I’m heavily considering applying EDII to Johns Hopkins. I will be a pre-med student with a focus on medical illustration. Academically, Johns Hopkins is a great fit for me (one of the only US universities with a medical illustration department!).
With that being said, I am not the typical STEM major. Think emo kid… that is me haha. I want to have friends to go to concerts with, friends to share music tastes with, etc.
I understand the stressful environment that I will be entering into, but as a student in 5 APs juggling a part-time job, sports team, and all of my interests, I do expect to be able to have time to at least continue my musical and artistic passions.
Would I fit in? Or would I be miserable? Here, I’m lucky because being in a large new england city, I am surrounded by a large arts and music scene. I’m worried i won’t have this in baltimore or on campus.
If you are worried it might not be a fit, apply RD not EDII. This concept of having to “play your ED card” to maximize chance of admission to reach schools is stressful and unhealthy, in my opinion.
Also keep in mind that medical schools really do not care where you went for undergrad. I am a doctor, and my medical school class of ~100 had only maybe 10 students from T20 schools. The rest came from a wide variety of schools including tiny non-selective schools nobody outside of our state has ever heard of. Medical schools do care about good grades, however, and good grades can be easier to earn at schools that are not “reach” schools. Go to some place that nurtures who you are, ALL of you, not just the part of you that is a high achiever.
While I so do think your would (and maybe will) find plenty to do at JHU and in Baltimore it sounds like you do not know much about the college and area. Keep you options open. Apply RD.
Did you apply ED somewhere and not get in and feel the pressure to EDII somewhere that has the option?
Where else are you looking? There are some others with application dates still open.
Thank you so much for your input! I have been in a competitive, college-centric magnet program since middle school, so getting into a prestigious school has been ingrained in me, honestly - especially as a STEM major. I’m accepted into the honors colleges at the public state universities I applied to, so I do have very good options to resort to.
I completely agree with the EDII pressure. After hearing the input on my thread thus far, I definitely think I’m going to hold off until RD. Thank you again!
You nailed it - I was deferred from Harvard. Totally expected, but definitely deflated my confidence for getting into other top universities and applied the pressure to EDII somewhere.
I’m from Massachusetts and have not been to Baltimore. I am going down for a tour in 2 weeks, but the EDII deadline will have passed by then.
I’m already accepted into the honors colleges at the public state universities that I applied to. I applied to Brown, Columbia, Princeton, NYU, Boston University, and Yale. Since I plan on med school I’d rather go big or go home - if I don’t get into one of my top schools, I’d much rather go to my state university’s honor college for free.
I agree with all the others RD don’t ED2 if fit is the issue. Stating that I went to grad school in Baltimore and my husband did his medical fellowship at Hopkins. Neither of us were at the main Hopkins campus and both of us did our stuff downtown but Baltimore does have an artsy area and many big and little theatres and then there is the Peabody Institute which is an amazing conservatory. One of my favorite restaurants and unfortunately it closed years ago was Louis Bookstore. It had a cool artsy vibe with art to buy on the walls, books you could only find there and was right near the Peabody. Point is Baltimore won’t be an issue….
The campus is really pretty. Of note there are many universities in the area. It isn’t like Boston where you can easily walk between some of them but you can get to all of them so that is a plus too.
U MD is about an hour away if that is your speed and the professional schools are in downtown Baltimore - that’s where I was.
Good luck where ever you end up. Fit is important and whereas the name of the school less important If the goal is to continue studies past that.
Free is a great option to keep available as you look at everything offered later in the Spring. Research more about how much medical school will cost you and the free option will sound even better.
JHU’s undergrad campus is a very different vibe than other places you are looking at. Kids either love it or not so much. It is beautiful, but secluded from the city. Much more suburban feel.
UMass has great art classes and you can always look at summer courses in medical illustration on another campus somewhere else, too. And it is part of the consortium if you want to take courses through that.
Brown is the one on your list of high high reaches for everyone that stands out because of the info you have shared and their course options at RISD next door.