Hey, I’m going to be attending JHU as a transfer next semester. I plan on continuing on to graduate school so I’m a bit concerned about the grading. Does anyone have any advice on how to really be competitive (A/A- range) in math/science courses? I have pretty rigorous study habits now but I’m sure they’re gonna to have to get even more rigorous next semester so any tips from current students would be awesome!
It really depends on your professors, but be prepared to do a lot of self-studying. Many professors teach based on the assumption that you read the textbook outside of class, so things go a lot more quickly and topics aren’t elaborated upon as much. There are certain classes where reading the textbook before every class isn’t necessary, but for some, such as Organic Chemistry, you do need to keep up with the readings. In my experience, attending a few lectures will clue you in as to which kind of class it is. [Note on the textbooks: Wait until classes start to gauge which classes you’ll need textbooks for. Avoid Barnes and Noble if you can. Use Hopkins’ Textbook Exchange Facebook page, online PDFs (especially for math classes), and online book rentals first].
For math classes and science classes with a lot of computations, practice problems are the best way to learn the material, at least for me. Past tests and the professor’s own problems are the best source of practice problems. When it comes to concepts, you’ll know that you’ve mastered a concept when you’re able to explain it to someone else. Hopkins has a lot of great resources for science and math courses such as Learning Den (peer tutoring) and PILOT (which gives you extra practice problems to work on in groups); take advantage of them.
Time management is key; if your courseload is very STEM-heavy, you may find that you’ll have several assignments or exams within the same short time period. It may be the case that despite your best efforts, you need to devote attention to certain classes and fall behind in others. You may not be able to do all the readings right before each class, but try to at least get caught up by the start of the next week.
Based on the pervasive rumors about Hopkins, it’s likely that you’re overestimating how difficult it’s going to be to do well. With a solid work ethic, getting A/A- grades is doable. In science classes (particularly large, lower-level courses), there’s often a decent curve, though curves are rarer in math courses. There are some professors who cut off grades such that X% of people get an A, B, etc., but many are against that style of grading, so you won’t always have to worry about doing better than others.