Pre-med, Northwestern v. JHU

<p>Hopkins all the way.</p>

<p>JHU is great. However, just be aware that JHU will not even allow you to apply to med school (even if you do all the reqs if your GPA and MCAT are not up to par). They boast one of the highest acceptance rates in the country. With this said, there are 2 weeding phases. One is, some will get terrible gpas and drop out of pre-med. There are others who will have low grades and continue on. JH will not sign the dean's letters and necessary paperwork for kids with low credentials. What this means is that kids with low stats cannot even apply. I know for a fact what I am saying is substantiated. I have very well connected friends around the country...</p>

<p>absoluetely, in terms that they cannot apply w/ a positive rec, nugrad5555, lol...personally no idea why any school bothers to inform high school students w/ acceptance rates %s...they should be informed once they apply to med schools and then know that you become part of that pool in which only 1 unlucky person out of 10 doesn;t get in lol
anyhow this has been discussed both sides if anyone is interested
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=310041&page=2%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=310041&page=2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>However tough it may seem, some kids are just not cut out for med school and I can't imagine a school like Hopkins supporting a low-achieving student who has no chance. I believe a school like Hopkins, and others for that fact, are qualified to make decisions whether or not to support a candidate through the process. Students must earn their way through the system - top schools are a meritocracy not a warm and fuzzy place where anyone and everyone can sign up to be a doctor. That said, getting that letter of support is really not that tough ... it's something like a 3.0, some research and a good science GPA. It's not unreasonable looking at the whole picture.</p>

<p>Read:
<a href="http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/localstatecolumns/article_1582392.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/localstatecolumns/article_1582392.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I think that statistic "consider that last year 95% of JHU pre-meds were accepted to med school" is a little flawed... 95% of the people who MADE it through JHU's Pre-Med program got into medical school... it is no walk in a park, let me assure you. A real interesting statistic would be what percentage of the people drop out of the program b/c it is so rigorous?</p>

<p>Okay, what if I am fully capable of getting through the pre-med programs at both Hopkins and Northwestern? Then where should I go?</p>

<p>To me, "I got into Johns Hopkins" means "I'll try my best to get through pre-med program and get into med school," not "Now I have to start worrying about being forced out of pre-med".</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins</p>

<p>As someone whose mother works at Hopkins…Northwestern. Hopkins is notoriously unsupportive of its undergraduates. I mean, some professors can be very nice and supportive, but the administration is very, very unhelpful. At least visit.</p>

<p>Northwestern...</p>

<p>Who says JHU-premed is a walk in the park? Every pre-med is competitive!!! I know it may sound horrible, but you shouldn't even apply for a medical school if you are not up to the standard (lower GPA, not so great EC's etc). In the same vein, I don't see any major problem of the pre-screening process. If you're not good enough, you are not good enough..... there are many other good opportunities besides becoming a MD</p>

<p>JHU is located in a relatively safe area of Baltimore (near Charles) and wonderful Opportunities for med-related ECs & research are abundant. Just look at the Hospitals around the Homewood Campus with short walking distance or 5-min ride:</p>

<p>JHU hospital, UofMD hospital, Mercy, St. Joseph?s, Sinai, GBMC</p>

<p>Medical Research Internships :<a href="mailto:NIH@Baltimore">NIH@Baltimore</a>...... so and so forth</p>

<p>Recondita armonia di belleze diverse!.......il mio solo pensier, sei tu, Tosca, sei tu!</p>

<p>As someone who is quite familiar with both Chicago and Balt - Chicago takes the cake (with regard to cuisine - Chicago has better restaurants; and Evanston has some great places for "foodies").</p>

<p>And for being someone who is related to a faculty member at JHU med school/hospital - JHU is notorious for being unsupportive of its faculty members and treating its residents like crap (and btw, JHU hospital is in a very BAD neighborhood).</p>

<p>
[quote]
JHU hospital is in a very BAD neighborhood

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Could you elaborate on your "BAD" neighborhood comment? I hope you don't mean people living there, not to mention their "color"..... hmmm???? You do not want to risk your highly "respected" kinsman following Imus path.......</p>