How Much Prestige is in Johns Hopkins?

<p>I'm having major conerns on if Johns Hopkins's prestige is going to carry after undergrad. I'm thinking I'm going into Biology, which is fine, but I might end up switching into, say, the arts. Does Hopkins have qualified teachers for that? Are there really good/famous professors for more "liberal arts" type classes? It is between Berkeley and JHU now, and I was thinking that Cal is more well-known and might help me get into, say, Stanford for grad school. Is this true or is it just in my head? It's just that I don't really read about any famous writers who went to JHU or that sort of thing. I'm just kind of confused because everyone is saying different things. Basically I am worried just about the prestige part right now. </p>

<p>thanks</p>

<p>I strongly recommend that you do a simple search of past threads. Such questions have already been answered numerous times. </p>

<p>My answer: Not only is JHU a superb school in medicine, its arts majors are also equally strong. JHU has one of the best International relations schools in the country, while the Peabody Institute remains one of America's first and most prestigious conservatories of music. This year, JHU also launched the new Carey School of Business as well as a new School of Education in downtown Baltimore. Although I am not an advocator of selecting a school simply based on such trivial critieria as "prestige" or "rank," I must say that JHU is overall very well respected domestically and worldwide.</p>

<p>Also, my understanding is that the Writing Seminars major at Hopkins is truly amazing. Perhaps others can give more info about that -- but I believe there are some future writers who choose Hopkins just for that major!</p>

<p>Also, don't forget to ask on JHU's accepted website message boards for info. The students and staff on there are extremely helpful and responsive.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I was thinking that Cal is more well-known and might help me get into, say, Stanford for grad school.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I think this is just west coast bias on your part. The Hopkins name is probably more well-known worldwide (again, this isn't a reason to go and, in fact, probably has more to do with the hospital and med school).</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure people have just answered your question. Both are prestigous and great academic institutions, but they have huge differences as well. Visit.</p>

<p>Hopkins is probably more world-renowned and probably has some of the greatest professors in the world. Going here: <a href="http://www.jhu.edu/careers/docs/postgrad_Class05.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.jhu.edu/careers/docs/postgrad_Class05.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>will show you that Hopkins places its students into the best graduate schools in the world for every field. I doubt any Cal school does this as consistently as Hopkins does.</p>

<p>This might sound like bad news, but people don't choose Hopkins for prestige... those students pick schools in the ivy league to brand themselves in a certain way.</p>

<p>Hopkins students are known for being leaves of a different tree. They aren't overly concerned with grades, they aren't concerned with the 'prestige' of their institution and they aren't desperate thinking about graduate school as high school seniors in general (although i'm sure there are a few).</p>

<p>Hopkins students are independent thinkers who take advantage of every opportunity no matter what; they seek out challenges that will help them grow as scholars, leaders and people. </p>

<p>Don't choose Hopkins for the name, choose it for the experience it offers you and choose it because you know after the four-year experience there, you will be the person you want to be.</p>

<p>kareness, you live in california...the majority of the population there go wt* is mit? o.O lol...sorry but no offense...so it shouldn;t be much of a amazement for them to consider jhu a local community college lol
wow...yup...i live in california =D
edit: and...atleast according to the majority of the people on cc, they usually set jhu one tier above ucb...but then prestige is really nothing, so gl! in your choosing!
edit: wealth, i'm sure many students are concerned about grades and grad school...to the degree of mutual collaboration lol</p>

<p>darkhope -- totally true, hahah. when I tell people I'm probably going to JHU, they're like, where's that? oh, Maryland? oh.. Maryland. have fun.</p>

<p>Some people don't even know where Duke is. Duke! California are really ignorant I guess. But really, Hopkins definitely is prestigious. When I tell people that I'm thinking of going to Hopkins, they all say something like, oh wow that's such a great school, etc etc. So yeah, you get to impress family and friends</p>

<p>Although karenness lives in California, I live in Hawaii and I was almost sure that my fellow peers did not know JHU existed. However, to my surprise, after I told them I was accepted they were positively in awe because they knew about the school and it's excellent reputation. So, just goes to show.. not everyone's oblivious?</p>

<p>Thanks for you input you guys! as for wealth, I understand that I will be going for the experience, but a name can carry you places sometimes so I was just wondering...please keep giving comments! I am leaning towards JHU. Thanks for the stats cool guy, but it kinda looked like there were no english/something other than science majors. Are those just as good as the BME programs, etc?</p>

<p>
[quote]
Is this true or is it just in my head?

[/quote]
It is all in your head :).
I have grad degrees from Cal-Berkeley and Stanford. My son goes to Hopkins. The reputations of all three are stellar. No chance in he** that a grad school admissions committee at Stanford would discount your Hopkins degree compared to one from UCB.</p>

<p>Prestige is not the right way to choose a school. Even if it were, these two are on a par. Choose based on elements of the experience - such as whether you want to explore a different part of the country, the size of the schools/size of classes you will be taking....</p>

<p>Good luck on your choice.</p>

<p>How much prestige is in Johns Hopkins? I dunno...5, maybe 6 pounds worth?</p>

<p>Being well known rarely means academically superior. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry has heard of Arizona State. The vast majority of people on the east coast will have never even heard of, say, Harvey Mudd (great school). My high school English teacher though that the University of Chicago was a public school. </p>

