<p>So, I've gotten into 2 schools: JHU for BME, and UCLA. I know that JHU is better academically, but the lack of social life or interesting people is a pretty big deterrent.</p>
<p>LA is much more appealing to me than Baltimore. Is JHU really that interesting? I want to get a good education, but I don't want to be surrounded by nerds for 4 years. I know lots about UCLA, but next to nothing about JHU. Care to fill me in?</p>
<p>go to UCLA. You seem to already have misplaced preconceived notions about Hopkins.</p>
<p>Okay, I realize now that my post came out pretty harsh… What I’m trying to say is, these are the rumor’s I’ve been hearing. How true are they? (Probably not very)</p>
<p>As true as you want them to be. Just because you’re in the BME program doesn’t mean you’re surrounded by “nerds” for 4 years. It’s true that Hopkins isn’t as fun as other colleges, especially the ones in California. If you want to live in a colorful college town then go to UCLA because you won’t find much to do in Baltimore. The campus here is safe but you can’t wander too far from it before you step into some dangerous places. Then again, if you’re looking to primarily focus on your major and build a strong foundation for your career then by all means come to Hopkins.</p>
<p>From your attitude it’s very clear that you want to go to UCLA so I guess you already have your answer if what I just said didn’t clear up much for you.</p>
<p>Actually, I will probably go to Hopkins. It is a better school and provide much more opportunities. What I said was just what I’ve gathered in terms of negative stereotypes about the school.</p>
<p>How much does SOHOP, the overnight program, help you with figuring out more about the school? I’m considering going.</p>
<p>My S is a freshman at Hopkins in the BME program. He was also accepted at UCLA. We live in So Cal so it would have been far less expensive and close to home. However he could not pass up the opportunity. One of the things to take into consideration is that at UCLA it will take you 5 years to finish. The classes are just not available. My S loves it back in Baltimore. The weather has not been much of an issue. 2 of his good friends also are attending Hopkins. They have all made many new friends and seem to be having a good time. They take the train to DC and visit with friends from home that are attending local schools. The BME program is very intense and will take much of your time. If you are looking for the best BME program I would highly suggest Hopkins. My S and his friends visited Hopkins on an east coast college trip. However they all attended SOHOP before they made the final decision. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>I would strongly recommend attending SOHOP. It’ll give you a chance to see what Hopkins is like and if it’s a good fit for you. While I (admittedly with bias) think that the BME program at Hopkins is unbeatable, I know Hopkins is not the perfect fit for every student. Visit, talk to current students and see what you think. When I was trying to decide where to go to college, I had basically decided on another school until I did an overnight and open house visit to Hopkins and absolutely loved the campus and the people I met. </p>
<p>The social life at Hopkins will no doubt be different from UCLA but that doesn’t mean it non-existent. Students at Hopkins are definitely “nerdy”, but not in the anti-social, study-obsessed way that you’re thinking of. Hopkins students tend to be very passionate about whatever they’re studying, whether its history or BME, and it’s not uncommon to hear people walking across campus or sitting at lunch talking something fascinating they learned that day.</p>
<p>mrc1222,</p>
<p>“What I’m trying to say is, these are the rumor’s I’ve been hearing. How true are they?”</p>
<p>I guess it depends on the rumors. ;-)</p>
<p>Baltimore City isn’t quite as bad as some make out, but it’s not the nicest city in the United States. Or heck, in Maryland, for that matter.</p>
<p>There are nice sections of Baltimore, but much of it is a hellhole. The Inner Harbor is really nice, but that can get old. A lot of folks like going to Fells Point to the bars, and there are any number of downright good Italian restaurants. There’s the aquarium - that’s good for an occasional visit. The zoo - pretty fun.</p>
<p>But you’re only a short hop from Annapolis and not far from DC, as someone else pointed out. And there’s lots of stuff to do there. Annapolis is often crowded and touristy on the weekends, but if you can manage an afternoon during the week, especially in mid-spring or early fall, it’s a wonderful place to visit.</p>
<p>If you think that most students at Hopkins are “nerdy,” well… there’s a lot of truth to that, I think. My son was accepted to Hopkins yesterday, and frankly, his visits to the campus influenced him greatly in choosing to apply. One of the attributes he likes most about the school is the sense that many of the students have a great sense of joy in their academic work. The students we’ve met on our trips there seem at once laid back, hard-working and intense, playful, yet very serious about their academic work. It’s clear that the coursework is demanding, and that’s what these young folks were looking for. They are challenged, and that’s what they wanted out of college.</p>
<p>They also seem to have fun outside the classroom, there appears to be a fair amount of organized sports, but much of it at the intramural level where one doesn’t need to be nearly a professional athlete to have a good time participating. Although I’m sure that there are folks who do their fair share of it, it doesn’t seem that the campus has a big party school atmosphere. These are students whose primary attentions are directed toward their educations, but who are enjoying those educations, and also know how to have a good time outside of their academic lives, as well.</p>
<p>That’s a great mix for my son.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help. I think actually attending SOHOP and visiting the campus will make or break it for me. I’ll just have to see how it goes.</p>
<p>Yea, I’ll have to say that almost everyone here is nerdy in their own way- Hopkins is a fairly quirky school. However, most of us are not what you’d consider the stereotypical nerd (though we definitely have those here). We go to class, we study for hours on end, do all our homework, and learn for the sake of learning. However, we still do maintain social lives and go out on the weekends. Yes, even the BME’s. Oddly enough some of the biggest partiers I know are BME’s.</p>
<p>Hopkins BME is waaaay ahead of any major you could come out of UCLA with so I don’t even know why you’d had trouble choosing. Go to SOHOP, you may or may not get a fun host (you probably will), but don’t just base it off him/her unless you plan on being best friends with your host. Observe other people, walk around and ask current students questions. While there might be a few snobby people at hopkins the vast majority of the student body would be happy to answer any questions you had, and in my experience Hopkins student are very blunt/truthful in their answers (they won’t be afraid to tell you both the good and bad parts of Hopkins)</p>
<p>MRC,</p>
<p>From your post in the admissions thread it seems you may be a little surprised by the academic rigor of the BME program. Based on your profile I would make sure that you know you want BME, what it entails, etc. BME is a very difficult major and will stretch you to perform (as will all majors here), but you have to know what you are getting into. Visit at SOHOP, talk to students, then make a decision.</p>
<p>I think I have already made the decision to attend Hopkins. Hopkins students seem a lot more down to Earth than I originally thought, and I am definitely interested in the BME major. I think I will be challenged by BME, but that’s what I want for college (I got a 2290 on the SAT, so I’m not completely behind par). I look forward to attending Hopkins and can’t wait to attend SOHOP to check it all out.</p>