Johns Hopkins University

Date: Mar 18 2004
Major: Mechanical Engineering (This Major's Salary over time)
Hopkins is an excellent fit for some and a terrible fit for others. Unfortunately, I was in the latter group. The University is fixated on image and acquiring students with good statistics, much to the detriment of instruction and student support. There are a few good profs, but an overweening emphasis on research—even when not much quality research is getting done. This emphasis makes for breathtakingly bad instructors.

I would not recommend Hopkins ME for two reasons: poor instruction and the fact that Hopkins is not considered to have strong engineering programs (save for BME, although it is a holding pen for blood-thirsty premeds). Classes were typically small, although this created a significant amount of subjectivity in grading, as some instructors had a tendency to play favorites. There was no preparation or guidance provided to aid us identifing and achieving our post-graduate goals, a contributing factor to my low starting salary out of school. (Yes, I had good grades and am not bereft of people skills!)

If you planning to major in economics or the biological sciences, Hopkins may be a sound choice. I found that a higher caliber of instruction and a dedicated interest in original research lay outside of my department.