<p>my kid's counselor recommended that he look at Hopkins, but I've heard it's an intense pressure mill. I would like him to go to a challenging school but not a place where he'll drop through the cracks--or crack up. Any comments are appreciated!</p>
<p>What does that mean? If you want an A at JHU, you have to earn it. No one is going to give you an A simply for showing up to class. And everyone who goes there understands that so everyone (okay, not everyone, but most people) will work just as hard, if not harder, than you. That said, it is collaborative, not competitive, I.e., the cutthroat rumors are false. This is the case at pretty much any top school. Also, “pressure mill” makes it sound like it’s university-imposed; any pressure experienced is almost always self-generated.</p>
<p>I am surprised you are not familiar with the term ‘pressure mill’, but it generally refers to an atmosphere that lacks a certain threshold of support for students to manage their workload. For example, the University of Chicago makes a point of detailing their system of academic and professional advisors and mentors. The same is true with Princeton. There appears to be a philosophy that once they admit a student they want to retain that student by not having them fall through the cracks for want of scheduling advice, support,etc… At the University of Washington, for example, where you also have to 'earn your A’s" and they aren’t awarded for 'simply showing up to class" that advising is not really evident. You can find it if you seek it out but it’s not a part of the school philosophy.</p>
<p>Being a current student at Princeton I have some knowledge of the way they do things. Honestly, I think the academic support system there is stronger, especially in junior and senior year when students are working on their JPs and senior theses, in which case they have to meet with their faculty advisor with some regularity. That said, the system is far from perfect and I have read many articles about people complaining about various aspects (some of these complaints were quite serious). From my own experience at JHU, the assigned academic advisors were not helpful. You’re required to meet with them once per semester to approve course selection and so forth, but they weren’t what I would call “helpful”. My senior thesis advisor was very helpful, but that was due more to self-selection: I chose him as my advisor and made a point to speak to him because I knew he would be helpful. I don’t have experience in or knowledge of the other end of the spectrum, i.e., students with academic difficulties, but I think it depends on both the student and the particular department. There are some Directors of Undergraduate Studies that are exceptionally helpful and really do care about how students are doing. However, I don’t know if even those DUSs will come hunting you down at the first sign of trouble. If you are struggling, you have to take some initiative. Keep in mind that JHU is, first and foremost, a research powerhouse (obviously Chicago and Princeton are as well but this is what defines JHU more so than anything else). That requires a certain type of personality and attitude that not everyone has. The attitude is not “You’ve made it in, let’s see you make it out,” it’s more like “We’ll do everything we can to help you make it out, but you have to ask for it.” And don’t think Chicago and Princeton hold your hand, Chicago’s culture is probably most similar to JHU’s and Princeton undergrads are stressed to the max over the grade deflation policy.</p>
<p>Very helpful. </p>
<p>Although my son-in-law who recently graduated from Princeton did not experience much stress from grade deflation. He found the workload intense but the mentoring/advising outstanding. His twin, who attended Duke, was much more on her own. </p>
<p>I’ve TAed a few classes and believe me, they’re worried about it.</p>