Ihopeso

Hi guys,

I enrolled at Wash U regular decision, and I was given an admission offer off of the wait list at Hopkins a few days ago. I am really having a killer time trying to decide between these two. I am going to post my perspectives of each. Please try and offer an unbiased opinion regarding the reality or correctness of what I've posted, or anything else that I should know to contribute to my decision. (I am engineering school) I have been told by my counselor and my other advisors that it is essentially a toss-up and I would enjoy both.

The main differences as I see them:
Hopkins is a more "cut-throat" environment where the engineers are very competitive and edgy. Conversely, Wash U is a quality engineering school; however, people are more relaxed and are not so competitive.

Hopkins is a more well-known university that has more of a wow-factor in the real world. While I am positively sure Wash U offers an equal education, the reality is that it is not recognized in the same way Hopkins is.

Wash U's food is better than that of Hopkins.

I know the Wash U campus is very nice, but I've never seen Hopkins. I'd appreciate input about Hopkins campus if you are familiar (no hearsay please though).

My biggest concern about Hopkins is what I've been told about how cut-throat and competitive people there are (that they work extremely hard and don't have much fun).

Leticia

My dad went to Hopkins for med school.

What are you intending to major in?

Also, what are you looking for in the city surrounding your college?
Hopkins is in Baltimore. WashU is in St. Louis. Both towns can be seen as quite "dangerous" by some. If you find St. Louis boring, Baltimore may be more suitable for you (it's also near DC and the entire east coast if you plan on traveling or exploring). But if you find Baltimore not so fun because of the weather (pretty intensely cold winters), St. Louis is probably better. But St. Louis weather is pretty unpredictable as well.

If you want a school for sports, or rather lacrosse, Hopkins beat Duke last year (2007 I think).

I heard that the medical school is pretty competitive as well. But I heard it wasn't that bad, conditions were liveable.

Johnson181

Hopkins was a school I turned down for WashU, so I know where you're coming from a little bit.

As for the Hopkins campus, it's really pretty, but it is no where near as gorgeous as WashU.

nervous1

Ihopeso, I think you have done a pretty good job summarizing some of the key differences between Hopkins and WashU. Name recognition and intensity. WashU suffers from low name "wow" factor and Hopkins suffers from it's reputation of "where fun goes to die".

I think another key difference is that while both schools are known for their medical schools, Johns Hopkins as a university is more singularly associated with medicine. WashU has a number of different undergrad and grad schools - Business , Law , Engineering, Architecture , Art , Social ,..etc. If you are interested in double majoring or exploring other areas, WashU is very flexible and makes it very easy for you.

As for the Hopkins campus, it is lovely, but situated in a rather bad neighborhood. Hopkins is taking over more of the nearby streets and building student housing and recreational centers, but it is still an oasis in a bad area. WashU's campus, as you know, abuts Forest Park and the upscale suburb of Clayton.

ecco1mi

nervous1, Johns Hopkins is associated with myriad fields across the sciences and humanities as well as with medicine. it is top 10 in a bunch, and top 20 or 30 in several others. if, as you say, it is "associated" with medicine, that may be true w.r.t. reputation among lay people, but so what?

inthemistylight

well, hopkins is actually really really safe. they take their security very seriously. there's like a security guard and fencing manning the dormitories, and there's literally a brick wall surrounding the campus.
i think the freshman dorms at hopkins are a bit nicer, but ive heard the food is kinda gross.
academics-wise, i feel like you should just research the professors or talk to ppl about the classes or something.

hopkins is definitely very nice (tho the campus isnt as nice as washu's and sometimes youre like: wait...where does the campus stop?) and safe and has excellent academics. i turned it down cos a) im going to go into business (i had a change of heart...from premed. yeah) b) i already know so many ppl going there from my school, and i wanted to make a fresh start and c) its waaay to close to where i live...like the next county.

so campus: the dorms are actually excellent, and its just brick buildings everywhere, but the architecture isnt wonderful. but here's a link where you can look at the campus: Hopkins Admitted Student Site :: Virtual Visits :: Virtually Here
i think hopkins is definitely nerdier, but its very easy to find parties and stuff, as the frat houses are pretty close and most of the ra's are lax about the whole "drinking" thing.

good luck w/ your choice!

inthemistylight

so i was re-reading the previous posts. about the weather (see: Leticia): since hopkins is in baltimore, and baltimore is pretty close to water (i.e. inner harbor), it tends to be chillier on chilly days. but its not all that bad; it has a "temperate climate", what with it on the water and all. if you have a winter coat, gloves, and a scarf, you're pretty much set. its not terribly frigid or anything. and it doesnt even have to be a massive winter coat either. one of those winter coats you find at abercrombie or whatever or a wool coat would do just fine. its not like wisconsin or anything. some ppl would even argue its in the south.

and obviously, if you go too far in one direction its pretty bad (just like w/ columbia, upenn, washu, all urban colleges), but its fine if you use your head, like dont go out by yourself at night, stay in well-lit areas, dont go to unknown places by yourself in general, be aware of surroundings, etc. its a city. you do there what you do in every city. and the hopkins ppl will tell you explicitly "this place is NOT somewhere you should go" so you dont have to worry about where exactly all the sketchy parts are. and hopkins itself isnt really in a sketchy area. and the nearby inner harbor has lovely attractions as well, like nice restaurants, museums, etc.

and as with every college, you can definitely find slackers. maybe not in engineering (but i've heard few engineers are slackers anyway, by virtue of the subject), but definitely even the premed students slack sometimes. there are definitely some insane ppl there, but most i know are pretty chill.

i know its like im endorsing hopkins. im not, i swear. i just know lots more about hopkins than i do about washu.

Phead128

Johns Hopkins has the #1 program in Art History, International Relations (SAIS), Public Health, BME, Biophysics, Cellular Biology and there are more than I should know of.

True, Hopkins is synomous with medicine but Hopkins has a extremely strong reputation as being on par with SIPA, Fletcher, WWS, KSG, and Georgetown's international relations programs, if not the best overall.

lollybo

Are you a premed? If you are, I would even argue that Hopkins is a bad premed school. They are famous for weeding out applicants; you need certain minimum requirements to even apply. They will tell you to hold off your application if they do not thing you are a strong candidate, and if you apply anyway, you will most likely get a bad committee letter.