<p>I am a high school senior and looking to apply to Johns Hopkins, possibly early decision. Before I make that committment I want to know what are the pros and cons of JHU from JHU students? It would really help me map out what goes on at campus.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>You should apply ED only to your one dream school above all others. It’s a loooong time from December to September, scary enough to lock yourself in when it is your dream school, without a chance to change your mind. May to September is much shorter.</p>
<p>You’re looking to apply early decision (meaning this is the one school you most want to attend), yet you don’t know the pros and cons of the school?</p>
<p>I know the general pros and cons, I just want to hear what students think</p>
<p>Not to worry, that’s exactly what you said:</p>
<p>“I want to know what are the pros and cons of JHU from JHU students?”</p>
<p>From a Hopkins med student who did not attend Hopkins undergrad (I went to Georgetown), the following are my impressions of Hopkins undergrad:</p>
<p>Pros: strength of faculty, resources, facilities, prestige, hard-working student body, in recent years a significant improvement in quality of student life, lacrosse, top biomedical engineering, strong premed with good premed advising, pleasant self-contained and easily accessible campus</p>
<p>Cons: Baltimore, graduate student emphasis, competitive student body, over-emphasis on premedicine/medical school/sciences at the expense of other disciplines, Baltimore, Baltimore, still lagging student life, little emphasis on community, 2nd choice school for many of the students there, overly pre-professional, did I mention Baltimore?</p>
<p>Dude Baltimore is a nice place, crabs = pro</p>
<p>nice? crabs are great, but Baltimore is not nice.</p>
<p>I generally agree with Hoyasaxa1’s description of the strengths of the undergraduate program at Hopkins except that he failed to mention the perhaps surprising strength of the humanities departments.</p>
<p>With respect to Hoyasaxa1’s description of the con’s, I think he accurately described how many undergrad’s would list them, although I personally think that they are frequently overblown. </p>
<p>It is probably fair to say that Baltimore is not the best college town, and as a city does not compare favorably to Boston, NYC, or DC. It is more comparable to Philadelphia but, overall, Philadelphia is also a better city. If the Homewood campus were in DC as opposed to Baltimore, Hopkins would be as selective as Harvard. So perhaps you should be happy it is not 
</p>
<p>That said, Baltimore does have its share of charms and, if you maintain a positive attitude, it not only is tolerable but can be quite enjoyable. There are beautiful areas and neighborhoods, good restaurants and clubs, fine cultural facilities, etc. Yes, it has more than its share of bad neighborhoods which need to be avoided. This admittedly is harder to do at the medical campus in East Baltimore which may be coloring Hoyasaxa1’s view. But if you learn the geography and develop some urban street smarts (which are also necessary for DC, by the way), there is no reason for Homewood’s location to be a major con.</p>
<p>The emphasis on graduate education is often overstated and can often be a positive. There are more than twice as many undergraduates as graduate students at Homewood and undergraduates are not ignored by the administration as they frequently suggest. I was both an undergrad and a graduate student at Hopkins and I can assure you that grad students often think that they are second fiddle to undergraduates since most of the latter pay tuition and most of the grad students do not. Sure, faculty for the most part prefer to work with graduate students but I don’t know of a decent research university where the opposite is true. The positive part is that advanced undergraduates who become accomplished in their field and who demonstrate real interest are treated much like graduate students. I suppose one can argue that Hopkins’ strengths in research and graduate education put pressure on undergraduates to specialize too early. But it is certainly possible to stay general and obtain a first rate, broad liberal arts education at Hopkins, and many do. </p>
<p>The student body is hard working and competitive in the sense that most people want to do well to get into top graduate and professional schools. You will find some laid back students but, make no mistake, this is a place where academics are the priority. Fun can be (and often is) had, but it takes a back seat to academics. But most students want it that way; that’s why they came here.</p>
