Class of 2014: Freshman Blog

Me on the right, hanging out with my bff Steph!

Although I am not proud to admit it, prior to actually visiting the Johns Hopkins campus, I believed many of the rumors that are always circulated about life here at Homewood. I assumed everyone here was pre-med, who spent Friday nights holed up in the library, and could not understand how I would fit into an environment like that.

But after some persuading/bribing from my mom, I agreed to visit Baltimore and tour Hopkins. After spending the day on campus and attending the Admissions office’s information session and tour, I wondered how I could have been so wrong about this school. Being on campus shattered every misconception I had had prior to coming to Homewood. I couldn’t believe how different my actual experience was compared to my expectations.

So I have decided to dedicate this blog to busting some of the most common myths prospective students hear about Hopkins life. I strongly encourage all of you to visit campus and experience all this for yourself, but I understand that that is not possible for everyone. For those of you who can’t make it here to beautiful Homewood, here is an live, actual Johns Hopkins student busting the five most common myths you will hear about life at Hopkins.

Myth #1: Everyone here is pre-med.

When my mom first suggested I look at Hopkins almost one year ago, I am pretty sure I laughed in her face. As an intended history major hoping to never take a science class for the rest of my academic career, Johns Hopkins seemed like the worst imaginable fit for me. As it turns out, like usual, she was right and I was wrong.

Hopkins brought journalist Bob Woodward to speak!

As I learned in my training to be an Admissions tour guide, actually about one third of Hopkins students are in the natural sciences, about one third are engineers, and about one third are in the humanities and social sciences. As you can see, we are hardly all pre-meds. In fact, about seventy-five percent of the Class of 2009 enrolled in graduate school is in non-medicine fields of study. Several of our humanities programs are awarded top 10 national rankings consistently, including French, German, English, History, Art History and Writing Seminars.

Because my major is in the humanities, I have the opportunity to take all of these absolutely amazing classes taught by world renown professors on a variety of topics. My intersession class in Madrid, Perspectives on the History and Culture of Spain, was taught by a professor who was knighted in Spain, honoring his work as a historian!! Other incredible classes I have taken include Archaeology of Early Greece, a film class, 19^th Century British Novel and American Presidency! You can check out a full list/descriptions of our spring semester’s courses here.

As you can see, Hopkins is an amazing environment for future-non-doctors, like myself.

Myth #2: Hopkins is in an extremely dangerous area.

Happy Anna Howard Shaw Day aka Valentine's Day!

One of the top inquiries tour guides get is about the security measures on and around campus. Now before I give you statistics that will put your parents at ease, I would just like to say that personally, I have never ever felt the slightest unsafe on and around campus. From the first security talk we had as freshman on one of our first days on campus, the administration made it very clear that our safety is their number one priority.

Sure, as in all cities, there are some areas of Baltimore I would not suggest walking around in alone at night, but there are a lot of great, quirky, fun neighborhoods around campus and the city. There is actually a thread on the Hopkins Interactive forums discussing what makes the Charm City so great.

Now for some security facts. The head of Hopkins security, Ed Skrodzi, is actually a former Secret Service Agent, who served on George Bush Senior’s body guard, was Bill Clinton’s running partner and in charge of the protection of Camp David! There are campus police officers and security guards who monitor campus and the surrounding area. Additionally, there are 24-hour guards at the entrance of all the dorms. There are also 113 blue light emergency phones on and around campus, and an emergency notification emails and text messaging system. Additionally, there are security escort vans available for student use, as well as walking escorts and shuttle services. You can read more about all that Hopkins does to protect its students here.

Myth #3: The students are really cutthroat.

Everyone hears the same rumors. That you can’t leave your books at the library or else people will steal your notes or cut pages from your textbook, etcetera etcetera. Honestly when someone asks me that, it takes quite a bit of self-control not to roll my eyes. Yes the students here are driven, but not to the point of sabotaging each other. Hopkins creates an environment of communal learning, as seen by the fact that the university dedicates almost half its study spaces for group study.

And in regards to leaving your stuff at the library – I just went out to lunch for an hour, and left all my books/laptop (as I do everyday), and it is always fine.

Myth #4: The undergraduates are ignored.

A major concern for many prospective students is the fact that because this is a university, the undergraduates will be ignored and emphasis is only placed on the post-graduates. I am here to say that this could not be further from

My friend Kareem and I hurt our knees on the same day!

the truth. The Homewood campus has about 5,000 full time undergraduates and about 1,600 graduate students in the Kreiger School of Arts and Sciences as well as the Whiting School of Engineering.

One example of the emphasis the administration places on undergraduates is that 70% of undergraduates are involved in some kind of research before they graduate. I am a Woodrow Wilson Research Fellow, which means I receive $10,000 to do any kind of research I want during my time at Hopkins. I don’t know of any other university that offers opportunities like that! Additionally, Hopkins provides undergraduates with amazing resources like the Career Center, the Study Abroad Office and the MSE Library. There are so many incredible opportunities for undergraduate students and resources at our disposal that makes Hopkins such an extraordinary environment.

Myth #5: There is no social life.

3/4/11 - HAPPY NATIONAL CAT DAY!! Jane and Charlotte enjoying their special day at home.

This is another eye-rolling inducing myth. Yes, students here know how to work hard, but they also know how to have a good time. As I said in one of my earlier blogs, one of my favorite things about college is no matter the time of day, you will always have someone to go to the cafeteria with, hit the library with, go out with or just watch a bad

ABC original movie with. It is almost laughable to say there is nothing to do here, because usually the problem is not having enough time because there is too much to do here. On weekends there are always a ton of parties open to everyone that can be super fun, but there is so much to do other than that. On campus they have comedy shows, concerts, Spring Fair (our annual weekend concert), sporting events (it’s lacrosse season!), and so much more. In Baltimore there are great museums like the BMA and the Walters, as well as great neighborhoods for shopping and eating like the Inner Harbor and Hampden. The Towson Mall is just a bus-ride away, as is an AMC movie theater. Fellow blogger Dominique wrote a blog about all the non-alcohol related activities on campus, which you can check out here. And if suddenly you decide that Homewood and Baltimore aren’t enough for you, D.C. is a quick train ride away, and New York is totally accessible by bus or train.

Hopefully this blog has helped clarify for you prospective students what life here is really like, and encouraged some of you to come visit and experience all that Hopkins has to offer for yourself!!