I’m currently a junior Applied Math major at Johns Hopkins University. Ironically, Hopkins wasn’t my first choice, and I wasn’t premed coming in.
I don’t think I’m going to have any debt when I graduate, but it is pricey, and financial aid isn’t the best. I really love Hopkins, but at the same time, I know enough people who don’t love it to realize that you probably have to be a specific kind of person to enjoy the rigor of the school and the busyness that comes with managing the courseload and extracurricular activities.
Contrary to rumors, I don’t find this school to be cutthroat at all, and even though many of my classes were challenging, I’ve never been in any with curves that made me feel like I was in competition with anyone else. But I also don’t really see why people say this is the best school for being premed. There are not very many clinics in the area, and Hopkins’ hospitals, which are the largest and most accessible in the area, are very difficult to access due to the lengthy process one has to go through to even get a volunteer position. It takes a lot of effort and pro-activeness to get meaningful premed opportunities.
Overall, though, I think that Hopkins has helped me gain a lot of independence and maturity, and I think it’s actually made me less concerned about my grades and more invested in living a meaningful life. I guess only time will tell whether or not this was a good investment in my future career, but it’s definitely been an enjoyable college experience.