Hi 2013 JHU Neuroscience major and med student here. Not sure if you have applied yet but I can address some of your concerns about Hopkins and lend some advice on which school to apply ED (if that’s what you’re set on):
To address some of the same JHU stereotypes that come up again and again: Yes, we have social lives. I had a social life at JHU, my friends had social lives…people have social lives. We’re human beings who by nature form societies and socialize. No, the nightlife directly around the campus is not as great as Ithaca’s, but Baltimore is a major metropolitan center with over 600,000 people and the downtown is less than 3 miles from the Homewood campus. Even without the growing Hipster influence (which has since added countless brunch locations, “Communist” bookstores and coffee shops), I had plenty of fun with friends eating at great restaurants, singing karaoke, going to bars and 18+ / 21+ clubs, salsa dancing in the Latin Palace, exploring the odd shops in Hampden, going to museums, etc. The Hopkins students who complain they couldn’t find anything were the ones who wouldn’t venture more than three blocks to explore. I assure you, in a city that big, when there’s a will (like taking a 10-minute free school-operated bus ride) there’s a way. Plus, with the city circulator extending its routes to the Homewood Campus you will be able to go just about anywhere in the downtown for free (previously we would have to take multiple buses, taxi, or walk). What I also didn’t know at the time I applied was just how many other colleges are in the Baltimore area (12!) so there are many other young people roaming Baltimore’s nightlife if you know where to go. More importantly, Hopkins is continuing to improve the infrastructure around the campus to invite more businesses (shops, restaurants, boutiques) to the Charles Village neighborhood, so things are always improving. All in all, don’t base such an important decision on this “no social life” rubbish, it’s not true, and honestly, if your intentions are to go to a competitive school to earn a stellar education, you’re not going out every night to party anyway.
As a previous commenter stated, every school has students who form cliques. The only racial-based cliques I remember seeing were international Korean students who probably had a hard time assimilating (or didn’t want to), but Hopkins definitely prides itself in its diversity and I rotated between multiple groups of friends that were multi-racial from all over the country (and a few international student too). Again, a silly rumor like this isn’t worth dismissing a great university. As for Greek life, Hopkins also has about 20-25% of students in fraternities. I think that’s a healthy balance for a school to strike since their presence is strong enough for these groups to organize intramural sports, volunteer events etc. without there being pressure to join if you want to make friends but don’t want the commitment.
As for school selection based on your interests in sociology, it depends. Hopkins is interested in research and interdisciplinary collaboration. If you’re interested in pursuing research Hopkins offers multiple scholarships for freshman to start their own research projects or you can join an existing project with the undergrad dept. or Hopkins’ top-notch grad schools (School of Public Health, School of Education) or the NIH. Baltimore is constantly conducting sociology and public health studies in collaboration with Hopkins due to the disadvantaged populations and suffering neighborhoods located in parts of Baltimore today (I don’t believe Ithaca can offer opportunities like this). From a research perspective and opportunity to make a meaningful impact with your education I would say Hopkins is a great choice for your interests. I’m not too familiar with job opportunities for sociology majors, but if you’re interested in public policy or research then having meaningful experiences (maybe a publication?) from your undergraduate years on your resume will make a huge difference (especially if you go on to grad school where research is paramount). Hopkins and Baltimore offer many opportunities and if you take advantage of them you’ll put yourself in a great position upon graduation.
Lastly, assuming you’re equally impressed by both schools you could apply ED to the school that is more competitive for regular applicants and then if the ED falls through you can always apply regular decision to the other school and have better odds of getting in. The other option is to apply ED to Cornell since you’re a legacy to increase your odds, but if that falls through getting into Hopkins regular admission is going to be tough. Most importantly, I would spend time figuring out which school you would most enjoy attending from an educational opportunity standpoint as well as a “this feels right” perspective and apply ED to that school. I don’t know much about Cornell so I can’t offer much insight into their program benefits, etc., but I would contact alumni from your high school or family who have attended their recently and can better inform you.
The fact you’re a legacy at Cornell is a big deal since Cornell (like many Ivies) is somewhat famous (notorious?) for accepting a fair amount of legacies (http://cornellsun.com/blog/2013/10/15/legacies-make-up-15-percent-of-cornell-students/). Both schools accept about the same percentage of students who apply ED (~35%) and the legacy advantage on top of that means that if you’re meeting the 50th percentile metrics for Cornell you have a strong chance of getting in ED at Cornell. Hopkins has a 12.4% 2016 acceptance rate vs. Cornell’s 14.5% rate so Hopkins is a little more competitive (and given Hopkins is now a “Top 10” I’m sure that percentage is going to drop another few percentage points as more people apply next year). As for the sociology major applicant at Hopkins, maybe it helps a little but it would be disingenuous to suggest that’s what gets you accepted. Hope this helps, it was fun for me to reminisce.
thank you!