Four Knights and a Cuttlefish

Oh god, college apparel is so expensive. Um yeah, there are a bunch of random discounts that we get emails about all the time, so I wouldn’t worry too much, but even with the discounts it’s not cheap!!

Look, I’m not trying to over-praise it, but you’re right, it’s really hard and it’s really difficult to get good grades. I’m sorry that you became suicidal, I really am, I know what that’s like, I was diagnosed with depression my junior year of high school. And honestly, I’m not sure if the academic world is for me right now, I’m having a lot of doubts about it myself, but I don’t think Hopkins deserves as much flak as everyone seems to give it! And I don’t think it’s Hopkins that made me question this. There are entire blogs dedicated to how much people hate Hopkins, and I don’t think that’s fair. Maybe I’m putting it a bit too positively, a bit too naive and optimistic, I’m only a freshman after all - who admittedly has had a completely different experience than most other people, but I really have had a good experience! I’m not saying Hopkins is perfect for everyone, I’m not trying to make it out that it’s super easy or everything will just fall into place, but I also don’t want to be one of those people who blames the school for all of the problems in my life. I really do think that Hopkins IS nice, honestly. I hope you understand what I’m saying, and that everything turns out better for you than it has thus far. If anyone else thinks that I’m being too biased, I apologize, but everyone has their own opinions. We didn’t start this blog to be an academic advice blog, or at least I didn’t, I just wanted to keep up with my friends while they are away doing different things at different colleges. I’m happy to answer questions, but I didn’t intend for it to be an all-happy-overly-school-spirit-y thing. So I guess my answer is, I’m very much human.

Hey, yeah, there’s a bit of a difference, I’m not sure of exact numbers but McCoy and Wolman are more expensive than A & B. I think the difference is like, a thousand dollars or so? I personally think it’s worth it to live in McCoy or Wolman, simply because they’re more social than A & B and have nicer facilities in my opinion. I’m sure the actual price difference is on the website, sorry I wasn’t more help!!

CORRECTION:

Wolman, McCoy and the Buildings are actually the same price. A & B are really asocial and secluded, whereas Wolman and McCoy vary in how social they are. I’m in McCoy and it’s great though, definitely worth applying for! - allswells aka Kevin, who also lives in McCoy. Thanks Kevin!

Hi there! I actually do have a friend in the Materials Science/Engineer major. I’m not sure if he’s on the biomaterials track, but I’ll definitely ask him and update this ask with more information when I talk to him! Don’t worry too much about the BME program though, it’s extremely difficult to get into, and there’s always hope that you can transfer into the program. I’m glad that you seem to be so optimistic though!! Another option that a lot of people seem to like is Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChemBE) as an alternative to Biomedical Engineering, if you want to look into that as well.

Honestly, college is all about learning, having formal knowledge or having taken a class before helps but it is absolutely not a “necessary” thing to have done in high school. We don’t even officially declare our majors until sometime during Sophomore year (at least in the Arts and Sciences, you usually come in having declared a major in Engineering), so really, don’t worry about it! International Studies at Hopkins is one of our most popular majors, and if you’re interested in it, I highly suggest it. All of the professors are extremely intelligent and love sharing their knowledge with you. My only warning would be that you are required to take a lot of History, Economics, Poly Sci, and Language classes as that’s what really makes up an International Studies major, if there is any aspect that you really abhor (I for instance HATE Econ) then it might not be the best major for you. Luckily for us at Hopkins it’s perfectly okay to take classes just because you’re interested in them if there is room in your schedule!!

As for the stress thing, there will always be students that don’t like their school. I feel like Hopkins gets a particularly bad rep for being stressful, competitive, and cutthroat, but in my experience, it isn’t like that at all. Okay, I won’t lie, it’s stressful, and rigorous, and extremely difficult, but Hopkins, as we like to say, is what you make of it. If you ask for help, you will get it. We have a lot of amazing programs here that are just for getting students on their feet, getting them comfortable with school, helping with edits, tutoring, study skills, even therapy groups for stress! If you really want to be here, I wouldn’t worry about the stress or the negative things that people have to say about it. I love it here, and I think I can speak for my friends and say that they do too. We complain about it a lot, but at the end of the day, I don’t think that there is anywhere else that we would rather be.

