Navigating the college search is a different experience for everyone. While many consider whether a school offers their intended majors and student organizations, others (like me) consider whether their cafeterias are stocked with Coke or Pepsi products. My ‘decision-making’ process was more so a series of fortunate events that led me to being a Blue Jay; not only do I hope to share why I applied in the first place, but also why I ultimately decided to commit to Hopkins!
Writing college applications during a global pandemic was one of the toughest times of my high school life. It was hard to think about the future with lockdown forcing us out of school for over a year and regular waves of the virus quarantining us away from family and friends. Yet, those summer months alone at home were good for one thing: dreaming of what I would do when I finally got out (an overly dramatic retelling of what was an uneventful lockdown). Daydreaming made me look at the big picture, understand what I wanted from life, and think about what I was destined to do.
This ability to wander off into my semi-realistic imagination was always encouraged as a child (but has now come to the detriment of my problem sets). My parents always prioritized education, and given my commitment to thinking big, I dared to dream to go to the U.S. The freedom and flexibility of an American education appealed to me as I developed a breadth of interests throughout school. The ability to engage in meaningful extracurriculars while studying was a big factor. The culture of working hard while enjoying time off was also central to me and has taken on a more prominent role now in governing how I spend my time.
As for Hopkins, more specifically, I could tell you the professors and classes that I really wanted to take, the student organizations I wanted to join, or even just how much the thought of undergraduate research excited me. But alas, we all have different interests, goals, and dreams that I won’t do justice to by mentioning my own. But I think it would be worth our time if I shared some of the key values I wanted to embody. I’ve seen firsthand the power of having strong values and how they can help make decisions; if I had told myself this five years ago, I probably would have laughed! I truly believe in a holistic learning experience, which makes deciding between committing my time to a class and working on a hands-on project so much easier. I want everything I work on here to contribute to a greater cause.
To show you how Hopkins helped me make values central to what I do, I dug up my old application essay.
One of the key things I wrote about two years ago was what it meant to be a life-long learner. Back then, it meant questioning everything; it was “piecing together everything I see around me and adding it to the larger story of my life, one full of adventure and exploration.” Right now, it means life beyond my major requirements. I really respect the idea of a ‘program of study’ that our academic departments espouse; instead of being confined to just one major, Hopkins lets me live my dream of life-long learning by making it easy to take “irrelevant” classes. This has often led to spontaneous changes in my undergraduate program of study and the hilarious journey from being a history major to wanting to pursue a PhD in economics, with intermittent stops at international studies, sociology, applied math, environmental science, and even environmental health and engineering! I encourage you to explore the idea of life-long learning and consider the various campus resources and climate institutions like Hopkins make available for their students.
Another important part of my decision was Baltimore. I’d never seen it before, but I knew from the way people spoke about it that it had a certain charm. I am a huge fan of the symbiotic relationship between cities and their citizens: the complicated give and take we have with the places we live in can affect the ecosystem around us. I had a special relationship with my hometown of Bombay—with its food, history, and people—and wished to have the same with Baltimore. It’s amazing to see how much I’ve come to understand this city in the last two years I’ve lived here, epitomized by this heartfelt post. Two years ago, I wrote about taking in the sights and stories while ‘historically walking’ in my city; today, I do the same for Baltimore and hope to learn more about the city’s fabric. Hopkins is Baltimore, and Baltimore is Hopkins; this symbiotic relationship is part of the package, and a large reason why I applied.
While these recollections may be ambiguous, I do want to quickly share why I ended up choosing Hopkins if you could indulge my whimsy this one time. I applied to Hopkins Regular Decision, and upon getting in, had to make my final decision between a few similar schools.
Here are some actual reasons:
- In the weeks of Indecision 2022, Hopkins had so much programming: meetings with admissions counselors and students, one-on-ones with students in the same major, social nights, and newsletters/blogs such as this one! This really helped me and my family understand what a Hopkins education would be like. In the end our decision was easy.
- I had a heart-to-heart with one of my favorite teachers in high school who told me I needed to enjoy the breadth of learning I was being offered!
Here are the reasons I like to say, which I compiled in May of 2022:
- Hopkins’ website perfectly displays our spirit blue college color, something I adore, while also containing actual clickable links! I remember noting “awkward Times New Roman and weird line spacing” for some of the other universities’ websites, and that ended up being a deal-breaker.
- I had a few older friends from high school that went to Hopkins and made it very clear through incessant messages that Hopkins was truly the place for me!
- I set up a Google form for my friends to fill out and give me their opinions on where I should go. This, coupled with a chit-picking bowl, solidified public opinion and chance!
Notwithstanding the silliness of these ideas, I hope to leave you with a lesson I learned: it’s OK to want to prioritize your best life while choosing an academically advanced institution. My first ever post for this blog talked about living, laughing, and learning at Hopkins; I intentionally put living first, simply because we often forget we are committing four years to living our lives in these places, not just their classrooms. If you’ve followed my journey of revelations in this blog, I hope you’ve seen how Hopkins wants you to thrive.
