Johns Hopkins vs UCLA pre med

OnMyWay2013
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 01:45:16 +0000

Or maybe @Shhsvri really is a student who was violently disillusioned about Hopkins.

Some people hate the premed-heavy environment (which isn’t everywhere if you can broaden your social circles, but does arguably exist in Public Health, Neuroscience, and Bio circles). It can be stress-inducing hearing so many others talk about their plans. Others (like me) really liked it. You can get a lot of really good advice, network, and support when you’re, say, taking a hard class or studying for the MCAT.

And clearly, location can play a big factor in your happiness at a school. Personally, I love Baltimore. There’s a lot to do, a lot to see, and a lot of people to meet. And there are abundant opportunities for community service (especially education / student mentoring), which is very important to me. But it’s not for everyone.

Have you visited either? For me, it really came down to the “feel” of the university, if that makes sense. That cliched phrase, “As soon as I stepped on campus, I knew that this was the school for me?” I think it’s real to some degree. You get a sense of what’s important to students and what the school values when you go on tours, talk to strangers, sit in on classes, etc.

Based on what you’ve said and without visiting either school, I’d go with UCLA. Hopkins is a great school. But like picking a major, choosing something that excites you will get you a lot farther than choosing something for “practical reasons” (which, this practical reason is the assumption that Hopkins will get you into med school and that it will be significantly harder to do so at UCLA).