Looking for kids/parents at Johns Hopkins. Need to hear honest opinions. JHU is my DD dream school since day one. We live 30 minutes away. She is considering majoring in Political Science minor in Economics. I have heard mixed comments on grade deflation. Received partial Financial Aid but will still need to take out loans. Is elite diploma worth it?
She was accepted to all schools applied to except Princeton. Narrowed down to JHU- always been her top choice, UMD Smith Business School (scholars)- she feels too big & party school rep, in state a lot of kids from home but affordable and comfortable distance & College of Charleston Honors Aiken Fellow 80% Tuition paid- like Charleston, feel its very far from home and is it academically challenging?
I’m a Johns Hopkins student. If this has been your daughter’s dream school, send her. It’s an amazing university with an abundance of opportunities.
How large will the parent and student loans be by the end of four years? What will the payments be like? (Use a student loan payments calculator – there are several on the web.)
Hopkins is a fabulous school. No school is worth paying any price for.
If all schools are financially workable, I think it comes down to fit for your daughter. My daughter is a sophomore at Hopkins and couldn’t be happier. Yes, it’s challenging but she has met so many amazing people and faculty. For her, other than reputation (obviously), she loved the size of Hopkins and the atmosphere. She feels like she has found “her people” and has become involved in several groups and even joined a sorority. Hopefully your daughter can re-visit these schools and see what feels right for her.
(current student)
Obviously finances will play a huge factor here. Hopkins is an amazing school, but it is certainly expensive.
I would say the talk of grade deflation at Hopkins is pretty overhyped. Yes, Hopkins is competitive, but our average GPA is around 3.3-3.4 and students are (for the most part) very collaborative. I don’t have much experience with the humanities departments though so I can’t speak for that experience.
@mich8rb My son attends The Honors College at CofC and is a WAF. Yes the school is academically challenging. Lots of research opportunities as an undergrad. He’s attending school with students who were accepted at GT, Wake Forest, William and Mary, Rice. Several of his classmates have been published as Freshman and Sophomores. They also have quite a few Goldwater Scholars , Rhodes and Fulbright Scholars and a person dedicated to that application process. Don’t discount academics there. Quite a few students have been accepted to very selective grad programs and medical schools including the Ivies.
@carolinamom2boys thanks for the response. CofC seems to be a wonderful opportunity!