I’m really having trouble deciding whether or not I should go to Hopkins or Swarthmore. I applied as a community college transfer.
I heard that Hopkins is much better in graduate teaching than undergraduate. I might not get the same attention as a humanities major than if I were doing pre-med or engineering. I don’t like cutthroat competition, which (I’ve heard) is at Hopkins. Competition like that is too overwhelming for me. However, I’ll be more close to home, which is very comforting. My goal is to ultimately get into a good grad school, maybe even an ivy league. With the sheer reputation Hopkins has, it seems like it would be feasible for me there. Hopkins also has an excellent world language program. I know for a fact that I can become fluent in Japanese, my language of choice, if I were to go. I haven’t done that much research about the Hopkins International Studies program, the academic climate, or the student experience, so if anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.
The one-on-one attention I want is present at Swarthmore. I’ve talked to so many students and faculty at Swarthmore and they all said that they are content with their decision to committing to the college. I also got the Mccabe scholarship, which covers a majority of my tuition. My relatives, on the other hand, don’t like the idea of me dorming. Honestly, I don’t either, but I feel that it will function as a way for me to become more self-sufficient. Moreover, the atmosphere is more collaborative and friendly. I feel like I won’t be judged for my background. The Political Science department is also top-notch.
I was wait-listed from Georgetown, my top choice, which is a bummer, but I got into two other really good schools. It would have been an easy decision for me if I got into Georgetown, but I just don’t know anymore…
When it comes to grad school admissions, neither school will inherently open more doors than the other; you should go to the one where you feel you can be the most successful and pursue your particular interests to the greatest possible extent. As a junior transfer, a lot of this will be about where you can best “hit the ground running” and assimilate quickly into a new environment.
You sound as if maybe you prefer Swarthmore and want to be reassured that turning down Hopkins wouldn’t be a mistake? Rest assured that there is no wrong choice here. (I seriously doubt there would any difference in your opportunity to become fluent in Japanese, either.)
You haven’t mentioned what transfer credit you’ve been offered at each school. Perhaps that means there’s no significant difference? But that’s definitely something to consider. It matters less what the school in general has available than what you, in particular, will have time to do in two years - and that means knowing how many requirements you’ll have left to complete and what your roadmap to graduation will look like.
After obviously distinguishing yourself at community college, a funded opportunity to have a residential college experience is actually a chance you’ll never get again. If it’s an experience you want to have, go for it - you can apply to JHU for grad school, but this is your only chance to experience Swarthmore. And while it may push you out of your comfort zone, it’s also more likely to make you feel like a full part of the college community more quickly than arriving as a transfer commuter student.
On the other hand, if you want to live at home and commute to Hopkins, you’ll obviously be getting an absolutely top-notch education, and you wouldn’t have to put as much energy into the social adjustment - you could focus more on just getting the job done academically and moving on to your next set of goals. How socially invested do you want to be in your college community over the next two years? It’s a very individual decision.
Follow your heart on this one. The objective factors line up as a win either way.
Congrats with the nice jump from community college to two top-notch schools. I also started at a CC, kicked butt there, and transferred as a 24-year-old junior to a more modest midwestern LAC. I agree with @aquapt that it sounds like you prefer Swarthmore, but why are you and your relatives are concerned about dorming? Because you don’t want a residential environment or because you are unsure if you will fit in?
I will say that the transition can be awkward for some transfers. I had an awesome campus visit and felt like I had found my home, but the fall term (trimesters) was a bit of a transition. We students lived in suites, sort of like eight-person apartments: a common living space with four double bedrooms fanned around it. The problem? The college put me in with juniors, which seems logical, right? Nope. The juniors had already been there for two years and had their circles of friends. I found my group…among first-years on the floor below! They were like me. New to the school and looking to meet people. Then I had a blast.
I was a bright but completely apathetic student in high school. I did not care one bit about college guides or college tours. Working for a few years and putting myself through CC sort of woke me up. I suddenly wanted the traditional, residential experience with a passion. If that describes you in any way, go for it. Even if it doesn’t, it’s just two years. It’s not like you’ll be stuck at Swat for four. You don’t seem terribly excited about Hopkins, a fine school, but very, very different.
Swarthmore is an excellent college and virtually all graduate professors (who would be admitting you for grad school) are familiar with it. It would be just as good as JHU in preparing you for graduate school, so I wouldn’t worry about that.
Swarthmore also seems to have a relatively robust Japanese language sequence that would help you achieve fluency, if you wanted. They seem to offer about the same number of courses (perhaps slightly more) in Japanese as Johns Hopkins.
For me, the scholarship just seals the deal. What kind of support were you offered at JHU?
I agree that it sounds like you really want to go to Swarthmore - or at least, that you prefer the atmosphere of Swarthmore - and you need reassurance that the college will prepare you for your post-college goals. It will! Swarthmore is a great place, and its graduates are well-prepared for a variety of options after graduation.
What is it that is repellant about the idea of you dorming? As a junior, wouldn’t you be likely to get a single? You’re going to have to become self-sufficient sooner or later and someday you will probably live without your parents. Living in a dorm is great practice for that time.
As others have said, congratulations on two excellent choices. I am very familiar with both schools, and am an alum of one of them (Hopkins, albeit for grad school). Frankly, I would pick Swarthmore based on what you have said. Hopkins is at the top of the feeding chain in the graduate programmes you are interested in but I think that Swarthmore would provide a more intimate and deeper foundation.
Based on the facts that you have put on the table, I would go with Swarthmore for undergrad, and apply to Hopkins for grad school but there are no bad choices here