<p>As for the comment about Hopkins being the “2d choice school for many,” I guess that depends on what you mean by many. About 1/3 of the class is admitted ED so it clearly was #1 for them. And it was #1 for enought RD admits that I think it is accurate to say that more than half of the class had Hopkins as their #1 choice. But certainly, you will find many RD admits who wanted to go to Harvard, Yale, Princeton or Stanford. But that’s also true at other top schools not named Harvard, Yale, Princeton or Stanford. I’m not sure why that’s a con. </p>
<p>Hopkins is more science oriented than many of its peers in that 2/3 of the students are either science or engineering majors. But students majoring in the humanities and social sciences are treated to small classes with brilliant faculty in highly ranked departments. What’s wrong with that? Similarly, while it is true that most Hopkins undergraduates are pre-professional as opposed to preparing for academic careers, the same is true for all of Hopkins’ peer institutions. Hopkins does have a higher percentage of pre-meds than other places, so if you prefer the company of lawyers or business executives, I suppose that might be viewed negatively.</p>
<p>I pretty much agree with everything that bonanza just said, but I’d have to add that I was surprised at how much of a grip that Greek life has had on social life thus far. Unless you already have a large group of friends not into partying on weekends coming into college, you’ll be dragged to a ton of fraternity parties.</p>
<p>@Gevamna: Is it that vibrant? I was hoping it was more subtle as a lot of posts suggested (I’m not a big partier lol)</p>
<p>Greek life is usually big @ the start of semesters because clubs haven’t started meeting yet. After the clubs and organizations get started (after the student activities fair), the prevalence of Greek life definitely dissipates. </p>
<p>[Student</a> Activities Fair @ Hopkins, September 3, 2010](<a href=“Office of the Dean of Student Life | Student Affairs”>Office of the Dean of Student Life | Student Affairs)</p>
<p>According to their website, the Student Activities Fair will take place on Friday, September 3, 20010 In the Recreation Center, the fair will be from 2:00-4:30 p.m… check-in is from 1:00-1:45 p.m. for all groups.</p>
<p>Once that happens, campus life opens beyond Greek life. </p>
<p>Here is the list of clubs too:</p>
<p>Place To Talk
Active Minds
Adoremus
Advocates for Autism
African Students Association
Agape Campus Christian Fellowship
Alpha Epsilon Pi
alpha Kappa Delta Phi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Sigma Sigma Chapter
Alpha Phi Omega
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Institute of Chemical Engineers / Society for Biological Engineering (AIChE/SBE)
American Red Cross: Johns Hopkins University Chapter
Amnesty International
Arab Student Union
Art Brigade
Aspiring Scientists, Engineers, and Physicians Partnership
Association for Computing Machinery
Association for India’s Development
Badminton Club
Ballroom Dance Club, JHU
Barnstormers
Best Buddies
Biomedical Engineering Society
Black & Blue Jay
Blue Jay Batallion (ROTC)
Bootup Baltimore
Brazilian Students Association
Canadians at Johns Hopkins University
Caribbean Cultural Society
Center for Social Concern Dance Program
Chess Club
Choral Society
Ciao- JHU Italian Club
Circle K
Clowning Around Baltimore
Coalition of Hopkins Activists for Israel
College Independents
College Opportunity and Career Help Program JHU
Colleges Against Cancer
Cooking 4 Love
Crossover Basketball
Delta Xi Phi Multicultural Sorority, Inc.
Diverse Sexuality and Gender Alliance
Dunbar Baldwin Hughes Theatre Company
East Asian Forum and Review
Engineering World Health
Engineers Without Borders
Epidemic Proportions
Equestrian Club
Feminist Alliance
Filipino Students Association
Foreign Affairs Symposium
From Classroom to Community
German Club
Global Brigades
Global Public Health Brigades
Global Water Brigades
Golden Key International Honor Society
Habitat for Humanity
Hawaii Ohana
Health Occupations Students of America
Hellenic Students Association
Hindu Students Council
Hong Kong Students Association
Hopkins AIDS Alliance
Hopkins Association for Stroke Awareness
Hopkins Baja
Hopkins Bengali Organization
Hopkins Christian Fellowship
Hopkins Club Field Hockey
Hopkins Club Tennis
Hopkins Emergency Response Organization
Hopkins Ethiopian and Eritrean Society (HEES)
Hopkins Farmhands
Hopkins Ice Hockey Club
Hopkins Kicks Butts
Hopkins Museum Club
Hopkins Olympic Taekwondo
Hopkins Organization for Pre-Health Education (HOPE)
Hopkins Organization for Programming
Hopkins Pet and Animal Welfare Society
Hopkins Production Club
Hopkins Rugby Football Club
Hopkins Science Fiction and Fantasy Association
Hopkins Softball
Hopkins Student Enterprises
Hopkins Symphony Orchestra
Hopkins Undergraduate Engineering Society
Identity
Inter-Asian Council
Iota Nu Delta Fraternity, Inc.
