Should I transfer to Johns Hopkins?

[TobiasFunkeMDFACS]

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I got accepted to Johns Hopkins as a junior transfer student. I currently go to University of Illionis at Chicago. I finished two years here, and I plan to graduate early (Sp 2010). But I will be taking a year off before medical school, during which I plan to do a 1-year masters.

What path should I do?

Three factors I'm considering (in order of importance):
1. increased chances of getting into med school-I know JH has like 90% acceptance rate, and my school is less than 50%. But I also know that JHU screens out all applicants that have less than 30 MCAT.

2. difficulty- I have a near-perfect GPA at UIC, and the classes here are not challenging, so I should be able to maintain it next year. JHU is the ultimate GPA sinker. I plan to major in Public Health, which is one of the harder majors. Also, JHU would leave me with less time to study for the MCAT.

3. financial aid- I was stupid enough not to apply for aid early on, and now I have to pay through my nose at JHU (at least for the first year)


I've been wrestling with this dilemma for the last month and I am having a real problem deciding where to go. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Mattabet]

JHU is the ultimate GPA sinker.

Did they put that in the brochure? 🙂

Ultimately you're going to have to make this decision for yourself, but I don't think I would do it. For one, it's totally possible to get into a great medical school from UIC, especially with a near-perfect GPA. You know how things work at UIC, which classes to take, how to register, where things are, and I assume you have friends and contacts established in the area (for companionship, LoRs, ECs, etc.).

You might be happy and do great at Johns Hopkins, but you might not. I'd need a pretty good reason to pick up my life and move halfway across the country, and a perception of a slightly better application down the line wouldn't be good enough for me.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

I got accepted to Johns Hopkins as a junior transfer student. I currently go to University of Illionis at Chicago. I finished two years here, and I plan to graduate early (Sp 2010). But I will be taking a year off before medical school, during which I plan to do a 1-year masters.

What path should I do?

Three factors I'm considering (in order of importance):
1. increased chances of getting into med school-I know JH has like 90% acceptance rate, and my school is less than 50%. But I also know that JHU screens out all applicants that have less than 30 MCAT.

2. difficulty- I have a near-perfect GPA at UIC, and the classes here are not challenging, so I should be able to maintain it next year. JHU is the ultimate GPA sinker. I plan to major in Public Health, which is one of the harder majors. Also, JHU would leave me with less time to study for the MCAT.

3. financial aid- I was stupid enough not to apply for aid early on, and now I have to pay through my nose at JHU (at least for the first year)


I've been wrestling with this dilemma for the last month and I am having a real problem deciding where to go. Any advice would be much appreciated.

🙄 i wouldn't say that

 

[shnuffles]

I got accepted to Johns Hopkins as a junior transfer student. I currently go to University of Illionis at Chicago. I finished two years here, and I plan to graduate early (Sp 2010). But I will be taking a year off before medical school, during which I plan to do a 1-year masters.

What path should I do?

Three factors I'm considering (in order of importance):
1. increased chances of getting into med school-I know JH has like 90% acceptance rate, and my school is less than 50%. But I also know that JHU screens out all applicants that have less than 30 MCAT.

2. difficulty- I have a near-perfect GPA at UIC, and the classes here are not challenging, so I should be able to maintain it next year. JHU is the ultimate GPA sinker. I plan to major in Public Health, which is one of the harder majors. Also, JHU would leave me with less time to study for the MCAT.

3. financial aid- I was stupid enough not to apply for aid early on, and now I have to pay through my nose at JHU (at least for the first year)


I've been wrestling with this dilemma for the last month and I am having a real problem deciding where to go. Any advice would be much appreciated.

I would not transfer. I seriously regret going to an expensive undergrad..debt is the worst!!

 

[TobiasFunkeMDFACS]

thanks! i know debt is bad. But it's only 2 years, as opposed to 4. And I think I'll be happy in either place.

Also, I've lived in Illinois for the past 10 years, and it's hard to uplift everything. At the same time, I am ready for a change.

 

[witness23]

i went to an ivy league school and graduated in three. i regret going to an expensive school and leaving a year early to save money. i should have transferred to a state school. it was fun regardless, but it would have been fun, regardless. nahmsayin?


i would stick out the 4 years in UIC, thats just me

 

[monomania]

I would go because it's a great academic opportunity and welcomed change of scenery for you. Your GPA may not be quite as high at JHU, but the good students (like yourself, I presume) adjust and work a little bit harder in order to keep doing well.

