<p>So I know all of these schools are highly acclaimed on the basis of premed (except for maybe Northeastern, but I will apply for pharmacy) and they all have excellent undergrad programs. </p>
<p>I know that their academics are all outstanding. But I also know that they all have different atmospheres.</p>
<p>Can you wonderful posters here on CC help me in separating out the strong points of the colleges?</p>
<p>How do the college campuses compare (Is the campus beautiful or ugly haha)?
Are the students friendly/welcoming or more to themselves?
How is campus life on and outside of campus?
How is the surrounding city in terms of crime rates, activities...etc?
How big are the sports?
How hard is it to fit in?</p>
<p>And throw in anything else you know about any of the schools haha. You can respond even if you only know about one of the colleges.</p>
<p>All of the schools besides maybe Northeastern are high reaches for me and I will probably apply to only one, maybe two.. But I need to know more info about the schools.</p>
<p>I know more about the locations than the actual quality of the teaching.</p>
<p>If I was about to start college as an undergrad, I would hesitate to go to college in Manhattan. Manhattan is exciting, but tiring and stressful. I’d prefer a place where I could visit NYC regularly, but not live in the middle of it. Also, keep in mind that everything in New York City is extremely expensive - from buying a sandwich to buying fresh fruit and vegetables.</p>
<p>At the same time, I would rather not go to college in an isolated rural cold location. Remember you are at college during the colder and darker months of the year. That would rule out Dartmouth.</p>
<p>In any place, apply to a range of colleges, and don’t feel pressured to make a decision until May 1.</p>
<p>it’s also exhilarating, cosmopolitan, vibrant, diverse and convenient to get around (amazing public transport, no need or advantage to owning a car). </p>
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<p>wrong, most things that a college student would consume are about 10-15% more expensive in NYC than elsewhere. Groceries, sandwiches and meals are all cheap. Rent and high end entertainment are the expensive aspects of NYC, students don’t pay rent and don’t need to go to exclusive night clubs or $100 tasting menus. While the cost of living is more expensive there is also immense competition between bars, restaurants, supermarkets etc which drive prices down. It’s no Greenwich, Connecticut. One of my best friends would cook for himself and spend about $2-4/day total on food. </p>
<p>NYC can be expensive if you want it to be, but it absolutely needn’t be so.</p>
<p>Someone posted on CC that almost everyone who applied to med school from JHU received an offer. if that is true then JHU would be the ideal pre med school.</p>
<p>The most important thing for pre-med is to have a stellar gpa. There are lots of threads on CC that discuss the pros and cons of a high ranked, prestigious college for pre med, vs a smaller, more nurturing LAC. You can definitely get a great education at either kind of place. Also, med school is very expensive. Unless your parents are uber-wealthy or very low income, you are going to have alot of debt from med school. Don’t get stuck with alot of debt from undergrad as well. Look at a range of schools, including some that can give you merit aid. Again, use the search functions on CC. </p>
63% of all Hopkins applicants got into at least one medical school. 88% of students with a 3.3+ GPA got into medical school. Those are good numbers but not particularly unusual; most of the other elite schools boast similar figures. What makes Hopkins relatively unique is the breadth and depth of research opportunities available, both in medicine and public health.</p>
<p>Have you visited any of those colleges? Try to at least attend an information session in your area. Remember, you could be learning, eating, sleeping, having fun, participating in extracurriculars, and working at one of those colleges 24/7 for the next four years…selecting based on online information and glossy brochures is not the ideal method, though it is cost-effective. Continuing the Columbia discussion above, it is one thing to “know” that Columbia is urban; it’s something entirely different to visit Columbia and get a feel for its campus (or lack thereof, depending on what you’re looking for).</p>
<p>warble, the 63% figure for Hopkins that you state is considerably below the over 90% figure that is produced by some of the other “elite schools” such as Princeton (92.5% for those that applied in 2010). Maybe you should check your figures.</p>
<p>College’s stats on med school admissions can be deceiving and sometimes cannot be compared. I have read that some colleges only provide data for students who have been recommended by the college for med school. In other words, the college only “recommends” students who they feel will be accepted. Other colleges aggressively talk students into quitting pre-med programs if they don’t feel they will be accepted. Still other colleges set up weaker students to fail in advanced bio-chem classes so that they don’t apply to med schools.</p>
<p>The medical school at JHU is superb doesn’t mean JHU undergraduate premed program is superb. JHU undergraduate premed program is superb, but not more so than other top schools such as Dartmouth, Columbia, and Duke. Also do you mean Northwestern? Northeastern doesn’t exactly fit into your list.</p>
<p>“warble, the 63% figure for Hopkins that you state is considerably below the over 90% figure that is produced by some of the other “elite schools” such as Princeton (92.5% for those that applied in 2010). Maybe you should check your figures.”</p>
<p>Dartmouth’s rate is about 90%. Can’t find the rates for Columbia and Duke, but it’s not unreasonable to assume that they are somewhere around 80% and 90% as well.</p>
<p>As a practicing physician, I can tell you IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE! Is that too loud? What matters is that you go where you love, major in what interests you the most, get good grades and do well on the MCAT. I went to med school with music majors, French majors, English majors and special ed majors (me). All graduated and are practicing and happy.</p>
<p>Nevermind. pam-b is absolutely right. How well you do at your college matters more than where you go to college. You can get into a top medical school if you are a top student at Northeastern and have an excellent MCAT score. If you go to JHU and don’t make the top 30% there, your chance of getting into a top medical school is very slim even with a great MCAT score.</p>
<p>I think this thread has turned into a comparison of premed schools haha.</p>
<p>What I really wanted to know was what the atmosphere is like at Duke, John Hopkins, Columbia… etc… And I guess now I’ll throw in Holy Cross.</p>
<p>I agree with pam-b, all the med schools I listed are highly acclaimed, and I don’t think it makes much of a difference where I choose for undergrad. If I do well, all these schools will do an excellent job of helping me get into med school.</p>
<p>Thank you to the people who did answer my actual question and who helped me out.</p>
<p>you are best to check student reviews at two webistes:</p>
<p>1) c o l l e g e p r o w l e r.com unfortunately I think they are heavily edited/screened
2) s t u d e n t s r e v i e w.com which appear to be completely unedited.</p>