As the freshman class of 2009 walks the campus and attends classes, some students are finding Johns Hopkins to be closer to home than they realized. Out of the 1163 freshmen currently on the Hopkins campus, 21 were admitted as Baltimore Scholars.
The creation of the Baltimore Scholars Program was announced by President Brody in June of 2004. The program allows Baltimore city residents who have attended Baltimore City public high schools for the past three years the opportunity to attend Hopkins on a full-tuition scholarship. The class of 2009 is the first group of students to be admitted under the program.
"Hopkins generally had been averaging five to six incoming freshmen from Baltimore public schools every year," said Dean of Enrollment and Academic Services Bill Conley. "We believed this to be too small a representation of students. The factor that limits the interest of Baltimore city students is the idea that the Johns Hopkins is unattainable both scholarly and economically."
John Latting, director of undergraduate admissions, agreed with Conley. "For most families, the main question is how to pay for college. This program provides the answer for inner city students," Latting said.
There were 120 applications from students in the Baltimore city public school program, of which around 80 were from the three inner-city flagship schools. Conley said that admittance of 21 students, a four-fold increase over previous years, indicates the strength of the program. Students were notified of their selection as a Baltimore Scholar after they had already been accepted into the university.
Dean Conley emphasized that these students are just as qualified as their peers from other parts of the nation.
"This is not a second-tier admission program," Conley said. "The students underwent the same admissions process as everyone else."
As classes begin, the Baltimore Scholars will meet with the Baltimore Scholars program's Academic Director Matthew Crenson to discuss their academic goals and to be paired up with a faculty mentor.
The students also have a year-long program of leadership development and community involvement.
"We want to make sure that the Baltimore Scholars remain involved in Baltimore," said Crenson.
"The future of the city depends on the leadership of people like them. And the future of the University depends on the future of Baltimore," he added.
Crenson says that the response of the Baltimore community has been strong.
"Alumni have also been ecstatic at the creation of the program. There has been a real outpouring of generosity and opportunities," Conley said. Foundations in Baltimore have also come forward to offer financial donations.
"The feeling of the people in the city is that this is a strong, great program that is ultimately a good thing for Baltimore. It helps to connect Hopkins more with Baltimore and the community response has been very encouraging in that regard," Latting said.
Conley reported that the main goal for the year is to raise interest levels and program visibility in schools outside of the three magnet schools within the city.
"There is an aggressive, two-prong program consisting of recruitment and education, so that students can understand the admission processes of not just Hopkins but other universities across the nation," Conley said.
Hopkins faculty and administrators will begin visiting high schools and conducting college tours later in the month and throughout the fall.
"The Baltimore Scholars program not only encourages local students to pursue their education at Hopkins but also demonstrates that city students can have good educational opportunities if they apply themselves," said Dean of Undergraduate Education and Vice Provost Paula Berger."
University officials expect that the applicant pool for the class of 2010 will increase both in size and qualifications.
"We expect growth in the amount of interest and applications for the class of 2010," Latting said.
"There is no limit on the number of students whom we will admit under this program," Burger said.
Conley agreed, but noted that "with an increasing number of applications in the whole spectrum, there will be fewer students admitted regardless of where they are from. We are hoping for a steady, slight increase over the year. I would be both disappointed and surprised if we dropped in the number of applications and admitted students."
"I think the Baltimore Scholars can help to introduce other Hopkins undergraduates to the city that surrounds them," Crenson said.
