Ask me anything about Hopkins!

Narcoleptic
Thu, 26 Dec 2013 19:55:13 +0000

Happy holidays everyone! I promise I’ll address all the questions in the queue soon.

@ mathyone
I came in with no programming experience, so I’ve only taken one CS class so far (intro to java). The class is open to all majors, so there are about 120 students. The next level course, intermediate programming, is much smaller (30 to 40 students). The CS department at Hopkins is small but intimate. I know a good number of CS kids in my grade as a result. CS in general is becoming more popular and important in the world today so the department grows annually. One of my friends is actually annoyed at the increasing number of people switching into CS at Hopkins haha. Since I’m just a freshman, I can’t say much to the workload. I think it’s manageable if you just time things out right, which applies to all classes really. Most people take one CS class at a time though (at least in the beginning) because CS classes do tend to be more work intensive. A double major is definitely possible. CS is a very flexible major, which is one of the reasons more and more people are majoring or minoring in it. I personally am looking into getting a minor and maybe even another major because of how open the curriculum is. I do think I’ll have access to internships (although it’s a ways for me since I’ve just begun my programming experience). There are a couple of people who interned and worked at Facebook from Hopkins. I’ve also seen people go to Bloomberg, Microsoft, etc. And to answer the last part, I really didn’t know if I wanted to do CS. I came to Hopkins undecided. After taking the intro programming course, I declared CS as my major because it’s easier to take intermediate programming if you’re declared. I may still switch my major, but I’ll definitely give CS some time because I do enjoy programming.

@ picklechicken37
Personally, I’d probably just contact a friend and hang out with him/her. I’m rarely in my dorm to begin with so at around 6-7 PM, if I’m not eating, I’m probably already with someone. I hang out in other people’s dorms a lot. Thursday nights aren’t very eventful, but if I’m really bored, I’d try to find someone who was free and willing to go out to the city or something. I’ve actually gone to inner harbor once at around 3AM haha.

@ supercoolturtles
I honestly don’t think there’s a cutthroat environment at all. I’m sure there are some sleazy competitive jerks who just want what’s best for them, but personally, everyone I’ve met is very helpful and willing to collaborate. I’m not just referring to CS majors either. Most of my friends are ChemBEs, BMEs, Bio majors, Neuro majors, Public Health majors, etc. and they’re all super nice. I think the cutthroat culture is a bit outdated. I remember going to SOHOP and asking this exact question to one of the guides and she said it applied maybe a decade ago. I’ve never experienced this and I know plenty of premeds who will vouch. If you do find yourself surrounded by competitive people and you’re uncomfortable with it, make new friends!

@ bonee26
As I mentioned in mathyone’s response, I didn’t apply to Hopkins with the intent of majoring in CS. I was actually (as with most kids) considering premed and I was undecided. I took a programming class and liked it though. It’s definitely harder to get in those schools for CS, so I guess Hopkins would be a safety in that regard. All these schools look for balanced students though because they know how frequently people change majors. You need to be at the schools’ caliber in general. The schools you listed have more specific departments and, at least with CMU and Cornell, I’m pretty sure it’s not as easy to switch majors as it is at Hopkins. In my opinion, applying CS to Hopkins is more like applying to the institution in general. At Cornell and CMU, you’re applying to specific schools within the university.