<p>We visited several schools in the northeast over last weekend. My husband and I love Cornell's beautiful campus, fresh air, excellent food, and academic diversity. We do think it is a fantastic school to go, but our son decided to attend JHU as a biology/pre-med, because (1) he prefers small school so the teachers may pay more attention to students. (2) he doesn't like Cornell's less flexible selection on "requirement courses".
I personally don't like JHU's environment and food. My son said he will do as what I want if I FORCE him. Do you think I should do that...........?
Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>lol I don't like JHU's environment either but I don't think you should force him as Cornell and JHU are both fantastic schools. What college has he been accepted to at Cornell?</p>
<p>He has been accepted to Cornell's CAS as a biology major.</p>
<p>I could never keep track of all of CAS' requirements. Well, your son is gong to have to take a lot of non-major courses for med school no matter where he goes. I think JHU Med requires 24 credits worth of non-science (that's 6-8 courses).</p>
<p>Wow, of course I don't think you'd find many people on these forums suggesting that you should force your son to go to one school or the other. I also think it's important to let your son, as a high school senior, take ownership over his life. Fortunately, between JHU and Cornell he can't go wrong. </p>
<p>I would try to help him make an informed decision, and understand your point of view. On his first point, it's important to note that graduate students at JHU outnumber undergrads 3:1, and that emphasis may be on research rather than teaching. The same emphasis on research is also true at Cornell, but with the Ithaca campus being dominated by undergraduates, Cornell professors might put more thought into undergraduate teaching. That being said, the ratio of undergraduates to graduates may be more appropriate measures of faculty interaction. Finally (and this may also be true of JHU), but I found that research at Cornell gave interested students a lot of personal interaction with faculty members. </p>
<p>On the second point, your son may be able to enroll in the College Scholar program, which would free him of the general requirements at the College of Arts and Sciences. I think Ag and Hum Ec have relatively few requirements. Moreover, owing to the breadth of Cornell's undergraduate program, he would probably have considerably more options when it comes to ways of filling required distribution courses and electives. </p>
<p>So I would put those arguments out there, and be very happy for him with whatever decision he makes.</p>
<p>Oh, I almost forgot my son has been selected as a Tanner's Dean's Scholar and a Meinig Family Cornell National Scholar. Can you explain the benefits of this programs? Thanks!</p>
<p>I'm biased, but I think Cornell offers a better undergraduate experience -- in terms of campus traditions, social life, extracurriculars, etc. You can't go wrong with JHU, either.</p>
<p>The Meinig program is a great opportunity. He would be in a group of around 30 students and be offered a lot of intimate interactions with professors and administrators on campus. Also, there's decent money provided for summer internships and research. I was in the Tradition program, which is pretty similar.</p>
<p>The class sizes at JHU will be smaller for the introductory courses, but in the upper level courses, they will be the same. I was mostly an econ and history geek, but I did take three bio courses: one introductory course on evolution (around 100 students), one introductory course on nuerobiology and behavior (around 350 students), and a 400 level courses on modeling evolutionary behavior (15 students). All three courses were fantastic, and in the two large introductory courses interested students could take a 15 person writing-intensive supplement course for an additional two credits. </p>
<p>Teacher attention is more a function of how much effort you put in to meet the teachers, not what school you go to. If you are really looking for a hand-holding experience, attend a liberal arts college. </p>
<p>My major concern with JHU for pre-med is that it seems like everybody else at JHU is pre-med, whereas Cornell you have a lot more breadth in student interests.</p>
<p>That said, you shouldn't be forcing your son to go anywhere. Let him choose.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful comments. My husband and I greatly appreciate your responses.</p>