You'll be a competitive applicant with your GPA at your current school, but if you have a similar GPA (even if it's 0.1 lower) at JHU, you're even more competitive. Remember, though, the first year at the new school will be really important... because if you don't do well, it will reflect poorly on the GPA you had at Illinois.

 

[amph119]

Chicago >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Baltimore 🙂

 

[witness23]

I would not transfer. I seriously regret going to an expensive undergrad..debt is the worst!!

yea no jokes. i feel like my undergrad debt + med school debt will put a lot of burden on my future and my family (**** it, maybe i won't have one)

 

[shnuffles]

yea no jokes. i feel like my undergrad debt + med school debt will put a lot of burden on my future and my family (**** it, maybe i won't have one)

Haha my feelings exactly! And to the person who graduated in three years to save $$, I ended up doing the same thing. Once I really wrapped my head around the idea of being over 100K in debt after undergrad, I picked up the pace on my course load in order to get out of there with "only" borrowing 80K. Undergrad was a whirlwind!!

Are there other downsides to transferring? What ecs do you have going on at your state school? That was a biggie for me- I played around with the idea of transferring but held a couple club officer positions and a research position that I didn't want to abandon. Also, I knew some of the professors (and did research with one) that would be writing my committee letter so I ended up staying put...

 

[TobiasFunkeMDFACS]

a

 

[TobiasFunkeMDFACS]

Haha my feelings exactly! And to the person who graduated in three years to save $$, I ended up doing the same thing. Once I really wrapped my head around the idea of being over 100K in debt after undergrad, I picked up the pace on my course load in order to get out of there with "only" borrowing 80K. Undergrad was a whirlwind!!

Are there other downsides to transferring? What ecs do you have going on at your state school? That was a biggie for me- I played around with the idea of transferring but held a couple club officer positions and a research position that I didn't want to abandon. Also, I knew some of the professors (and did research with one) that would be writing my committee letter so I ended up staying put...

How much debt do you guys think I'll be in at Hopkins assuming little family contribution?

As it is, I didn't do many exciting ECs. Research, and I write for the campus newspaper. But nothing substantial.

It's weird because I kinda HAVE to graduate early at UIC. I'll be done with all my course work by my third year, and won't really have anything else useful to take, other than electives. But at Hopkins, I get to stay in college for an extra year.

 

[sarahl86]

Hopkins goes beyond screening for sub-30 MCAT scores. Their committee is highly selective from what I've gathered from former students. I don't think its a good idea to transfer because your GPA and MCAT will get you into med school before a degree from JHU would, especially at the cost of a lower GPA. You can always add a minor or something to stay an extra year at UIC or get an MHS from Hopkins for grad school - they have great programs for someone with your interests.

 

[JJMrK]

If you openly admit that you'll likely get a lower GPA at JHU, knowing that numbers are a key to med school admissions, why are you even considering it?

 

[redlight]

Hopkins goes beyond screening for sub-30 MCAT scores. Their committee is highly selective from what I've gathered from former students. I don't think its a good idea to transfer because your GPA and MCAT will get you into med school before a degree from JHU would, especially at the cost of a lower GPA. You can always add a minor or something to stay an extra year at UIC or get an MHS from Hopkins for grad school - they have great programs for someone with your interests.

is it really selective? 295/352 (84%) of all hopkins applications in '08 came through the committee according to the pre-prof site.

i've never heard about the 30mcat thing. do other schools with committees do this?

OP, if you use the committee it looks like the med school acceptance rate is between 80 and 100%, not exactly 90%.

 

[TobiasFunkeMDFACS]

is it really selective? 295/352 (84%) of all hopkins applications in '08 came through the committee according to the pre-prof site.

i've never heard about the 30mcat thing. do other schools with committees do this?

OP, if you use the committee it looks like the med school acceptance rate is between 80 and 100%, not exactly 90%.

Thanks for the website! very useful.

 

[LizzyM]

If your gpa takes a hit at JHU, you will be worse off than if you had stayed at UIC.

You will have a larger debt going into med school out of JHU than UIC.

What's wrong with electives? They can demonstrate a well rounded education. Also, UIC has a school of public health; can you take classes there as an undergrad?

The 4.0 is going to catch some attention. A transfer and the risk of a downward trend is going to catch the wrong kind of attention.