Johns Hopkins University Top Questions

The professors do not know your name, I am sure you can try to get them to remember it but I have a difficult name so it is not too likely. I think a great thing about our campus are the numerous intellectual conversations we have outside of the classroom. I feel like more thought occurs outside of the classroom then in it...at least amongst my friends. I believe that Africana studies and Public Health are the two most interesting departments because you get to step outside of what you have learned in high school, most likely, and actually think as opposed to regurgitating information. I think the pre-med track is insane and definitely does it's job at trying to weed people out.

The academics are tough, and you really have to manage your time. If you're the type of student who never had to study in high school, start studying right from the get-go. You can't BS your way through school here and still do well on the exams. Also, a lot of kids have intellectual conversations outside of classes and on the weekends, and there are a lot of kids who really enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together just for the fun of it. If you're not into that stuff, though, there are plenty of other things to do. Not everyone is a nerd, and people do go out on the weekends. You make it what you want.

I've really enjoyed my classes at hopkins, but I feel sometimes you have to be a little selective with the courses you take. I've taken some great lectures (particularly some psychology and entrepreneurship and management classes), but I tend to prefer the smaller seminars that are often more advanced. Professors definitely know your name if you take these seminars. My favorite class was a History class about Slavery in the Americas that was actually taught by a graduate student. He was so enthusiastic about the topic and his knowledge was so extensive because it related to his dissertation. I would definitely recommend these classes, which are normally labeled "Dean's Teaching Fellowship Courses." Students, I would say, study alot, because you have to in order to get good grades, but I wouldn't say it takes over their life. Class participation is pretty common, but that depends mostly on the dynamic of a particular class. Students do have intellectual conversations outside of class, mostly about politics. I'm a double major in International Studies and German. I love the IR major because it allows me to take classes in a wide variety of areas, but also to choose a concentration that interests me. I think that Hopkins' academic requirements are good because they give the students a true liberal arts education, which I think is important.

Very difficult. Yikes.

profs know the people who make an effort to be known. i'm a sophomore, favorite classes are rare this year. people study a lot depending on their majors. distribution requirements don't put much strain on you, which is nice. students aren't really competitive with each other, just hard on themselves.

I really enjoy the many opportunities available to me as a Hopkins student. My professors are very worldly and I enjoy going to their offices to talk not only about class material but about their experiences in the field. I like that Hopkins offers symposiums by national and international intellectuals on many different subjects. Between the ambitious student body and the professors Hopkins offers its members constant intellectual stimulation.

i've loved classes here, i've had really great professors, and i absolutely believe that, at least in the non pre-med world, students can have as much or as little interaction with profs as they want - it's their choice to benefit from the great minds teaching here.

Hopkins academics can certainly be challenging...and there is no grade inflation. However, many students work together and professors and teaching assistants have office hours where they are happy to help you with problems you may have. Most classes are reasonably sized (~20-30) with the exception of intro level math and science classes which can be as large as ~300 students. The physics department is pretty unique in that the teacher to student (majoring students) is much higher than most other departments. In fact, the ratio is probably pretty close to 1 faculty member to each majoring undergraduate student. This means that there are many research opportunities without there being much competition from your peers. Additionally, because there aren't many students majoring in physics, the physics-track courses are small (~25).

Classes seem to be either really huge or really small but nothing in between. Almost all of the language or upperlevel humanities classes are small and the professors are really involved in the class, but most of the introductory classes and science classes are huge, graded by TA's, and the professors will never know your name. It seems that most Hopkins students use their degrees to get into grad school.

Some professors know my name, and if you're a teacher's pet in a big lecture class, everyone will know your name because they'll all be annoyed with you. My favorite class here I took first semester as a freshman. It was Intro to Human Physiology and the professor was amazing and the class was non-stop interesting and fun. Competitive doesn't come close to describing how studious some of the kids are here. I'm a bio major, though I would have preferred to be a French major. The education at Hopkins is geared towards learning for its own sake. If you want to just get by, don't come here.