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<p>Yes, it is certainly good, but many people don’t consider JHU “great” (like on par with MIT/Stanford/Harvard etc) because JHU’s “ranking” isn’t higher. </p>
<p>That’s simply because JHU focuses more on certain niches rather than trying to be the best at everything. When it comes to biomedical research, JHU is probably the best institution in the world, and the research dollars granted reflect that. JHU is king when it comes to spending on research and has very, very strong ties to the Department of Defense, NIH, Homeland Security, and all sorts of other govt institutions. Hopkins has led the amount of money spent on research for 32 years in a row, the only reason JHU isn’t higher on peoples’ lists is because the benefits of all that spending are less directly tangible to undergraduate students. This year Hopkins spent $2 billion on research, which blows University of Michigan (in 2nd place with $1.18 bn) completely out of the water considering how much smaller JHU is too. Like I said, Hopkins is feels like it is practically a playground for government dollars and feels like an academic center for the government. The only reason you don’t see JHU in the “top 5” for overall university rankings is because JHU doesn’t focus as much on being a well rounded university (doesn’t even have a law school), but is much more of a research powerhouse for certain niches (dollars received and spent clearly reflect).</p>