Input from poli-sci/international relations majors preferred, but I’d like to hear from everyone
At my son’s high schools–one a private NYc, the other a public—no one has chosen JHU over an Ivy. Not sure how it competes with other top notch peers among kids at my sons’ schools. I know one of their friends chose WUSTL over jhu for engineering. It’s a great school for anyone interested in the sciences, engineering or IR. I think my kids preferred other schools bc they were searching for a different vibe. But academically, jhu is a great school.
hopkins has a different feel from some of the ivies. Just personally, i chose hopkins over cornell and columbia. I knew many classmates that chose hopkins over cornell, brown, or penn as well but not say harvard unless it was bme. Wustl as a stem peer despite the above post is puzzling as its engineering program is pretty bad - i never really considered it for college.
In the end, I wanted someplace urban with a good engineering program which ruled out cornell and columbia (fu foundation is not that great compared to whiting for instance although nyc is more exciting than baltimore).
For yourself though, hopkins international relations is top notch with close access to faculty and a lot of support for funding for individual research. This is a definite distinction compared to some of the other ivies, where undergrad research is not as emphasized. The proximity to D.C. and SAIS helps as well. Id visit and see if you’re like the undergrads at hopkins who seem to be less preprofessional relative to the ivies. There is more of an emphasis on grad school it seems. I would also look at georgetown, berkeley, stanford for international relations.
D did 5 year SAIS BA/MA. So grateful she chose JHU. Cannot stress how amazing SAIS option is! IR is a huge area at JHU. Many outstanding professors and courses at Homewood and SAIS DC. Amazing job opportunities for summers and after.