<p>Ugh. Boston > Baltimore? NO WAY!!!!!</p>
<p>I live across the river from Boston. Boston is an old city. Its style is fast pace with more traditional feel. Baltimore is by far what a collegetown should be like. Boston has nothing comparable to Baltimore's inner harbor. I was impressed. Don't think too highly of Boston, its actually a really old city with a lot of historical ties to its upbringing.</p>
<p>Although I cannot firmly state that I consider myself an average representation of the entire student body, the average JHU student and average Tufts students are about the same.</p>
<p>I have many friends who go to Tufts. To be frank, the work ethics there isn't as high at Tufts as you might think it is. I have friends that go there and they say their workload in highschool was far harder than it is in college. I have friends that go to Tufts, play games all day, skip class, party, go out and meet girls and forget work. in fact, I have one friend that is nearly failing all his classes at Tufts. Not to say that this is an accurate portray of the entire class, but that just my experience.</p>
<p>JHU students are very motivated people. They come from similar background such as really good prep private schools and great magnet public schools as well. Students here are motivated to well in school, strive to do the best, and really do enjoy the intellectual challenge. JHU students like to work, and there is a "play hard, work hard" attitude too. You can go party on the weekends and hang out with friends in the cafeteria but when time comes to do your work, you'll do it. Its that simple.</p>
<p>Most people here like to make things intense btw.</p>
<p>Your in control and its up to YOU to decide how rigorous YOU want your schedule to look like. Hopkins has first semester pass/fail uncovered grades similar to that for freshmens going into MIT. They have a pass/fail system that allows people to get accustom to the work environment and to people get a feel for what it is like in college. It is by no means a safety net for those who wish to take advantage of it and do no work. You will still get graded but that grade will not appear on your transcript. </p>
<p>So yes, Hopkins is tough, as evident by first semester pass/fail system.
Besides that, the point is that you are still in control of your schedule. Most students here challenge themselves by taking organic chemistry, biochemistry, high level physics, and calc 3 all that the same time. Thats fine, but that doesn't mean YOU have to do that too. Your still in control.</p>