Meet JHU_Lauren - Westmont, NJ, Writing Seminars / Film & Media Majors

Hey all! My name is Lauren and I am a junior from Westmont, NJ, a small suburb right outside of Philadelphia. I am double-majoring in Writing Seminars and Film & Media Studies, possibly minoring in English. The classes I have taken so far are:

FALL 2007
Introduction to Fiction and Poetry I
History of Occidental Civilization: The Medieval World
Advanced Intermediate French I
Subatomic World
Introduction to Literary Study

SPRING 2008
Introduction to Fiction and Poetry II
Renaissance Keywords
Advanced Intermediate French II
Theatre & Film: An Insider's Perspective
Fluid Earth

FALL 2008
Introduction to Fiction
The Structure of English
Conversation et Composition Francais
19th Century British Novel
Introduction to Greek Philosophy

SPRING 2009
Writing the Screenplay
Intermediate Fiction: Narrative Voice
The Sense of Loss: 1900-1927
Shakespeare's Rome
Dance Revolution: Rethinking Post-War American Art

FALL 2009
Introduction to the Study of Film I
Intermediate Fiction: Contemporary American Fiction
Introduction to Film Production
Monuments and Memory
Introduction to Poetry Workshop

As for extracurriculars, the main ways I'm involved on campus are:

ALPHA PHI SORORITY.
I've held many positions in Alpha Phi {most of them PR/event-planning related}, but my true favorite part of my Greek experience so far is easily all of the fantastic girls I've met. Let me just say: I LOVE MY SORORITY. I love my Alpha Phi family, I love meetings, I love the events we sponsor, I love the community service we do. I love it all, and I can't imagine life at Hopkins being as fun and as happy if my sisters weren't a part of it.

STUDENT ADMISSIONS ADVISORY BOARD.
Being on SAAB makes it possible for me to be a part of Hopkins Interactive .. without it, I wouldn't be typing this for you right now! Our goal is to make the college search/application/college selection process as clear and easy as possible for prospective students. We want to make sure you know exactly what Hopkins is and can be for you so that you make the right decision!

ADMISSIONS, CONTINUED....
I work a LOT with the Admissions office! Through Hopkins Hosting Society, we host prospective students on overnight visits and allows them to spend extended time with real Hopkins students. I am also an Admissions Representative, which means I have been trained to give on-campus interviews to prospective/applying students. I love doing both of these things because they offer yet another way to show off the school and to give you more information so that you can be best equipped to decide where to go to college.

FILM SOCIETY.
Film Society plans film programming year-round that is open to both the Hopkins and Baltimore communities. In the fall, we host several film series {this year our themes are Stanley Kubrick and Rebellious Youth} and in the spring we coordinate our very own weekend-long Johns Hopkins Film Fest, which is recognized throughout the entire city. As head of publicity/marketing for Film Society, my job is to maintain campus relations and ultimately make people want to come to our events - which can be difficult sometimes, so we get creative!

THE WRITING CENTER.
I am only just starting to be trained, but when I am finished with training and evaluated, I will become a tutor at our Writing Center. The Center offers tutors to undergraduates and graduate students for help writing essays, reports, personal statements for applications/jobs, and more. I'm really excited to translate what I have learned about writing into something to help others with what otherwise can seem like a pretty daunting task - and hey, being paid for it won't be too bad either.

{Freshman year, I also used to write for the JHU News-Letter's Calendar and Events section, which helps keep the student body updated on exciting concerts, plays, and other events happening around Baltimore.}

As a freshman, I lived in Wolman Hall. Sharing a kitchenette and a bathroom/shower with only three other girls -- and the luxury of having air conditioning -- made for a great year! It was so convenient, and was a great way to start developing my "living on my own" independence skills. As a sophomore, I lived in Charles Commons. I had a single bedroom {the other bedroom in my suite was lived in by JHU_Jessica!} that was on the 10th floor and looked out over all of Baltimore towards the Inner Harbor. It was so comfortable there once I had decorated and made it my own -- it was really nice to have a place to come back to at the end of the day that felt like a home. It's also very nice to have air conditioning, a kitchen, and a bathroom all in the suite, and a workout room, study rooms, a common kitchen, a pingpong table, Nolan's {which serves dinner and is on our meal plans}, a mailroom, music rooms, a ballroom, and more, all in one building.

