Johns Hopkins University Top Questions

Nobody feels out of place. I'm the biggest dork on the planet and I have friends.

no student would feel very out of place at hopkins. a lot of groups are represented. people wear jeans to class, we don't play dress up here. students tend to self segregate a lot. our students are from new jersey and california. probably a school that is predominantly left. we don't talk about money... but you'll hear a lot about medical school.

I feel that Hopkins has a very diverse student body. I have met many people from many cultures and backgrounds. I have noticed though that there is a tendency for members of certain social groups to stay within those segregated identities and seldom do they escape the traditional setting of that group to meet and interact with others on a more personal basis (because, of course, interaction occurs in the academic setting)

Overall, the student body tends to be pretty diverse and "normal". There are probably more Indian students (proportionally) than most campuses, but otherwise is a fair representation of races/ethnicities. When I describe the students as "normal", I mean that most people are friendly, decent, intelligent people who wear "normal" clothing. Students don't look like fashion models, but aren't bums either. In general, people aren't super geniuses who have accomplished ridiculous things by age 5; they are average people with above-average intelligence.

There are a wide variety of student groups on campus, some are significantly more organized or involved than others. Hopkins is full of overachievers, so those who are intimidated easily would not feel comfortable here. If you are ambitious and self-motivated, you can be successful but you have to pursue opportunities because nothing will be handed to you. Most students seem to be from the East Coast with some from the West and fewer from the middle of the country.

The only student who would feel out of place at JHU is a lazy, dumb student who doesn't care about learning. Most JHU students are from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and California. I feel that most people who go here are from average financial backgrounds, though both ends of the spectrum are found. Most students (at least the ones that are politically active) are Democrats because A. this is Baltimore and B. we're young an idealistic.

Any kind of student can be found here at hopkins, although the large majority of them are hardworking people who also like to have fun and go out on the weekends. There are people who study all weekend long, and people that party all week long. Every extreme is represented, although most students adopt a "work hard play hard" attitude here

If one is looking to be involved in a religious organization, one can easily do so no matter what their religion is.

Hopkins is a rather white-washed prep school student body. This is probably because many of the minority students will only interact with members of their own minority and what is left is a lot of rich kids who went to prep school. The fraternities are all alike, the best diversity you will get in an organization is through shared interestes, such as athletics or Residential Life.

I see a lot of sweat pants and t-shirts, sometimes pajama bottoms, in class, which one of my friends disapproves. I'm getting used to it b/c I tend to think of this as a nationwide mod. I went to several campus Christian ministries at the start of my Freshman year, and I found many of them to be somewhat not as open to "finding the sacred in the secular" as I wished them to be. For instance, I read novels like Beloved by Toni Morrison in high school and found them to be rich with moral questions for modern followers of Christ. But when I brought up the idea of a Christian book club, people tended to think of reading spiritual enrichment books written by Christians for Christians, and refrained from mentioning any canonical names. We all find our own niches at JHU. I became close with many students with international backgrounds, myself being one. I also clicked well with grad students in my lab and TAs from classes.

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.

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.