<p>But I've heard that JHU students are super-competitive with each other. Is this true? </p>
<p>I told my mom that I was having second thoughts about JHU because I don't want to go to a school where students are always competing with one another. But she said that it's "the best". I'm interested in JHU for the academics, but is it true that JHU students are competitive with each other?</p>
<p>For the most part, no. There have been many threads on this in the past so use the "Search" feature. Most Hopkins students come to the realization pretty quickly that if you don't work together, you're all screwed. People work on problem sets together, study for midterms and finals together, and everything in between because it makes life that much easier. Many BME's work together because they're in the same classes and they're all in it together.</p>
<p>It's not "cut-throat" but yes it is competitive, as is every other school (kind of). When you're taking your AP's, you're competing with the rest of the students around the nation for that 4 or 5. When you're taking your SATs- same deal. Classes at Hopkins are either "curved" or not. Classes that are not curved means that your final grade is what you earned. If you aced all your exams, you'll earn an A. If you passed all your exams with a C, your final grade is a C. This means that YOUR grade is independent of your classmates'. On the other hand, "curved" classes mean that your final grade is relative to how others do. If, for example, your average exam grade is a 65, but the class average is a 50, you'll probably get an A regardless of your raw "65" score. However, if you take an exam and received a 70 and the class average is an 80, you'll end up with a B. What I'm trying to say is that in these "curved" classes, the competition is more apparent because how you do depends on how your classmates do. It may sound kind of complicated. Basically, I honestly think that there IS competition at Hopkins- almost everyone here is very motivated and works very hard. So if you expect to be cruising through your undergrad while the rest of your classmates go out get drunk and you end up valedictorian, that probably won't happen (the classmates getting drunk part). But it is NOT cut throat, it IS competitive, just not cut-throat. It's not competitive in the sense that people will steal your books, burn your notes, or drug you before your exam just so you'll fail. It IS competitive in the sense that the majority of your classmates will work just as hard as you.</p>
<p>Very well stated JHUery. There is a difference in a school being competitive versus cut-throat and your post definitely explains that difference. </p>
<p>The one thing I would emphasize is the fact that students considering applying to Johns Hopkins or any of our peer institutions are looking for a competitive environment. They should be looking for a school where "the majority of your classmates will work just as hard as you." Students who look at schools like Hopkins, or the Ivy League, or any of the top schools in the country are looking for the challenge of being with other intellectual peers who they can learn from. </p>
<p>Most of our applicants have been the "big intellectual fish" in their high school and now are looking for a learning environment with peers on the same intellectual platform. If they want to remain that big fish in the small pond, then they should look for a less competitive / challenging environment. </p>
<p>Just curious, where did the cuthroat competition myth originate from? Certainly there is some basis, otherwise it wouldn't have existed in the first place.</p>
<p>Isn't the foundation of our capitalist economy/society competition? Competition is good; unethical competition is bad, but it certainly prepares one for the real world. JHU students are probably similiar to those at most elite universities: ambitious, intelligent, driven, motivated & competitive.</p>
<p>When I was at a Hopkins info session, they said that they had gained in the past a reputation as "a bunch of cut-throat, reclusive nerds," and were making a conscious effort to change that. I think this is apparent in their SAT scores- high, but not ridiculously so, which indicates they're taking some kids on the basis of personality and such over just raw scores. So yeah, I think it was once true and it's not anymore.</p>
<p>More schools should have forums like Hopkins does. The website was the reason I decided to apply (not ED though)--instead of CC where faceless usernames give advice, there are real people blogging about their lives at the school. I feel like I can relate to all of them...</p>
<p><em>Admissions Daniel did not pay me to write this post. I promise!</em></p>
<p>Very true, YanksDolphins. It's very easy to tell the difference between an actual Hopkins student and someone just giving "advice" from "what they hear". However, with that stated, I believe that most advice from here should be taken with a grain of salt- other than AdmissionsDaniels. I'm currently a senior at JHU, and only give advice based on my own personal experience, but my "advice" is not fact.</p>
<p>Of course, what we know is based mostly on our own experiences and the experiences of friends and other people we know. That said, I think if you, or me, or any other known students at Hopkins (tanman for example) all say that this competition myth is precisely a myth, I think it should be taken to be true.</p>