I hope that helped let me know if you have any other questions!!

Hi! I’m so excited you are thinking about joining us! It’s not difficult at all to switch majors from Engineering to the Arts and Sciences, our academic advising is fantastic and able to help you find the right major for you. The process in terms of changing your major is pretty simple in the Arts and Sciences at least because we don’t officially declare our majors until I believe the end of sophomore year. Switching within the Engineering school is doable, the only issue is that they give you a faculty and major advisor, so that would probably have to change. I don’t have any experience in the Engineering school, so forgive me if I don’t give enough detail. When talking about our majors, we are required to meet with our advisors every now and then to talk about what classes we’re taking and what we’re planning for the next semester and the like. The advising office reminds us with an email if we need to go meet with our advisor and we make appointments over the phone.

In terms of competitiveness and cutthroat attitudes I can honestly say that I don’t understand where this reputation comes from. Competitive to an extent, rigorous, challenging, yes, but we don’t sabotage one another or revel in each other’s failures. You hear horror stories about people shredding notes or ripping pages out of textbooks and none of those have proven true in mine, or anyone else that I know’s experience. Every now and then you hear a joke about “another pre-med down” if someone drops the pre-med program, but no one is actually serious. We work together, help each other with homework, and routinely study together and share notes! Everyone I met at Hopkins has been extremely willing to help and would never sabotage another student. But as I said before we are competitive, the types of people who go here want to do well. Hopkins is a very difficult school, it’s challenging and rigorous and I’m not going to say it’s easy. But the typical Hopkins student comes here because that’s one of the things they want in a university, classes and work that will actually make them think and learn. So let me assure you that we aren’t as crazily academic or driven to the point of madness from competition, but you will need to work hard here at Hopkins. But, as I hope you can see from some of my other posts, we also know how to have a lot of fun too!!

Hey! So I’m the City Year gal on this blog.  It really does vary from place to place, but a lot of people use craigslist.  In addition, you should call the admissions staff person at your site and ask if they have any information on housing.  I know the CYDC site is making a whole guide to housing in DC for the incoming corps.

Hi there! I’m so excited that you might be joining us here at Hopkins!! Unfortunately, I have no experience with research here at Hopkins, so I don’t have a personal story to tell you. However, I do have a lot of friends involved in research so I can tell you a little bit. Getting involved in research is not particularly difficult as far as I can tell, if you have a good relationship with one of your professors and show an interest in what they are working on, it’s not unheard of (if you ask if they have any openings or assistance) to get research after a few emails and meetings. There are also a lot of opportunities presented to students online if you want to be a research assistant. Of course, it helps if you have previous experience, but you aren’t expected to come in with experience! Also, I actually have a friend who just transferred into the BME program! It’s definitely not unheard of, in fact, during second semester of some freshman years (when they have a lot of people drop out, or don’t accept many BMEs) they offer more applications to transfer into the BME program. I’m not sure of the statistics, as in how many people are accepted applying as sophomores or anything like that, but this year there were plenty of people who drop BME leaving spots openr! So don’t lose hope if you didn’t get into the BME program yet, work really hard and if you do well the first semester and apply again there is a chance that you can transfer! :)

Let me know if you have any more questions and if there are any more specifically about BME, I’ll ask some of my BME friends if they are willing to do a Q&A!

HI! Welcome to the family!!! Haha, of course I can tell you about the dorms, I’m particularly biased though, so just… be aware. I live in McCoy (THE BEST DORM), but there’s also Wolman, Buildings A & B, and the AMRs (I & II). You get to state your top three choices on your housing sheet, and they take that little priority list into account. Most people get their first or second choice, I haven’t met anyone that got their last choice. Here’s a quick rundown:

McCoy Hall: mostly sophomore dorm (the terrace floor is generally reserved for freshman), air conditioning, suite style, not on the freshman quad, known to become very close knit, the best dorm

Wolman Hall: newest freshman dorm, air conditioning, suite style, not on the freshman quad, has an exercise room and movie theater, moderately social

Buildings A & B: air conditioning, suite style, on the freshman quad, known to be quieter/less social

AMRs (I & II): no air conditioning, separated into “Houses,” on the freshman quad, traditional dorm style, very social

Okay, so that’s the quick stuff. For more in depth stuff, keep reading!