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| QUOTE | | I also have an interest in pursuing a career in medicine. I hear many rumors that the grading at JHU is quite tough compared to the grading at other privates e.g. some Ivys. Can you validate or disprove that? Since GPA, especially science GPA, is such a critical factor in medical school admissions, are the classes e.g. organic chemistry at JHU extremely difficult to maintain high grades in? Are the curves extremely tough to allow only a certain number of A's and such? |
I can't really compare the grading at Hopkins versus the grading at peer institutions; as a Hopkins student, all I know is the grading here! Based on my own and my friends' experiences, the ease or difficulty of earning high grades depends on the class--and even more so, on the individual. As for curving, that also depends on the class, because professors have different approaches to grading. So far, however, I've only heard of curves raising people's grades. By how much grades have been raised through curving also depends on the class.
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| QUOTE | | What made you choose to do major in neuroscience rather than a traditional science such as biology or chemistry? I took psychology at a community college and I rather enjoyed the subject, so I'm debating among those three. Do you have any possible input? |
I chose neuroscience because I want to learn as much as I can about the nervous system before attending medical school, since I want to become a pediatric neurosurgeon. Initially, however, I wanted to major in biology in college and applied to colleges as a biology major, despite my goal of becoming a pediatric neurosurgeon. I changed my mind after being admitted to Hopkins, when I learned about the neuroscience program and fell in love with it. With that said, I think that you should look into different colleges' departments in various academic areas before deciding which one you'd like to place as your major on your college application. Also, even after you submit your college application, continue looking into your potential academic areas of interest at the colleges to which you've applied. Therefore, once you're admitted into colleges and deciding which one to attend, you'll have an even better idea of what you want to study in college. It doesn't matter if it's a different major from the one that you placed on your college application! The more you know what you're looking for in a college, the more likely you'll be to enroll in the right college for you.
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| QUOTE | | I took Chem 101 at a local college last summer, I'm currently taking AP Bio, and I was planning to take the second semester of chemistry this summer in hopes of getting Organic Chem out of the way (especially during covered grades, if I'm admitted!), but is that not an option for freshmen? |
If you want to take organic chemistry as a freshman and you'll enter Johns Hopkins with the appropriate credit to do so, then you most likely will. Just keep in mind, however, that the rigors of organic chemistry are such that the academic advisors here at Hopkins usually advise freshmen against taking that course.
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| QUOTE | | I too am interested in medicine and i would really like to know what is the most important thing that is considered in the undergraduate applications for admission? I would also like to know if it is really competitive at JHU? |
In regards for your first question, I don't want to speak on behalf of admissions officers, so I'm going to refer you to the "Ask Admissions" forum and the "Hopkins Insider" blog to get an idea of what admissions officers consider in reading applications. To answer your second question, I'll tell you that it's competitive here at Hopkins, but that's because most people here want to do well in whatever they do. In general, people are willing to help others and study in groups. The type of competition that's prevalent here is simply that of people pushing themselves to do their best, not cutthroat competition. ------------------------------------------- | QUOTE | | How big is the Filipino Student Association? What's the student life like? I know that lacrosse is pretty big in JHU, but what about other sports? I'm very interested in the medical field but I'm fairly unsure of which field would interest me. Do you have any suggestions? |
1. The Filipino Students Association (FSA) has about 15 to 20 members each year. (This number includes both active and barely active members, but not alumni.) While not all Filipino undergraduates at Hopkins are members of FSA, it's not an exaggeration to say that most Filipino undergrads are somehow involved with FSA. Also, not everyone in FSA is Filipino--you don't have to be Filipino to be in FSA! (That principle applies to other cultural groups on campus as well.)
2. In general, the student life is what you make of it. Lacrosse is a popular sport, but it doesn't dominate student life. (Furthermore, other sports at Hopkins have a decent-sized student fan base. In my freshman year, I actually went to more men's basketball games than men's lacrosse games, and those basketball games always had a noticeable number of students watching. In addition, club sports and intramural sports are pretty big on campus.) If you're interested in doing things during your spare time besides playing in or watching sports games, there are many student organizations on campus and even various off-campus activities that you can do.
3. To be a pre-med student, you don't have to be a certain kind of major--you can be any kind of major, as long as you take the courses required to apply to medical school. Therefore, I suggest that in thinking about what kind of major you want to be in college, you should try to determine what academic field you wouldn't mind studying for four years at an intense level. If it's English, then maybe you should consider being an English major. If it's psychology, then maybe you should consider being a psychology major. Also keep in mind that in general, it's possible for you to change your major multiple times in college and still graduate within four years.
