth--mostly perpetuated by Hopkins students to tease underclassman. It is as reliable as a ghost story told by a camp counselor.</p>
<p>45 percenter - haha I'm sorry. Its true that people are much different in their work environment, especially when working tons of hours. I'm going to go ahead and assume you are a Wharton chick?</p>
<p>Nope. :cool:</p>
<p>But I've known quite a few in my time (went to school with 'em)--a fairly competitive bunch.:p But no more competitive than women students/alumni (or men, for that matter) I've known from any other top schools.</p>
<p>And definitely not HYPER-competitive or cut-throat. :eek:</p>
<p>(I know you didn't say that they are, but that's how this whole discussion got started. :))</p>
<p>I go to JHU, am pre-med. I'll say it's hard, <em>almost</em> cutthroat, but not as openly as you hear. The real problems are the non-inflated grades and the fact that lots of people prefer to stay and study 24/7, skewing the curve like hell. </p>
<p>Still, 85%-90% med school acceptance rate speaks for something...all I can say is I fight for my As like mad. Perhaps too much.</p>
<p>Anyone care to comment about Columbia's academic atmosphere?</p>
<p>"I'm personally fond of a teamwork co=op "Do your Best" atmosphere. But, underneath, I love to be thought of as one of the best."</p>
<p>This sounds like Wharton to me.</p>
<p>based on my impressions:</p>
<p>more competitive:
harvard
yale
upenn
columbia
johns hopkins
emory
cornell
washu</p>
<p>less competitive:
dartmouth
brown
northwestern
rice</p>
<p>the rest i don't really have a feel for, and again this is just impressions.</p>
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Still, 85%-90% med school acceptance rate speaks for something
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<p>is JHU's med school acceptance rate really that high? or are you making that up? if it really is that high... impressive.</p>
<p>Yes it is that high. But then someone is going to link to a 5 or 6 year old article that implies that Hopkins screens med school applicants. People just don't realize how different Hopkins is from what it was.</p>
<p>wow, you're right, i just found this article:<a href="http://www.jhu.edu/%7Ejhumag/0402web/wholly2.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/0402web/wholly2.html</a></p>
<p>that's a better med placement rate than any of its peer schools in the rankings</p>
<p>What do you consider a peer school to JHU? Because Rice had 116 students apply to med school last year and 102 were accepted. That gives an acceptance rate of approximately 88%.</p>