Uchicago vs. JHU?

[MforIeveTr]

<p>Hey,
I'm currently in a top30 university majoring in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. I'm thinking about transfer because of my school's lack of internship opportunities. Any opinion on the advantages/disadvantages of Uchicago& JHU?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

[tortoise]

<p>JHU is great but it’s not in UChicago’s league, obviously. If you can get into UChicago, you’ll want to go there. If you can’t, but you can get into JHU, you’ll have a fine experience in Baltimore. Simple enough?</p>

[goldenboy8784]

<p>That’s a ridiculous statement tortoise; JHU and Chicago are academic peers.</p>

[jak321]

<p>That’s a ridiculous statement goldenboy8784.</p>

<p>How do you rate Chicago and JHU as academic peers? Especially in the fields of mathematics and statistics?</p>

<p>USNews:

National Universities:</p>

<h1>4 UChicago</h1>

<h1>13 JHU</h1>

<p>Mathematics (Grad):</p>

<h1>6 UChicago (Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Berkeley are tied for #2, and Chicago is usually considered on par with them… The lead the top 6 have over their peers often results in their being clubbed together in the same tier. Chicago is in the top 5 of several specific specialties in maths, like Analysis and NT, but its barely a top 15 in applied maths)</h1>

<h1>24 JHU</h1>

<p>Statistics:</p>

<h1>5 JHU</h1>

<h1>6 UChicago</h1>

<p>Applied Mathematics:</p>

<h1>14 Chicago</h1>

<p>JHU is unranked

</p>

<p>Forbes:

</p>

<h1>4 UChicago</h1>

<h1>67 JHU (albeit undeservedly so)</h1>

<p>

</p>

<p>In most global rankings (ARWU, QS, Times) you would find a gap of around 7-10 spots between the two universities (In Chicago’s favor)</p>

<p>I’d advise you to take goldenboy’s comments with multiple grains of salt. Some other gems gems of his wisdom have been:</p>

<p>

Chicago, Columbia, and Princeton’s offerings are too limited at the graduate and professional level for them to lay claim as top 10 global universities if we are measuring them by how “comprehensive” they are. Duke, Penn, and yes even your beloved Michigan are much more complete institutions."

</p>

<p>and </p>

<p>

MIT is far more prestigious than UChicago in my opinion. I wouldn’t be surprised if 3/4 of the top math students are enrolled at MIT now. The remaining 1/4 will probably head off to Caltech/Harvard/Princeton/Stanford with the occasional standout going to Chicago/Cornell/Columbia/Duke.

</p>

<p>For mathematics, I don’t think there is much of a comparison. Although Chicago doesn’t have the strongest “Applied Math” degree, it’s theoretical degrees are often considered on par with the likes of Harvard, MIT and Princeton, and it’s math grad school is considered as one of the strongest in the country. It has some of the most rigorous maths courses around and Honors Analysis is often considered as hard as, or even harder than, Math 55 as Harvard (often cited as the toughest freshman course around)</p>

<p>Check out some of these threads:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/758359-mathematics-university-chicago.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/758359-mathematics-university-chicago.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/685415-mathematics-chicago.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/685415-mathematics-chicago.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/551878-math-uchicago.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/551878-math-uchicago.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1107419-undergraduate-math-majors.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1107419-undergraduate-math-majors.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>BUT here is a quote from CC’s resident JHU College Rep</p>

<p>

Based on the most recent data I have seen:</p>

<p>TOP 10 FOR ARTS AND SCIENCES

1. International Studies
2. Public Health
3. Neuroscience
4. Biology
5. Economics
6. Writing Seminars
7. Psychology
8. Political Science
9. History
10. English</p>

<p>TOP 5 FOR ENGINEERING

1. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
2. Biomedical Engineering (limited enrollment major)
3. Mechanical Engineering
4. Computer Science
5. Applied Mathematics</p>

<ul>
<li>One note … most popular major does not always equal strongest major. Though not on this list, Hopkins’ programs in History of Art, Environmental Engineering, Classics, Physics (to name only a few) are also internationally recognized programs of study.

