<p>I have been accepted into all three of these schools and am looking to major in International Relations. I am most familiar with Georgetown and know their reputation for IR. What do you think of the comparison between these three schools for IR and for the student body (Most things I've heard about Hopkins students are not the most positive--competitive, not friendly, etc.)?</p>
<p>Additionally, I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on these schools for IR vs. Amherst undergrad? Amherst could provide a strong liberal arts foundation to build upon for graduate school in IR.</p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>wow congrats.
the three very best schools in IR =) i wish i had that choice.</p>
<p>The things you have heard about Hopkins students are simply not true. I don’t feel like repeating myself to counter this ridiculous rumour, but simply: come to Hopkins and find out!! Visit!</p>
<p>As an undergrad, I will say that me and my group of friends here are like family. We have had random midnight excursions to the park to check out the huge lake, gone to the creek and waterfalls behind campus in the woods at odd hours of the day, gone partying, laid around on the beach and smoked Hookah, talked about random things from philosophy to just funny stuff until 4 AM in my dorm room, had tea time in the dining halls for 2-3 hours, etc. The people I’ve met here are simply amazing, and I would not trade Hopkins for any other school. period.</p>
<p>I’ll tell you a story. My son graduated from Hopkins in 2003 as an International Studies major. He had a number of job offers upon graduation, including offers from the intelligence agencies which tend to love Hopkins graduates. His preference, however, was to do research in a Washington based think tank. The problem was that most of the open positions required a masters in international studies. To his surprise, he was offered an interview at a top think tank. At the interview, he was told that the only exception they made to requiring a masters degree was for those who received their BA from The Johns Hopkins University–because of their superior level of training. He got the job over others with masters from Georgetown, GW and Tufts. After a few years, he decided to continue his training and applied to PhD programs in IR. His advisor from Hopkins made a few calls and my son was admitted into a top program with full funding. Its hard to beat that. </p>
<p>And please don’t put much weight on urban myth that Hopkins is hypercompetive. Its mostly BS–mostly spread by people who were not admitted or, in some cases, frustrated pre meds. Visit the campus, talk to current students and faculty, and make up your own mind. Hopkins is not everyone’s cup of tea; it is an intensely academic environment with a self described mission of creating knowledge for the world. But most serious students love the environment.</p>
<p>With what I’ve researched, Georgetown is said to be the best available college for a major in international relations. Johns Hopkins, even though it has a grand IR program, is better known for its medical studies. </p>
<p>Location plays a big part in the decision-making process, too. DC is the center of it all. Massachusetts gets pretty darn cold. Baltimore isn’t the most convenient place for social surroundings, meaning it’s population is not as diversified as, say, DC. Georgetown has it made for IR.</p>
<p>When comparing to Amherst, the decision lies in how many years you’d like to study, and what you’d like to do with your knowledge. </p>
<p>I haven’t been to any of the three campuses, but am interested in all and plan to visit. That probably won’t be accomplished by the time you have to decide, though. Howeverrrrrrrrrrrrrr, I’d love to hear what kind of process you went through to get accepted into all of these great schools :]</p>
<p>nikkivarn – how long do you think it takes to get from JHU into the beltway? JHU is not exactly isolated from DC…</p>
<p>Oh, and it is certainly NOT the case that Georgetown SFS is more prestigious, or opens more doors, than the IR degree from Hopkins. A school is allowed to be world class in more than one area, wouldn’t you agree?</p>
<p>nikkivarn:</p>
<p>yes, JHU is known worldwide for its Medical Institutions, which are quite simply, the best, but by your logic, only economists should go to UChicago, only business people to UPenn, Law people to Yale, etc.
Johns Hopkins has one of the best, if not the best, International Relations/Studies programs in the country. It is parallel with the programs offered by Georgetown, Tufts, and Princeton (Woodrow Wilson) and boasts many famous alumni, publications, and faculty members at both the Homewood and DC campuses.
Also, JHU gives you the luxury of 2 campuses. One in Homewood, where students have access to all of JHU’s other many strong classes and departments in poli sci, econ, history, english, engineering, peabody, and YES all the sciences, as well as the campus in DC for SAIS that offers semester-programs for Aichitson fellow undergraduates to study at the Graduate Level in SAIS.
+, JHU offers 5 year master’s programs in IS/IR, with the fifth year being studied in the heart of DC at SAIS.
In terms of convenience, Baltimore is not too far away from the center of it all. Georgetown is in DC, yes, but the bus-commute (and that is all that is available, no metro station in Georgetown) to capitol hill and the real “center of action” in DC is a good 25-35 minutes, while the MARC train ( a free JHMI shuttle and $7 one way ticket from Baltimore to DC) is around 40-45 minutes to Union Station, which is just one/two blocks away from capitol hill.</p>
<p>Location wise, JHU does not lose much to Georgetown. yes, the campuses are different, and that is up to your own discretion.
In terms of academics, I would, overall, give the leg up to JHU, with the undergrad SFS being about equal to the IS program at JHU.</p>
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<p>Johns Hopkins is an excellent all-around research university. Its distinction is not limited to medical studies by any means. It has top-notch programs in Art History, Biochemistry and Biomedical Engineering, English/Creative Writing, German, History, and Neuroscience. That is tremendous breadth and depth. It also has the largest research budget of any school in the country, by far. But yes, the average person knows Hopkins for its famous hospital system. Just as the average person knows Duke for its basketball prowess (not, say, its forestry program).</p>
<p>^ very good examples tk21769! 
Both of us have, no doubt, left off countless programs. JHU is basically top 10/15 in every program it offers.
The average person won’t know much beyond Hopkins being a good school, and having good health/science programs, but why does anyone care what the average person thinks? Isn’t it going to be an educated/above-average person hiring you in the end anyways?</p>
<p>go with SFS that is so hard to get into and you will be set for life after graduating from it</p>
<p>I would also choose Georgetown.</p>
<p>Both Hopkins and Gtown programs are strong. I’d go for fit. Visit both if possible.</p>