<p>I was recently talking to a great family friend who happens to be a college counselor at the school I used to attend. During the course of conversation, she mentioned JHU as a possible great fit for me. She said that it rivals Columbia, UChicago, Amherst, and Swarthmore (a few of my top choices) in terms of academic rigor. Needless to say, I found that to be quite interesting.</p>
<p>Anyhow, I have a few questions about JHU. First of all, how are the humanities programs? I'm specifically interested in philosophy (and a bit in anthropology and sociology). Also, does JHU have anything roughly similar to a core curriculum? I really like the idea of a core, but am perfectly applying schools without one. Finally, what's the general vibe of the school? Do kids talk about Nietzsche and Sartre on the way to the dining hall? Is it easy to have fun without rushing a frat? Does the campus feel urban? Is downtown Baltimore an interesting place to hang out? Do students appreciate culture?</p>
<p>Sorry for having so many questions, but I'm intrigued by JHU and would love to know more about it.</p>
<p>There is nothing remotely similar to a core. Anyone in A&S is required to take 12 writing credits, and anyone in engineering 6. Everyone is required to fill their distribution requirements but as for what those classes are, you can pretty much choose anything you want. You are not required to take any specific classes outside of your major.</p>
<p>To answer another question, most of my friends are math/physics freaks so we don't talk about Nietzsche too much but we do get into heavy discussions on Euler, Gauss, Riemann, cosmology, and string theory.</p>
<p>"Do kids talk about Nietzsche and Sartre on the way to the dining hall?"</p>
<p>Wrong school. S1 is a very happy rising junior writing sems major. He's taken excellent classes in philosophy (Marx, Freud, theories of Utopia etc.) and sociology. You will get personal attention. S1 has had dinner with several of his professors. However a walk through campus will convince you this is far more a science/research university.
Best way to have fun without rushing a frat is to join one or more of the hundreds of "clubs" on campus. Freshmen are introduced to them during orientation week with the "O-show". Most of the clubs/groups S1 is in hold lots of parties so he rarely goes to the frats.
Your best bet is to visit the campus while school is in session to get a feel for it.</p>
<p>It sounds like the U of Chicago could be the better fit for what you want. My child, who seems to be a lot like you, had to choose between JHU and U of Chicago and chose the U of Chicago because in her opinion it was somewhat less science oriented and she was attracted to the core curriculum. She is now in her third year at U of Chicago and is extremely happy there.</p>
<p>Some great responses so far. I especially appreciate newenglandparent's response ... I wish more people on CC could be like this ... promoting one school while not bashing another. Yes, if you are looking for a Humanities-focused University with a Core Curriculum you can't go wrong with the University of Chicago ... and in no way does that mean that the Humanities at Hopkins are weak (just different).</p>
<p>I thought I would add some links so you can get even more information about the Humanities at Hopkins if you are interested.</p>
<p>I'll say my piece as a non-expert who is and continues to be intrigued by Johns Hopkins and attends Chicago. (Daniel, your blog is on my RSS feed and it's one of my few subscriptions I read regularly!)</p>
<p>First, Hopkins has a great, expansive campus that feels like it could be anywhere on earth but happens to be in a city. Second, as somebody who fits the dork label pretty well (inwardly if not outwardly), I found that Hopkins seemed to harness and support everybody's inner dork, which I really liked. It could be that there's more of a math/science/engineering flavor to that dorkitude (that's corroborated by YanksDolphins) and I love that too. I'll talk about just about anything, and there's definitely something nice about having different interests than your peers.</p>
<p>Given the other schools you're interested in, I think Hopkins would make a good fit.</p>
<p>The Humanities at JHU are really one of the best kept secrets in Higher Education - that said, those who need to know, DO know about the talent in the Humanities departments. </p>
<p>Most people tend to think that the pre-med/biology students at Hopkins are ''the chosen ones''; yet, they are the ones who end up in larger lecture halls with more students from what I hear. Nothing against those departments clearly, but they tend to be the larger majors i'm guessing. </p>
<p>From my opinion, it truly is the humanities students who make out like bandits for they often have classes under 15 students which are taught by some of the best faculty in the world. The Humanities students really are the ones who get the hands on personal touch from the very best. That's my $0.02.</p>
