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here's my dilemma:

my principal gives each student applying to top notch private schools a one-time phone call to any school. i recently got rejected stanford ea and am glad i didnt waste the phone call to stanford.....i doubt it would have made much of a difference. but from the list of colleges i'm applying to i'm debating whether to have her call UPenn or JHU. i know JHUs a more intense academic excperience than UPenn (especially since im not doing business), but i also know i have a better chance of admission to JHU; however, i'm much more familiar with UPenn since i have a close friend who goes there.

anyways, can anyone tell me about social life at hopkins...any info on life outside the classroom would be great (ie greek life, clubs, baltimore, etc). it will really help me out with my decision.....thanks for all posts ahead of time, i really appreciate any advice you guys can give me.

summary of stats:
1450 (740m)
730/730/730 SAT IIs (retook in dec expecting higher when i see them on friday)
3.75 UW/4.65 W (16/600--top 2.5% at really good public in california...principals phone call holds a lot of weight)
good ECs (pres of 1 club, founder of another, USG of largest MUN conference on west coast, varsity tennis, some community service...)
refugee from soviet union...came in 1990 (speak fluent russian)
intended major: international relations with a minor or double major in russian language

oh, and im looking for a fun but also academically challenging college experience--somewhere where i can earn a respectable degree but not overwork myself to the point of suicidal thoughts.

thanks for any info!

By Andrey1225 (Andrey1225) on Wednesday, December 17, 2003 - 06:00 pm: Edit

bump

By Bbalin (Bbalin) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 12:49 am: Edit

As a Hopkins undergrad, I guess I can answer some of your questions, but keep in mind that the final decision on what school you want to go to is yours- visit each campus and get a feel of what you are looking for if you can before you make the final decision. The academics at Hopkins are great- as an IR major, you will be lectured by some of the best IR profs in the nation, especially Steven David, the professor who teaches Comparative International Politics. Also, bear in mind that Hopkins is a relatively small school, so you tend to bump into the same people quite a bit over the four years- its good that you'll never have to eat lunch by yourself, but if you wake up one day and decide to meet a whole new group of people to be friends with, chances are they already know you.
As far as life out of the classroom, you must realize that your only free time will be on friday and saturday, but usually the time is well spent- though many people do not go greek, frat parties are fun and well-attended. Also, there are plenty of other house and apartment parties to go to on the typical weekend if you get sick of drinking and dancing in a sweaty, packed basement. As far as other things to do, there are a few bars around campus that have local bands come on the weekends- my favorite is the Ottbar- a mix of indie and jazz every friday night. When it comes to clubs, you have to go downtown, which will cost you $3 by cab- the clubs downtown are pretty good, but usually i'm just too lazy to take advantage of them.

By Flyguy (Flyguy) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 03:05 pm: Edit

i heard the guys and girls there are really ugly..
penn has better parties, have him call penn

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 06:22 pm: Edit

Flyguy, shut up. =þ Hopkins 2008 here (assuming good midyear grades, of course... can't forget this).

I think your shot at Hopkins for RD is really good, and your shot at Penn is good. I've heard Penn takes most of its undergrads through ED, so it's RD is really really super competitive (did I emphasize that enough? haha). You might want to think about that. This is not to say Hopkins is not competitive, though. The phone call should go to the school you are most passionate about. Good luck!

By Andrey1225 (Andrey1225) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 07:15 pm: Edit

yeah, i heard bad things about the hopkins girls too (but exceptionally good things about those at Penn)

i've pretty much decided on JHU for the call, despite its meager social scene. its my best bet for admissions and also goucher is right next door to hopkins and its an all girls school (from what i've been told).

on an academic note, my new SAT IIs:
750 writing (up from 720)
720 IIC (up from 690)
670 bio (looks like im not getting in as a premed major)

By Jamimom (Jamimom) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 01:08 am: Edit

Andrey, Goucher is not right next door to Hopkins. It is a good 14-20 minutes ride away. There used to be a shuttle between the schools but now that Goucher is coed I cannot say this still exists though I think it does because the two schools still share classes. Goucher is not in the city of Baltimore, but the northern suburb of Towson. Now there is a small woman's catholic college, Notre Dame which is about a 10-15 walk from Hopkins in the grand neighborhood north of the campus, right next to Loyola College.
When I worked and lived near there, there were more complaints about the guys looks and personalities form the girls than the other way around. And that was when the odds were good for the girls (they felt the goods were odd LOL)

By Mmccullough (Mmccullough) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 10:24 pm: Edit

DONT GO TO JHU PREMED! Haha sorry. Just had to get that out. Those kids are completely and totally out of their minds insane. Honestly, the premeds at JHU hide books in the library from each other, refuse to work together, etc. I have a lot of friends who are premed there and HATE it. However, if you want a party scene at JHU, you can go to Loyola (very VERY close by). If you're going to go premed, do it at Penn--it accepst more than 50% of its premeds into its med school (which i do believe is in the top five in the US). I had a friend this year who had our principal call UPenn, and he got in (ED, yes, but his stats were not nearly as good as yours). JHU isn't that hard to get into, and I don't suggest wasting your phone call on it b/c you'll probably get in anyway. If you ever did the JHU Center for Talented Youth summer program, defintiely, DEFINITELY don't waste the phone call (almost all CTY kids get in). Good luck!

