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[jhibbert]

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[cassyfrog]

Stanford!

 

[RockMcat520]

Stanford!

 

[jhibbert]

Why would you pick your choice?

 

[RinShanKaiHo]

Hopkins! Personally I think Stanford is a little overrated, doesn't mean it's bad school.

 

[TRT7]

Personally I think Stanford is a little overrated...

I wonder what experience this opinion is based upon? Overrated by everyone?

They're both great schools. Stanford wins based on location, and I think the quality of training is similar. You would probably have equal chances in the residency match (no matter the specialty) at both places. Where would you be happier?

 

[Ampharos]

Both awesome schools. Personally chose Stanford because of the research opportunities and funding for stuff outside of medicine (policy, activism, humanities). Agree that quality of training is similar.

 

[curbsideconsult]

Provided money is not an issue? (i.e. forget about scholarships, coa, etc. etc.) These are the dichotomies that come to mind:

Palo Alto vs. Baltimore
1 season vs. 4 seasons
Earthquakes vs. Hurricanes/snowstorms
Carl's Jr. vs no Carl's Jr.
West coast personalities vs. East coast personalities (though pretty much everyone in med school, esp top tier, is going to be Type A)
??? vs. all the free museums in DC

These seem pretty silly, but they're really not (ok, except the Carl's Jr. thing).

Where are you originally from and have you spent significant time living in another location?

 

[trobinsonmd]

Wow, these are both amazing options... I think when you're trying to pick between two schools of this caliber, you really have to look at where you eventually want to end up and how important weather/cost of living is to you. Obviously the cost of living in Stanford and surrounding areas will be nearly double those of Baltimore... so if you don't mind the cold, I would pick Hopkins

 

[seekere]

baltimore blows. go stanford

 

[DBC03]

I lived outside of Baltimore for a year. It would take a lot to get me to move back there. I would go to Stanford if the cost of attendance was the same.


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[Magus5454]

Three words

In n Out.

But seriously hard choice

 

[willow84]

Stanford because I absolutely love the Bay Area.

 

[skk_]

Hopkins! Personally I think Stanford is a little overrated, doesn't mean it's bad school.

Could you elaborate a bit on this? Currently in a similar-ish position as the OP (Stanford vs. another Top 5 school) and while admittedly leaning very strongly towards Stanford, just want to make sure there wasn't something i've overlooked before I commit. My impression of the school especially after second look has honestly been that they're very "appropriately rated" (from talking to people even at other schools, looking at their match list, student happiness/quality of life etc.), and there seemed to be more opportunities for research there than anywhere else due to how their curriculum/research funding is done via MedScholars.

Wow, these are both amazing options... I think when you're trying to pick between two schools of this caliber, you really have to look at where you eventually want to end up and how important weather/cost of living is to you. Obviously the cost of living in Stanford and surrounding areas will be nearly double those of Baltimore... so if you don't mind the cold, I would pick Hopkins

Just wanted to comment on this too in case it influences anyone's decision since it was something I was worried a lot about at first... cost of attendance at Stanford for me (w/o any substantial aid due to it all being all needs-based) actually came out to be by far the lowest of all the schools i'm currently holding acceptances at, mostly due to how much MedScholars/TA defrays the attendance cost, which was a huge surprise. Stanford significantly subsidizes housing too (seems to be 60%+) that makes housing costs actually cheaper than what i'm currently paying atm living in a fairly affordable east coast city lol. I don't feel like i'm that much of an outlier either, since it looks like students who graduate from there have the lowest indebtedness across all medical schools in the country.

 

[574522]

I think it really depends on what feels like a better fit, and if you have any particular non-traditional interests. If you're interested in most types of tech and/or business, Stanford definitely has a leg up. If you're interested in global health, public health, policy, or the under-served then Hopkins has many more opportunities. As far as clinical reputations go, Stanford is definitely considered 'amazing' whereas Hopkins is seen as 'arguably the best'. They'll both get you wherever you want to go residency wise.

It seemed to me during interviews that Hopkins students were happier to be there. A lot (but not all) of the Stanford people I met liked it, but felt almost guilty being there since it was so disconnected from high-need communities and/or turned down places that would've been better fits for their interests. They mostly said they thought the 'brand' would help them going forward. Also, if you're going to feel guilty, there are worst places to go about it than Palo Alto .

 

[iron_sides]

I think it really depends on what feels like a better fit, and if you have any particular non-traditional interests. If you're interested in most types of tech and/or business, Stanford definitely has a leg up. If you're interested in global health, public health, policy, or the under-served then Hopkins has many more opportunities. As far as clinical reputations go, Stanford is definitely considered 'amazing' whereas Hopkins is seen as 'arguably the best'. They'll both get you wherever you want to go residency wise.

It seemed to me during interviews that Hopkins students were happier to be there. A lot (but not all) of the Stanford people I met liked it, but felt almost guilty being there since it was so disconnected from high-need communities and/or turned down places that would've been better fits for their interests. They mostly said they thought the 'brand' would help them going forward. Also, if you're going to feel guilty, there are worst places to go about it than Palo Alto .

Came away with the exact opposite impression of Stanford from students there. Their entire second look pitch was that Stanford students are the happiest medical students and while I was def super cynical initially, after talking to so many students over the last 3 days I can see it. They at very least seem to have the highest quality of life, probs level of faculty support also, and are the most well-adjusted students I've met so far. Even after second look + interview day I didn't encounter anyone who mentioned they felt guilty going there and choose Stanford only due to brand so I def wouldn't describe this as a majority opinion. In terms of disconnection from high need populations if anything almost every student I talked to went out of their way to try to dispel this and talk about while Palo Alto is Palo Alto, Stanford University Hospital is only one of their four training sites and you have no shortage of exposure to under-served populations at the other three. There's cardinal free clinics too.

Count me as another with acceptances at both leaning Stanford. End of the day choosing between any of the top tier schools isn't a decision you can mess up. @jhibbert just reflect on how you felt abt Stanford's second look, go to Hopkins revisit (unless you're going to Harvard's instead lmao), and see where you fit in best.

Edit: Since i've gotten PMed about this several times since I made this comment, and i'm not sure how frequently i'll be logging back into SDN with the semester about to start: I ended up sticking with how I initially was leaning, and choose to go to Stanford over Johns Hopkins.

 

[jhibbert]

Thank you so much everyone, I have decided Hopkins.

 

[574522]

@iron_sides happy to hear that you dug it, and I'm sure you'll have a great 4 years! It's crazy how two people can walk away from the same experience with such different perceptions. Just goes to show that all those adcoms aren't lying with they talk about that magical 'fit'. I do stand by the high-need disconnect though. People are just more likely to volunteer/serve if it's convenient, part of the culture, and in an area that needs it. In terms of raw need, the Bay Area is not comparable to Baltimore (which is a plus for under-served work, but a con for lifestyle), and Hopkins has Bloomberg whereas there's no school of public health at Stanford. That just leads to a different experience on that front. Similar to how Hopkins developing a science + tech park and opening a entrepreneurial B-school is not comparable to being in the heart of Silicon Valley.

P.S. I know OP already made his choice, and this is just for the sake of future lurkers who will obsess over old threads like I have these past months