Duke University vs. Johns Hopkins University
People treat these two as one tier of selective private, and prestige won't pick between them. Where you spend your four years will. Duke keeps nearly every undergraduate on campus the whole way through, splitting them between Trinity College for the liberal arts and the Pratt School of Engineering, with Gothic stone, basketball, and a calendar full of campus traditions to fill the time. Hopkins points you at the lab. As the oldest research university in the country, it sends more of its students into the biological and life sciences than anything else, with engineering a close second, and the road into medicine and public health runs right through Baltimore. The two even read your application differently. Hopkins weighs your essay and your test scores heavily and now requires the SAT or ACT, while Duke stays test-optional and only considers a score, looking instead at your character, your talent, and what you've done outside class. Both meet your full demonstrated need, so cost shouldn't break the tie. If a lab bench pulls at you harder than a quad does, Hopkins belongs on your list.
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Acceptance Rate
Total applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students for the most recent admission cycle.
Early Decision
Duke offers binding Early Decision. Applying early can meaningfully change your odds — but ED commits you to enroll if admitted.
Admit rate by application plan
% admitted~4.1× higher admit rate applying early.
Standardized Tests
Duke is currently test-optional — you may apply without submitting scores.
SAT Accepted?
ACT Accepted?
Test Optional?
SAT Scores
ACT Scores
Class Rank
Where Duke's enrolled first-years placed in their high school graduating class.
Based on the 25% of enrolled students who reported a class rank. Duke does not publish an average GPA.
Admissions Factors
How Duke weighs each part of your application.
Rigor of High School Record
Academic GPA
Standardized Test Scores
Application Essay
Recommendations
Extracurricular Activities
Character / Personal Qualities
Talent / Ability
First Generation
Level of Applicant's Interest
Class Rank
Volunteer Work
Work Experience
Geographical Residence
State Residency
Alumni Relation
Racial / Ethnic Status
Religious Affiliation
Cost of Attendance
Estimated full-time annual cost from Duke's Common Data Set.
Private universities charge the same tuition regardless of state residency.
Financial Aid
Need-based aid statistics for full-time first-year students.
Major Distribution
Bachelor's degrees awarded in the past year by academic major.
Student Diversity
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduate students.
Student-Faculty Ratio
The number of students for every one faculty member, indicating the average level of access students have to instructional staff.
Campus Life
On-campus housing and Greek life participation rates.
Enrollment by Gender
Since some students did not report gender, totals may not fully reflect the student body.
Acceptance Rate
Total applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students for the most recent admission cycle.
Early Decision
Johns Hopkins offers binding Early Decision. Applying early can meaningfully change your odds — but ED commits you to enroll if admitted.
Admit rate by application plan
% admitted~2.1× higher admit rate applying early.
Standardized Tests
Johns Hopkins requires standardized test scores for all applicants.
SAT Accepted?
ACT Accepted?
Test Optional?
SAT Scores
ACT Scores
Class Rank
Where Johns Hopkins's enrolled first-years placed in their high school graduating class.
Based on the 23.4% of enrolled students who reported a class rank. Johns Hopkins does not publish an average GPA.
Admissions Factors
How Johns Hopkins weighs each part of your application.
Rigor of High School Record
Academic GPA
Standardized Test Scores
Application Essay
Recommendations
Extracurricular Activities
Character / Personal Qualities
Talent / Ability
First Generation
Level of Applicant's Interest
Class Rank
Volunteer Work
Work Experience
Geographical Residence
State Residency
Alumni Relation
Racial / Ethnic Status
Religious Affiliation
Cost of Attendance
Estimated full-time annual cost from Johns Hopkins's Common Data Set.
Private universities charge the same tuition regardless of state residency.
Financial Aid
Need-based aid statistics for full-time first-year students.
Major Distribution
Bachelor's degrees awarded in the past year by academic major.
Student Diversity
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduate students.
Student-Faculty Ratio
The number of students for every one faculty member, indicating the average level of access students have to instructional staff.
Campus Life
On-campus housing and Greek life participation rates.
Enrollment by Gender
Since some students did not report gender, totals may not fully reflect the student body.
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Duke vs. Johns Hopkins: frequently asked questions
Is Duke or Johns Hopkins harder to get into?＋
Effectively a tie: both sit in the same razor-thin band. Duke admitted about 5.7% of its applicants in the most recent cycle (roughly 2,957 offers out of 51,795), and Johns Hopkins admitted about 6.1% (roughly 3,072 out of 50,259). The schools diverge on testing, though. Duke stays test-optional and counts scores as only a considered factor, while Hopkins weighs standardized tests as a very important factor and will require the SAT or ACT again starting with Fall 2027 applicants.
Is Duke or Johns Hopkins better for pre-med and biological sciences?＋
Johns Hopkins, if you judge by where undergraduates actually cluster. The biological and life sciences claim Hopkins's single largest field at about 23% of degrees, and the health professions add another 10%. Duke holds its own here: biological sciences land as its second-largest field at about 13%, behind computer science, though the bio cohort runs proportionally larger at Hopkins. Both meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, so aid won't tip the choice either way.
Is Duke or Johns Hopkins better for computer science?＋
Duke leans harder toward computer science as an undergraduate destination. CS tops Duke's fields at about 16% of degrees, ahead of biological sciences and engineering. Over at Johns Hopkins, computer and information sciences draw about 11% of degrees, trailing the biological sciences (23%) and engineering (20%). A CS-first applicant fits Duke's degree mix more cleanly, while Hopkins surrounds CS with a heavy biomedical-engineering ecosystem.
Is Duke or Johns Hopkins cheaper, and how does financial aid compare?＋
Both effectively charge what your family can pay, since each meets 100% of demonstrated financial need. On sticker, tuition and required fees run about $72,795 at Duke and about $68,670 at Hopkins, before housing and food. The aid pictures split: about 53% of Hopkins students receive need-based aid (average package about $70,919) against about 43% at Duke (average about $76,028), and Hopkins extends free tuition to families earning up to $200,000. Run each school's net price calculator, because for many families the gap closes once aid lands.
What's the difference in campus life and class size at Duke vs Johns Hopkins?＋
Duke runs the tighter, more residential operation. Its student-to-faculty ratio sits around 5:1 against about 9:1 at Hopkins, and effectively all Duke undergraduates live on campus next to about 93% at Hopkins. Enrollment lands close, about 6,523 at Duke and 6,354 at Hopkins, so neither school feels large. The smaller ratio and full-residential setup give Duke a more cohesive, school-spirited atmosphere than Hopkins's Baltimore campus.
Does Duke or Johns Hopkins require the SAT or ACT?＋
Neither required scores for the most recent class, but they head in opposite directions. Duke stays test-optional and counts scores as only a considered factor; among submitters, the middle 50% scored 1500–1570 on the SAT. Hopkins also went test-optional for its most recent class, yet it already weighs scores as a very important factor and will require the SAT or ACT again starting with Fall 2027 applicants. Its submitters posted a middle-50% SAT of 1530–1565 and a median ACT of 35.
Source: Duke University Common Data Set 2024-2025. Figures transcribed 2026-06-06. Esslo aggregates publicly reported data and is not affiliated with Duke. Banner photo by CramBetter.com, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
Source: Johns Hopkins University Common Data Set 2025-2026. Figures transcribed 2026-06-07. Esslo aggregates publicly reported data and is not affiliated with Johns Hopkins. Banner photo by Chris Rycroft, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).