Johns Hopkins University Top Questions

My classmates are an ecclectic bunch of quirky, intellectual individuals who thrive on challenge and caffeine and are always willing to lend a hand.

Students at Johns Hopkins are super competitive and extremely focused on their studies. Hopkins is NOT a party school to say the least. Granted kids still tend to throw parties and venture out to the frats or the local bars every now and then, they still manage to get their 12 hours of studying in beforehand. Students that are more about just getting by and only being social would feel very out of place here. This school is for serious academic students who enjoy intellectual challenges. How students dress varies because there are many different types of students here. But think of normal college campus kids in your head and that is Hopkins.for you. The students come from all over the country and the world and the financial backgrounds of these students also vary. Everyone and their interests and beliefs differ tremendously.

There's a wide variety of personalities and interests represented at Hopkins. There are also so many student groups here which is a really easy way to meet people with similar interests. There aren't many segregated groups at Hopkins: Greeks interact with no-Greeks, athletes with non-athletes, etc.

Most students are from the Northeast or California, and are on the wealthier side. Students are not particularly politically active. Students of all types are accepted here, but there's not a huge LGBT population here, and it's not that diverse. Students interact with each other, but tend to migrate towards people similar to themselves socioeconomically.

There are a lot of very social, normal people at Hopkins. If you are active in the social community, you'll easily create a good core group of friends. There are definitely a lot of anti social people who spend much of their time in the library, but you'll find that they won't have much of an impact on the social life as a whole.

The student body at Johns Hopkins University is incredibly diverse. There are students from all over the world, not just the United States, and there are multitudes of cultures and backgrounds represented. The great thing about Hopkins is that nobody feels left out because of their background. Students tend to be very accepting to differences and welcome them with open arms. What makes Hopkins different from other universities is that there is not a certain type of person that seems to take over the campus. If you are an athlete, there are plenty of other athletes you can feel connected with. If you like to party a lot, there's a place for you with a large social scene. On the other hand, if you prefer to stay in on the weekends, there are plenty of students who feel the same way as well. In this way, Hopkins avoids what I consider a social hierarchy. Everybody fits in to their own niche and nobody is left looking on from an outsider's point of view.

The students at Hopkins are all so different. First and foremost, I have met students from so many different countries! I have friends from Bermuda, Italy, Bulgaria...everywhere! Also, I feel like students here are really accepting of all types. I know I personally have never felt discriminated against in any way.

Students here take studying and fun very seriously. It is common to hear students say "work hard, play hard" going into the weekend. There is a large Jewish community here, which I personally had no expected. However, the community here is very accepting of an race, religion or sexual preference; not once have I come across someone making fun of anyone for any of these things. The campus isn't as politically active as others although it seems to lean towards the left a little bit. I would also say that majority of the students fall into the middle or upper class.

There is a large asian presence on campus, both from the States and abroad. Another large portion, and often overlapping, is the nerdy, academia-devoted, and socially awkward student that never leaves the library/stops studying. This leaves the "Hopkins 500", or the '500' students at Hopkins that are considered somewhat socially normal and that enjoy going out. This portion of students is actually larger than 500, but the number has a certain ring to it and was established to communicate the relatively small size of the social scene. Within this '500', greek organizations dominate. Even though Hopkins overall doesn't have a HUGE level of involvement in greek organizations, when compared to just those students in the Hopkins 500, the portion involved in greek organizations is very large. Hopkins draws strongly from the tri-state area (New Jersey, New York, CT) as well as PA. Many students either attended reputable public schools (generally in wealthier areas) or attended private school. All Hopkins students are smart, whether they choose to communicate this outwardly or hide it behind borderline alcoholism. As a result, the vast majority of students are extremely focused and driven on obtaining their career or personal goals in life. This atmosphere can be motivating in a certain sense but also overwhelmingly stressful, as everyone puts so much pressure on themselves, and Hopkins is already such a difficult and challenging place to thrive.

If I were to say, "Hopkins students are ____", any word I put in the blank wouldn't describe everyone at the school, unless I put in the word "unique". There is no "typical" or "normal" Hopkins student: I have a Writing Seminars/Computer Science double major as a friend, and a roommate who entered the school wanting to major in Writing Seminars and is now pre-med and a neuroscience major. I guess the one thing we have in common as a student body is that we all work hard and are dedicated.