FYI, while my major is neuroscience, and that sounds like a so-called "typical" pre-med major, I can honestly say that I chose to have that as my major not because most of its requirements coincide with medical school requirements, but because I think that studying the brain and the nervous system is very exciting! In addition, from my junior year of high school to the beginning of my senior year of high school, I was seriously considering applying to college as a pre-med music major.
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| QUOTE | | I would like to find out how the B.S. in Neuroscience is run. How is the department? How are the lecturers and the students? What options are available for students who want to further to medical school? |
1. First of all, the bachelor's degree that you earn in neuroscience at Hopkins is a B.A., not a B.S. However, even though it leads to a B.A. and not a B.S., the undergraduate neuroscience program gives you a pretty solid background in the natural sciences and allows you to take other courses. (Isn't that amazing?) If you want to earn a B.A. in neuroscience, you choose one of three concentrations: Cellular/Molecular Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, or Systems Neuroscience. The requirements for all undergraduate neuroscience students include the following: * two semesters of calculus * two semesters of introductory chemistry and two semesters of introductory chemistry lab * one semester of organic chemistry (if you're pre-med, you should take two semesters of organic chemistry as well as one semester of organic chemistry lab) * two semesters of general physics and two semesters of general physics lab * a one-semester course called "Cognitive Neuroscience" * a two-semester course called "The Nervous System" (which replaces what previously were two separate one-semester courses, "Systems Neuroscience" and "Cellular/Molecular Neuroscience") * six credits' worth of research (one credit of research = 40 hours of research) In addition, if you're in the Cellular/Molecular Neuroscience concentration, you must take the following: * one semester of biochemistry and one semester of biochemistry lab * one semester of cell biology and one semester of cell biology lab If you're in the Cognitive Neuroscience or Systems Neuroscience concentration, you could either take the courses I mentioned for the Cellular/Molecular Neuroscience concentration or take the following instead: * two semesters of general biology and two semesters of general biology lab Also, you must take 12 credits' worth of upper-level neuroscience courses (approximately four 3-credit courses); 9 of those credits must be designated within your concentration. In addition, you must take 18 credits' worth of humanities and/or social science courses (approximately six 3-credit courses) and fulfill the University's requirement that all students in the School of Arts and Sciences take four writing-intensive courses. While all of this sounds like a lot, it actually isn’t! You can definitely do all of this in four years and take additional courses if you want. Furthermore, there’s a five-year B.A./M.S. program in neuroscience; it’s pretty competitive to get into, but if you do get into it, you spend your fifth year doing research. For more information about the undergraduate neuroscience program at Hopkins, you can look at the following website: http://undergradneurosci.jhu.edu/2. I think the lecturers in the undergraduate neuroscience program are great! By the way, note how I've said the "undergraduate neuroscience program." There's no formal neuroscience department at the Homewood campus. Instead, the neuroscience major is an interdepartmental major that heavily draws from various departments here at the Homewood campus. For instance, many upper-level neuroscience courses are listed under the Biology Department, the Cognitive Science Department, or the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Anyway, back to the lecturers: they're great, and they're all professors! They've done research in different areas of neuroscience, but they're very knowledgeable in what they do, and they're usually approachable. Some students like or dislike some professors more than others, but in general, the vibe that I get from my fellow neuroscience undergraduates here is that we think our professors are academically (and maybe even non-academically) amazing individuals. As for students, I tend to think most students I meet here who are neuroscience majors are bright, yet personable, people. (Of course, I don't automatically like everyone who's a neuroscience major, but I generally get along with the other people in my major.) 3. In terms of aiming to reach medical school after college, if you major in neuroscience, you end up taking the courses that medical schools tend to require and/or recommend. However, keep in mind that ( a ) you shouldn't feel pressured to go to medical school if you're a neuroscience major and ( b ) you shouldn't feel pressured to major in neuroscience if you're a pre-med student. No matter what major you are, the Office of Pre-Professional Advising is a wonderful resource if you're a pre-med student--I'm serious! You could check out their webpage for prospective students at the following URL: http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/prospective.html. ------------------------------------------- | QUOTE | Question 1: Does Johns Hopkins offer courses in Japanese language or have any clubs that I can join to specifically learn to speak Japanese?
Question 2: What are the rates of acceptances of Johns Hopkins students to medical/dental graduate schools?
Question 3: Are there any Johns Hopkins organized study abroad programs in either England or Japan? Also, what would students who study abroad with these programs expect to pay as tuition? (would it be that foreign institution's cost or johns hopkins?)
