Another vote for WashU.
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I would rule out Yale. I get the sentimental attachment to a long-time dream school, but the cost difference is huge, and then when you said that you “vibe more with JHU”… nah, no reason to blow your med school money on a school that isn’t a beyond-the-shadow-of-a-doubt first choice.
Emory full-ride is awesome, and if you liked the Oxford idea (some would find it a more comfortable setting for knocking out the “weed-out” med school prereqs in the first two years), I’d say go for it! But you don’t really seem to be feeling it.
JHU and WashU seem the most similar. In your position, I would look at that head-to-head pairing and decide which of those two wins. Either could be a great decision, but which do you prefer?
And then I’d ask myself whether I could choose the full ride at Emory over the winner of the JHU/WashU head-to-head.
My gut impression of your post says JHU comes out on top, but I think a reasonable person could choose any of the non-Yale three, depending on priorities and preferences. (And for some, full-pay at Yale is a reasonable decision - it just doesn’t sound like it is for you.)
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By the way, just so people can calibrate, I have:
Emory $3914 (2024-25–my understanding is the Woodruff covers all the direct costs)
WUSTL $28023 (2024-25)
Hopkins $44172 (2023-24)
Yale $90975 (2024-25)
I wish I had a 2024-25 number for Hopkins, but it would presumably be a little more than that.
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I think that’s a compelling reason to knock Wash U off the list.
Thats a compelling reason to knock Yale off the list.
Your cons for Emory are extensive and compelling. I’d take it off the list.
Your obvious enthusiasm for Hopkins makes it your best choice. Your cons are neglible. Every city can be dangerous, including New Haven.
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I guess my concern is by my calculations, the 4-year difference in cost between WUSTL and Hopkins is going to be around $70K (due to the difference in scholarships). And although I am normally deferential to vibe intuitions, I do sort of wonder how the OP could really know much about the student culture at WUSTL outside of the Signature Scholarship program (which I know has had some group events).
At the end of the day, though, it is important to be happy. I am just personally a little skeptical that the social dynamics at any of these schools is really all that different from any other, because they are all so similar (with the possible exception of the Oxford rather than main campus of Emory, given its different size and setting).
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Is it possible as a Woodruff Scholar that you can ask to move to main campus - or is there a wait list?
I’m a financial guy - so I love the free ride but you have to be happy for pre-med so you can do your best. Maybe the isolation is best for studying - I don’t know. But they clearly want you - so can you discuss the main campus possibility with them.
The program itself seems really strong and hard to replicate. I would work hard, personally, to figure Emory out if possible - vs. just walking away without trying.
But I agree if money is not an issue - and that includes med school planning (think of all the possible loans you can avoid using this money) - that JHU is your preferred. But don’t forget, what you see on paper isn’t always the reality of what happens once you step foot on campus.
Good luck
“The Emory Scholars Program provides a community of peers, a substantial slate of annual programming including multi-day trips and an off-site retreat, specialized advising and mentoring, access to summer funding for international experiences and unpaid internships, a lounge, priority registration and housing selection, and much more.”
One of the criteria for the Woodruff is that the recipient reside on the Oxford campus for the first two years. Are you suggesting that they will make an exception of this required criteria?
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I did not see that in the requirements.
If that’s the case, then obviously not.
It’s not listed on the scholarship website that I see.
It is a little confusing but there is a specific Oxford College Woodruff Scholarship, which presumably the OP was referencing as it has the terms the OP described:
As explained there:
Oxford College Woodruff Scholars will be a part of the Oxford College Woodruff Scholars Program for semesters 1-4 and will also be part of the Emory College Woodruff Scholars Program for semesters 3-8
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OK - I missed it - it happens. Thanks for the clarification.
From what you wrote, your heart is at Johns Hopkins. Based on all your acceptances/scholarships and your statement about thriving in a competitive intense environment, I think you would go to Hopkins and rock that place. My vote is go for it.
