Johns Hopkins vs New York University?

[nomadpasha]

Hey guys,

this is my first post here. I am interested in doing pre-med and studying biology, psychology, or neuroscience as undergrad and then applying to medical school.

It's down to 2 choices for me JHU or NYU, and I would like to hear your opinions about the two schools.

I heard that GPA is very important for medical schools, so here's my conundrum:

Would it be better to go to NYU and potentially have a much higher GPA in sciences there because I heard the JHU is super cut throat and is much harder to get good grades than at other schools. While I know that the quality of education at NYU wouldn't be as great at JHU. But also, I feel that NYC is a cooler place to go to school in comparison to Baltimore, so I am in favor of picking NYU for the overall experience. Do you think that's not very smart? Thank you!

ps. I only have a week left to make up my mind and I'm stressing out!!

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[plsfoldthx]

JHU so you can be like dr house

 

[NormaMD]

Don't pick your undergrad based on getting into medical school. You just don't know what you'll want to do 4 years from now, and there is no way you can reason out which will be more helpful anyway. I completely changed my mind completely.

I went to JHU and loved it. I also knew people who hated it. I didn't think JHU was cutthroat, but the pre-med classes are very large and this can make it more difficult to get personal attention, etc. I was in a very small major and got a lot of guidance and individual attention, but friends in larger majors did not feel the same way.

When I was applying to colleges, I thought the major difference between NYU and JHU was the campus. Do you want to live on a beautiful green oasis in the midst of a quirky mid-sized city, or do you want to live right in the middle of the action in NYC? These will be very different lifestyles.

One advantage of JHU that I didn't appreciate until I left was the sheer number and accessibility of research opportunities. If you want to do research, you can essentially walk into a lab and pick up a pipette. The possibilities are endless and faculty are very open to having undergrad researchers.

Good luck with the decision! PLEASE pick your college based on where you want to spend 4 extremely formative years. Your goals and interests WILL change completely during college, and if you are still interested in medicine, you will be well-prepared by either school.

 

[kosmarciukas]

Welcome to SDN! oh man, I'm in a similar boat. I think that no matter where you go, it's what you make of it. You might have to work a little harder at JHU to get those A's that adcoms wanna see, but the study habits you develop will benefit you once you get to med school.

On the other hand, you might have a little more room to stand out and shine at NYU if you worked just as hard because they graduate only a handful of neuro majors (maybe 20-30?) each year, whereas at JHU you're just another grain of sand in the sandbox. I'm still an undergraduate myself, but speaking to a lot of older people I get the impression that you should enjoy your college years as much as you can. Not that you can't do that at JHU, but I think you'd have a much better overall experience in NYC (social scene, night life, etc.).

However, it also depends on what you want to do outside of your major. JHU doesn't have a core curriculum in which you have to take a bunch of classes that might seem uninteresting to you, so that's a huge plus. At NYU, you might get a more well-rounded education. So I would suggest that you stick with NYU. But that's only speculation that's based solely on my opinion, not any facts. Good luck!

 

[Cytotoxic]

Hopkins being "super cutthroat" is a load of ****. Students aren't graded against others in most (any?) courses, so this kind of competition is discouraged.

NYU has better student life, Hopkins has much better academics and (from what I've heard) a more supportive faculty and administration due to its small size (~ 1200 undergrads/class).

 

[NormaMD]

I'm still an undergraduate myself, but speaking to a lot of older people I get the impression that you should enjoy your college years as much as you can. Not that you can't do that at JHU, but I think you'd have a much better overall experience in NYC (social scene, night life, etc.).

However, it also depends on what you want to do outside of your major. JHU doesn't have a core curriculum in which you have to take a bunch of classes that might seem uninteresting to you, so that's a huge plus. At NYU, you might get a more well-rounded education. So I would suggest that you stick with NYU. But that's only speculation that's based solely on my opinion, not any facts. Good luck!

Baltimore definitely has nightlife, but it is probably less of a scene than NYC. However, I never felt like I was lacking for options. A lot of the bars and restaurants are really unique, comfortable places.

As for the core curriculum, that is a great point. I LOVED having the freedom to choose my classes without having to deal with a core curriculum. This allowed me to double major and avoid taking typical freshman classes that I would not have liked as much. JHU really gives you the freedom and responsibility to choose your own classes. I had friends who used that to take as many hard and interesting classes as possible, and I had other friends who took fluffy classes for 4 years... (Considering that, you can definitely preserve a high GPA if that is your top goal, but most Hopkins students are more interested in taking hard and interesting classes than safeguarding their GPAs.)

 

[circulus vitios]

Whichever is cheaper.

 

[MilkmanAl]

School-specific bound.

 

[tjluke25]

without a doubt go to NYU...you won't regret your choice to go to nyc over baltimore...and if youre smart enough it doesn't matter where you go, you can get into any medical school

also, there are tons of research opportunities in NYC, so although NYU isn't known for its research in itself...you could easily live in the city over the summer and seek out a research lab at sloan kettering or some other cool place

i know a guy from JHU undergrad who got into a top flight medical school with me and we talked at the revisit and his biggest complaint about johns hopkins was that the students suck...he had very little fun in college

 

[Cytotoxic]

...freedom to choose my classes without having to deal with a core curriculum...JHU really gives you the freedom and responsibility to choose your own classes. I had friends who used that to take as many hard and interesting classes as possible, and I had other friends who took fluffy classes for 4 years... (Considering that, you can definitely preserve a high GPA if that is your top goal, but most Hopkins students are more interested in taking hard and interesting classes than safeguarding their GPAs.)

I can't overstate how important this is. Having Hopkins's resources to explore your interests in as much depth as you want, as well as the curricular freedom to do so, makes for an incredibly rich academic environment.

