<p>"not JHU unless you want to marry a dr.!" huh? What?</p>
<p>"the restaurant had bars?" </p>
<p>uh, are you talking about Johns Hopkins..??</p>
<p>Hopkins has, even more so in the last few years, developed a college town sort of atmosphere with the addition of Charles Commons and the revitalization of the Charles Village area. </p>
<p>and safety is no more an issue than it is at other pretigious urban campuses such as UPenn and Columbia... that being said, the safety measures Hopkins has taken are admirable--not something to discredit the school.. or even Baltimore.</p>
<p>Both are in second-rate cities. Both have many of the problems associated with cities (crime, pollution, crime) without much of the excitement of living in more cosmopolitan cities like Boston or Chicago or NYC. In fact, when I interviewed at WashU for med school, I asked my interviewer why I should come to St. Louis when I had interviewed/been accepted at med schools in other cities. She proceeded to describe how 100 years ago, St. Louis and Chicago were tied in prestige in the Midwest and how St. Louis has decayed since then. Not only did that not answer my question, it was actually an argument for not coming to St. Louis. </p>
<p>The best thing about Baltimore is its proximity to DC. DC is awesome. Baltimore is not. However, it can be an hour+ drive to DC depending on when you commute. Honestly, no one's going to want to drive 2 hours both ways just for a 1-day trip to DC. There are trains and buses available but, again, kinda expensive for just a day trip.</p>
<p>Actually, the MARC (commuter) train between Baltimore and DC is fast and cheap. Many Hopkins students go to DC regularly.</p>
<p>I went to Hopkins years ago and loved my time there. Both of my kids also went to Hopkins (much more recently) and they loved it. While the work hard ethic at Hopkins is definitely true--it is a myth that students spend all their time working (except for a few ultra geeks). Most students have very balanced lives. The campus is very beautiful (so is Wash U--but I personally prefer Georgian over collegiate gothic). The city offers a lot--and DC is very close.</p>
<p>The areas surrounding Hopkins (Charles Village, Hampden, Roland Park) are actually quite nice and generally safe. It is a large city so you are crazy to out walking alone at 3 a.m. But I sent my 18 year old daughter there as a freshman and she never had a problem. In fact, she thrived there and grew to love the city. BTW--she chose Hopkins over Wash U, for whatever that is worth. </p>
<p>I think Baltimore and St Louis are rather similar places. They are medium large cities--with some beautiful areas and some awful parts. Yes, they don't compare favorably with Boston, DC or the Bay Area as college cities. But I can think of far worst places than Baltimore to attend college. There are over 100,000 college students in Baltimore and most find it a pretty good place to go to school. Unlike Boston, you can always get into a baseball game (I know, the Orioles are not the Red Sox but Camden Yards is a spectacular ball field).</p>
<p>sorry. the bit about the doctor part was a joke! its is still a really great school, i would just encourage you to visit thats all. the campus itself was nice and the admissions guy that gave the info session was literally the best I have ever met-just really, really incredible. (which can't be said for penn or unc....) but I really do stand by what I said about the quality of the surrounding area. My poor mother would probably have a heart attack if I went there!</p>