Question 4: When I went to visit JHU over the summer, I came up from the south of Baltimore and passed through some - to put it nicely - less well-developed and shady looking streets. Does JHU have any security policies or practices in place, like shuttle buses, that address this safety concern? |
1. Hopkins offers courses in Japanese at different levels through the Language Teaching Center. There's also Japanese Students International, a student organization in which you can learn more about Japanese culture and practice your Japanese language skills. You don't have to be Japanese to join it! 2. Regarding acceptance rates of Hopkins students to medical/dental graduate schools, I can't find an exact number, and I don't remember one off the top of my head. I'm sorry about that! I do know, however, that acceptance rates of Hopkins students to medical/dental graduate schools have always been much higher than the national average. For now, I can recommend that you visit the webpage that the Office of Pre-Professional Advising designed for prospective students of Hopkins. If you have questions about the pre-health experience at Hopkins that aren't addressed by that webpage, the contact information for the faculty of the Office of Pre-Professional Advising is on the bottom of that webpage. 3. As a Hopkins student, you definitely could study abroad in England or Japan! However, I don't know for sure whether there are formal Hopkins study abroad programs in those places, or whether you'd have to study there through other institutions' programs. When it comes to tuition and financial aid, the numbers vary with each program, although in general, financial aid is available for study abroad. 4. I thought the same thing when I first visited Hopkins! (And, like you, I first visited Hopkins in the summer before my senior year of high school!) When it comes to security, Hopkins is excellent in keeping on top of things. Around campus, there's a blue light system (i.e., there are poles with blue lights on top where you can press an alarm button in case of an emergency--I've heard an alarm myself when someone accidentally pressed a button, and it's loud), there are many lampposts lit around campus at night, and there are security guards patrolling the campus and immediate neighborhood throughout the morning and evening. In addition, there are security guards by the entrances of the dorms. Furthermore, there are shuttle vans that you can call to go to and from off-campus locations within a one-mile radius of campus between 5:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. Last, but not least, there's a shuttle bus you can ride to and from Peabody or the medical campus from around 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. if you ever have to go to either one of those places for music lessons or research. In fact, whenever I pass by the area south of campus, it's usually while I'm riding the shuttle bus to go to and from Peabody or the medical school! At other times, it's when I'm walking a few blocks south of campus to volunteer at a nearby elementary school, but I do that during broad daylight and with one or two other volunteers accompanying me. In general, if you use your common sense and take advantage of the security measures available, you should be able to navigate your way around campus and the surrounding neighborhood freely and safely. Also, in time, you'll become more comfortable going through the neighborhoods around Hopkins. Seriously! As I've said, I thought the same thing as you when I first visited Hopkins as a high school student. ------------------------------------------- | QUOTE | | I'm wondering about Classics and more specifically Latin. How easy/difficult is the elementary/intermediate Latin at JHU? My Latin is mostly self-taught from a textbook/workbook that I bought online from Amazon and with some very limited input from a Latin teacher. I'm guessing I should take the elementary Latin but I'm not sure how slowly they go? I don't want to waste a term and credits: also what textbooks does JHU use? |
Here at Hopkins, there are two semesters of Elementary Latin, and you earn 3.5 credits for each semester; however, you must take both semesters of Elementary Latin in order to receive credit, with your first semester in the fall and the second in the spring. The course is taught without you being expected to know anything about Latin beforehand, and there are usually 10-15 (or even fewer) students. For the two semesters, the course uses a textbook and accompanying workbook that teach all the basic grammar concepts and include various (unaltered) reading samples from different works of poetry and prose. I took both semesters of Elementary Latin as a freshman and thought it was quite fun. Intermediate Latin isn't horribly difficult, provided that you don't forget the grammar you learned in Elementary Latin! Unlike Elementary Latin, you're not required to take both semesters of Intermediate Latin. There are also two semesters of Intermediate Latin, and you earn 3 credits for each semester. Both semesters are taught with the expectation that you've already learned Latin grammar. With that said, I suggest that you talk to one of the professors in the Department of Classics and see what would be best for you. In addition, you could use the add/drop period at the beginning of the semester to sit in on the classes for both Elementary Latin and Intermediate Latin to see where you feel most comfortable. ------------------------------------------- | QUOTE | If I were to attend Hopkins, I would likely major in Neuroscience or Cognitive Science. I guess I'm trying to decide which would be best for me. Neuroscience seems VERY science-y, and I'm not sure that that is me. I mean, I've taken all the science courses in HS, bio, chem, physics, and now anatomy, and they were all alright and I did well in them. Actually, I really hated my chemistry class, probably because my teacher was really off-topic all the time and expected us to know chemistry when we really hadn't done too much of it! Annoying! Is this true of the Hopkins neuroscience program? You may not know too much about the cog. sci program, but it seems less science focused. Is this true? Would it still prepare me for med school if I decide to do that? Obviously I'd need to take some pre-med courses or more sciences, but what do you think? Also, is the "Psychological and Brain Sciences" a major?