<p>My daughter is a humanities major at Hopkins, going into her sophomore year, and is extremely happy there. She is nowhere near dorky, but is definitely intellectually minded. Though Chicago is a great city, you can't beat the gorgeous Hopkins campus that could be in any small college town, but is instead in a very historical and cultural city with plenty to see and do. Consider Hopkins!</p>
<p>I would have to agree with WealthofInformation. I'm a natural sciences rising senior, and pretty much all of my science classes have been 100+ people. I'd consider myself lucky if I sat in a lecture hall with 50 other students. On the other hand, many humanities courses are much smaller, and you get a lot more interaction with other students and professors. I'm not trying to say that science at Hopkins isn't good, I think we would all agree that it's actually the opposite. However, just because Hopkins is popular amongst engineering/pre-meds DOES NOT mean that the Humanities department is lacking. Many of my most enjoyable classes have been in the humanities department. If you want to go for Humanities and still have time, I would suggest shadowing an undergrad in the major you want to pursue...that's the only real way to know for yourself. </p>
<p>As far as the "core curriculum": Hopkins is very flexible with the classes you can take. In a given major, there are only several classes that are absolutely required to get your degree. All classes are labeled as N (natural science), W (writing intensive), Q (qualitative)...etc etc. So it's not like you come to JHU, take 2 required classes and then take random classes the rest of your 4 years. Students are required to complete a number of credits in EACH of those areas...so by the time you graduate, you're pretty well-rounded. So no one is going to make you take Calculus 101 (unless it's required for your major) or chemistry 101 in order to graduate, but because of those labels, you are required X number of math class, Y # of sciences, etc. Hopefully I explained that correctly. I just wanted to explain the fact that we don't have a core curriculum, but that doesn't mean that you can't take classes outside of your major. In fact, in my past 3 years at Hopkins, I've taken half science courses and half humanities courses. Also, my best advice is to come into Hopkins (if you do) with an open mind. When I applied, I applied as a Biology major ED. When I got here, I switched to Neuroscience, then I finally switched to Cognitive science, and have been very happy with my courses. Be sure to explore first before you tie yourself down to any one field...so to avoid changing majors halfway through your junior year. </p>
<p>General vibe of the school: People are motivated and are generally intelligent. You usually won't see drunk kids walking down the street causing trouble (well...other than 1st semester freshman year, and you'll see why). Personally, I don't talk about my classes unless I'm studying or asking for/giving advice. BUT you will hear engineering students talking about their stuff, or writing sems talking about their stuff (I say "their stuff" because I can't think of an example). Overall, if you're an individual who is motivated and wants a lil (or a lot, depending on you) challenge, then give Hopkins some consideration.
I'm just saying all this from my own experience/observances as an undergrad at JHU- hope it helps!</p>
<p>My D is going there (next week!!!) for a humanities major, either Writing Seminars or History. She can't decide, she loved them both when we visited. small classes, accessible profs, top-notch stuff. She liked the idea that distribution requirements are satisfied at student's leisure and liking, not by a mandatory curriculum. She had enough of that in high school.</p>
<p>be sure to be reminded though, that despite the outstanding integrity of the faculty and the program, you will nevertheless feel somewhat like a little extra commodity that the school decided to take to be nice, but not because it felt COMPELLED to take you. you will feel somewhat like a special groups of minority who have tiny islands of friends and contact that are far between in the vast ocean of BME and other science majors. if you are a type that has no problem socializing with all types of people, then you are fine. </p>
<p>but if you are looking not only for general collegiate environment, but also an intellectual niche that fits your given tendency (talking about Nietzsche, eh?) let alone a potential network of dedicated friends who can support each other as you advance in your career, then you might want to look elsewhere. There is a reason why people often imagine medicine when they hear Johns Hopkins, after all. I am in IR major with a great interest in humanities, too, so this comes from my experience.</p>
<p>International Studies is the most popular major currently at Johns Hopkins for undergraduates (it is not IR because we don't call it International Relations). For Arts & Sciences majors, IS is followed closely by Public Health, Neuroscience, and Writing Seminars. </p>
<p>Biomedical Engineering is currently the largest enrolled Engineering major, however in the next year or two that will be surpassed by Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. (The Class of 2012 has a larger number of ChemBe students than BME.)</p>