Johns Hopkins University Top Questions

To some extent; yes, lots of people are very driven and committed to "learning for the sake of learning," as cliche as that sounds. Most people are very talented in a number of areas and will give a lot of time and effort to do well. Competition is not overwhelming; most of the hardest majors emphasize cooperation, and the school has done a good job to encourage collaboration and a more "fun" student environment compared to decades ago (based on what I have heard from numerous alums). Yes, lots of people are pre-med or engineers or IR, but they also do a lot of other interesting things, and most people are NOT premed, either when they come in or when they leave. However, JHU has the highest {4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students who complete advanced degrees within a short period after graduation...I think that emphasizes the truly academic/professional atmosphere at the school, which is one of its great selling points. Baltimore is truly a great city of neighborhoods, and those students who invest some time in figuring out how to get around (safely!) will truly enjoy their time in the city. There is a lot of revitalization going on, and there are lots of neat places to discover if you're willing to leave the campus bubble. This year, the deans began offering a special off-campus Intersession program for freshmen, to try to encourage them to make use of more of B'more.

Honestly, for a large portion of the student body, they really are. You have to look hard to find people that want to have fun. And even when you do find fun people, we're different here than other schools. You spend a majority of your time studying, no matter who you are. Then you have the people who choose to spend all of their time at the library, and there are far too many of those.

No. Students work hard but they are not out to get each other. Hopkins students are hardworking but not evil.

The stereotypes are completely false. Hard working is the only one that is true, but JHU students are not overworked. Most of the time before a test people are taking advantage of group study and help each other out. There is plenty to do on and off campus that is fun. Hopkins students know how to find a way to relax after schoolwork.

The idea that all hopkins kids are awkward is very true. Even the "normal" kids are awkward. it's hilarious and at the same time depressing. The idea that all Hopkins kids do is study can be verified by going to the library on a Friday or a Saturday night to find that more students are there than at the local bars. However, those kids who do party, party hard. The kids who attempt to make Hopkins more like the traditional college experience we are told about (you know, parties, making friends, drinking, having fun, crazy stories) exist, and most of them know each other because there aren't that many of them compared to the 5000 undergrads. Most of them are either athletes or involved in greek life, or both. Lots of undergrads are premed when they arrive at Hopkins, but not as many stick with being premed or an engineering major, for 4 years. Many switch to Econ or IR, which are easier.

The idea that all JHU students are pre-med is entirely inaccurate. Of course there will be some students who are hyper-competitive and who prefer the library to a relaxing evening, but these students are in the minority and a part of every student body, regardless of the school. I, personally, have had no incidents of cut-throat competition and have never been the library on a weekend for more than a couple of hours during the day.

I'd say these stereotypes aren't accurate, although I have seen instances in which they seem true. For instance, for the "pre-med" stereotype, depending on who your friends are, you might end up spending a lot of time with many pre-med people. If you're a pre-med student in a natural science major, you might find that many of your classes are dominated by pre-med students. However, the overall student population isn't as pre-med as you might think - most students at Hopkins *aren't* pre-med! As for the cutthroat stereotype, that's largely untrue. Many professors encourage collaboration among students in completing homework and studying for exams, and most people I know are willing to help out others. I must warn, though, that there are some students who tend not to help other students, but they also tend not to ask other students for help. Meanwhile, I've encountered a few students who truly are the definition of "cutthroat" - however, I can count them only on one hand, and compared with the overall student body, they're a very small minority. Plus, there's nothing as socially alienating as a cutthroat reputation! Finally, for the "perpetual studying" stereotype, it's not true in the sense that we definitely don't spend all our time outside class studying. Most students here spend a lot of time with extracurricular activities, jobs, community service, socialization, et cetera - but yes, at the same time, we do study a lot here. This school isn't a piece of cake. Still, studying all the time is definitely not the scenario here.

No, although Hopkins students are very active and serious about their studies, it does not come off as "cut-throat". Students are focused, but they are also young adults (aged 18-22) who have fun outside of the classroom.

It's true that JHU kids take academics very seriously and put academics ahead of most everything else. This doesn't mean that we don't like to be creative and have fun and do things.

No. Yes, there are a lot of science majors, but there are also a lot of public health majors and IR majors. The writing seminars program is also very good.