<p>CMBMOM: I, too, really like Baltimore and its environs. Everyone knows to stay out of bad areas of any big city. But Baltimore has some of the most beautiful city areas, especially those that you mentioned. And Towson, is only down the road by about 10 minutes. It is a beautiful town, with great shopping, and good restaurants (Baltimore has even better restaurants!). It is probably closer than some of the bad areas spoken about in Baltimore. Guilford and Roland Park are nothing short of magnificent. And Hopkins borders those beautiful areas, and is, in itself, a beautiful campus, filled with some of the nicest kids I have ever met. I also like that it is a wonderful sports town, filled with exuberance for its teams.</p>
<p>It is true that many Hopkins (JHU) students chose it over ivies. My son is one of those, and he knows plenty of people who have done the same. To those kids, it is no big deal to have done so. I find that kids like these generally have their heads in the right place, and are very secure in their intelligence and their abilities. They would rather be at the best biomed engineering program in the country, or in the #2 writing program, nationally. </p>
<p>I look forward to every one of my visits to the Charm City.</p>