Johns Hopkins University

I'm currently a sophomore Cog Sci major at JHU. First, I would like to note that different people see Hopkins differently, and Hopkins IS what you make of it. Some people stay in the library all day, and camp out there during finals. Others go to parties, join clubs, make friends, and slack off. Then there are also those who are in between. I would say I'm an in-betweener. When I first entered Hopkins, I knew the school was "hard" but didn't imagine it to be so much work. It's true: Hopkins IS a lot of work- no matter WHAT major you are. I'm a pre-med, my bf econ, and my roommate is a writing seminars. Even with such diversity in our majors, all of us still do primarily the same amount of work. So if you think you want to apply to Hopkins so you can have the name to back you up and cruise your way through college- IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Here, you work your ass off for your grade, with some exceptions. Unless you are truly gifted with natural intelligence, or you don't give a damn about school, you will work your butt off for your grade. Example of the exception: my bf's roommate graduated with a 3.9 and he never studied till the last minute. However, it must be noted that MANY of us come to Hopkins thinking we're the shit, you're top of your class, went to a good school, or that you're "smart." Well, the definition of "smart" will be changed when you get here. Moving away from academics, Hopkins will help you grow as an individual (most of you). It taught me responsibility and determination. In hs, when you do poorly on an exam, you have an excuse- either you didn't study, or the exam was stupid, or your teacher was stupid- but at Hopkins, your failure is determined by you. Suureee there are professors who suck and can't teach, but your grade still reflects your work. Looking back, if I could go to a different school (I applied early decision), I probably would because the work at Hopkins can many times get overwhelming. However, before I came to Hopkins, I thought I could conquer the world just by sitting back, but Hopkins taught me that in order to achieve ANYTHING, you need to work at it, and it's that skill that will probably last and help me throughout my life, 'cus I sure as hell won't remember any class I've taken here. Hope this review helped for any high school students.

2nd Year Female -- Class 2009

Education Quality: A+, Social Life: D-