Iranian Cultural Society
Jaywalk
Jewish Students Association
JHU Bands
JHU Billiards Association
JHU Black Student Union
JHU Capoeira
JHU Career Advancement, Resume-building, Employment Opportunities & Service-learning
JHU Classical Ballet Company
JHU Club Swimming
JHU College Democrats
JHU Cycling
JHU Girl Scouts
JHU Gospel Choir
JHU Haiti Aid
JHU JOSH
JHU Kranti
JHU Model UN Conference
JHU Modern Dance Company
JHU Photography Club
JHU Politik
JHU Stressbusters
JHU Student Society for Stem Cell Research
JHU Women’s Club Soccer
JHU Yong Han Lion Dance Troupe
Johns Hopkins Animation Club
Johns Hopkins Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Johns Hopkins Club Squash Team
Johns Hopkins Club Water Polo
Johns Hopkins Entertainers’ Club
Johns Hopkins French Club
Johns Hopkins Jail Tutorial
Johns Hopkins Outdoors Club
Johns Hopkins Student Radio WJHU
Johns Hopkins Taekwondo
Johns Hopkins University Muslim Association
Johns Hopkins Wrestling Club
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Ketzev
Korean Student Association
Kung Fu
Ladybirds Dance Team
Lambda Epsilon Mu
Lambda Phi Epsilon
Lideres
Margaret Brent Music Program
Men’s Club Lacrosse
Men’s Club Soccer
Men’s Club Volleyball
Men’s Ultimate
Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium
Mock Trial Association
Multicultural Student Volunteers (MSV)
Multicultural Student Volunteers (MSV)
Music for the Mind
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Nu Rho Psi
On The Beat
Organizacion Latina Estudiantil
Outdoor Pursuits
Partnership for Student Acheivement Mentoring
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity
Phi Mu Fraternity
Pi Kappa Alpha
Project HEALTH
Project Prevent<br>
Prometheus
PSA After School Sports
Public Health Student Forum
Quidditch
Ready Set Design
Refugee Action Project
Relay For Life<br>
Remington Outreach
SALUD
SARU (Sexual Assault Response Unit)
Save the Future
Shakti
SHARE
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Delta Pi
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated Rho Omega Chapter
Sigma Omicron Pi
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Singapore Students Association
Sirens
Social Investment Outreach
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Society of Women Engineers
South Asian Students at Hopkins
Spring Fair
Stop Look At Me (S.L.A.M)
Student Art League
Student Health Advisory Committee
Students Educating and Empowering for Diversity
Students For Choice
Students for Environmental Action
Students Helping to Invent New Expressions
Students Taking a New Direction
Support Our Troops
Synthetic biology Club
Table Tennis Club
Taiwanese American Student Association
Thai Students Association at JHU
The Campus Kitchen at Johns Hopkins University
The Catholic Community at Hopkins
The Eclectics Dance Group
The Hopkins Undergradute Research Journal
The Johns Hopkins AllNighters
The Johns Hopkins Film Society
The Johns Hopkins News-Letter
The Johns Hopkins University Vocal Chords
The Mental Notes
The Triple Helix
The Well
Theta Tau
Thoroughfare Magazine
Turkish Student Association
Tutoring at ACCE
Undergraduate Admissions Volunteers
Vivaz Performing Arts Company
Waverly Tutorial Student Initiative
Women’s Club Basketball
Women’s Club Volleyball
Women’s Pre-Health Leadership Society
Women’s Ultimate Frisbee
Woodrow Wilson Debate Council
Zeniada</p>
<p>^Holy cow- that only makes me want to go to JHU even more badly lol</p>
<p>Thanks wealth!</p>
<p>@Anouchi: It depends on the night, really. Basically my entire floor is out at frat parties right now (I stayed back since I’ve been to so many already and it’s not really my thing).
Hopefully it calms down after the first few weeks.</p>
<p>Thanks! I like parties, just not what pop culture makes frat parties look like :)</p>