Happy Friday! A lot of people are starting to pack up and move back into college (some of you are already there!) and high school seasons are also gearing up as well. I asked on my Tumblr page and on Instagram if anyone had college questions, or questions about Johns Hopkins in particular, and I got a couple of replies so I thought I would do a mini Q+A with the questions I have received so far! If there is something else you want to know, comment below or send me a DM on any of my social media platforms.
A C A D E M I C S
What type of person do the admissions officers at Hopkins look for?
Hopkins has a very well-rounded application that targets different aspects of your schooling, personality, and fit with the student body. You of course can look up the statistics like average SAT score, high school class rankings, and other qualitative data to see if you match up, but Hopkins is way more than that. The student body is incredibly vibrant, dedicated to particular issues and activities, and is driven but still collaborative. In my experience as a student and as a campus tour guide, I think that Hopkins students are self-starters and want to succeed, but are not going to throw others under the bus to achieve their goals. We want others to do their best as well and are humbled by the opportunity to learn and grow with other brilliant minds. Another thing that I think is important about Hopkins and what you/the admissions counselors look for is that Hopkins is by no means an easy place to be. It is very easy to get caught up in the pressure of being there, and so it is important to evaluate on both ends whether or not you will handle that environment in a productive and healthy way or not.
I have heard negative things about the way classes are graded. Do you know how this affects you in the future?
Class grading is very dependent on the department, professor, and course style. Courses with two exams in the semester may be graded differently than those with essays/papers or weekly homeworks. Professors at Hopkins are free to create their own grading system, though usually all professors in the same department have some mutual agreement on how to grade. In math and science courses, there may be no definitive grading scale until the end of the semester, at which point professors may curve class grades to fit a normal distribution curve. Some professors choose to curve once at the end, while others curve individual assignments.
The vast majority of my courses were not curved at all, and a grading scale was listed on the course syllabuses. This was convenient for being able to calculate grades and GPAs in advance. Had I been in a math or science major, I likely would have had less of an idea how I was doing in classes until I got my grade at the end of the semester.
I was not on a pre-professional track so I don't have any insight to how this type of grading would affect applications to medical, law or any other graduate program. My instinct would be that as long as you keep track of your grades, meet with professors to discuss where you stand, and make an effort to study hard for those curved classes, you should be fine.
S T U F F T O D O
Is there stuff to do around Hopkins? Are there places you can walk to?
There is a lot of stuff to do in the area! Hopkins is located in the Charles Village neighborhood which has lots of places to get food, coffee, and hang out. It is also close to the Remington and Hampden neighborhoods, which have more restaurants, bars, and shopping. You can walk to Remington and Hampden easily, especially during the warmer months. The Roland Park neighborhood is also not far. Sometimes my roommates would walk to the supermarket in that area if it was nice out and they only needed a few things.
Besides the areas in walking distance, the university provides great free transportation around the city and offers a variety of shuttle services and buses. Baltimore City also has its own free shuttle service.
S O R O R I T I E S
What is one thing you wish you knew going into sorority recruitment?
There are a whole bunch of things I wish I knew, but honestly I would say that I wish we were taught how the computer matching program works. When I joined the Panhellenic team in my junior year, one of our training meetings went through a breakdown of how the computer system works, what the algorithms do, and why you can't beat the system. This was one of my most revolutionary breakthroughs! It was super helpful to know and it put a lot of the stress, upset, and disappointment into perspective for me. Now of course not everyone is going to have a negative recruitment experience - a lot of people will have an amazing time and end up exactly where they wanted! But for those people who are left confused, or if you are like me and want to know the why and how of everything, learning about the algorithms was so so important.
Has being in a sorority changed your life? Would you still make the choice to go through recruitment?
Absolutely! Being in a sorority has been an amazing experience for me. There were a lot of associated growing pains but looking back on my time now that I have graduated, I would not change it for the world. As a sorority woman, I gained confidence, self-awareness, leadership skills, and learned how to let loose and be silly sometimes. I have the best friends in the world to thank for going through it with me, and for letting me make mistakes, goof off too much, and for always keeping me in check. I would do sorority life a million times over.
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That's all the questions for today! If you have something college-related that you want answered, be sure to comment or message me.
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