Johns Hopkins vs Duke vs Brown for Premed

[Superchamp14]

Hi, I'm currently a senior in high school that has been blessed to have been accepted to a number of great undergraduate universities. I will have the option to attend Johns Hopkins, Duke, Rice, and Brown next year and plan to double major in biology and music/economics/public health. I am looking for a semi-competitive but not cutthroat environment where I will be best prepared for medical school or possibly a MD/PhD program. I am interested in hearing your opinion about each school's premed program and how the students do historically in terms of med school acceptance, GPA, MCAT especially from those of you that have attended the specific university.

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[WholeLottaGame7]

I went to Duke and loved it. Chose it specifically because the acceptance rate to medical school was so much higher than my other options. Turns out, some of that was selection bias as the pre-med advisory dean kept it pretty real about telling you your chances to get in somewhere.

It didn't seem like there was as much grade inflation going on as there were at other schools. My GPA was definitely lower than the national average but apparently schools accounted for it because it didn't seem to hurt me (plus my MCAT was high).

We're pushing 11 years now since I graduated, but I'm happy to answer as many specific questions as I can remember.

 

[Person1345]

JHU is as cutthroat as it gets... went there. From what I understand about Brown, there is a serious lack of structure. I'd research Rice and Duke.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Here are my impressions:

Brown has a very flexible curriculum that will basically allow you to study whatever you want and take premed classes alongside that without overstressing your schedule. That can be very helpful if you want to explore different things while still being a premed. They are also notorious for grade inflation (though I hear their organic chemistry class is killer) which can be helpful for medical school applications. They are also a feeder school to a lot of top medical schools, as well as (ostensibly) to their own medical school. I think Brown is likely your best choice.

Duke has a less flexible curriculum and average grade medians (for top schools), so your GPA will likely be lower than it would be at Brown with a similar amount of effort, but not enough that I would use that criteria to make the decision alone. Duke has a strong economics program (obviously their biology program is strong too), high medical school placement (similar to Brown - 80-90%), and is a feeder school to top medical schools. When I went to Blue Devil Days years ago, they told us that Duke applicants above a certain threshold will get automatic interviews at Duke Med. Also if you care about sports, this would be the place for you. I was personally 99% set on going to Duke for undergrad before I changed my mind at the last moment. I think Duke is a very very very close second to Brown for medical school admissions purposes.

Hopkins is a great school, but is grade deflated, screens applicants to medical school (I cannot verify this so maybe current Hopkins undergrads can confirm or deny), and doesn't feed to top medical schools as heavily as Brown or Duke (except to perhaps its own). It has the best public health program in the country, but that shouldn't be the factor that makes your decision. Ultimately, you are going to have to work much harder at Hopkins for the same result than you would at Brown or Duke, and you are more likely to fail to achieve your goal from here. I was accepted to Hopkins, but quickly ruled it out in favor of Duke and the school I ended up attending, and I don't regret my decision. It is a hard school, no doubt about it, but certain types of people thrive there.

Rice is a great school, but doesn't have its own medical school, which is a minus since most schools feed to their own medical school, and doesn't have the nebulous prestige bump that might be associated in varying amounts with the other three. I don't know as much about it as others, but from what I have gathered, it is not as big feeder to top medical schools (though you certainly won't be limited by the school!). I think it should be at the bottom of your list.

I would personally put my list at Brown>Duke>>>>>>>>>Hopkins>>Rice (I think the choice here is really more or less a toss up between Brown and Duke). Ultimately, you should attend the admitted students weekend for all 4 (or perhaps your top 2-3) and see which one you fit into best. That will ultimately play the biggest role in how successful you are rather than the resources of these (utterly fantastic) schools.

Congratulations on having a great decision to make!

 

[Toutie]

Here are my impressions:

Brown has a very flexible curriculum that will basically allow you to study whatever you want and take premed classes alongside that without overstressing your schedule. That can be very helpful if you want to explore different things while still being a premed. They are also notorious for grade inflation (though I hear their organic chemistry class is killer) which can be helpful for medical school applications. They are also a feeder school to a lot of top medical schools, as well as (ostensibly) to their own medical school. I think Brown is likely your best choice.

Duke has a less flexible curriculum and average grade medians (for top schools), so your GPA will likely be lower than it would be at Brown with a similar amount of effort, but not enough that I would use that criteria to make the decision alone. Duke has a strong economics program (obviously their biology program is strong too), high medical school placement (similar to Brown - 80-90%), and is a feeder school to top medical schools. When I went to Blue Devil Days years ago, they told us that Duke applicants above a certain threshold will get automatic interviews at Duke Med. Also if you care about sports, this would be the place for you. I was personally 99% set on going to Duke for undergrad before I changed my mind at the last moment. I think Duke is a very very very close second to Brown for medical school admissions purposes.

