It was March of 2024, and I had a decision to make. After months of filling out countless college applications, the time had finally come to choose where I would be spending the next four years. In the moment, it felt like it could make or break the next few years (word of advice to my past self: it really isn’t a world-ending decision and go with your gut feeling). I remember making phone call after phone call, reaching out to every person I knew who had any experience at the university, trying to learn what life at Hopkins would be like. I learnt everything I could about campus culture, academics, and Baltimore.
Here are some factors that made me seal the deal and decide Hopkins would be my home for the next four years:
#1 Research for undergraduates
Hopkins is widely known as the #1 research university, but what really amazed me was just how accessible research opportunities were for students. I always thought research opportunities were mostly for upper-level or graduate students, but at Hopkins, you can get involved in research starting your first year. The journey to answering your next big and impactful research question is often just an email away here. In high school, I had worked on a research project about the impact of different economic and trade policies on metallurgical trade and how that affected the production of batteries. This was my first exposure to research, and I was instantly hooked. At university, I really wanted to continue the process of scientific inquiry but also expand the scale and scope of my work. I wanted to make my work more interdisciplinary and incorporate different computational methods, fields, and topics. I knew Hopkins would give me the opportunity to do just that. Within my first semester, I got involved in the Delineo Disease Modeling Project, a project that applies computational methods to pressing real world problems. The opportunity to partner with world- renowned experts, explore my interests in a variety of fields, and work on complex problems truly convinced me that Hopkins was right for me.
#2 Opportunities for higher education at Hopkins
Hopkins provides great opportunities to continue your studies here even after your undergraduate degree. The Department of Computer Science, for instance, offers a combined bachelor’s/master’s degree in engineering (BS/MSE). Other departments have similar programs. This seamless pathway to graduate studies was something that really appealed to me. You can even start taking graduate-level courses during your undergraduate degree. The access to higher education and advanced courses is a very exciting prospect and allowed me to design my educational journey. I can explore disciplines like artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and computer vision in advanced classes with a more research-oriented approach. It showed me that Hopkins was not just a place to learn but also a place where I could push boundaries.
#3 Interdisciplinary opportunities
As someone who is double majoring in computer science and economics, I am pursuing majors in both the Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) and the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS). Undergraduate majors at Hopkins are either a part of WSE or KSAS, but you can double major across the schools and take elective classes from either. This was a game changer for me and something that differentiated Hopkins from the other universities I was considering. To me, interdisciplinary learning means having the freedom to take classes from seemingly unrelated fields and then be able to draw the connections between them. Last semester, I took programming intensive courses and explored complex mathematical methods, but I also took a Monetary Analysis class that explored financial markets and monetary policy. I didn’t have to choose one of my passions over the other. This has given me academic freedom and the ability to explore and learn at the intersection of my interests.
#4 Community and Inspiration
Most of all, I was looking for a place where I would be inspired by those around me. This may sound cheesy, but there is nothing truly as enlivening as being around people who love what they do. Everyone at Hopkins, from the students to the professors, is excited by their work, characterized by a strong work ethic but also the ability to have fun while they are at it. I first felt this when I attended an admitted students event while making my college decision. The admitted students event was a lunch event hosted by Hopkins in my hometown, where an admissions counselor told us about projects current students were working on, life in Baltimore, and the general Hopkins culture.
When you study at Hopkins, you will feel inspired by your peers and professors around you, as well as the alumni that came before you. I’ve had professors that the entire class clapped for at the end of the semester because their teaching was engaging, and their passion was contagious. My friends have motivated me to keep working even if it was difficult, through studying together in Brody Learning Commons. There are small reminders of alumni achievements all around campus (like the Nobel Prize window at the MSE Annex or Daniel Coit Gilman’s personal library at Gilman Hall). These are not just symbols of achievement—they are real reminders of the impact Hopkins students and professors have on the world.
If you want unparalleled opportunities for impactful work and a community that will bring out the best in you, there is no way you can go wrong by choosing to be a Blue Jay at Hopkins.