By Jamimom (Jamimom) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 11:15 pm: Edit

I agree about the cutthroat premeds at Hopkins. But have to say that Penn is not a whole lot better. I've known many kids through both programs and it's six of one and a half dozen of the other. Schools like Penn, Hopkins, Rochester, Cornell have a gatekeeping premed process. Kids who do well at these schools get into the top programs, become top doctors but kids who would have gotten into med school from a gentler more nurturing school get cut from this system. My nephew went to a "cutthroat" premed program, got into a top med program and would not recommend it to anyone . He talked his sister out of Cornell because he felt that it seriously compromised her chances for med school. He was probably right. Her best friend who was the valedictorian of her highschool class ended up at Cornell, did not do well enough to get into med school and is working on her masters in bio and still trying to get into med school at age 24. My niece is in her second year of medschool after going to a "no name" school that supports its premeds. She has no debts from college and is doing well in medschool despite the fact that she was not considered a "brain" in highschool or college. She plodded along and got what she needed to get where she wanted to go.
But my niece got a 1220 on her SAT1s, and 600s on her science SAT2s. Though an "A" student, she needed a lot of help and support for the sciences in highschool. I had to get a tutor for her at one point and her brother helped her quite a bit. He, on the other hand, got through a tough undergrad school with good grades and high MCATs and was able to get into a top medschool. Academically he could compete with the best at schools like Hopkins or Penn. She would have found it very difficult. It all depends on where you are academically,epecially in the sciences.
There are some reasons to pick Penn over Hopkins--the ivy lustre, Philly vs Balto, the business program at Wharton, better rounded curriculum, etc but I would make the pick in the hopes that the premeds there have it easier than they do at Hopkins. I know that is not true---For each one at one school, there is another that would do better at the other school. No difference.

By Suomynona (Suomynona) on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 05:23 am: Edit

EDITED

By Andrey1225 (Andrey1225) on Monday, January 05, 2004 - 11:42 pm: Edit

i agree with Suomynona that JHU is difficult to get into...just looking on this post has evidenced a lot of students with 1450+ SATs, excellent class rank, and math/science-oriented ECs applying to hopkins and the fact that my school's valedictorian (1570 SATs, Addisons disease, eagle scout, but thats about it) is applying doesn't make things easier for me.

however, from what i've read and from what i've been told about each school i'd have to assume that Penn has a better rounded curriculum. i researched the "Current" curriculum and "Pilot" curriculum at Penn and both require an eqaul amout of courses in mathematics/sciences and humanities in addition to major-specific classes. plus, just based on reputation of academic programs Penn is much better rounded...you have no idea how many wierd looks i get from my classmates and even adults when i tell them that hopkins has a superb international relations program, they just look at me and bluntly say "isnt that where you go if you want to be a doctor?" and these are people who would never mistake Penn State with University of Pennsylvania, so they have some knowledge about colleges and the admissions process.

also, it doesn't surprise me that hopkins pre-meds would be super competitive, but i dont think everyone is going to be completely cut throat (but maybe i'm being a bit too idealistic here?). however, im guessing any university where the majority of students are academically-oriented is going to have a great deal of competition. its the same way with top ranked private high schools...but usually only near the top of the rankings. truthfully, competition doesnt really bother me, i know i'll be able to adapt wherever i go...i usually find a way to succeed.

wow, thanks for all the info....youre really helping me out

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 11:26 pm: Edit

Hey, Hopkins 2008 here.

I know exactly what you mean about Hopkins getting all its prestige for medicine... people ask me the same question. Luckily, I'm going into the sciences (not pre-med, but close to it), so the science reputation still shines. Let me just advise you that a lot of people know Penn State from UPenn, and that the people who COUNT will know of JHU's amazing IR program. It's top ranked, and employers WILL KNOW this. Also, it's gaining reputation rapidly. I'm not doubting that Penn has a very well-rounded curriculum (yes, maybe even moreso than JHU), but JHU's programs in several humanities and social science areas are right up there with the caliber of its pre-med program. It just so happens that their medical school is up there with Harvard, so naturally all the credit goes to that area. You have two excellent schools to consider, so apply, and if accepted to both, choose wisely. Personally, for IR, I would choose JHU (and this is not the acceptee speaking). Now if we're talking business... that's a different story.

And yes, I agree that JHU is hard to get into (isn't any top school?).

By Andrey1225 (Andrey1225) on Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 12:48 am: Edit

hey, spiffybrownboy...can i ask why you chose JHU over all the other top schools that are difficult to get into?--or any other hopkins attendee or hopeful?

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 03:26 pm: Edit

To tell you the truth, JHU was never my top choice. No college was. I'm one of those really indecisive people, so having a top choice is just not possible for me. All I know is I thought JHU to be a good match for me, and out of all the top schools, it fit my interests the best (excellent programs in neuroscience, bevhavioral bio, psych, etc... and one of the top music conservatories in the country [I'm a singer]). And, of course, it is prestigious in both science and music. I applied ED because it was one of two reaches (I applied EA to the other lol). Besides, since I had no top choices, it made no difference if I was bound to go to JHU or another school. It was basically all the same to me (I hope you understand my reasoning here). Might as well be bound to a difficult and prestigious school, right?

Oh, and even if I was offered admission at Princeton or Harvard or some insanely hard school to get into, I'd think twice. While science may be excellent there, their music is just ehhh, if you know what I mean. As you can see, it's all about what your interests are. Who knows, UPenn might be the place for you, or it may not. ::shrug:: It's for you to decide.