Johns Hopkins University Top Questions

The student body seems to mesh well. There are not too many "cliques" and racial groups are not always known to "stick together". It is a very diverse campus, and my experience has been that I have friends from all different backgrounds. There is a group for any type of student out there -- thus, I do not believe sort of student would be neglected.

...I can't think of any experience that stands out here, because pretty much everyone gets along. That's my experience. I do remember that once, a classmate said he'd been verbally abused for being Asian (which is strange, considering the high percentage of Asians here), but that was an anomaly. Students of every subgrouping interact with every other one. Just go to a party. Out of place? Students like me...but students like me would feel out of place anywhere, because what my problem is extreme shyness. Well, there's something else, too. I grew up in a place that was extremely white - that is, in elementary and middle school, the only Asians were me and my younger sister. So it was a bit of a culture shock for me to come here and see all these other Asians. And I have only a very rudimentary knowledge of Korean, so I feel a bit awkward when other Koreans (usually fluent) assume that I can understand them. But that isn't really a big deal. I'm no fashion guru, but I think it's pretty safe to guess that what people here wear are what most people in college wear. Jeans, t-shirts, sweats, etc., with a flavoring of, honestly, just about every style there is.

PJs and sweats are a typical freshman uniform at JHU, but upperclassmen usually have the decency to put on a pair of jeans. Honestly, most people are too focused on studying to notice or care about race, orientation, socioeconomic background, etc. There are active Black Student Associations, Muslim Student Associations, a LGBT group, etc etc - everyone can find their niche.

The student body is pretty diverse, although I have heard complaints that many people disagree. There are a lot of multicultural events on campus, a lot of religious groups, and even groups for sexual diversity. Overall, I would say that JHU is pretty accepting of diverse people and opinions whether this diversity be about race, religion, LGBT, or socioeconomic. Most students dress pretty casually to classes often wearing Hopkins gears and sweatpants. There are some fashionistas who go all out each day, but people are pretty much dressed in jeans, sweatshirts, and jackets. While some people are preppy, it is by no means an unoffical uniform for the students. People are pretty nonchalant with their clothing choices, but typically leaning towards the trendy side. Stuents come from all sorts of backgrounds some come from prep schols, some from public, and many are international students. Students are politically active when it comes to national elections, but as a whole, the campus is mostly moderate. There exist a campus group of republicans, democrats, libertarians, and independents. This year the College Democrats will be debating the College Republicans, which should be very interesting and many hope this will become a tradtion. While the campus is moderate, as a whole it is more liberal than conservative. There is some separation among the diverse groups on campus and can be seen in the dining hall, but overall as long as you are outgoing you can meet people and make friends. The Hopkins community is slightly detached and passive, but when it comes to lacrosse season everyone goes out to the Homewood field to rally around our National Champions. The boys and girls soccer teams, along with the boys baseball team also draw crowds, as Hopkins is one of the best teams in the divison. The boys waterpolo team is one of the best Divison-Three teams and overall is one the top twenty waterpolo teams in the country. Students are ambitious and set the bar high, but do not dwell on the details of their future incomes.