{Watch my Cribs videos to see what my rooms and suites looked like!}
- http://hopkins.typepad.com/lauren/2008/03/...ins-cribs-.html
- http://hopkins.typepad.com/lauren/2009/03/...mmons-1016.html

This year I live off-campus {though only right across the street} and I adore both my roommate and my apartment! Photos and a Cribs blog entry are to come.

I chose to come to Hopkins for three major reasons. First, it's Johns Hopkins - its reputation and my preconceived idea about the school was so positive that I felt proud to be able to represent that. I would be learning among some of the brightest students in the world, would be taught by professors who are among the best in their fields. I would be attending a school that had produced an almost unbelievable amount successful, intelligent, well-rounded students. It was an amazing opportunity that I just could not pass up. Second, the angels in heaven struck me with money luck. I was given the Bloomberg Scholarship along with a few other fantastic scholarships and grants that actually made my enrollment possible: without them, there is no way I could have ever even thought about coming here. And third, as soon as I visited campus for the first time, I felt at home. It is a beautiful campus and, at the same time, isn't uptight like many other schools that have been in existence for so long and have so much to boast about. Every person I met when I came here for my visit was friendly and welcoming and, when they told me about their experiences and answered my questions, they made me feel like they sincerely wanted me to enroll. It just felt comfortable - it was easy to imagine spending the next four years here. So that's where I ended up!!

And I think I've bored you long enough with my story! So tell me yours - use this thread to ask me questions about classes/housing/extracurriculars/cooking/television/fashion/Jersey, discuss your options, tell me about yourself and what you think of Hopkins so far. I'll be glad to chat with you!!

* read my blog: http://hopkins.typepad.com/lauren.

Archived Questions/Answers --
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Thanks for your question! The JHU Film Society is open to anybody at all that wants to come and join. All you have to do is enjoy watching and discussing movies! You'll get more information at the beginning of year {through the emailed JHU Today's Announcements and at the Student Activities Fair} about meeting times and places. There are a lot of alternative ways to contribute too, aside from just coming to meetings - we always need help with:

- setting up for our weekly screenings in the fall
- publicizing all of our events with fliers, mural boards, Facebook events, etc.
- getting local businesses to advertise in our Film Fest program/Frame of Reference journal
- staffing our Film Fest in the spring {ushers, door people, ticket people, etc.}
- getting submissions/writing submissions for our film journal

So basically, once you get here all you have to do is get in contact with anyone on Film Society to join the email list and get all the info!

While I'm not sure about the exact steps you take to create a new student organization/group, I do know that Hopkins absolutely provides the resources for students to do so. We love our extracurricular activities here on campus {a LOT of people are involved in more than just studying!}, so it is a huge part of our student life here. Like I said, I'm not sure exactly how you go about organizing your own club or event, but I do know of a few individuals that can help.

This link {http://www.krieger.jhu.edu/about/boswell.html} will take you to the faculty page for our Dean of Student Life, Susan Boswell. The Deans at our school are surprisingly approachable .. they actually do want to be in contact with you, and are extremely helpful when you have a question. Since she deals with "residential life, orientation, student activities, multi-cultural student affairs .. student conduct .. housing and dining services, campus ministry, the counseling center, and athletics and recreation," Dean Boswell will certainly be able to help out if you are thinking about starting a new group. Once you're here, I would type a sort of letter of intent to her about your proposed group, and then ask if she has any feedback/thoughts/comments/advice. It's worth a shot!

