Johns Hopkins University Top Questions

I think Hopkins is generally conservative and some might say segregated. The student body is fractured into different interest groups and as a result events are poorly attended by those not already familiar with the group sponsoring it. People are middle class to very wealthy.

I am from India and while I don't consider myself to be the minority, it isn't true that Hopkins is made up of mostly Asians. I know many people outside of my racial group, and am friends with many people from the LGBT groups. There is a tendency of certain racial groups to stay friends with only people of their race, but it really comes down to you taking the initiative to recognize this if it has happened. Students aren't very politically active but overall are most likely to hold Democratic ideals.

Generally friendly, though a little spacey at times.

Some self-segregating goes on. The black community is really tight, and they have lots of student groups, activities, and faculty mentors to promote friendships and support. But I think a lot of not-black people think the black kids are a bit off by themselves. Also, kids who speak Korean or Chinese at home sometimes stick to themselves. Many gays bemoan the gay scene. DSAGA is mad incestuous so those not lucky enough to find luv on campus look to the real world (there is many a gay bar in Mount Vernon, many a lesbian at the farmer's market). Not a lot of poor kids. A few really rich kids. Quite a disturbing number of really spoiled kids, not matter what their parents earn. Kids who are paying for their own education, no matter what their parents earn. Can't think of who's out of place...maybe a fashion model. I look around the room and EVERYONE IS WEARING BLUE JEANS UGH GAG ME. Jeans and tee shirts, polos, pea coats rule. However, there's always someone wearing a suit. There is always a boy with braids, a girl wearing loud tights, someone who buys all her clothes in Free P Star in the Marais in Paris...and these people are generally admired, and talked about in a reverent way. Four tables! Dining Hall! Freshman! That means they are loud, pimply, and are throwing food at each other while trying to flirt. They are all eating fro-yo. They are Jewish. The Jewish kids are making fun of the Chinese kids for going to tennis camp. The Indian kid laughs awkwardly. The sole white Catholic girl is whining about missing her cat, who lives in New Jersey. A boy from Wisconsin uses an ethnic slur. Everyone has a nickname denoting their state of origin, religion or ethnicity. They are from Maryland, New Jersey, and California. Lots of East Coasters. Upper middle class, whatever the hell that means. No one cares about anything. There are about five people who have an active orientation, and they are mixed. Yes, all the damn time. Half think they'll be poor, half think they'll be rich.

Most students are from New Jersey. The first week you are at Hopkins it feels like every other person you meet is from New Jersey, however, this is not true.

This is a wear-sweats, read books, weekend-frat-party nerd kind of school. People are generally laid back, not too outspoken, a little bit cliquey, but nice.

JHU has a lot of range in it's student body, which I feel is due to good admissions practices. That being said you can see some trends at times. Most JHU students are middle to upper middle class. There is pretty good relations among the students, though some people in the greek system can be very cliquish. Other than that there is not much student involvement. Most people will be in one or two groups and focus on that. However those tend to be non-activist groups such as literary magazines or the like.

Fashion at Hopkins can be described as lackadaisical. Most people end up wearing Hopkins gear. This is either out of school pride or do to the fact that they have recieved too many free t-shirts and now have to do something with them.

Hopkins is very diverse. Not just in the sense that there are many races, places, and religions represented on campus (although that is true), but people have very different attitudes, hobbies, interests, etc. The only thing "typical" of Hopkins students is that they are driven to do well.

I think JHU is very open to all different types of people. There aren't as many minorities as I thought there would be, however there are some. Most students wear jeans and a polo to class, as the majority of Hopkins students are wealthy upper class. The four tables in the dining hall are: the athletes, the black kids, the asian kids, and a table of sorority/fraternity kids. People don't "mix" well, groups are created and then boundaries aren't crossed. A lot of students are from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland. A lot are from California too. The majority of students are really wealthy, as they wouldn't be able to afford to go here if they weren't. It's not really a good school for you unless you're really poor so you'll get lots of financial aid or you're rich and don't need it. It's not geared for middle class students. Yes, it's a constant in conversation that someone will bring up the "i'm going to be your boss/make millions of dollars". Politically it's split between republicans and democrats. It's not really a concern, as most people are trying to get better grades.