<p>I started going to jhu in the fall and left halfway for medical reasons. I did not complete the hole semester. In all honesty, despite the amazing academics, I thought Hopkins was way too intense - students only ever talked about work etc.</p>
<p>I didn't apply for finaid at the time because I was international but I now have a green card and I am a MD resident. I am planning on doing biology/psychology premed an then going on to medical school.</p>
<p>I was wondering, if jhu was 60000 a year (and I did apply for admission to UMD) what should I consider? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Here are some points to consider:
-umd ill cost 20000 vs Hopkins costing 60000
-Hopkins is highly ranked and recognized so I have a very hard time giving up this status and I must admit I like people assuming I'm smart etc because I go there (superficial, yes, but I am facing a difficult period)
-Hopkins was small and I hated the location, I thought the students were annoying and egocentric
-umds size seems overwhelming but I guess since I live close to do it'll be comforting?
-rec letters will be harder to get from teachers at umd for med school, as well as research opps
-I think umd is less competitive, which could give me a confidence boost if I feel like I am doing well in my classes </p>
<p>I may be highly mistaken with a lot of what I said. So by all means, call me out. I am so stuck. I just don't know what to do.</p>
<p>I also have a further option of studying in at the u of toronto for 15000 a year or so, (world bank pays 75 percent college tuition abroad) but I don't know if I'll get accepted nor do I know if I want to go to to toronto and do premed and bio there....</p>
<p>Everybody in-state from MD at Hopkins had scholarship offers from UMD, so they likely faced cost disparities (perhaps not similar in magnitude to your situation) just as you do now. It is a state school, so you’d likely have to work harder to get research opportunities and individualized attention (unless you’re in the honors program). Do not however assume, you’d do well at UMD however, simply because Hopkins is a lot more selective to get in. The curves at UMD are strict, and while you’d likely do better there than at Hopkins, you’d still need to score well above the curve to get As. Honestly, no college is worth going to if you can’t stand it. It will also detrimentally affect you academically. Look into UMD and UToronto and see if they would be better social and academic fits. Hopkins is definitely a tough place (full of helpful people who are also overachievers. This might make you feel insecure if you dominated high school but aren’t scoring at the top of the class in college), but the opportunities afforded to its graduates are amazing. You just have to try hard to find your niche of friends. I found mine via a volunteering club and a club in my major.
While I turned down an invitation to the Gemstone program and a Banneker key scholarship at UMD for Hopkins, I know others who turned down Hopkins, MIT, Stanford for the same program and scholarships. Point is, you still need to be smart to do well at UMD as the kids at the top of the heap likely got into Hopkins and other elite privates as well.</p>
<p>I haven’t heard back from UMD yet because I didn’t apply for the priority deadline, but suppose I got into the honors program (can someone explain to me what the gemstone thing is as well?), would this reflect well on med school applications? </p>
<p>I knew at Hopkins the premed advising program was amazing but basically everyone was premed and it was overwhelming you know? I definitely have drive, focus etc but it was small and we were in a sense constricted to a bubble. </p>
<p>I’d be going back as a fresh,an all over again in the fall, covered grades are appealing to me… But 60000 for an education? Is that worth it?</p>
<p>If you plan to go to med school, remember that it’s really expensive. Loading up on hundreds of thousands in debt during undergrad (unless you can afford the 60 grand a year) is not exactly a good idea.</p>
<p>Maybe wait until you get your admissions decision back before you set your sights on a school/make a complete decision.</p>
<p>I’m a Maryland resident and my stats were good enough to get into Hopkins so I’m assuming I will at least get in to umd as a regular student. No idea about the honors program etc, it seems very competitive</p>
<p>You left halfway through your first semester at Hopkins for medical reason and come back to bad-mouth your classmates. I don’t like that. I know a lot of happy Hopkins students. I doubt that you’ll be happy on any campus with that kind of attitude.</p>