 

[Cytotoxic]

This thread is misplaced, as it's not discussing the med. schools. It belongs in Pre-Allo. or hSDN.

 

[iloveboloties]

without a doubt go to NYU...you won't regret your choice to go to nyc over baltimore...and if youre smart enough it doesn't matter where you go, you can get into any medical school

also, there are tons of research opportunities in NYC, so although NYU isn't known for its research in itself...you could easily live in the city over the summer and seek out a research lab at sloan kettering or some other cool place

i know a guy from JHU undergrad who got into a top flight medical school with me and we talked at the revisit and his biggest complaint about johns hopkins was that the students suck...he had very little fun in college

I would 1000000% disagree with this.
I went to Hopkins and had an amazing social life and met amazing people who not only loved what they were studying but also knew how to have a great time and loved to go out/be social/party.
I went to Hopkins and now live in NYC. Baltimore is amazing, super cheap, and a great place to be an undergrad. It is diverse and actually has a number of great restaurants and seafood that are cheap when compared to other east coast cities. Also the night life is actually pretty awesome you just have to seek it out more than NYU.
When I was applying to schools many years ago I remember coming to NYU and hating it because of the lack of campus and sense of community. I've met a number of NYU undergrads while here and have a number of freinds who went there. In a lot of ways they agree with this. Many poeple come to NYU to get a jump start on their city lives and sort of don't really care that much about the NYU community. While Hopkins does have around 1200 per class you certainly have the opportunity to know almost everyone!! At Hopkins you'll have not only amazing research opportunities at every turn, the ability to take all the classes you want with no core (hopkins has the #1 international relation program-actually the biggest major at hopkins, and the #2 creative writing program), and have a great mid-sized city within a stones throw of Philly, DC, and NYC. Furthermore you have the Hopkins name recognition. I'm totally not for name dropping nor do I care really but since you are planning on going into medicine all your colleagues are super impressed you went to Hopkins. I was extremely surprised by this as many laypeople think of Hopkins as only a medical school but apparently in the medical community it is very highly regarded as an undergrad institution as well. Also the sense of community to me was unmatched. There are a lot of competitive pre-med/science major kids, but I think you'll find that at any school. The upper level science classes at hopkins give you exposure to some of the great minds in the field and are amazing.
Anyways,
clearly I'm a HUGE advocate of Hopkins. (Full disclosure I was a tour guide and admissions rep)
If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me. I was choosing between a school in Boston (academically more like NYU) and Hopkins. I am so glad I choose to be a Blue Jay. I think you would be too

 

[pky463]

As an ex-NYU undergrad, I vote NYU

 

[brooklynblunder]

how does hopkins have much better academics?

 

[ButImLETired]

Moving to hSDN

 

[MilkmanAl]

I guess that's what I get for not reading the thread before moving it.

 

[CarlATHF]

Hopkins undergrad here.

I don't know much about NYU, but I can tell you that the rumors about Hopkins being cut-throat are totally unfounded. I have a core group of friends in one of my majors (bio) that I studied with all the time for exams. We helped each other out and made sure we all did well. I also had another core group of friends in my other major (history) that I worked with on papers to proof-read and offer advice/guidance.

I love the fact that I didn't have "core classes" and instead could focus on another passion of mine (history). I loved the fact that Hopkins has a fantastic academic reputation and set of resources available to you. I love that Hopkins also has a large social scene available to you. I'm in a social fraternity on campus, and I can tell you I always have something to do on the weekends.

Baltimore is a *****ing awesome city. Great concerts, great restaurants, fun/quirky bars, dance clubs, etc. Yeah, there's crime, but there's crime in any big city (especially New York!).

That being said, the professors here will make you work your butt off, and you can't study the night before a test and do well. Any of the majors here will test and build your analytical skills.

PM me if you have any other questions about going to JHU, I'd be more than happy to answer them!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

1. Don't pick an undergrad based on medical school conjecture. Both are fine institutions, so look for which is a better fit socially, academically, and geographically.

2. B'more and NYC are very different cities. I prefer B'more city because it offers enough city, but also has other options. NYC is truly unique, but it seems to wear on people a lot more. As for social life...NYC > B'more. JHU doesn't not have a great social scene, but the surrounding area has a lot going on. I don't know NYU as well, but obvioulsy NYC has a lot going on.

3. While NYU is a great university, JHU wins out in regard to research. Living in/around B'more also gives you access the the NIH and some great biomedical research funding.

4. B'more is probably half the cost, which can really make a difference if you are trying to minimize debt before applying to medical school. Do not underestimate debt, because it can really impact your quality of life after school.

 

[nomadpasha]

]...I prefer B'more city because it offers enough city, but also has other options...

i have visited NYC, but I haven't been to Baltimore and from what I heard it's not everyone's cup of tea. would you mind elaborating on what kind of things are there to do outside of the city limits? im big into outdoors

thanks!

 

[hallian]

hey guys,

this is my first post here. I am interested in doing pre-med and studying biology, psychology, or neuroscience as undergrad and then applying to medical school.

It's down to 2 choices for me jhu or nyu, and i would like to hear your opinions about the two schools.

I heard that gpa is very important for medical schools, so here's my conundrum:

Would it be better to go to nyu and potentially have a much higher gpa in sciences there because i heard the jhu is super cut throat and is much harder to get good grades than at other schools. While i know that the quality of education at nyu wouldn't be as great at jhu. But also, i feel that nyc is a cooler place to go to school in comparison to baltimore, so i am in favor of picking nyu for the overall experience. Do you think that's not very smart? Thank you!

Ps. I only have a week left to make up my mind and i'm stressing out!!

jhu

 

[Seahawk]

Dude, look at the dates of the recent posts...If it's over a month old it's probably time to not post anything more.