<p>Hello! :) Is any JHU student/alum willing to share about the culture at Johns Hopkins? Any traditions/experiences you're particularly fond of?
And how do socially awkward people (me, lol) usually fare at JHU? Do they stay quiet and reserved, or are they more outgoing and confident after their time at JHU? </p>
<p>Thank you so much!!! :)</p>
<p>Your going to find people that have similar interests as you. I’m a pretty quiet person but I have made a lot of friends here at JHU. My advice would be to join clubs that are interesting to you early on (freshman year) so you can start developing friendships early.</p>
<p>(Current student) Hopkins, and the college experience in general, has been a great way to get out there and form new friendships through common experiences. I remember as a freshman, I was surprised by how unified the freshman class was, but then I realized why this was the case. Every freshman is nervous, excited, and confused about how college will be, and they all really bond over this. In addition, orientation was a great way to meet people. Yeah, it was awkward at first, randomly walking up to people and talking to them, but Hopkins has a way of making even this easy. The transition into college life was one of the easiest I have experienced, and Hopkins certainly facilitated that!</p>
<p>Don’t worry. We’re all socially awkward in our own way. If you want to stay quiet and reserved, by all means, do it! But if you want to be outgoing and confident, just take yourself out of your comfort zone. Put yourself in as many situations as you can that will force you to be more outgoing.</p>
<p>For example, I was bad at interviewing, so I applied for tons of clubs/school jobs (some I was interested in and some I wasn’t) and mock interviews for practice. I can now say that I am quite proficient at interviews.</p>
<p>Recent grad here. I definitely fall into the “socially awkward/quiet/reserved/über nerd” group. I enjoy talking about math, physics, economics, politics, and Jewish culture and my idea of a good time is discussing interesting mathematics problems over food. So I found friends who enjoy talking about that stuff. And I ran the Johns Hopkins Math Tournament and TAed calculus my senior year. I never went to a single party or stepped foot in a single frat house during my four years.</p>
<p>Convinced?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for replying! Yes, @YanksDolphins, I am convinced 
</p>
<p>What are some of the best events/experiences that you guys have during your time at Hopkins?</p>
<p>Nothing beats hanging out with friends whether it’s hanging out or just chilling/bar hopping late at night in fells point. There’s also the occasional days when its snowing out and you’re either watching a movie/partying in doors or having a snow ball fight/snowman building get together (something you wont have at Rice…;)). But these annual events come to mind:</p>
<p>MSE Symposium (famous speakers come to Hopkins; see Will Ferrell below)</p>
<p><a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube;
<p>Fall festival (free concerts + food + stands/events/contests/games)</p>
<p>[Fall</a> Fest 2012](<a href=“Office of the Dean of Student Life | Student Affairs”>Office of the Dean of Student Life | Student Affairs)</p>
<p>Spring fair! (awesome food + headliner bands + stands/events/contests/games)</p>
<p>[SPRING</a> FAIR 2013](<a href=“http://www.jhuspringfair.com/]SPRING”>http://www.jhuspringfair.com/)</p>
<p>This year the headliner at Springfair is “grouplove” below:</p>
<p>[Tongue</a> Tied - GROUPLOVE [official video] - YouTube](<a href=“Grouplove - Tongue Tied [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube”>Grouplove - Tongue Tied [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube)</p>
<p>You forgot Physics Fair! (I told you I’m a nerd)
[PHA</a> @ JHU Physics Fair](<a href=“http://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/events/physics_fair/]PHA”>http://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/events/physics_fair/)</p>
<p>One of my funnest experiences was a few years ago during the blizzard when they had to close campus for a week: one night a few of us “broke into” (not really) the physics building and played bridge until we were kicked out by the cleaning staff.</p>
<p>Hey Yanks…so why Princeton over Stanford for grad school in the end?..=). I made the reverse decision (but it was more obvious in my field)</p>
<p>Thanks Blah2009! I do want to see snow :(</p>
<p>@Blah: really tough decision. I loved everything about Stanford but for my specific interests within my field Princeton has a fairly substantial advantage. It’s also much closer to home which makes travel easier and less expensive.</p>