<p>The college counselor suggested JHU, but friends say that the students are intense and competitive among themselves. Great school, but the students are not happy. Too much pressure. Any thoughts from students at Hopkins or friends of such?</p>
<p>Students are extremely happy at Hopkins (JHU). What you hear are myths that are perpetuated for reasons difficult to understand, since what you say is completely untrue. You really should read through the various threads that relate to Hopkins, and look at the Blogs and Hopkins Interactive, on the Hopkins' site. You should have all of your fears allayed after reading about life at Hopkins, and having all of your questions answered by students.</p>
<p>I'm happy at JHU. There are some who are not, just like at any university. But the overwhelming majority are.</p>
<p>I am a freshman and I have found absolutely nothing to not like. The people are very friendly and the professors (mine at least) are very good.</p>
<p>catchington~ your thread caught my eye, as it reflects EXACTLY what someone i know feels/ is going through at JHU. yes, it surprised me and my d, her best friend, but she said EXACTLY what you'd reported. she has now left after 1 year. she attempted a return to not totally mess up credits, etc, and couldn't stay this semester. she is extremely bright, and had her choice of Tier I s. she has learned NOT to bow to family pressure and NOT to rankings. she can transfer anywhere, but will never again subject herself to loneliness("everyone was always in the library") and cut-throat competition. not my words, but hers. as someone said, no school is right for all, but this student fits your post. too many kids are swayed by name/reputation instead of what's right for them.</p>
<p>Happycollegemom: I am sorry for your daughter's friend. But I can assure you, that all of the students that I know are extremely happy, and can handle the work, at Hopkins. On top of this, lots of kids have tons of fun. Often, in fact, I worry that my son is having too much fun!!! There is so much to enjoy at Hopkins...Fraternities and sororities, athletics, theater...and a whole host of clubs and organizations in which to participate. Plus, Baltimore can be a fun town, with many places to go...and, believe me, the kids do go out.</p>
<p>So sorry for your daughter's friend. I am sure that she will find the right place for herself.</p>
<p>thanks. (10 char.)</p>
<p>I'm meeting many cool personalities in my hallway. Yes, the realization that everyone around you is premed and the environment that your in is definitely intense to say the least. People who attend Hopkins can handle the pressure and if you can strike a balance between studying time and having fun, then that is great. A large majority of people here have fun through going to parties, joining intramural sports league with your dorm buddies, or regular relaxation with your roommate.</p>
<p>Phead128 - Is everyone around you really premed? Would people who aren't premed like JHU?</p>
<p>classicrocker: In fact, most students at Hopkins are not pre-med. Check out the top ranked writing program (#2 in the country), the #1 biomedical engineering program, and other top ranked programs: international relations, political science, economics, psychology, history of art. The acting/directing program is amazing, as is the film major. </p>
<p>Why don't you read through the course book, on line? Also, go to the Hopkins site and take a good look around. That should thoroughly answer your question.</p>
<p>gabriellaah, while we all appreciate a new opinion if often feels like you exert your opinions a little too much and that loses credibility when you're not on campus every day to back up that information...</p>
<p>As a current freshman I can affirm that the great majority do have fun, like others have said, mostly everyone is friendly and people don't shun others like you see frequently in high school. Anyone can get involved anywhere.</p>
<p>Not everyone is pre-med, but I won't say "most students are not pre-med" either. Just because someone is in engineering or english doesn't mean they are not pre-med...I have a friend who's an East Asian Studies premed, and many engineers are pre-med as well. As for me I'm a Pre-Law Engineer. </p>
<p>Also...why does being pre-med or not really matter? It seems like such a pressing issue to everyone...and it's not as if we can tell the difference between pre-meds and non-premeds anyways. And yes people who aren't pre-med will like JHU...we're not a science institute or a tech school.</p>
<p>But jovenes, gabriellaah is correct...most student's aren't pre-med. Only about 30% of each class is. So I will say "most students aren't pre-med."</p>
<p>So I read through the posts on this thread a number of times before responding because I came to a revealing conclusion. </p>
<p>Everyone has different opinions. That is why each and every prospective student needs to make THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS. </p>
<p>Don't let someone sway your own personal conclusions and impressions of a school that might be of interest to you. That includes college/guidance counselors, parents, peers, random posters on some message board, and yes even Admissions counselors. You need to make your own conclusions. </p>
<p>How to do that? Well first is obviously to visit the colleges you are looking at. If that is not a possibility, then do as much research as possible. Use the school's web site. Use College Confidential. Use feedback from current students at the school. But in all that research realize that all providing you with feedback have an agenda, and you need to filter the messages. Don't believe in the myths / rumors / misconceptions. Steer towards facts and HONESTY. But in the end make your own conclusions. </p>