<p>Idk, you may want to check with UMD just to be sure. This doesn’t mean that you can’t still apply to honors or scholars after going there for a semester or two</p>
<p>I’m not bad mouthing the students, and the school itself offered tons of great opportunities but if I am going to pay 60 grand a year… yeah, I am going to consider the students lol, and if as a whole I thought they weren’t very nice, isn’t that up to me to decide? :p</p>
<p>I made some fantastic friends don’t get me wrong. My floor was awesome. But other than that, the students weren’t really friendly if you know what I mean. I got the wrong vibe from them and I felt that they all had this one common goal which was to go to medical/law school - it felt a little narrow minded in some ways…</p>
<p>thundercatsgo, then you really didn’t put yourself out there did you? I meet new people all the time at Hopkins and (except for a few exceptions) they were all really nice and willing to talk. Did I immediately become best friends with everyone I met? Of course not. Find one school where everyone is so friendly that you can become friends with anyone instantly. Learn to meet new people before judging them. By the sound of it, I think you’re the egocentric and standoffish one.</p>
<p>Also, yellowdog is correct about needing priority admissions to be considered for honors at UMD. I would know since I applied there my senior year of high school.</p>
<p>You need to talk to the financial aid office at Hopkins to see if you even qualify for financial aid. Some schools, many similar to JHU have stipulations for those who applied and started without applying for fin aid and then wanted it later. They may have a sit out period or if your family finances are the same as when you first applied, you may not be considered for aid. That you were not eligible as foreign student may or may not come into the picture. Do ask what the policies are at the school.</p>
<p>The big question is what you and your family are able and willing to pay. If JHU is affordable, then it is a matter of balancing whether it is worth the cost diffferential. If it is not, then your answer is right there.
Even without merit money, UMD is a lot less expensive, even with OOS status than JHU.</p>
<p>I was in a similar situation. I was accepted to JHU and ended up having to decide between JHU and UMCP. I ultimately chose UMCP. </p>
<p>The biggest factor in my choice was cost. UMCP offered me a good scholarship, while JHU would have cost me $60k a year. In retrospect, I don’t know if I made the right choice. I have found that UMCP is not the school for me for many reasons relating to both academics and the school as a whole. </p>
<p>In terms of academics, the acceptance rate is so high that some students are just unmotivated. This resulted in some of the worst group project experiences of my life. Don’t get me wrong; there are definitely intelligent people, but they are definitely more rare than at a more competitive school. </p>
<p>As a large school, UMCP class registration is hell. You literally have to FIGHT for spaces in the classes YOU NEED FOR YOUR MAJOR. This made me really angry. </p>
<p>Many UMCP graduates I’ve talked to hated UMCP. However, if you can last the four years, it’s definitely a really good value school. I don’t think I can do that, so I’ve already decided on transferring for the reasons I’ve stated above.</p>
<p>For everyone who thinks I am bad mouthing my peers: I made friends who were fantastic, I had a situation that is too personal to post here but that I summarize in a different way. Just accept it please. I had a pretty traumatizing experience for many different reasons. I just wanted some advice…</p>
<p>you don’t sound like you’re bad mouthing your peers. I think you just had a bad experience because you expected something you didn’t get, which I get a lot from kids from hopkins. a fair amount have transferred to gtown and the atmosphere is a lot more relieving in part because the city is nicer and it’s not a constricting bubble where the students let out their “snaky” attitude. and yes, I did get into JHU back in 08. I’m not some bitter student. mind you, their preprofessional program is amazing and if it is the best ranking school you should still consider it.</p>
<p>I also think you shouldn’t listen to some of the cc’ers on this forum trying to wear you apart. your undergraduate education will have a lasting impact on you, but in the grand scheme of things it is what you make of it but if the students are pretentious and “intense” as you describe them, that doesn’t mean you can’t handle difficult courses it just means you’re mature.</p>
<p>message me if you want any help. my brother is going through a similar situation as you and I may be able to give you some advice.</p>