</li>
</ul>

<p>However, although Mathematics is one of Chicago’s most popular majors, I don’t think applied maths is. Add to that JHU slightly superior ranking in Statistics (not worth much) and for your choice of majors, I don’t either institution would have an immediate edge over the other. If you like the quirky intellectual vibe at Chicago, and don’t mind (or downright love) the core, I would advise going to UChicago. If you prefer JHU in those respects, then go there…</p>

<p>BTW why are you limiting yourself to these two universities? For applied maths, there are several better schools out there. Go to a good STEM school like MIT, Caltech, Berkeley and Stanford…</p>

[stupiddorkyidiot]

<p>Johns Hopkins is absolutely a top school. It may not be as well known as UChicago, but honestly, that shouldn’t even be a factor in your decision. At this caliber, college is college everywhere.</p>

<p>Anyway, it’s interesting that you would post this - one of my good friends had a very difficult time choosing between the two. She’s now a sophomore at JHU and loves it. Personally, I would have picked Chicago. I think you should visit both and, if possible, attend classes - there’s no better way to make a decision. Although they’re both good schools, they certainly have their differences, possibly the most important of which is the curriculum. Chicago has a core; JHU does not.</p>

[kenyanpride]

<p>I can’t believe the rubbish that some of the posters on this forum are spouting. JHU is absolutely a peer of Chicago (and arguably superior to it in myriad fields). Pick based on fit. Don’t let any of these rabid cheerleaders bully you into making a decision one way or the other.</p>

[jak321]

<p>Rabid cheerleaders?! BULLYING?! RUBBISH!!! (The “rubbish” I spouted comprises of 4 objective rankings, and the statements of one JHU rep on CC) Your ad hominem remarks are precisely the trademark of those very “rabid cheerleaders” you so vehemently oppose… And did you even read my conclusion?!
Just in case you didn’t:

However, although Mathematics is one of Chicago’s most popular majors, I don’t think applied maths is. Add to that JHU slightly superior ranking in Statistics (not worth much) and for your choice of majors, I don’t either institution would have an immediate edge over the other. If you like the quirky intellectual vibe at Chicago, and don’t mind (or downright love) the core, I would advise going to UChicago. If you prefer JHU in those respects, then go there…

Translation: go with fit. Pretty much EXACTLY what you advised.</p>

<p>And please prove your statement about the two colleges being academic peers. I can cite dozens of rankings, peer assessments, statistics (and did to a small extent). I’d like to see this “myriad”. I have no doubt that JHU is far better in med, and there are perhaps a few other fields where it may be superior, but myriad is far too extreme a term to use, especially following the statement “JHU is absolutely a peer of Chicago”…</p>

<p>In fact, my previous post was a response to Goldenoy’s post. His sentiments are that it is “ridiculous” to suggest that UChicago is a better school than JHU, when in fact, it is a perfectly justifiable opinion. </p>

<p>Also, let there be no doubts in anyone’s minds. I think JHU is an absolutely fantastic school, easily a top 15 school, (THE top in a few fields; Maths and Stats aren’t one of them) but IMO UChicago is second to none in providing an excellent undergraduate education. In fields like mathematics, it is considered on par with schools like MIT and Harvard. As I mentioned in my previous post, this doesn’t apply to applied maths. </p>

<p>PS: Just to clarify a matter of semantics. What do you define as a peer colleges. Maybe its just that our definitions of peers are disjoint.</p>

[MforIeveTr]

<p>Thanks to you all. Both of them are top colleges with diverse focuses, but I guess I’ll choose Uchicago, just for its math department.</p>

<p>Again, thanks a lot</p>

[gravitas2]

<p>^^Reminder. It is going to be extremely difficult to get into Chicago via “transfer” method (about 2.1% chance). I hope you have something outstanding that stands out to the admissions committee…have plenty of backups…good luck!</p>

[Dipali]

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Big thing you must keep in mind is Chicago’s Core. I forget how many credits you need in core to graduate- I think it is 16. This means that you have 3 years to complete this extra course-load. Also, it is a quarter system. While it may allow you to finish more courses, it is for nothing - it is said that fun comes to die here. You have to finish a semester’s worth of work in 10 weeks. Sometimes, brain does need a little more time to have material sink in.
I think that is serious disadvantage that you should give a though as a transfer student. You would have to spend a lot of time doing core durinmg summer instead of internship which is the reason you want to switch.</p>