<p>Class of 2015--from Pennsylvania! Feel free to post questions about things which you cannot find on the admissions site...so more opinion based--which housing did I like better, frats, overall social life, etc.</p>
<p>Ah I needed this! What do you think of on-campus dining? How have you been affected by the curve on your grades?</p>
<p>I want to apply to Hopkins next year. How is the social life on campus?</p>
<p>I live in Baltimore, do I must live in dorm? Can I live at home?</p>
<p>Is it really hard to get high grades at JHU?</p>
<p>1) Is it common for JHU students to transfer out once they finish freshman years? Are such people ‘frowned upon’ for ‘betraying’ JHU ?
2) Students that have intense courseload; exactly how many hours do they sleep ?
3) Is it true that they are not many mathematics majors in JHU? Specifically, is it rare to find students that Only major in mathematics?</p>
<p>1)I play in a rock band here and want to start a new one next year, how is the music scene at Johns hopkins (not the classical one)? </p>
<p>2)How is the social scene/party scene? I keep searching the forums but I keep getting mixed comments so I would appreciate more feedback particularly from current students…</p>
<p>3)What type of people are there? I know it’s a strange question but i’m not sure that I would fit in based on what I have read about the school…( example preppy? hipster?) </p>
<p>4)How is sleeping in a quad? my parents are looking into this because it will make us save more money…</p>
<p>probably ridiculous questions…</p>
<p>@goodnessohynne Is it worth going to JHU? What I mean is it worth considering the price?</p>
<p>Thanks goodnessohmy for taking the time to answer our questions! 
I’m definitely going to Hopkins this fall and I was wondering about dorms. Which did you stay in now? Are you in a single/double/triple? How do you like it and if you could, would you swap your dorm for another? </p>
<p>How was the transition from high school to Hopkins? Any tips on how to make that transition as smooth as possible?</p>
<p>I’m a Hopkins alum and thought I’d throw in my $0.02 on a few academic questions. I’ll let the current students comment on the social life questions. </p>
<p>@surie1995 There’s an exception to the mandatory 2-years on-campus housing rule if you love in the local area with a parent. That said, you may want to consider living on campus because you’ll miss our on a large part of campus life if you’re going home each night. A lot of the campus community forms around the freshman dorms, and many student groups hold their meets at 7 or 8pm. </p>
<p>@myceliumful I think it’s pretty rare for people to transfer out after freshman year. That said, it does happen occasionally, either because of personal reasons, or because someone decides they completely want to change what they’re doing in life (I had a friend transfer out to a seminary school). </p>
<p>The math program is not one of the largest, but there are a decent number of students and they seem to have a fairly tight knit community. The undergraduate program director is fantastic and there are a lot of opportunities for student research. There’s another recent alum who was a math major who used to post here on CC - search through this forum for Math and you should find some of his comments on the program.</p>
<p>Hey guys! Thanks for the questions. I’m writing a paper and studying for an exam but once this is all over(tomorrow at 2 lol), I’ll answer each one.</p>
<p>good luck for your exam then!</p>
<p>@floobery - i’m a hopkins freshman that can help answer some questions. On campus dining as a freshman is really limited to the ffc which can get old after a while. It’s also a long walk if you don’t live in the AMRs or building a/b. As a sophomore you can use meal swipes for nolans and have better meal plan options. As for out of campus food options we have the usual subway, chipotle, quiznos (just opened), korean takeout, ledos pizza etc. Most classes generally curve their grades.</p>
<p>@surie1995 - Social life at campus is whatever you want to make it out to be. If you’re into fraternities and partying there is definitely a scene for that, if you’re into just chilling, baltimore has a lot to offer. Fraternities/sororities are big for the people involved in it but it by no means dominates campus. There will always be parties on weekends if you’re into that.</p>
<p>@bluejay16 - With regards to freshman dorms, the two most popular are Wolman and the AMRs. This spring, Wolman just finished its renovations which include a new movie theatre, kitchens, study rooms, game rooms, gym. Wolman also has a mail room and suite style living (2 doubles share a bathroom and kitchenette). The AMRs don’t have air conditioning and they don’t have individual bathrooms/kitchens but some people say they are more ‘sociable’. I live in Wolman and it is by far the best freshman dorm. Check out ‘hopkins cribs’ on youtube to get a better idea about freshman dorms</p>
<p>Thank you for answering my question about food!</p>
<p>My question about the curved grade thing though is about you being affected by it. Does it help or hurt you for the most part?</p>
<p>I’m an alum but let me try to address the curve issue since it comes up every year and, for some reason, some new students seem to get obessed about it. It’s been around forever, and let me start by saying that it’s nothing to get worked up about. </p>
