what are the benefits to Johns Hopkins and Princeton for undergrad premed?
looking to apply early decision, heart set on Johns Hopkins but based on calculators better aid at Princeton
If cost was equal, I’d have said JHU if you are ready for the pressure cooker atmosphere. It depends on the cost difference and what you can afford. JHU is going to be a little easier to get into… you could end up applying to JHU RD anyway if you don’t get into P ED.
you make a good point with the Princeton ED and JHU RD. what do you mean by pressure cooker atmosphere?
Both schools are excellent for premed with superb counseling (that offer committee letters when applying to medical school), small class size, attentive faculty, and great opportunities for research. Hopkins has a wider breadth of STEM research going on if you’re interested in pursuing research (which isn’t necessary for medical school but a common activity for applicants).
I think you’re splitting hairs here when it come to pre-med benefits at these schools. The biggest difference you would encounter is that more students at Hopkins will be on a premed track (often 15-25%). I’m guessing the “pressure cooker” comment was referencing this fact. This can lead to competition (note: not cutthroat) in coursework. Some people like being surrounded by others in the same boat since it provides them support and drive, others find it overwhelming. Depends on who you are.
More importantly, I would consider the atmosphere you want to study in for four years. Have you visited both schools? Hopkins is in a residential community a few miles north of a large urban city while Princeton is further removed in a small college town with a suburban feel. If you’re interested in public health and working with minority populations and socioeconomic disparities then I would recommend studying at Hopkins since the school offers many opportunities for outreach in a variety of settings.
@NixonDenier Yeah, Princeton is in somewhat of an “orange bubble” but that just means that you have fewer distractions from the outside world when you want to focus on schoolwork. But it is absolutely the place to come for anyone interested in public health—the Global Health certificate program is fantastic and funds students to go anywhere in the country or world for independent research, and it can be integrated very easily with the pre-med track and/or the molecular biology department. I’m a freshman planning on doing all three of these and I’m already amazed at how much advising and how many opportunities are available.
Neither. As a practicing physician for over 25 years, I would argue that the cost-benefit ratio of attending either of those schools is not justifiable for some one who plans on practicing clinical medicine. The number of medical school applicants is trending downward and it just isn’t that hard to get accepted to medical school. By the time you graduate and finish your residency, you will, more than likely, be looking at employment by the government or a large corporation - the days of the self employed/small group practice owned and operated by physicians is at an end. You will be a lower level employee making a fixed salary. This scenario does not justify carrying any significant college debt.
Wow interesting take JGardner. Sounds a little like Russia.
Both universities have outstanding premed programs. Visit both universities and talk to premed students. One or the other will seem just right to you.
Because Princeton has eliminated the need for aid students to take out loans, it is possible for most to graduate with little or no debt. About 83 percent of recent seniors graduated debt free. Of the remaining 17 percent who chose to borrow, usually for such expenses as an unpaid internship or a laptop computer, average total indebtedness at graduation was about $6,600.
Both schools are great of course and Pton gives more aid than almost any college in the world, my son would have paid double at jhu.2 years ago, son took a summer trip to visit the state school, vandy, duke, jhu, pton and yale. Wanted to major in Biomedical engineering. Liked the state school, loved vandy, loved duke a little more, did not like jhu at all, loved pton, did not like yale. Didn´t apply to jhu but got into pton scea. His comments were that vandy and duke had a friendly atmosphere, whereas jhu felt like grad school, little fun, much work and stress, did not like the surroundings or the campus but did mention that if here were completely sure he wanted to be a doctor, then he might have chosen jhu, it just seemed like med school at the undergrad level. He wasn´t really sure what he wanted to do for the future, so he decided on pton where he felt a more friendlier and liberal artsy air. Since at Princeton he is now sure he wants to go to med school, doing the premed track through mol bio and very happy he is at Pton though clearly jhu will be an option at the next level. You really need to go for yourself and see if it is for you. I am sure he would have been happy at many schools but jhu just didn´t feel right for him at the time, again, just a day visit in the summer. He also assures me that Pton is the pressure cooker of the ivies or at least that is the reputation and he is actually happy he is being pushed there. Best of luck.
I haven’t logged into CC in a long time (Princeton '16 at the moment) but there’s just way too much going on in this thread for me not to at least say something.
- Number of applicants is increasing each year, pls fact check. https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/newsreleases/411636/10282014.html
- Within the span of 8-12 years, at the end of which OP will theoretically be finished with everything up to residency, I highly doubt there will be that huge of a change such that healthcare will be entirely public.
If by saying “it sounds like Russia” you’re suggesting that it sounds utilitarian, bleak and dystopian, it’s not. Regardless, many countries, not just Russia, offer public healthcare systems (Canada, UK, etc.) in which there are very few private practices because health insurance is provided by the state (and thus most physicians are employed by the state).
See where you get in first and then decide. JHU has advantages in that JHU med is there which has stellar medical and clinical opportunities. You can still get these at Princeton, but it’s likely easier there. That being said, a lot of you JHU undergrads will have access to the same opportunities. So it’s really kind of a situation in which the more you have the more you’re expected to do.
If you choose not to be premed, Princeton is definitely much stronger in every single aspect. I would even say Princeton is stronger than JHU for being premed because of the sheer resources we have here for funding internships, theses, projects, student organizations, extracurricular opportunities, gap year fellowships, etc.
Not to mention our school name carries a considerable more amount of weight than JHU does.
It’s splitting hairs at this point but you’re talking about two different tiers of school here that are, while both amazing schools for students, different.
Also JHU has a very pressure cooker atmosphere in that it’s awful for premeds. Not that people are cut throat but it’s harder to stand out as a premed when everyone there is a premed, not to mention the amount of gunners who will be vying for spots at JHU through the unofficial “internal admissions” process.
At Princeton you would be surrounded by more diversity in thoughts, passions and interests, at least in my opinion, even though it’s still very competitive.
If you want Baltimore, which is a pretty gross city but if you want meaningful service work that is one way to do it. Just not an idyllic, yet boring, college town like Princeton is. I do quite a bit of service work though in my free time, so there is still ample opportunity to do so at Princeton.