<p>My sister has found herself in the rather fortunate situation of having to choose between Tufts, Wesleyan, Brandeis and Hopkins. She likes all four schools, however, no one stands out to her as "the best fit." She's planning on attending the accepted student days for each of the schools. Basically, what she's looking for is some guidance on what to pay attention to at the accepted student days as well as general advice on whether or not Hopkins sounds like the best fit for her.</p>
<p>A brief description of my sister: very bright and driven, but in such an unimposing way that you'd probably think she was a bit lazy upon meeting her. She's interested in a double major in music and chemistry and wants to be able to participate in some on-campus classical music ensembles. She doesn't make friends easily, which is probably in part due to the fact that she'd rather practice her instrument or draw than go to a party. On that same note, she has no intention of joining a Sorority in college. A school full of jocks is pretty undesirable for her, as is a school full of hipsters, hippies, preppy people, etc. Basically, she wants to go somewhere that's going to be pretty hardcore in terms of academics and music.</p>
<p>Other factors to consider: She's a physical science scholar at Brandeis. She was rejected from Peabody, but if she attends Hopkins, she plans to reapply for it next year.</p>
<p>So what do you think? Is Hopkins the best fit, or should she plan on attending one of her other options?</p>
<p>As someone who was very very interested in Tufts and Wesleyan and has visited/done overnights at both schools and spent considerable time with students, I’d say, honestly JHU would be your sisters best fit. And I’m not just saying that, honestly! If I were in your sister’s shoes i would have gone to Wesleyan. But I’m a very different person than she is.</p>
<p>Wesleyan = basically hippie/hipster extraordinare. Yeah yeah yeah they have “all different types of people there” but really, it’s all hippies smoking pot or hipsters majoring in ethnomusicology. Even the campus has a hippy vibe to the architecture. It’s a great school with great academics, but probably not what your sister is going for. Me, I’m a bit of a hippie. I would have loved it there. But it probably doesn’t have the academic intensity your sister is looking for.</p>
<p>Tufts is on the other end of the spectrum, and fairly preppy. You get a lot of “pre-law” type students there, as well as people that didn’t get into ivy league schools. I saw a lot of Abercrombie and Fitch when I visited there. Greek life is very popular.</p>
<p>Brandies? Meh. My cousin went there, it’s a great school, but I’d say Tufts Wesleyan and JHU all are better options.</p>
<p>JHU obviously has preps and hippies and greek people and all that jazz but it’s a lot more intense. There are a number of music options even if you don’t go to peabody.</p>
<p>I’m not disagreeing (or agreeing) with the statement that JHU may be the best fit, but it is simply NOT true that everyone at Wesleyan is a hippie or hipster. It is definitely a very liberal campus and the student body focuses much more heavily on arts-related events than on athletic events, but most people are pretty normal, honestly.
Make whatever decision you want, but do so with correct information. She shouldn’t let a false image of Wesleyan deter her.
Here’s a video that shows a variety of students in it, most looking like they could be students anywhere else: [Why</a> Wes?](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVrlDE19z7M]Why”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVrlDE19z7M)
I don’t know what you mean about the architecture having a hippie vibe… Seems like a nice campus to me!
Wesleyan is academically “intense” in the sense that its students are very intellectual (much moreso than students at Tufts or JHU), but it doesn’t have the competitiveness among its students or pre-professional atmosphere that is present in JHU or Tufts, perhaps because it is a liberal arts college and not a university.
I’ll stop being a stalker now… Good luck with the decision! :)</p>
<p>since she didn’t get into a dual degree program with peabody, i think if she really wants to do a double major in chem & music, i think she should consider tufts or brandeis. Both are excellent schools. But if getting a second major/degree in music is not a big consideration for her, she should definitely consider hopkins</p>
<p>I had was choosing between similar schools (except I didn’t apply to Wesleyan). I ultimately chose Tufts because I loved the atmosphere. I really didn’t get that vibe at Johns Hopkins, although it may be higher in the “rankings.” Plus, I didn’t really like baltimore</p>
<p>Wow, I am exactly like your sister.
I was thinking of JHU or Berkeley… I’d like more response to this thread, so I’m bumping it up.</p>
<p>Hmm… she sounds like that she needs a more intimate environment, so I would not recommend JHU. Also, Tufts may not be the best place because there are a lot of stuck up greek life oriented preps that go there. I think that Brandeis or Wesleyan would be best for her.</p>
<p>I replied to this same post in the Wesleyan section. basic gist of it was, no, don’t come to Hopkins. one of my biggest ever mistakes, besides the spray-on tan. just kidding, i never got a spray-on tan… because I’m not trying to fit in at Hopkins. seriously, she sounds like a cool, interesting, intelligent girl- I just don’t want Hopkins to take her soul. (yes, SOME people do like it here, fit in- but not a person who would also be considering a place like Wesleyan!)</p>
<p>I’ll just add in a little on Hopkins vs. Brandeis, as I got into Brandeis a few years ago: I didn’t like the Brandeis campus; I thought it felt like I was at a hospital so it just gave off a bad vibe. Maybe it’s because it was raining but I could certainly see the buildings. Maybe this opinion is unique, maybe it’s not. Academically, though, nothing wrong with it. Great school. And before the tour started, they were serving cookies and coffee and all sorts of snacks. I also got the feeling that Brandeis is more artsy than Hopkins (for me a bad thing, for others a good thing).</p>