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Baltimore has high-crime areas, like all cities. But the Hopkins undergrad campus is in Homewood, which is a very nice neighborhood. And the city of Baltimore overall is a friendly, vibrant city with incredibly strong local culture.
OP, I think Hopkins or WashU are your best options, given the scholarships. The Oxford campus would make Emory a no-go for me, and I can’t see Yale at full price making sense when you have such amazing options at a discount and expect to attend medical school.
Best of luck!
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I differ from everyone else. Personally, if I were you and your family can afford it, go with your heart. If you’ve been accepted to Yale, the school you’ve dreamt of attending, you’ve been given that opportunity. WashU, Emory, JHU, are all great schools. But they’re not Yale. Of course, it does depend on your finances (I would not go into too debt if you can help it), and fit is important. However, few are given this opportunity.
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Even with the sizable scholarship it would cost around 45k/yr, which is a bit more than Hopkins, and significantly more than Emory or WashU. I don’t feel like it would make sense to choose Case over those options unless if it was also significantly cheaper
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I’m pretty sure I can’t. Oxford and Atlanta have different admissions offices despite technically being one school.
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I wonder (don’t know) what happens when someone turns down the scholarship. Would Emory give to another Emory student or could an Oxford student move up?
Usually endowed scholarships are used - one way or the other. My daughter was an alternate at her school. I was talking to a mom on here and her daughter rejected the school, choosing a full ride at SMU instead - and a few days later my daughter was given.
I don’t know the answer but you might inquire.
Ultimately, you said this - For context, I’m from the NYC metropolitan area, likely don’t qualify for financial aid,
so - talk to your family about a budget - but not a four year budget but 8 year with the last 4 years over $400K in addition to the first four years at whatever price.
What do mom and dad say? How are they guiding you?
I can speak a bit about WashU. I was flown in for WashUs scholarship week but decided to come a day earlier than expected to explore the campus and get as good of a feel as I could. What stood out as incredibly jarring to me at WashU was how self-segregated the campus was to the point that despite the fact the school is plenty diverse statistically, on this random Friday every single friend group I walked by was racially homogenous.
I had visited Emory (Atlanta’s campus) back in October, also having flown in on a weekend. In terms of diversity, the two schools could not have been more different in that respect. I guess I just found that pretty off-putting and I’ve spoken to a few students about it once going there and most have agreed that it is true and that most of their friends are pretty ethnically uniform.
Many in the scholars program also just made a big emphasis on how “different” it felt to be around others in the community rather than WashU as a whole. And it wasn’t simply a singular incident - multiple people kept going on about how they (as in the scholarship community) felt very different than the WashU community as a whole. Was just all a bit off-putting.
I’d be asking the question- which college works best for me if I DON’T end up applying to med school? (Most wannabe premeds don’t end up applying).
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I have heard word about there being alternate lists for the Woodruff program - usually several of the people who receive the Dean’s scholarship (full tuition) are placed as alternates for the full ride. That’s probably a good idea for me to check out.
As far as parents - they’re willing to pay for specifically Yale or Princeton if it’s full pay but would of course prefer the more affordable options. I am for what it’s worth appealing at Yale to see if they would budge and I did apply for FA at Princeton since it is known for especially good FA which maybe will work to match Yale (they still haven’t processed mine though for what it’s worth). My state school (UCONN) is 40k/yr to begin with making Hopkins minimally more, WashU (after travel factored in) a bit cheaper, and Emory significantly cheaper.
The main concern (from both family and I) is whether or not I drop premed. For now I am fully planning on medical school but I want to stay practical and realize most premeds don’t leave premed. Were I to abandon premed though, I’d imagine I’d either go into public health or international studies, which makes Hopkins more attractive since they have very strong programs for both. Yet if I do stick premed, it’s hard to not see how Emory and WashU would have the best offers. Just a lot to mull over in general…
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Correct me if I’m wrong, this is on every college campus I have been to…
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