Also, you can click here {http://web.jhu.edu/studentprograms/OSI/home.html} or here {http://www.jhu.edu/csc/} to go to the websites for our Office of Student Involvement and Center for Social Concern, respectively. Each of those has steps to apply to create your own student group. You can see just what would be required of the group and its leaders if you explore that.

Just as an example, the application at the Office of Student Involvement includes this question: To what extent would your organization require university funding, or would it be self-sufficient?

Obviously, here you'll need to estimate just how much funding you anticipate your group needing. I haven't ever submitted a request before, but I'm sure that Hopkins works hard to fund as many groups that need it as possible and, if they aren't able to, they will let you know.

Lastly, if you browse those two sites above, you can find many of the groups already operating today. You might be surprised by the range of student clubs and organizations we have -- you could find that the one you were hoping to join has already been created.

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on the Bloomberg scholarship! That's basically the reason why I was able to come to Hopkins, so I get really excited knowing other people who Mayor Bloomberg has helped out as well.

You are right when you say that no class here is typical, just as there is no typical student, GPA, workload, etc., but I can still give you an idea of the work you have to look forward to {or not! lol}. Do you need two classes in the English department to satisfy your requirements? Or do you need two writing-intensive courses in any department?

Just to clear that up -- for a class to be "writing intensive," a student has to be assigned to produce 20 pages of written anything over the course of the semester. In most English courses that are writing intensive, this is in the form of two big critical analysis papers {sort of a "midterm" and a "final"}, as well as smaller response papers, assignments, or creative writing. In most Writing Seminars writing intensive courses {I actually think they all are}, the pages are all creative writing, with maybe a final analysis paper at the end. In my Theatre Arts class this semester that was writing intensive, we did everything from writing reviews to movie analysis to even a final paper that, for me, was in a narrative form.

So, based on the definition that JHU decided on, a writing intensive course is usually seen as more difficult than the others, especially to people that aren't in the major. I enjoy it because I like to write, but it can get to be a little bit heavy at times in addition to the reading that you have to do as well. It isn't impossible though -- I took 3 writing intensive courses my first semester and 3 my second semester, and I made it through!

Speaking of, as a rule of thumb for all English/Writing Seminars courses, writing intensive or not, you're going to have quite a bit of reading to do. Usually this is one work {a book, a pamphlet, a packet, etc.} every one or every two weeks, then a discussion/response about it. It can feel like a heavy workload at some times, but as long as you manage your time well and make sure you don't leave all the reading for the night before it is expected to be finished, you'll be fine.

My advice though, since you said you're more science/math minded, would be to take one of the courses in the fall semester and another in the spring. In the fall, you'll already be adjusting to a new place, learning how to change your study habits, finding extracurriculars, maybe finding a job .. it's a lot! English courses do get to be kind of demanding at times, so it might make sense to break them up. I can absolutely understand you wanting to get them over with, though .. that's just my two cents.

I think that's probably a good idea, to wait until fall and then see how much you can handle. If you feel like you're prepared for a lot of reading and writing {that's great you feel comfortable with it!}, then it would be great to get them out of the way so you can focus on what you enjoy more! But you have a pretty long time to fine-tune your schedule {I think it's something like you have two weeks to add a class, and then something like six weeks to drop one without penalty}, so definitely take it slow and try things out.

Students of the School of Engineering and the School of Arts and Sciences are a little different when it comes to the number of credits they take per semester, and the number of credits they're expected to take to graduate. For Engineering students {I think!}, the maximum number of credits you can take every semester as a freshman is 18.5, then 19.5 every semester after that. I'd say as a VERY general rule, most people take 4-6 courses every semester and the amount of credits they take ranges from 15-18. {You can check out this thread for more opinions: http://z14.invisionfree.com/Hopkins_Forums...p?showtopic=780}

Though it changes a bit every year, I found out who my roommate was in the middle of July. The matches will be made sometime during the summer, and you'll get your roommate's contact information with plenty of time to get to know one another, as well as to decide who is bringing what.