PS Is there a language requirement? More specifically, a modern foreign language req? I've taken Latin and now Greek since 6th grade, so I'm not too up on modern languages!! Does Hopkins have any courses on American Sign Language, just curious? |
It's true that majoring in cognitive science wouldn't be as "hard-core science-y" as majoring in neuroscience; it's true that you'd have to take courses not required for the major in cognitive science in order to meet pre-med requirements; and it's definitely true that you major in cognitive science and still be pre-med! In addition, yes, there's a Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Hopkins, and there is a major offered through that department. In case you're interested, you might want to take a look at the following: 1. the course requirements for the cognitive science major2. the course requirements for the neuroscience major3. the course requirements for the psychology majorAs for language requirements, there aren't language requirements for the three majors that I've discussed in this post (i.e., cognitive science, neuroscience, and psychology). Some majors at Hopkins do have language requirements, but not these three. Unfortunately, there aren't courses in American Sign Language at Hopkins. ------------------------------------------- | QUOTE | I do want to pursue a career in medicine, but I have strong interests in the humanities. How flexible is JHU when it comes to pre-med preparation (including research opportunities for freshmen) while mixing this with humanities-based electives? I want to take History or Classics, but would my choice to do pre-med hinder those chances? I know you're a classics minor so I was hoping you could clear that up.
Also, I absolutely love the arts. Theatre, dance and music. You seem really involved in extracurriculars that promote the arts. How does the balancing act work? |
Hopkins is a pretty awesome place to be a pre-med humanities major, in my opinion! If I weren't so wowed over by the idea of studying brains and neurons, I very well might have become a pre-med humanities major myself. I've run into quite a few humanities and/or social sciences majors who are pre-med--in fact, I know at least two pre-med students who are classics majors. First of all, I think the humanities departments here are small but strong--and I looooove the Department of Classics here. Second of all, I think the Office of Pre-Professional Advising is excellent overall. I know that I'm not the only student here with those two opinions, either. Also, with many professors who conduct research at the Homewood campus and many more who conduct research at the medical campus, you shouldn't have a problem getting a hold of one who's willing to take you in as a research assistant. It might take you a little more effort to find one than a natural sciences major--and it might not. Timing, luck, and persistence are all factors in finding a research lab when you're an undergraduate here with no prior research experience. There are many ways to go about this. I asked my neuroscience major advisor to recommend me professors whom I should try contacting--but since you're considering not being a natural science major, you might want to start off by talking to the Office of Pre-Professional Advising when you get here. Speaking of talking to the Office of Pre-Professional Advising, you also might be interested in taking one of the medical tutorials it offers. A "medical tutorial" is a one-semester, satisfactory/unsatisfactory course you take for one or two credits, depending on the course. In your tutorial, you're paired up with a physician at the medical school, and it usually consists of something such as shadowing that physician. (Details vary among different medical tutorials.) Regarding the arts: being involved with the arts can be pretty time-consuming. Sometimes, I myself don't know how I've been able to handle it all! I'll just say it requires a good amount of self-discipline and organization to balance your involvement with arts groups with your academic obligations. However, you can think about it this way: the arts encourage you to express yourself--so by their very nature, they're stress relievers. ------------------------------------------------- | QUOTE | I'm not completely sure if I want to go through the Medical path, but I am pretty sure that I want to major in Biology or Neuroscience. I was just wondering if I majored in one of these two subjects, would I be essentially take most of the courses required for pre-med?
Also, I was just wondering how scheduling classes works. Do you have a lot of work everyday(4-6 daily) since you are a neuroscience major and you take additional classes for pre-med? I was just wondering since I might want to minor in something else if it isnt too much. |
First of all, if you haven't already come across this webpage from the Office of Pre-Professional Programs & Advising, you might want to take a look at it: http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/prospective.html. Second of all, the answer to your question is yes. With the current major requirements for the biology and neuroscience majors, all of the required pre-med courses are requirements for the two majors (with the exception of Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry Lab, which are only optional courses for the two majors). P.S. Since most of the required pre-med courses are already required courses for the neuroscience major, I've found plenty of room to take courses in other areas. -------------------------------------------- | QUOTE | Like you when I get into a university(hopefully Johns Hopkins) I plan on doing pre-med, but also like you I'm interested in neuroscience, so would it be considered a dual major or not if I were to do both in a University.
Also I was wondering if you could tell me what made you interested in the classics? |
Most universities in the U.S. (including Johns Hopkins) don't offer "pre-med" as a major anymore, so chances are if you'll be a pre-med neuroscience major in college, your major will simply be neuroscience; however, you'll still be pre-med because you'll be taking courses and taking other steps to prepare for medical school (e.g., volunteering in a hospital, doing research, etc.)
I got interested in studying classics as my minor, because I took Elementary Latin as an elective in my freshman year and wanted to learn more about the history and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.
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Meet JHU_Kate - Stamford, CT, Neuroscience Major, Classics Minor