<p>First of all, the issue of curving only applies to some large, introductory type courses (often called survey courses). These type of courses have a professor who is overall in charge of the course and who does most of the lecturing. The professor will have graduate students in the department serving as teaching assistants. The TAs will conduct sections of the class, each with a small number of students, where you can get your questions answered, turn in your homework/problem sets, get quizzes, etc. The TAs typically are the ones who do the initial grading of exams, with the Professor acting as quality control and making sure that the grading is fair and uniform. </p>
<p>In such a large class, the science of statistics would suggest that, based upon a long history of performance of past classes that took the course, that one can predict, within a margin of error, how many students will perform at a very high level, how many at a very low level, and how many in-between. The professor then, usually in conjunction with the department, develops a curve distribution based upon past performance to ensure that the grading is consistant and fair. It also serves as a hedge against rampant grade inflation because such inflation tends to make it difficult to distinguish high performance from mediocre performance. Typically, the curve is not applied strictly or unreasonably since it is possible that you can have a particularly high (or low) performing class once in a while. Rather, it serves as a general guide, again to make sure that the grades are fair and consistent. </p>
<p>In my experience, the curve tends to help more than it hurts. Many Hopkins professors give hard exams because they want even the most talented students to be challenged. Without the curve, average students could find themselves in the failing range. The curve makes sure that doesn’t happen. You might score a 30 out of 100 and have it graded as a B. In high school, a 30 was failing. </p>
<p>Now it true that, if you get a B+ in a course, you will wonder if you really deserved an A- but got screwed by the curve because there were so many smart/hard working kids in the class. I suppose that is possible but, in my experience, there usually is a difference between that B+ exam and the A- exam. If you want to be in the A group, stop whining and work a little harder.</p>
<p>Finally, while Hopkins has the reputation (among students at least) as having deflated grades, that really isn’t true. The average GPA today is something around 3.4. When I was a student years ago it was closer to 3.0, so there has been grade inflation–just not as much as at some schools (Harvard for instance). If you go to commencement (or read the materials), you will see that over 1/3 of the class graduates with honors, which requires a 3.5 GPA. But rest assured, graduate and professional schools know that grading is done differently at different schools and, the good ones at least, take this into account in admissions. Hopkins students do very well in graduate and professional school admissions and are not handicapped by the grading policies.</p>
<p>I hope this helps.</p>
<p>If I decide to live at home with my parents and commute to Hopkins, will I be allowed to hang out at dorms with my friends as long as I don’t stay overnight?</p>
<p>I know that I will probably be attacked for posting this but if you want even more opinions from current students who are not anonymous you may want to ask questions of the 25 students who run the Hopkins Interactive site: [Hopkins</a> Interactive | Home](<a href=“http://www.hopkins-interactive.com/]Hopkins”>http://www.hopkins-interactive.com/). </p>
<p>You can ask questions directly on the Hopkins Forums: [Hopkins</a> Forums - Index](<a href=“http://www.hopkins-interactive.com/forums/]Hopkins”>http://www.hopkins-interactive.com/forums/)</p>
<p>Also if you are an admitted or enrolling student you should join the Facebook groups set up for the Class of 2016 as there is a lot of helpful information provided.</p>
<p>Even though these sites are hosted by Admissions, the students who volunteer to run Hopkins Interactive are not paid, are not told what to say, and are quite helpful in providing full answers to any and all questions.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m planning on visiting B-more sometime this year before I try to apply for C’17. I’m planning on sitting in on classes and stuff, but in your opinion what are the best places to visit to experience “student-life” or whatever people do in their free time?</p>
<p>@Shibboleet
I am assuming you are asking that question of me. If so, I agree that visiting Hopkins and sitting on class is a great idea. Take the campus tour and sit in on the admissions information session as well. I always suggest having lunch in Levering Hall and eavesdropping on conversations that are going on. Pick up a copy of the JHU News-Letter. Ask questions of students you run into, not just your tour guide. As well, if you are able to attend an overnight program during the fall semester of your senior year.</p>
<p>@floobery
On campus dining- It’s what you make of it. You have your traditional pizza, salad, burgers, fresh cookies :), fruits, fresh vegetables, vegetarian options. Here’s a menu with selections from this week: [Welcome</a> to CampusDish at Johns Hopkins University!](<a href=“http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSE/JohnsHopkinsUniv/Locations/FreshFoodCafeMenu.htm?LocationName=Fresh%20Food%20Cafe%20Menu&MealID=17&OrgID=116637&Date=4_8_2012&ShowPrice=False&ShowNutrition=True]Welcome”>http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSE/JohnsHopkinsUniv/Locations/FreshFoodCafeMenu.htm?LocationName=Fresh%20Food%20Cafe%20Menu&MealID=17&OrgID=116637&Date=4_8_2012&ShowPrice=False&ShowNutrition=True)
There’s also selections available at the Nolan caf</p>
<p>thank you so much for the time and writing @goodnessohmy!
Are there disadvantages in having singles? I mean, one would miss the chance of having a great companionship with roommate? Or not?</p>