Harvard vs Hopkins

[firesign08]

I'm super fortunate to be at this point of the cycle and have two amazing offers from Harvard and Hopkins. I am having a hard time deciding between the two programs and would appreciate any insight or advice y'all may have.

I am interested in getting an MPH while in medical school and see myself working in the health policy and health advocacy fields (think CDC, NIH, WHO, Health NGO Leadership). I am undecided on specialty, but could see myself going into psychiatry, pediatrics, or cardiology.

Johns Hopkins (Full COA)
Pros

• I visited during SLW and loved the medical school community. The Office of Diversity lecture we were given was great, and I learned about a lot of community outreach initiatives I could take part in
• I like the design of the curriculum where we start with anatomy and have protected time during this period to adjust to medical school, since extracurriculars/clubs are not allowed to reach out to first-year students during anatomy.
• Bloomberg School of Public Health is world-renowned. Proximity to DC would be great for policy work.
• Baltimore is a more diverse city and has a lower cost of living, which would allow me to save and start residency on a good financial footing
• Match list for my specialities of interest shows students going all over the US for residency programs, which is great because I am not tied to a specific location
• College System seems great at building community

Cons

• Safety of Baltimore (I had a good impression of the area when I visited during SLW but I am not used to living in cities and would like to have peace of mind on the day-to-day)
• Would have to seek outside funding for MPH year tuition, which has been up in the air lately (possibly won't be an issue in the next 3-4 years)
• Lower (??) relative prestige than Harvard outside of medicine

Harvard (REACH Scholarship -- $24k Loans over 4 years)
Pros

• Plethora of research opportunities due to the high number of faculty members
• Mentorship seems to be stronger at Harvard
• The weight the Harvard name carries in Medicine . . . although Hopkins may have a higher name in Public Health
• MPH year would be covered financially by my Reach scholarship. I wouldn't have to worry about finding outside funding.

Cons

• Match outcomes for my specialities of interest tend to be concentrated in Massachusetts and the East Coast. I am hoping not to stay on the East Coast for residency.
• I didn't get to visit for SLW but I've heard of HMS having more gunner personality types and people interested in going into consulting/tech/business after getting their MD
• HMS doesn't emphasize community service and doesn't seem to have a lot of high-quality community engagement projects ongoing. I have also heard that HMS doesn't have a good relationship with community organizations, which is something that's important to me.
• Taking out loans to cover some of my living expenses is not ideal, especially since Boston has a high cost of living

Summary: I know I can't make a wrong choice here when deciding between these two amazing programs! I just want to make sure that I am not closing doors for myself by picking one option over the other. Let me know what you would choose if you were in my position.

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[newkungfukenny]

JHU --- way better fit mission-wise (Capitol Hill proximity and health policy seems to be huge at Hopkins) and way more money. I might be biased, but I feel like JHU has an equal name in medicine and public health 🫡

$24k is still a steal for Harvard. But based on your pros and cons I think you might fit more in at Hopkins!!

 

[Iron Man23]

You seem like you’d fit and want to be at Hopkins more. Name wise Harvard may have slightly more name cred but Hopkins is still world famous.

 

[hydroflaskhomie]

I think there are some serious pros to Harvard - I wouldn't count on outside funding for anything Public Health related right now which means you'd come out ahead at Harvard financially.

I don't know the specifics of Harvard's match list but I would suspect that 1. People stay at the MA places because they tend to be the most prestigious residency programs, 2. Boston is a nice city to stay in (not as true for Baltimore if you're not from there).

It's great that Hopkins already has a lot of community service work ongoing but unfortunately med school is very busy and I think people tend to overestimate how much time they can spend in their community - if you have the time, I am more than certain that you can do something very cool in Boston.

Between these options, mainly due to the free MPH at Harvard and significantly preferring Boston to Baltimore, I'd choose Harvard.