Post Bac: Bryn Mawr or Johns Hopkins?

[HelloImTheDoctor]

I wasn't a pre-med in undergrad but have decided to complete a pre-med post-bac and have been accepted to both Bryn Mawr and Johns Hopkins University.

I'm utterly torn between the two. I know that both have great outcomes in terms of medical school acceptance but are very different in terms of structure and culture. Can anyone offer advice to help with the decision, particularly current/former students of either program?

Thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[getdown]

Where you do your post bac really doesn't matter unless they have a linkage with the actual medical school.

 

[efle]

If the Hopkins postbacc has you taking the prereqs along side the normal Hopkins undergraduate class, I'd steer clear of it. They have a reputation for being a miserable bunch of gunners.

 

[MyOdyssey]

If the Hopkins postbacc has you taking the prereqs along side the normal Hopkins undergraduate class, I'd steer clear of it. They have a reputation for being a miserable bunch of gunners.

Aren’t there other undergrad institutions including one that rhymes with “frosh dew” that sport a similar reputation?

 

[efle]

Aren’t there other undergrad institutions including one that rhymes with “frosh dew” that sport a similar reputation?

Can't say I'd recommend doing a postbacc at WashU over Bryn Mawr either. But from what I've heard from my classmates that did college at Hopkins undergrad, it's the worst offender among the super premed-dense colleges.

 

[MyOdyssey]

Can't say I'd recommend doing a postbacc at WashU over Bryn Mawr either. But from what I've heard from my classmates that did college at Hopkins undergrad, it's the worst offender among the super premed-dense colleges.

Out of curiosity, what other offenders are there?

 

[efle]

Out of curiosity, what other offenders are there?

Off the top of my head:

U Chicago is known for misery (unofficial slogan among students is "Where Fun Goes To Die") but historically its strength was in areas other than biomed/premed.
Similar with MIT.
Princeton for a long time had an anti-inflation policy that required 33% of grades be a C and 33% be a B, but they did away with that a couple years ago, likely because they were losing too many of their admits to the inflating peers like Harvard and Stanford.
The other Ivy with some reputation for a nasty premed experience is Cornell.
Berkeley/UCLA are famously miserable for premeds where I'm from in California.
And then Hopkins has long been famous for being stuffed full of premeds (highest premeds per capita in the nation in fact) and being a very intense environment.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Bryn Mawr is on the Main Line in Philly, old stuffy money. Nice area. Hopkins is in a ghetto. Something to consider. Both have great rep.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Bryn Mawr is on the Main Line in Philly, old stuffy money. Nice area. Hopkins is in a ghetto. Something to consider. Both have great rep.

The hospital is in the ghetto, undergrad is different I'm pretty sure.

 

[DrFortiusNatando]

Undergrad HOPKINS is pretty close to areas that are suffering from extreme poverty. The campus itself is safe enough, but there are many parts of nearby Baltimore that look like a city that has been bombed out. That does mean opportunity to get involved in community service and should not dissuade you from going there. It is good to be needed and there are so many needs there. Speak to their post-bac deans/program directors and find out the recent acceptance rates especially for students who are most like you.

That said, I am biased towards the Bryn Mawr program. Admittedly, I am more familiar with HOP as an undergrad program and I am not specifically familiar with the climate within the HOP bost-baccalaureate program. But Bryn Mawr is a really collaborative atmosphere of very interesting students from a variety of backgrounds (rabbis, teachers, peace corp workers, air fire fighters, etc). Especially if you are a slightly older student, consider yourself an adult, and/or identify with the careers I just mentioned, then Bryn Mawr is probably for you!

 

[haribobears]

I wasn't a pre-med in undergrad but have decided to complete a pre-med post-bac and have been accepted to both Bryn Mawr and Johns Hopkins University.

I'm utterly torn between the two. I know that both have great outcomes in terms of medical school acceptance but are very different in terms of structure and culture. Can anyone offer advice to help with the decision, particularly current/former students of either program?

Thanks in advance!

Hey!! I know it's been a while but just in case you're still on here--which did you end up choosing? How did you like it? Thanks in advance!