Though I don't ski or snowboard, here is what one of my friends said in response to your question:

My best response to her would be that in years past, the ski and snowboard club has offered free lift tickets, transportation, rentals, lessons, and a meal when we go on Saturday's to anyone who comes on our trips. There are no hidden fees. The only downfall is that the trips are on a first come first serve basis. Anyone can be apart of the club (meaning there are no meetings or responsibilities except to go on the trips and have fun). You also do not have to travel up with us. If we are heading up to the mountain (white tail or liberty or wherever else) and you decide to drive yourself and friends, that is fine but we (officers) have to know so that we can get everyone lift tickets and rentals. Now, this is subject to change for the upcoming year, but this is how it has been for many years preceeding and I do not think it will change any time soon.

Since you're pretty good at science and math, I think you're the perfect type to take advantage of the freedom Hopkins gives us and to try something different. We don't have a core curriculum obviously so you can jump right into fulfilling your major requirements, and that frees up a LOT of space to take classes you wouldn't normally take. Luckily, the science courses will be able to be used to fill your distribution requirements anyway, so you'll be getting something out of the way while exploring your interests as well. Personally, I'm decent at math and science but really dislike math, so what I did was look through allllllll of the 100 level science courses that are offered and see which ones sounded the best. I knew I didn't want to take a "rocks for jocks" because I genuinely wanted to learn something from the classes I took {and to be around students that cared about the class they were taking}, but I chose to limit myself to 100 levels just because I knew I wouldn't have the background to do well in higher lever courses {you might though, so that's something to consider}.

And I feel like that was a good decision, because there are so many really interesting, unique courses on the basics for people who are exploring outside of their majors! I ended up taking The Subatomic World through the Physics department in my first semester {since physics was always my favorite area of science}, which was a course geared toward non-science majors about subatomic physics, and LOVED IT. Our professor had studied the neutrino for 19 years and probably had more knowledge about the world in his pinky finger than I do in my entire body, lol .. it was a really great experience and I came away having learned a lot. I took Fluid Earth in the spring, which was an Earth and Planetary Science course that I honestly wouldn't really recommend to anyone. unsure.gif I chose it because I've always loved weather and learning about different climate phenomena, and granted I did do well in the class, but I think the course could use a lot of changes and a lot of organizing.

This coming semester, I tried to stick to 200 level courses since I'll be a sophomore .. you can still take 100 level courses though, and I would have if one stuck out to me while I was looking! But I ended up taking The Structure of English {a Cognitive Science course}, and I'm really excited about it because it'll give me a different, scientific perspective on my English/Writing Seminars major background. So it's something I'm interested in but, at the same time, it's taking a little bit of a risk and trying something new.

So what I would recommend is pretty simple: don't be afraid! You obviously don't want to come in and expect to do well in something like Organic Chemistry if you don't have that background but generally, even as a non-science/math major, if you're interested in the course you're going to take, you'll going to do a lot better than if you're just treating it as a class you HAVE to take to fulfill a requirement. There is always the period after classes start when you can add and drop classes as well, so if you find that things aren't working out the way you had hoped, you can always choose another!

I'm glad you liked the look into my room! I hope being able to see the way I lived last year will help you plan for next year and get a feel for how things will be for you as well. As for bed risers, I think really any type will work just fine. The beds are structured so that it's only four wooden legs holding it off the ground .. there are wooden support bars in between them obviously because the beds are very sturdy, but as long as you buy four standard bed risers of any type, you should be able to use them.

If you choose to get your bed lofted through JHU, I think the ones they use are wooden, but the ones I have are round and plastic {similar to these from Target: http://www.target.com/Plastic-Bed-Risers-Set-4/dp/B0009H2JPI}and they were great. As I said in my Cribs blog entry, my aunt and uncle bought the bed risers I used so I'm not sure exactly where they got them from, but I think searching around for a good price or a style that you like would be smartest. As long as the area where you rest the bed corners isn't abnormally small, it'll be ok!

