<p>Hi AdmissionsDaniel! I'm from China but i've been studying in Singapore (the school is eng medium) since 2002. My SAT1 scores: Critical reading:640, writing:720 maths:800. Do i still need to take toefl? another question is: is it true that JHU emphasizes more on the depth of study, on the contrary, liberal arts education focuses on broadness of study? Must students choose their major in freshman year?
Thank u very much!</p>
<p>Official TOEFL answer:
"The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of applicants whose native language is not English and who attend a non-English-speaking high school. If you attend an English-language school but do not speak English at home, you should take the TOEFL. If your native language is not English and you attend high school in the U.S., you must take the TOEFL if you have been here for fewer than five years. Your TOEFL requirement will be waived if you score a 670 or higher on the Critical Reading section of the SAT."</p>
<p>Choosing major:
Engineering students must declare their major at the end of the first year, whereas Arts & Sciences students declare at the end of the second year. About three out of four students enrolling at Hopkins have a sense of the major(s) they will choose. However, many students changes their mind quite frequently as they start their studies. So though many students do have a sense of what they will major in upon enrollment, I would not say that most have selected their major in their first year. There is great flexibility and with interdisciplinary programs there is a lot to choose from.</p>
<p>Depth versus broadness:
This is a good question. We are a research institution so that leans more to the depth of study side. However, we are also a liberal arts institution so broadness is emphasized. Without a core curriculum though, obtaining a broad education is put into the hands of each individual student. I think you will find that we emphasize a mixture of the two philosophies and allow our students to choose which direction they want to pursue. You will find liberal arts students at Hopkins who explore all different fields of study and then you will also find very focused research-oriented students who pretty much focus on one or two areas. We like this kind of diversity and flexibility.</p>