<p>Johns Hopkins is one of the of the most prestigious universities in the world--but really, it means very little (and it doesn't mean squat if you don't take advantage of the extraordinary opportunities available to you at JHU). </p>

<p>Personally, I believe believe quite strongly that applicants from JHU have the upper hand in grad school admissions versus those from Cal. Besides all the advantages of an being an elite private school (and all that entails), JHU is far smaller--4500 undergrads vs 22000+ at Cal. </p>

<p>This means better access to and relationships with grad school placement counselors, smaller classes to get to know your profs for those all important recommendations, and in all honesty, less competition from your college to certain grad programs (unless you're headed to med school, in which case it's a wash with Cal).</p>

<p>Don't worry about the arts at Hopkins. The humanities are strong at JHU, if not as well known as their strengths in the sciences.</p>

<p>You mention authors. Plenty of authors have come out of Hopkins (quite a few from the Writing Seminars program), but John Barth is one that comes to mind as having the strongest Hopkins connection. He not only earned a BA and MA from JHU, he taught there as well. </p>

<p>He's widely regarded as being the figurehead for postmodernism, and is considered one of the most influential authors of the late 20th century.</p>

<p>johns hopkins is definitely a very reputable school -- especially on an international level. </p>

<p>but, picking schools based on prestige is definitely the wrong way to go ...</p>

<p>a lot of good info on this thread, however ...</p>

<p>"Hopkins students are known for being leaves of a different tree. They aren't overly concerned with grades, they aren't concerned with the 'prestige' of their institution and they aren't desperate thinking about graduate school as high school seniors in general (although i'm sure there are a few).</p>

<p>Hopkins students are independent thinkers who take advantage of every opportunity no matter what; they seek out challenges that will help them grow as scholars, leaders and people. "</p>

<p>... while I disagree most about the bit on grades/graduate schools ... I'm concerned with the generalizations made about Hopkins and where this "information" comes from. </p>

<p>Not saying that there aren't students at Hopkins that are independent thinkers who 'seek challenges that'll help them' and aren't overly concerned with grades/grad school ... just saying that i'm concerned it'll create misperceptions with incoming students and i'm wondering if WealthOfInformation has any firsthand experience with JHU outside of hearing things about it, etc. </p>

<p>I could be wrong?</p>

<p>i do agree with this however --</p>

<p>"Don't choose Hopkins for the name, choose it for the experience it offers you and choose it because you know after the four-year experience there, you will be the person you want to be."</p>

<p>Well I am not sure whether WealthofInformation has any firsthand experience, but based on recent and past posts he seems to be extremely knowledegable about JHU and a very credible source, without agenda.</p>

<p>I have been at Hopkins for four years and have watched each subsequent class enter the school and gradually change the dynamic of the student population. In comparison to the other schools I have experience with (10 years in the profession - three different schools) JHU undergraduates to me remain the most independent and motivated students both in and outside of the classroom. The level of initiative of JHU students is quite impressive and their ability to use all the resources available to them is something I have not seen elsewhere. </p>

<p>When asked what is the greatest quality of Hopkins I do not pause -- it is clearly the student body which continues to improve in diversity, both academic and extracurricular. </p>

<p>And even if my bills weren't paid by Hopkins I would believe the same thing.</p>

<p>... agreed</p>

<p>".....JHU undergraduates to me remain the most independent and motivated students both in and outside of the classroom. The level of initiative of JHU students is quite impressive and their ability to use all the resources available to them is something I have not seen elsewhere."</p>

<p>Based on my limited knowledge that seems to be an accurate description. Every school has its own culture, which tends to be self perpetuating. Students want to apply to schools where they will fit in and once enrolled tend to conform to the prevailing culture. Administrative policies also help. JHU has minimal core requirements and does not charge for excess credit hours. This makes it feasible for students to add some extra courses and explore areas outside of their majors. AdmissionsDaniel, does admissions play a role in selecting the applicants that fit the JHU culture? If so, how? I would guess you do not want to provide details that would encourage an applicant to "game" the system, but perhaps you would be willing to make some general comments.</p>

<p>This thread has evolved some, but to address the original question about prestige; On the one hand I would like to think everyone could make these college decisions based solely on quality of education, environment that appeals to you and ...maybe value. But in the end, this is a decision that has an affect on your life and thus prestige and what perception is created by the degree you receive from an institute is a legitimate issue to consider, all be it a difficult one, and very subjective (at least once you get past the Ivies) to pin down. To that end though, I found the following ranking done by Brody based on prestige. Here it is, take if for what ever it is worth to you.</p>

<p><a href="http://brodyadmissions.com/college/resources/college_rankings.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://brodyadmissions.com/college/resources/college_rankings.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>As you will see, this ranking won't give you an easy answer when it comes to JHU vs. Cal. Good Luck.</p>

<p>=(...i'm so sorry to flame this...but the given ranking, though throughout the article keeps on mentioning the cautions of its significant inaccuracies, is so odd and abnormal hehe...that hmc, georgetown, claremont mcKenna, pomona, and rice are ranked below ucb...most people on cc would consider those schools a tier up in prestige than ucb if you look at the previous threads on cc =D not saying that the Brody counselors are not as informed and up to date as the general population on cc =D i don;t know...but i wouldn;t quite trust a random company's site which offers sat preps that almost no one on cc heard of to quantify colleges w/o even precisely discussing how they did it =D</p>