Johns Hopkins University Admission
Johns Hopkins University Undergraduate Program
Johns Hopkins University Application

The Facts

Johns Hopkins University is an extremely prestigious private research institution located in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.  It houses just over 4,100 undergraduate students and approximately 1,575 graduate students.  The university is perhaps best known for the huge leaps it has made in cancer research, and students have been no small part of the projects.  The majority of professors are actually primarily researchers and physicians, so students are able to learn directly from the top professionals in the field. 

The university is made up of several smaller undergraduate colleges, including schools of arts and sciences, engineering, professional studies in business and education, nursing, and the Peabody Institute, which is known for is biomedical engineering program.  The university offers quite a few highly specialized majors, and some of the most popular with students include majors in biomedical engineering, international studies, biology, public health, and computer science.  Most students go on to medical school, so many of the programs are focused specifically on pre-med students.

Admission to Johns Hopkins is extraordinarily competitive, and only top students are admitted.  Last year, over 10,000 students applied and only 3,052 were admitted; of those, 1,048 matriculated.  The admitted students had a combined average SAT score ranging from 1290 to an impressive 1470, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 28 to 32.  Over 95% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of 3.66, as well as having had a great deal of advanced placement (AP) classes and an overall challenging curriculum.

Johns Hopkins has a great student to faculty ratio of 9:1, and student say it is rare to have an upper level class that has more than twenty students.  Most students say that even though their professors are very busy, they will make sure their students know they are available to help them out if they should need it.  The academics are, of course, extremely competitive, and students say the library is filled day and night. 

The Social Scene

The city of Baltimore is fairly notorious for high crime rates, but students say that their campus feels quite secure.  The city does offer some great shopping and dining, and we hear the bar scene is fun. Washington, D.C. is less than an hour away by car, so many students head down on the weekends to tool around the always exciting D.C. area.  Most students don’t have cars because there is no parking on campus, and since the crime rate is quite high, cars are often broken into. 

There is a Greek scene on campus, and the fraternities and sororities do throw the occasional party; however, if you are looking for a typical college experience with nonstop partying, this probably isn’t the place for you. 

The dating scene is an interesting one; your “cute doctor” fantasy may just come true, or you could be disappointed by the large amount of creepy geeks...

What’s Good

“If you want to be a doctor, this is absolutely the best place to be. My teachers are some of the most well-known people in the field.”

“Being so close to D.C. is awesome.  If you don’t have a car, it is really easy to hitch a ride with someone.”

“The dorms are plenty big, but if you don’t want to live on campus, apartments are quite cheap in the area.”

What’s Bad

“ Baltimore is really dangerous, especially at night.  You always have to be in a big group.”

“The competition is really intense here and the pressure is constant.  If you’re the type of person who bends under stress, this isn’t the best place for you.”

“There isn’t really a good party scene here.  Everyone is always studying, and no one seems to care about their lack of a social life.”

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