Hopkins is a great school, but is grade deflated, screens applicants to medical school (I cannot verify this so maybe current Hopkins undergrads can confirm or deny), and doesn't feed to top medical schools as heavily as Brown or Duke (except to perhaps its own). It has the best public health program in the country, but that shouldn't be the factor that makes your decision. Ultimately, you are going to have to work much harder at Hopkins for the same result than you would at Brown or Duke, and you are more likely to fail to achieve your goal from here. I was accepted to Hopkins, but quickly ruled it out in favor of Duke and the school I ended up attending, and I don't regret my decision. It is a hard school, no doubt about it, but certain types of people thrive there.

Rice is a great school, but doesn't have its own medical school, which is a minus since most schools feed to their own medical school, and doesn't have the nebulous prestige bump that might be associated in varying amounts with the other three. I don't know as much about it as others, but from what I have gathered, it is not as big feeder to top medical schools (though you certainly won't be limited by the school!). I think it should be at the bottom of your list.

I would personally put my list at Brown>Duke>>>>>>>>>Hopkins>>Rice (I think the choice here is really more or less a toss up between Brown and Duke). Ultimately, you should attend the admitted students weekend for all 4 (or perhaps your top 2-3) and see which one you fit into best. That will ultimately play the biggest role in how successful you are rather than the resources of these (utterly fantastic) schools.

Congratulations on having a great decision to make!

see bolded...What's your opinion of pre-med at Rice @mimelim?

 

[mimelim]

Here are my impressions:

Brown has a very flexible curriculum that will basically allow you to study whatever you want and take premed classes alongside that without overstressing your schedule. That can be very helpful if you want to explore different things while still being a premed. They are also notorious for grade inflation (though I hear their organic chemistry class is killer) which can be helpful for medical school applications. They are also a feeder school to a lot of top medical schools, as well as (ostensibly) to their own medical school. I think Brown is likely your best choice.

Duke has a less flexible curriculum and average grade medians (for top schools), so your GPA will likely be lower than it would be at Brown with a similar amount of effort, but not enough that I would use that criteria to make the decision alone. Duke has a strong economics program (obviously their biology program is strong too), high medical school placement (similar to Brown - 80-90%), and is a feeder school to top medical schools. When I went to Blue Devil Days years ago, they told us that Duke applicants above a certain threshold will get automatic interviews at Duke Med. Also if you care about sports, this would be the place for you. I was personally 99% set on going to Duke for undergrad before I changed my mind at the last moment. I think Duke is a very very very close second to Brown for medical school admissions purposes.

Hopkins is a great school, but is grade deflated, screens applicants to medical school (I cannot verify this so maybe current Hopkins undergrads can confirm or deny), and doesn't feed to top medical schools as heavily as Brown or Duke (except to perhaps its own). It has the best public health program in the country, but that shouldn't be the factor that makes your decision. Ultimately, you are going to have to work much harder at Hopkins for the same result than you would at Brown or Duke, and you are more likely to fail to achieve your goal from here. I was accepted to Hopkins, but quickly ruled it out in favor of Duke and the school I ended up attending, and I don't regret my decision. It is a hard school, no doubt about it, but certain types of people thrive there.

Rice is a great school, but doesn't have its own medical school, which is a minus since most schools feed to their own medical school, and doesn't have the nebulous prestige bump that might be associated in varying amounts with the other three. I don't know as much about it as others, but from what I have gathered, it is not as big feeder to top medical schools (though you certainly won't be limited by the school!). I think it should be at the bottom of your list.

I would personally put my list at Brown>Duke>>>>>>>>>Hopkins>>Rice (I think the choice here is really more or less a toss up between Brown and Duke). Ultimately, you should attend the admitted students weekend for all 4 (or perhaps your top 2-3) and see which one you fit into best. That will ultimately play the biggest role in how successful you are rather than the resources of these (utterly fantastic) schools.

Congratulations on having a great decision to make!

see bolded...What's your opinion of pre-med at Rice @mimelim?

Rice doesn't have it's own medical school, but it is heavily affiliated with Baylor. While from an administrative perspective, the fact that they are separated may be a negative, the fact that you are across the street from the entire Texas Medical Center (ie. MD Anderson, Baylor, UT-Houston, Houston Methodist, etc) makes it a bit of a moot point. I certainly didn't go there as an undergrad, but have had several classmates in medical school from Rice as well as have had former Rice students working with/for me. I don't think that there will be any appreciable difference between your application coming out of Rice rather than any of the other schools.

I will say however, that these schools are in very different locales. The feel of the campuses is quite different. It is hard for me to really imagine picking between these schools because they aren't really that similar.

 

[efle]

I'd forget JHU right off the bat, they're notoriously intense/deflated/cutthroat.

Duke is one of the premed powerhouses, like JHU, but less intense and in a very different location.

Brown would be my personal choice, very inflated relaxed academics and happy students, and I'd prefer the location myself.

In the end you can't really go wrong. Lots of people are very successful at all these schools.

 

[Goro]

Rice is a great UG school, with a rotten football team to prove it!

