Princeton vs. JHU (BME) vs. Penn vs. Rice

The May 1st deadline is approaching and I’m having trouble making a decision. Was hoping the CC community could give me some insight. I’m a premed student choosing between Princeton, JHU, Penn, Rice and some other schools. From my current perspective:

Princeton:
Most “prestigious”, for what that’s worth
Not great for GPA

JHU (BME):
Very interested in BME, top program in the country
Not great for GPA

Penn:
Most balanced, academic and social
Some grade inflation

Rice:
140k cheaper because of scholarships
Some grade inflation

Visitied all the schools. Not super picky based on fit. Could see myself going any of these places. Would making myself miserable trying to maintain a good GPA at Princeton or JHU BME be worth it? Or should I take the easier route and money at Rice? Does choosing a more prestigious school matter for med school and future success?

All of these schools are very prestigious and going to one over the other will not matter for medical as long as you do well. Since Rice is so much cheaper it might be a good school to go to unless price is not a factor for you.

@PastryChef1212 - great choices - congrats. I chose Rice because of (a) small size, (b) more UG focus, (c) residential college system, (d) great student / alum population, (e) excellent research opps, (f) great majors, (g) and so on.

  • agree with it is cheaper due to scholarships, but don’t take up thinking it is any easier than other schools.
  • JHU and Penn have their own med schools while Princeton and Rice don’t. I heard a lot of conflicting theories on whether it is good to go with either. My decision was based on (a) ability to work hard and smart, (b) maintain high GPA, (c) score well on MCAT, (d) do research, (e) participate in extracurricular activities, (f) get the attention of profs, (g) etc.

In terms of prestige, a slight difference in overall ranking does not make much difference.

@PastryChef1212 as a pre-med choosing their undergrad school I feel these should be the criteria to consider: does the school have some grade inflation?, does the school have a med school and as a result access to research opportunities( important for med school applications). These are the two main points. Of course fit is a big consideration, and a bit less important is what you want to study and the overall standing of the school.

Out of these Penn and Rice have more grade inflation.
Penn and Hopkins have medical schools on campus. I know for Penn that research opportunities are very easily accessible by undergrads and I imagine this is the same at Hopkins, but I don’t know for sure.
In terms of strength in bionengineering it is :
Hopkins > Penn > Rice > Princeton
In terms of overall prestige/standing and undergrad quality it is :
Princeton > Penn > Hopkins > Rice

Since you are not picky about fit I would pick Penn based on the above.

Unless you/parents are wealthy save the money and go to Rice. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of research opportunities. Lots of premeds go there and obtaining the necessary GPA will be easier. Penn has pretty strong grade inflation so it’s not a bad choice. I think if you are pretty solid on premed then avoiding Princeton and JHU-BME is a smart plan.

Oh yea I forgot the part about cost. Everything that I said above requires that the extra cost of not going to Rice will not lead you to take on big loans or really strain the family budget. No school is with going into debt especially when you have a top choice like Rice. But if cost is not an issue I d go with Penn.

@pastrychef1212

Penn could be a big benefit because they have a top 5 research hospital literally right across the street from the University (Spruce Street) and students just walk to it. The opportunity for students to be involved in research, work, or volunteer at a facility like that within a short walking distance could be very valuable.

JHU has a top research hospital too, but it is a few miles away, and not on the main campus.

Rice. It’s got top-notch programs in a fantastic environment and is surrounded by some of the best medical facilities and hospitals anywhere. Even without the difference in price, I’d say it should be a serious contender, but with the differential, it’s a no-brainer.

Rice has an outstanding medical center next door here you can do research and get a "leg up "on med school admissions.
With the scholarship $$ Rice is an absolute no brainer, since no one knows what it will cost to go to Med School 4+ years from now.

Save the $140k- literally: since you are saying that it is possible for somebody to pay that, have it put into a savings account (guessing $35K/pa). If you go to med school you will be unbelievably happy to have it waiting for you. If you go PhD you can (depending on the region) buy or put a substantial downpayment on a house/apt Do that Year 1 of PhD program, get some roommates, use that to pay the mortgage. Five/six years later you get your PhD & if you want to move you should have enough equity to sell up and buy something wherever you are moving.

The only issue might be if you changed your mind and decided to go into something else – then you’d want to re-evaluate these schools. For instance, if you wanted to work on Wall Street, Princeton or Penn would be the play. For IR, Hopkins, Princeton or Penn.

But for your stated interests, or if you stay in STEM generally, bank the $140k, go to Rice, and use that $$$ for med school or something else if med school doesn’t come to fruition.

Go to Princeton +1.