<p>There are students who are EXTREMELY HAPPY at Hopkins (gabriellaah's son can attest to that). There are other students who find Hopkins to not be the right fit for them (happycollegemom shares such a story). Whose thoughts are correct -- both! </p>
<p>O.K., I am going to get off my soap box. I do recommend reading through old posts on College Confidential and also using Hopkins Interactive (<a href="http://apply.jhu.edu/hi)%5B/url%5D">http://apply.jhu.edu/hi)</a>. </p>
<p>And oh yeah, two final stats:</p>
<p>96%: freshman to sophomore year retention rate
23-25%: percent of undergraduates who plan to apply to medical school</p>
<p>This is a very tough topic to discuss/debate because everyone is very opinionated on the subject and like AdDan said they're all right, and here are my 2 cents</p>
<p>I think on the whole students are generally happy. And when it comes down to what produces happiness I suppose you are basically locating for the source of the "fun". At Hopkins you have to realize that the students are very intelligent and driven to success. I generally had the sense that some students were so driven towards what was next (usually using JHU as a stepping stone to some sort of graduate school) that they missed the present, BUT you absoultely don't have to. There are plenty of social/cultural/whatever outlets for you to get to. Baltimore is kind of awful in my opinion, but the students are normal college students that want to enjoy college. Some enjoy it doing state of the art research, others do it drinking 4 times a week. There is a wide range of what people do for fun. This is true at probably every school, and it applies to Hopkins, if you want to have fun you absolultely can, if you want to be a hermit in the library you can. College is what you make of it, and I'd say Hopkins provides a perfect atmosphere for that.</p>
<p>Another thing to realize is that sure only 1/4 of the students are premed but I'd suspect that the percentage of pre-(insert any form of grad school) is substantially higher, hence the feeling of competiveness as described by some. For instance, when 2/3 of your graduate class is immediately continuing their education to graduate school (and yes, 2/3 of my dept continued to grad school) then you probably will get some sense of competition, this is a very professionally driven school. Nonetheless, students work together all the time and generally always help each other out. So it basically depends on how you define competitive as to how you will view the school. Students at Hopkins are very motivated too succeed. Some love this, others hate it.</p>
<p>In the end what it comes down to is how well you fit with a school. Hopkins is what it is, some will love it some will hate it. It has a very unique atmosphere that curtails to a certain type of student, and if it feels right then its absolutely the place for you.</p>
<p>It turns out I omitted one thing part about the pre-med thing...I was referring to one of the pre-professional meetings for pre-med or pre-law that I went to during orientation...about 200(?) were in the room for 1 meeting (yes there were 2 meetings w/ different students) And all but 6 in the room raised their hands to be interested in medical school. Of course, that doesn't mean they will be pre-med, but it shows what the general focus of the students are in. </p>
<p>The other side will be the students who are not pursuing law/med but other professions - and these students do represent the majority of the ENTIRE school, not the preprofessional students.</p>
<p>
Harvard's freshman retention rate is 98%, but it came out 27/31 in the COFHE student satisfaction survey. Care to share JHU's results? :D</p>
<p>I'm not a student, but I didn't see much difference in the student body of JHU and the other schools I visited as a prospie. In fact, when I visited this summer (now a grad school prospie), I was struck by how similar it was to my college (where 46% of freshmen are pre-med). BTW, the Charles Commons wasn't there last time I visited, and it's NICE.</p>
<p>spe07:
A FANTASTIC post! I agree with nearly 100% of what you say. The only opinion I disagree with is your assessment of Baltimore ... you really should explore more there are some wonderful parts to the city. But I agree that people will have varying degrees of opinions about Baltimore. Those opinions can impact greatly one's opinion of Hopkins, or matter very little depending on the person. All in all though, very well stated post.</p>
<p>warblersrule86:
I do have access to COFHE data but that information was provided to me by the Director of Admission in confidential meetings and therefore is not data I choose to share. Whether the data paints a good or bad picture, the decision about what data to share is made by my superiors ... and I have nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>So would it be fair to say that in comparison to say University of Chicago, while both schools are hardcore academically, JHU has a more goal-oriented "pre-professional" feel in contrast to Chicago's more intellectual, "learning for it's own sake", feel.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say Hopkins doesn't have a "learning for it's own sake" feel. Sure many people do research to get into grad/med/law school but many do it because it's fun and that amazing feeling of discovery.</p>
<p>I think you can still be a goal oriented pre-professional student and partake in "learning for it's own sake". Hopkins students realize that while they desire specialty training in a certain subject, that they can get it at graduate school. On the whole, regarldess of your major, an undergraduate curriculum really just creates a foundation for learning, or showing the potential to learn in the case of employment. I do think students can differentiate between being driven pre-professionals and intellects, I know plenty of students who have gone well off the beaten path to take whatever their heart desires.</p>