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Freshmen, welcome to Johns Hopkins University — America’s first research university, ranked as one of the top 10 national colleges and... without a library?
A crucial step in your journey as a Blue Jay is becoming familiar with the wide range of lingo used by students at Hopkins. Here is your guide to some of the most frequently used abbreviations and acronyms on campus.
Truth be told, I did not cook once throughout my freshman year. Committed to using up my meal swipes every week, I often chose to traverse across campus to Nolan’s for a piece of burned (or raw) chicken, when I could have cooked up something nice and normal for myself. To help you avoid making the same mistakes I did, here are four of my favorite recipes for dorm room cooking!
I remember the summer before college when I was still scoping out my future through "A College Day in My Life" videos. I followed a YouTuber’s advice to make a four-year course schedule ahead of time. I spent hours researching classes, making a (seemingly) seamless schedule and imagining my life was all set — which now seems like a bit of a pipe dream. I've been humbled by the difficulty of some classes and the evolution of my interests — I’ve changed majors three times!
As I enter my third year at Hopkins, I sit here reminiscing about the array of clubs, classes and experiential opportunities on campus that I have tried to find belonging in. I reminisce about the weeks leading up, eager and enthusiastic to prove my worth as a first generation student. Among my many high expectations of success, embracing my own individuality and persevering through life's challenges were not a part of those in my original equation.
So you’ve found an off-campus event you want to attend — perhaps an Orioles game at Camden Yards or the Sunday morning farmers market on Holliday Street — but you have no clue how to get there without a car.
Making friends in college can be one of the most anxiety-inducing parts of freshman year. The importance of college friendships is often emphasized by parents, family members, social media and more. It can be somewhat daunting to think of how influential these connections will be on your college experience, but don’t let “finding your people" stress you out too much. Here are three things to keep in mind as you kick off your first semester.
First off, welcome to the Nest! As a freshman, you’re probably not even sure what you want to pursue yet or you might simply be feeling overwhelmed by all the possibilities you can take with your life and career path. As someone who’s tried it all — Pre-Med, Economics, Consulting, Marketing, Filmmaking, Engineering and much more — I can safely say that acquiring a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the end goal that I intend to achieve.
While much of your time at Hopkins may be spent in classrooms and office hours, the city of Baltimore is an underrated facet of the Hopkins experience. Luckily, you’ll have four years to discover the charm of the city. I highly recommend breaking the “Hopkins Bubble” and leaving campus when you can to engage with the rest of the city. This is a guide to many of the neighborhoods across the city to jumpstart your adventure through Baltimore.
When you spend 17 years in a small town where most of your neighbors’ cars were from before you were born, the opportunity to go into the big, wide world seems like your golden ticket to a new future. In my final year of high school, where I graduated on a lopsided soccer field (since my high school in Cerritos — a small Los Angeles suburb that exists somewhat like an afterthought — wasn’t big enough for a football team), I couldn’t wait to move to a new city — a real, busy, alive city. Even if I was going to be across the country from the rest of my family, something in me knew that I was where I was meant to be.
Humanities at Hopkins: an Introduction
When I first heard about the First Year Seminar (FYS) program, I was not very excited. I viewed it as a class that unnecessarily took up three credits in my schedule, which I wanted to fill with a course from my major. Such was the case before I had perused any of the options.
Like many Hopkins students, I am one of those people whose interests are diverse and unrelated. And, like many Hopkins students, I tend to participate in way too many activities to keep all these passions engaged (I also have a difficult time saying no to people, which probably doesn’t help). Last year was my first year at Hopkins, and my goals for the first semester were simple: maintain a good grade-point average, become an integral part of all the clubs I join and make new friends. When the fall semester began, I was full of energy, determination and naïveté. These three things mostly carried me through the first semester without any major hiccups. But when the second semester started, I found that my plan failed to take into account several factors, the biggest of which was burnout.
I had a pretty fixed routine as a freshman: class, lunch at Hopkins Cafe (then FFC), more class, dinner (also at FFC) and hanging out with my friends in McCoy. Although I credit this routine with helping me settle in at Hopkins, sticking to the same thing day in and day out could get mundane. From picnics on the quad to student plays to a bouldering cave, the Homewood Campus has so much to offer!
Despite our cutthroat reputation, our school offers a seemingly endless number of resource to ensure the success of every student — academically and personally. While a comprehensive guide would take ages to comb through, below are a few of my favorite “hidden” or lesser-known resources.
Change is rarely easy, and the college transition is an extreme case. As a freshman first stepping onto campus, it can take a lot to simply be present. While it’s easy to anticipate the academic challenge that college might bring, it is also easy to overlook how freshman year likely is the furthest you’ve been from all of the people and places you consider home. But, even in that tangle of nerves and excitement, small intentional practices can help ease your transition to college. Here are a few pointers for finding your footing in your first year at Hopkins.
No one explanation, summary, advice column, or Reddit rant really captures what freshman year is like. No experience is comparable to your own, and the only thing anyone can count on is that freshman year will be transformative. Here are a few lessons for incoming freshman that I had to learn the hard way.
As you're approaching the start of your freshman year, you might feel anxious thinking about your future roommate(s). I’ve been in your shoes — growing anxious whenever I came across a freshman roommate horror story and praying I’d secure a single. Instead, I’ve been blessed with a best friend that made me thank the universe for not answering my prayers. To make this your reality, here are a few things that will help you build a relationship with your roommate.
Signing up for classes in college is equal parts thrilling and stressful. On the one hand, this may be your first opportunity to take a class where the title is more than one word (see: AS.040.416. Exploring the Edges of the Earth: How the Ancient World Helped Shape Science Fiction). This may be your first time taking classes that fall outside the realm of the core curriculum (see: AS. 001.244. Death and the Meaning of Life). However, with hundreds of options from departments you probably never knew existed (what is Medicine, Science and the Humanities, really?), it can be hard to sift through the muck.
Hello incoming Blue Jays. My name is Joseph Rainbolt, and I recently finished my freshman year as a pre-med student here at Hopkins. I endured my fair share of failures in my first year. Hopkins was new and Hopkins was hard, but looking back, I emerged from my freshman year with a lot of success, and there’s no doubt that with some perseverance you will, too. This article is my very best attempt to transfer everything I learned to you so that you can learn from my mistakes and get off to a great start on your pre-med journey.