Rice doesn't have it's own medical school, but it is heavily affiliated with Baylor. While from an administrative perspective, the fact that they are separated may be a negative, the fact that you are across the street from the entire Texas Medical Center (ie. MD Anderson, Baylor, UT-Houston, Houston Methodist, etc) makes it a bit of a moot point. I certainly didn't go there as an undergrad, but have had several classmates in medical school from Rice as well as have had former Rice students working with/for me. I don't think that there will be any appreciable difference between your application coming out of Rice rather than any of the other schools.

I will say however, that these schools are in very different locales. The feel of the campuses is quite different. It is hard for me to really imagine picking between these schools because they aren't really that similar.

 

[randomguy123456]

Hi, I'm currently a senior in high school that has been blessed to have been accepted to a number of great undergraduate universities. I will have the option to attend Johns Hopkins, Duke, Rice, and Brown next year and plan to double major in biology and music/economics/public health. I am looking for a semi-competitive but not cutthroat environment where I will be best prepared for medical school or possibly a MD/PhD program. I am interested in hearing your opinion about each school's premed program and how the students do historically in terms of med school acceptance, GPA, MCAT especially from those of you that have attended the specific university.

John Hopkins, Duke, Rice, AND Brown? DEMMMMM DANIEL, DAMMMMMMMMM

 

[DokterMom]

I'd agree with what's been posted elsewhere -- Eliminate JHU due to cutthroat and grade deflation. The other three are all great choices.

Rice seems to be getting a bit of undeserved under-appreciation (regional bias?), when in fact it's close ties to Baylor and opportunities in the TX Med Ctr (largest in the world) as well as the top-notch education geared toward teaching undergrads should not be discounted. Rice also has a very strong music program and Houston is one of the few cities in the US with ALL of the major performing arts as well as an incredible food scene, international vibe and a thriving gay culture. The weather sucks, but there's much else to love.

Really, Duke, Brown or Rice are ALL great choices, so pick the one where you think you will thrive the most. And if there's a significant financial difference, that should factor in as well.

 

[dafuturesurgeon]

JOHNs HOPKINS is my vote... but hey im not qualified to even apply.. but its my goal for med school so maybe i'll see you there some day ️

 

[BraveNewWorld]

Seems to late to comment now, but Brown all the way.

 

[Law2Doc]

Bear in mind that at some of these you'll actually have a better time not being a "premed" and some of the competitiveness that goes along with that. And don't double major just for med school. Med schools won't care. You can just take the prereqs and major in anything.

 

[Superchamp14]

I appreciate all your comments and insight! It's been four years since my post, but I thought I would provide an update so that current seniors with similar choices can have some extra information for reference. I decided on Duke as the combination of stellar academics and faculty, premedical opportunities, sports and social culture was the best fit for me personally, though Brown was a serious contender. Looking back, the premed education at Duke was quite good - lots of opportunities to shadow and volunteer in the Duke health system, DukeEngage funded trips to serve abroad, and several programs to work with students and members of the Durham community. In addition, faculty are very open to mentoring research projects in a wide range of disciplines - you certainly will be able to apply your different skill sets. I will say, however, that there is a substantial amount of weeding out in the intro courses with rigid grade distributions set by departments (ochem curved to C+, bio to B+, physics to B-). Further, the prehealth committee does not recommend all applicants, and without a letter of support, applicants usually will not be given a serious look. The advertised 91% acceptance rate to medical school is in reality the rate at which students apply after weeding out and committee screening so that statistic should be cautiously taken into consideration.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed my experiences as a premed student at Duke and would make the same decision again. It is definitely a place that the motivated and academically-driven student can be successful given the wide range of resources available. In my current cycle, I have received multiple T20 interviews and acceptances and do believe that attending Duke has afforded these results. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[md2be2028]

I appreciate all your comments and insight! It's been four years since my post, but I thought I would provide an update so that current seniors with similar choices can have some extra information for reference. I decided on Duke as the combination of stellar academics and faculty, premedical opportunities, sports and social culture was the best fit for me personally, though Brown was a serious contender. Looking back, the premed education at Duke was quite good - lots of opportunities to shadow and volunteer in the Duke health system, DukeEngage funded trips to serve abroad, and several programs to work with students and members of the Durham community. In addition, faculty are very open to mentoring research projects in a wide range of disciplines - you certainly will be able to apply your different skill sets. I will say, however, that there is a substantial amount of weeding out in the intro courses with rigid grade distributions set by departments (ochem curved to C+, bio to B+, physics to B-). Further, the prehealth committee does not recommend all applicants, and without a letter of support, applicants usually will not be given a serious look. The advertised 91% acceptance rate to medical school is in reality the rate at which students apply after weeding out and committee screening so that statistic should be cautiously taken into consideration.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed my experiences as a premed student at Duke and would make the same decision again. It is definitely a place that the motivated and academically-driven student can be successful given the wide range of resources available. In my current cycle, I have received multiple T20 interviews and acceptances and do believe that attending Duke has afforded these results. PM me if you have any questions.

Thank you so much for coming back to complete the post with a full circle! I am a high school senior and trying to make my final decision with the similar choices...I'd like to PM you with more questions if you don't mind.