Hi- I will be attending Johns Hopkins next year. Which dorm should I pick? I want to get to know lots of people! Also- should I go random or go in with a roommate? What are the pros/cons of either option?
- Which dorm should you pick.
This comes down to personal preference. Your options are
AMR1&2 - standard college dorm. Single and double rooms connected to a long hallway with a communal bathroom. This is considered the most social of the freshman dorms due to everyone's close proximity.
Buildings A&B (aka AMR3) - suite style. Four residents share a "suite" which consists of two bedrooms and a bathroom. Considered the least social of the freshman dorms because of the lack of common spaces.
Wolman - suite style with common spaces. Four residents share a suite with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small kitcheonette. Each floor has a living room area with couches and a TV which generally serves as the social nexus of the floor - at least initially. Considered socially to be a "social when you want, but quiet when you need it"
McCoy - same as wolman but the bedrooms are slightly bigger, the common room TVs are larger, and the building is older.
I personally love McCoy and Wolman for freshman. They provide a lot of social interaction when you want to be social, but you also have more of a chance to be by yourself when you need alone time.
- Roommate There isn't much in the way of pros and cons for random vs chosen roommate - in the end, even if you know your roommate beforehand living with them will be a whole different experience. I personally went random and had a great experience - my freshman year roommate and i are still good friends. I know others who barely tolerated their roommates. Same goes for predetermined roommates.
Thank you so much! This was very helpful!
In my experience, AMR III was a lot more social than expected, and I heard that McCoy kids had to frequently go to the other freshmen dorms to meet up w/ their friends.
As far as convenience and comfort goes, I would say go Buildings A and B. You’ll have your own bathroom and AC and will be close to campus.
The social atmosphere of the Buildings (AMR III) can change from year to year depending on how many residents choose to be proactive about making it more social. It is also important to note that AMRs I and II don’t have air conditioning. As someone a little obsessive about cleanliness, living in AMR II and having to use a communal bathroom bothered me a lot more than I thought it would. IMO, I would have preferred to live in Buildings and gone to the AMRs (I and II) to hang out with people. You can do the same living in Wolman and McCoy, but there is more of a walk that can be annoying in the colder months.
I lived in Wolman this year and absolutely loved it; I wouldn’t have wanted to live anywhere else. My floor was incredibly close with each other, having a kitchen was extremely convenient, and the building was very clean and comfortable (unlike AMRs I and II, yike). The usual knock against Wolman is the distance from campus, but I found that living a little further away from the academic buildings was nice for separating school from relaxation time. Living on N Charles also means proximity to the restaurants on St Paul, which made going out much easier than if I had lived in the AMRs.
I’m incredibly biased towards Wolman, but ultimately, I knew people in each dorm who were quite happy living there. You can’t really go wrong.
@AnnaB12 Hey I saw you were accepted in Harvard’s class of 2022! A big congrats to you!! I couldn’t help but ask if you’re accepting their offer since you stated it is truly your top choice. I’m on the waitlist for Hopkins and it is truly my first choice, so I hope you understand the position I’m in since you were in my shoes before with Harvard. Thanks!
@oatchococookie Unfortunately, JHU admissions usually admits waitlisted students taking into account summer melt or students getting admitted to other schools already. Given where yield stands this year (which from what I hear is a record high), if you haven’t been contacted, don’t get your hopes up.
As for AnnaB12, it should be her decision. It’s a class of 2022 admittance, which is not the same as class of 2021. Some people want to go to college at the same time as their friends and not take a forced gap year.
@stevensPR Thanks for your input. I understand that waiting on waitlist isn’t exactly a good position to be in. I would appreciate it if you back off of my case. I’m being disrespectful in any way or doing any harm in asking/digging for more info especially when there is so little.
Also it would be appreciated if you could provide a substantial source for their yield.
@oatchococookie my source is someone who works in admissions. Take it or leave it. I’m purposely painting a bleak picture so those who might in the off chance get in get pleasantly surprised instead of the reverse.
Is there a big difference between AMR1 and 2, and between AMR3 A and B? From what I can tell, 2 has more amenities than 1, and the same goes for B over A. But are there actually significant differences?
AMRs 1&2 are extremely similar. Amr2 Is a bit newer, but they-re essentially the same. They’re also right next to each other, so if you live in AMR1 you’ll have easy access to AMR2’s amenities.
Same can be said for buildings A & B.
@oatchococookie Hi! Sorry for the late response- I haven’t been on here in forever. I have chosen to accept Harvard’s offer to be a part of the Class of 2022, so I have indeed un-enrolled from Hopkins. I wish you all the best, but I would caution you not to necessarily think of Hopkins as a “top choice” (despite what I may have said about Harvard on another thread), but rather to think of Hopkins as just one of the schools you applied to that you love. Hopefully you love every school you got into. If you have this kind of mindset, you will have a more positive experience at whatever school you end up at! Best of luck.
pick wolman
actually just wait for the single waitlist
single is the best no matter what