First off, I'm so glad you're thinking about an English major! I'm actually not an English major anymore but I have taken quite a few classes and gotten to know the people really well - it's a great department with fantastic courses and really interesting professors .. I'm so happy with my experiences so far.

You can see my first semester schedule in my first post and, if you did look at it, you'll probably notice that it's a lot like yours. A language, an English course, a Writing Sems course {for you, another English course}, Occ Civ: The Medieval World, and a science {I highly, highly recommend Subatomic World -- I LOVED IT!} was a very manageable line-up for my first semester of college. It was just enough of a challenge, but still left me a lot of time to get involved, meet new people, and relax.

I felt good about taking Intro to Literary Study my first semester because I wasn't 100% confident about writing college-level papers, reading and analyzing at a university level, or taking part in college class discussions. I guess I was a little intimidated! But Intro to Literary Study helped me a LOT with this, teaching me that I do have what it takes, and also helping me learn the best ways to approach each of these areas of the major. I felt so good after taking that class that I actually signed up for a 300 level English course this past semester. It was a struggle, but I learned a lot and ended up with an A. Pretty good!

But, with that said, Intro to Literary Study is an English major requirement but is NOT required to be taken your first semester/your freshman year {the new rules say that you have to take it by the end of your sophomore year, though}. I am taking 19th Century British Novel this semester as well and am very much looking forward to it -- I've heard nothing but positive things about that class -- but Lit Study will provide an amazing foundation for you in English at Hopkins. If you want to take 19th Century British Novel {if you think that's the class you'll be most interested in for this semester}, you should absolutely go for it. For me, interest in the subject is the most important thing when choosing a class! You'll be more motivated to work hard and get into the material if you really want to take it, so I wouldn't "bully" you into taking Lit Study first thing just because I did. I would definitely try to take Lit Study during your first year though .. but our requirements are very flexible. It's up to what you feel comfortable with!

Okay, sounds good! You're definitely encouraged to go to Lit Study for a few class sessions if you're still interested in it. You can get a copy of the syllabus, listen to the professor's goals for the course, and even talk to him afterwards about your situation and see if he/she {not sure who's teaching it this year} can give any advice. It's best to try things out and see what you like! Just know that neither of these courses are going to go away -- Lit Study is a requirement so it'll be offered often, and I know seniors who took 19th Century British Novel when they were freshmen. They're good classes, so you won't miss out on getting to take either of them!

You'll absolutely have enough time to get involved in those things, if not in even more if you choose, with that schedule. Each of the classes will undoubtedly have their ups and downs -- some weeks you'll have more work than others, and some weeks you may feel a little overwhelmed because it doesn't feel like you'll have enough time for it all. Even having been at Hopkins for a year already, it's still natural for me to get that way once or twice during the semester. But for the most part, you'll have the perfect amount of time to adjust to the schoolwork, adjust to living on your own, make friends, and get involved in the activities that you want. I was able to join the Hopkins Interactive team, write for the News-Letter, and test out a bunch of other clubs and activities my first semester without too much trouble, which was great! I'm not involved in it anymore, but Film Society is about as much of a commitment as you choose it to be, and since club sports are pretty structured, you'll be able to plan how you want to get your work done accordingly. It's all about time management -- as long as you make an effort to figure out what you have on your plate and use free time to get things done, you'll be absolutely fine.

And yep, you'll be able to take the placement test during Orientation. I actually didn't take one at all during the summer, so no worries about that! If you click here, you'll see that the test will be offered at the Language Lab in Krieger Hall from 10am to 4pm on Tuesday and Wednesday during Orientation. If you score high enough to be placed in the 300 level, you'll have to take an additional test in person on Wednesday at 4pm. That's just to make sure you didn't cheat/get lucky on the first one, I guess.

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If you don't see your question answered here, feel free to ask it!