The main reason I applied to Hopkins was that it was one of two schools I had planned on attending when I was younger, from fourth grade up until the end of my sophomore year, when I decided I no longer wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. In my mind, because I no longer wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, there was no place for me at Hopkins. And so began my search for other schools which, ironically, continued to lead me back to Hopkins.
Diverse student body? Hopkins. Small class sizes? Hopkins. Social science research? Hopkins. Flexible curriculum? Hopkins. The more I found out about Hopkins, the more surprised I became. Before that point, I had never really looked at what Hopkins had to offer outside of what I thought I wanted at the time. Even so, when I decided to apply, it was because I wanted to know if I could have done it. And then, I got in.
For months, you wait and wait and wait to hear back from schools. And once you finally do, the endless stream of university emails, text messages, and calls begin. The reversal, it’s the school’s turn to do the convincing, and your turn to have to choose one out of many great options. It was nice, receiving my acceptances in the mail, reading student stories, finding out about things I didn’t know about the schools when I applied—like the Writing Seminars program at Hopkins.
I told my mom pretty early on I didn’t want to visit schools. Not because I wanted to go in blind, it was just too expensive. But my mom insisted we at least go to see my top three choices and said she would pull together the money somehow. It was around then that I found out about Blue Jay Day at Hopkins and university travel assistance programs; two of my top three choices—one of which was Hopkins—offered it. Also known as a fly-in program, the travel assistance provided us with transportation to Baltimore and back, including to and from the airport, and covered our hotel room; it relieved a lot of the stress I was feeling and gave me more to consider regarding university efforts to be financially accessible outside of tuition aid.
Hopkins was the first school I visited. When we arrived in Baltimore, it was freezing cold—the exact opposite of what I was expecting in early April coming from Georgia. After my mom and I practically jumped into our Lyft, it took me a bit to warm up enough to pay attention to what was happening outside the car. When I did, I was greeted with some beautiful sights. Maryland is gorgeous from the sky, but there’s nothing like riding by and seeing the murals and graffiti art decorating the brick buildings of Baltimore. It was so beautiful I completely forgot we were running late.
After rushing to check into a nearby hotel and throwing on clothes that still weren’t warm enough, we got ready to head out. My mom, my extroverted other half, had already made a friend; the Hopkins staff member who greeted us when we first arrived and checked us in. So, when we got downstairs, before leaving, we chatted a bit more, mostly about how I was going to freeze outside. My first in-person impression of Hopkins started off well.
The next two days of Blue Jay Day were a rush of activity. I learned a lot about Hopkins, met some great people, ate good food, and overall had a great time. The events that stand out the most clearly in my mind are the conversations. A conversation with a graduating senior, with the Director of the First-Generation and/or Limited-Income Network and the Director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, with a junior who was also from Georgia, with staff at the Office of Student Health and Well-Being, with student cultural organization leaders…the list goes on and the content differs but what remained the same was the passion with which they would talk about the students, and what they were doing at the school. Even the students who had complaints told me that they didn’t regret choosing Hopkins. I left Hopkins feeling a bit remorseful that there was a chance I wasn’t going to see those people again.
Whereas the only thing cold about Hopkins was the weather, when I arrived at school number two—which had been my top-choice school, the chill was literal and figurative. There was something missing, something I hadn’t known I wanted in a college before visiting Hopkins. As the visit went on, I became more and more disappointed. I kept waiting, looking, asking questions but, by the end of the visit, I had only one thing to say to my mom: Hopkins it is.
School number three was extremely similar to Hopkins, besides the fact it was in a fairly rural area—and warm! It reminded me of home. Just like Hopkins, it encouraged interdisciplinary study, had a plethora of undergraduate research opportunities, provided a lot of undergraduate support, and operated in a very people-first manner.
So, it wasn’t that the schools were substantially different. Both institutions had a deep care for students and the passionate pursuit of knowledge. It wasn’t the pull of city living; I’ve always preferred the scenery of the country. It wasn’t a bizarre sign or a strange dream. It was just that when I envisioned two different versions of me, I felt drawn to the me who went to Hopkins. Someone like the people I met at Blue Jay Day; passionate about my field, using my knowledge to positively impact the world around me, a mentor, someone who values connection and community building. The kind of people I wanted to be around. The kind of person I wanted to be. That’s why I chose Hopkins.
This is Why I Choose Hopkins:
