2019-2020 Johns Hopkins

[deleted994247]

I sent in post II updates and a LOI. The updates were fairly significantly and not at all included in my application otherwise (so not just updated hours, promotion at work, etc). And I was accepted so I doubt it’s going to be looked at negatively.

Did you send to Mazza or to some other email address?

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[bmorefun]

I'm sorry to hear your guys's SLW got cancelled I'm a current student and would be happy to answer any questions or be of any help that I can be!

 

[thebigmike]

Hey, have any of you been able to sign into the financial aid net partner site?

 

[labs998]

Hey, have any of you been able to sign into the financial aid net partner site?

Yes. Use your SIS ID, all lower case, and add @jh.edu after it. It didn't work for me at first, but it does now

 

[strappysandals]

Yes. Use your SIS ID, all lower case, and add @jh.edu after it. It didn't work for me at first, but it does now

still didnt work

 

[thebigmike]

Yes. Use your SIS ID, all lower case, and add @jh.edu after it. It didn't work for me at first, but it does now

Perfect, worked! I appreciate the help!

 

[slipslappy]

still didnt work

You might need to email the financial aid office; mine was having issues with saying I didn't have an email associated with my SIS ID and they fixed it for me.

 

[medschoolthrowaway2020]

Did you send to Mazza or to some other email address?

Sorry I forgot to respond. I sent it to Ms Mazza and she responded with a very pleasant confirmation email. Likely a canned response but definitely didn’t suggest they were hostile toward post interview updates.

 

[labs998]

Sorry I forgot to respond. I sent it to Ms Mazza and she responded with a very pleasant confirmation email. Likely a canned response but definitely didn’t suggest they were hostile toward post interview updates.

Yeah, I can confirm that they are open to post-interview updates. And you should definitely send them straight to Ms. Mazza. Good luck!!

 

[deleted994247]

A!!! just now

 

[certified_punk_]

Post-II R 10:30 PST

 

[icecoffee55]

Post II R

 

[Shadowkeep]

Got the post II R. Good luck to those accepted!

 

[CaffeineEnthusiast]

WL around noon CST makes the 5th one in the past 3 weeks....

 

[BojackDoctorman]

Super excited to say I got the A! Was my favorite school on interview day!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hopefulFutureDoctor2020]

Got the post II R. Good luck to those accepted!

+1

 

[thebigmike]

Hey y'all, has anyone heard back about their financial aid packages?

 

[lucyrose42]

Just got the A! I'm shaking. A little worried it's a mistake (got Mayo on my mind). Would calling to confirm be too much?

 

[medschoolthrowaway2020]

Just got the A! I'm shaking. A little worried it's a mistake (got Mayo on my mind). Would calling to confirm be too much?

I did the same thing when I was accepted. You can go back in the thread and look. It’s real, don’t call. Hopkins is shutting down right now. You will get follow up emails confirming it very soon.
Congrats!!!!!!!

 

[deleted994247]

still didnt work

I'm having the same problem as you, adding @jh.edu isn't working. did you have any luck calling the aid office or is it just that I have to wait a few hours for things to kick in behind the scenes.

 

[hopkinsgal2022]

people in the 3rd wave may have equal chance of acceptance, but do they have an equal share of the aid money? Seems like things are already moving along at the financial aid office, so wouldn't the people accepted in late March have fewer funds available (even if they got all the FA forms in back in february)?

There shouldn't be any discrepancy in the algorithm used to determine financial aid awards. Hopkins' scholarships are all need based, calculated as COA - EFC - 20.5k unit loan = your scholarship award. Doesn't matter when you were accepted. What would probably matter is ensuring your FAFSA and CSS were submitted on time!

 

[hopkinsgal2022]

So if our EFC is 0, we will get a scholarship covering everything that the 20.5k unit loan doesn’t cover? Or does that scholarship include other types of loans?

It's unlikely that your EFC will actually be 0 because IIRC the FAFSA/CSS aren't just income-based; they also look at whatever assets you (the student) have in the bank and put 80% of it into your EFC, along with something like 20% for parents' assets. But yes, unless something has changed in the past two years, everything besides your EFC and 20.5k unit loan is a fully non-loan grant. Hopkins has phenomenal financial aid and there's a reason that students here have one of the lowest average graduating MD debt levels in the country!

 

[deleted994247]

It's unlikely that your EFC will actually be 0 because IIRC the FAFSA/CSS aren't just income-based; they also look at whatever assets you (the student) have in the bank and put 80% of it into your EFC, along with something like 20% for parents' assets. But yes, unless something has changed in the past two years, everything besides your EFC and 20.5k unit loan is a fully non-loan grant. Hopkins has phenomenal financial aid and there's a reason that students here have one of the lowest average graduating MD debt levels in the country!

80% of student assets? Damn there goes all my savings lol

Edit: also that doesn't seem right, shouldn't it be close to 20% of student assets? let's say you're in ur mid 20s and you've saved up 10K. They're gonna make you spend 8K of it? Why put ur money in a savings account at all? I could've just maxed out my retirement account at work, so that way it wouldn't be in my EFC but it would still be "savings".

 

[hopkinsgal2022]

80% of student assets? Damn there goes all my savings lol

Edit: also that doesn't seem right, shouldn't it be close to 20% of student assets? let's say you're in ur mid 20s and you've saved up 10K. They're gonna make you spend 8K of it? Couldn't you just transfer the savings into your parents' savings and then you'll have no savings, and they'll only ask for 20%? seems a bit faulty. alternatively why save at all? could've just bought a used car, which would come in handy at hopkins, and then have lower EFC.

As far as I understand, the CSS Profile assesses 20% of your assets as part of your EFC each year, meaning over the course of a four year degree they're assuming 80% of your non-retirement assets will go toward tuition. (And 5% of your parents' assets each year, or 20% over four years.) As for why they calculate it that way, you'd have to ask the College Board. But you're correct that any assets saved in a retirement vehicle don't count, meaning that putting as much as you're able/eligible to do into a Roth IRA or 401k before filling out financial aid applications helps a lot.

But as a word of encouragement/reassurance: while your Hopkins financial aid package as calculated for your MS1 year will automatically apply to all four years if you want it to, you can also re-file in subsequent years if you think it'll increase your award package. Every year we still have to fill out FAFSA here, but unlike many schools, Hopkins doesn't make us re-file CSS each year. And your scholarship still equals COA - 2020 EFC - unit loan even if your future FAFSA EFC goes up. But if your EFC does go down, you can certainly choose to re-file CSS for a future year and get that COA-EFC-unit loan value recalculated in your favor from then on. You can also get in contact with the financial aid office next month, once you have your initial award package, and submit documentation to them if anything in your financial situation has changed since you submitted CSS, and they can recalculate your annual award based on that (i.e. no need to wait a year).

 

[deleted994247]

As far as I understand, the CSS Profile assesses 20% of your assets as part of your EFC each year, meaning over the course of a four year degree they're assuming 80% of your non-retirement assets will go toward tuition. (And 5% of your parents' assets each year, or 20% over four years.) As for why they calculate it that way, you'd have to ask the College Board. But you're correct that any assets saved in a retirement vehicle don't count, meaning that putting as much as you're able/eligible to do into a Roth IRA or 401k before filling out financial aid applications helps a lot.

But as a word of encouragement/reassurance: while your Hopkins financial aid package as calculated for your MS1 year will automatically apply to all four years if you want it to, you can also re-file in subsequent years if you think it'll increase your award package. Every year we still have to fill out FAFSA here, but unlike many schools, Hopkins doesn't make us re-file CSS each year. And your scholarship still equals COA - 2020 EFC - unit loan even if your future FAFSA EFC goes up. But if your EFC does go down, you can certainly choose to re-file CSS for a future year and get that COA-EFC-unit loan value recalculated in your favor from then on. You can also get in contact with the financial aid office next month, once you have your initial award package, and submit documentation to them if anything in your financial situation has changed since you submitted CSS, and they can recalculate your annual award based on that (i.e. no need to wait a year).

i guess i'm just shocked, i always though it was 20% over the four years, so it made sense to put money into savings prior to medical school. not one person i talked to mentioned that you shouldn't do that. even if you don't put it in retirement instead, you could even just transfer the money over to your parents' account right before filling out the aid forms and you'd save a bunch of money. have other people known that it's not smart to have savings? jeez i feel like i missed out on really crucial advice

 

[ricardo.wannabedoc]

I can't say I know much about anything, but I thought your assets weren't considered if your income was below a certain amount? All I will say is that I got my aid package from 2 other schools that take CSS and my EFC was 0 despite having $10k+ in savings.

 

[deleted994247]

I can't say I know much about anything, but I thought your assets weren't considered if your income was below a certain amount? All I will say is that I got my aid package from 2 other schools that take CSS and my EFC was 0 despite having $10k+ in savings.

yea? phew, that's good news. that's what i assumed, seems strange to take a young person's hard earned scraps like that. i was ready to shake my fist at "the man"

 

[hopkinsgal2022]

I can't say I know much about anything, but I thought your assets weren't considered if your income was below a certain amount? All I will say is that I got my aid package from 2 other schools that take CSS and my EFC was 0 despite having $10k+ in savings.

Apologies for the confusion. I spent a little time trying to dig back up the references and calculations I referred to a few years ago (because I vividly remembered that 20%/year figure from somewhere), and the more I look into it the more it seems to really come down to how each school individually calculates EFC. Your Hopkins-calculated EFC will be different from your FAFSA EFC, and also different from the EFC that other schools calculate. (For me, my Hopkins-calculated EFC was significantly lower than the EFC calculated at another top 10 SOM; I think because Hopkins takes heavily into account if you have sibling(s) in college.)

FWIW, this website, when describing how FAFSA calculates EFC, says "Then add up your checking, savings, and/or investment accounts, and expect to pay 20% of their value each year towards college. Dependent students don’t get a reserve allowance, so use the full value in your calculation and multiply it by 0.2." But I think you take take that with a grain of salt given that Hopkins calculates EFC differently from FAFSA.

 

[efle]

As usual, since you would have gotten a copy of the match list at Second Look anyways, I'll post a copy here:

Spoiler: Johns Hopkins 2020 Match List

Anesthesia
Harvard/Mass General
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Stanford
WashU/Barnes Jewish

Child Neurology
Harvard/Boston Childrens
Johns Hopkins

Dermatology
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
NYU
Rochester
Stony Brook
U Florida

Emergency Medicine
Cook County
Duke
Johns Hopkins
Rutgers
Stanford
U Wisconsin

Family Medicine
Overlook Hospital

General Surgery
Harvard/Brigham & Womens
Harvard/Mass General
Johns Hopkins
Mayo Clinic
UT Southwestern
Vanderbilt
WashU/Barnes Jewish
WashU/Barnes Jewish
WashU/Barnes Jewish

Internal Medicine
Harvard/Mass General (Global Medicine)
Harvard/Beth Israel Deaconess
Hopkins - Bayview Campus
Hopkins - Bayview Campus
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Michigan
NYU
NYU
U Chicago
U Penn
U Penn
UCSF
UT Southwestern
Harvard/Cambridge Health (Medicine - Primary)
UCSF (Medicine - Primary)

Interventional Radiology
Harvard/Mass General
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles

Neurology
Yale

Neurosurgery
Johns Hopkins
Stanford

Obstetrics & Gynecology
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Ohio State
Pittsburgh/UPMC
U Penn
U Wisconsin
UCLA
UCSF
UT Southwestern

Ophthalmology
Harvard/Mass Eye & Ear
Rochester
U Penn
Johns Hopkins/Wilmer
Yale

Orthopaedic Surgery
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic
Johns Hopkins
Mayo Clinic
Medical College of Georgia

Otolaryngology / ENT
Harvard/Mass Eye & Ear
New York Presbyterian/Columbia-Cornell
Pittsburgh/UPMC
Stanford
U Penn
U Washington

Pathology
Johns Hopkins

Pediatrics
CHOP
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Michigan
U Chicago
Harvard/Boston Childrens (Urban Health)
Johns Hopkins (Urban Health)

Plastic Surgery
Georgetown
Stanford

Physical Med and Rehab (PM&R)
U Washington

Psychiatry
Harvard/Brigham & Womens
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
New York Presbyterian/Cornell

Radiation Oncology
Memorial Sloan Kettering

Radiology (Diagnostic)
Harvard/Brigham & Womens
Johns Hopkins
UC Irvine
UCSF
UCSF
WashU/Barnes Jewish

Thoracic Surgery
Stanford

Urology
Cleveland Clinic
Johns Hopkins
NYU
NYU
Ohio State
U Wisconsin

For reference here are the match lists from 2019, 2018 and 2017 as well:

Spoiler: Johns Hopkins 2019 Match List

Anesthesia
Duke
Mass General/MGH
Johns Hopkins
UCSF
Johns Hopkins

Child Neuro
Boston Children's

Dermatology
Johns Hopkins
UCLA
NYU

Diagnostic Radiology
Duke
Icahn/St Lukes
Duke
NYP Columbia
U Penn
UCSF

Emergency Medicine
Icahn/Mt Sinai
NYP Columbia/Cornell
Icahn/Mt Sinai
Mass General/MGH
NYU
Alameda
SUNY Brooklyn
Northwestern

Family Medicine
U Penn
Swedish Med Center
Swedish Med Center
Swedish Med Center

General Surgery
UCSD
U Maryland
Einstein
UT Southwestern
U Washington
Yale
Indiana
UCSF

Internal Medicine
Brigham/BWH
Brigham/BWH
Emory
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Kaiser Permanente LA
Mass General/MGH
Mayo
NYP Columbia
NYU
Stanford
U Michigan
UCLA
UCLA
UCSF
UCSF
UCSF
Vanderbilt
Walter Reed
Walter Reed

Interventional Radiology
BI Deaconess
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
UT Houston
NYP Cornell

Medicine - Primary
Yale
Hopkins/Bayview
Einstein
U Penn

Neurology
Northwestern
Brigham/BWH
Johns Hopkins (Neurodevelopmental Disabilities)

Neurosurgery
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
UCLA
Barrow/St Joseph

OBGYN
Christiana
Johns Hopkins
INOVA Fairfax
NYP Columbia
Walter Reed
Icahn/Mt Sinai

Ophthalmology
U Michigan
Johns Hopkins

Orthopaedic Surgery
Hospital for Special Surgery
Johns Hopkins
UCLA

Otolarygology
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
UCSD

Pathology
Icahn/Mt Sinai
Brigham/BWH
UCSF

Pediatrics
Einstein
Nationwide Children's/Ohio State
CHOP
CHOP
NYP Cornell
U Chicago
U Washington
Tulane
Johns Hopkins
UCSF

Plastic Surgery
Duke
Baylor
Stanford
U Penn
UCLA

Preliminary
UNC (Prelim Peds)
UT Southwestern (Prelim General Surg)

Psychiatry
U Washington
Yale
UCLA
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
UCSF

Thoracic Surgery
U Penn

Urology
Cleveland Clinic
UC Irvine

Spoiler: Johns Hopkins 2018 Match List

Anesthesia
MGH
Emory
Hopkins

Child Neuro
CHOP

Derm
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Penn
U Massachusetts

Radiology (Diagnostic)
Hopkins
Mayo (Arizona)
Stanford

Emergency Med
Hopkins (EMed/Anesthesia)
Hopkins
Duke
NYU
Temple
UCSF

ENT
U Southern Cal

Family Med
Boston University
MedStar
Swedish Med

Internal Medicine
Bayview
Bayview
Bayview
Bayview
Bayview (Prelim)
BWH
BWH
B I Deaconess
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Mayo (MN)
Mayo (MN)
MGH
Northwestern
NYP/Columbia
NYU
Penn
Penn
U Chicago
U Southern Cal
U Southern Cal
UCLA
UCSF
UT Southwestern
Yale
Yale
Hopkins (Urban health)

Interventional Rads
UCSD

Med/Peds
Hopkins

Neurology
Hopkins
BWH
UCSF

Neurosurgery
Hopkins
Hopkins
Stanford

ObGyn
Einstein
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Northwestern
UCLA

Ophthalmology
Columbia
Columbia
Duke
George Washington
Harvard/Mass Eye Ear
Harvard/Mass Eye Ear
UCLA

Orthopaedic Surgery
MGH
St Mary
Tripler Army
U Massachusetts
UC Davis
Walter Reed

Pediatrics
Boston Childrens
Boston Childrens
CHOP
Cincinnati Childrens
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
LA Children's
NYP/Columbia
UCLA
UCLA
UPMC
UPMC (Peds/Psych)

Plastic Surgery
Hopkins

Physical Med & Rehab
Northwestern

Psychiatry
BWH
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Howard
Icahn/Sinai
NYU
U Chicago
UPMC

Radiation Oncology
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Penn
UCLA

Surgery (General)
Alabama
Hopkins
Hopkins
NYP/Columbia
South Dakota
UCSD
Vanderbilt
Vermont
WashU/Barnes

Urology
Duke
Hopkins
Mayo (MN)
NYP/Cornell
Rutgers

Vascular Surgery
B I Deaconess

Spoiler: Johns Hopkins 2017 Match List

Anesthesia
Stanford
BWH
Hopkins
UCSD

Child Neurology
Boston Children's

Dermatology
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Irvine
NYU
UCLA

Radiology (Diagnostic)
Hopkins
Stanford

Emergency Medicine
Alameda Highland
Baylor
Boston U
Hopkins
Hopkins
Maryland
MGH
Mayo
Michigan
NYU
Oregon

Otolaryngology
Icahn
Mayo
Michigan
Stanford
UCSF
USC

Family Medicine
BWH

Internal Medicine
Bayview
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
MGH
MGH
NYP/Columbia
NYU
NYU
Penn
Penn
U Chicago
U Illinois
UCLA
UCSF

Med/Peds
BWH
Duke

Neurology
BWH
Hopkins
Penn

Neurosurgery
Hopkins

ObGyn
Case Western
B I Deaconess
B I Deaconess
Einstein
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Northwestern
NYP/Columbia

Ophthalmology
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Tufts New England Eye
UCLA

Orthopaedic Surgery
Hopkins
MGH
NYU

Pathology
Hopkins
Stanford
Stanford

Pediatrics
Boston Children's
Einstein
Hopkins
Kentucky
NYP/Cornell
NYP/Cornell
Saint Christopher
Wisconsin
Wisconsin

Physical Med & Rehab
Stanford

Plastic Surgery
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins

Psychiatry
Colorado
Hopkins
Hopkins
Kaiser Fontana
Maryland
MGH
U Chicago
UCSF

Radiation Oncology
Hopkins

Surgery (General)
Duke
Hopkins
Hopkins
Hopkins
Oregon
UIC

Urology
Mayo
UCSF

 

[hellanutella]

^^ As an FYI the aforementioned match list only includes MS4s who elected to include their name – know of several people who did not include their (outstanding) matches in this public list.

Very happy with my Match and the support Hopkins provided me with! Happy to answer any questions, especially given the lack of SLWs this year.

 

[Pluto98]

^^ As an FYI the aforementioned match list only includes MS4s who elected to include their name – know of several people who did not include their (outstanding) matches in this public list.

Very happy with my Match and the support Hopkins provided me with! Happy to answer any questions, especially given the lack of SLWs this year.

how bad is living in Baltimore really?

 

[hellanutella]

how bad is living in Baltimore really?

Varies by person. We've got everyone in our class from the ardent "I bleed Natty Boh and breakfast on crab cakes" converts to the "I spend every weekend away in NYC/DC" crowd. I probably sit somewhere in the middle. Ultimately I matched away from Hopkins, but I would have not been heartbroken if I stayed. My top ranks literally alternated between my home state and Baltimore + DC area.

~the following is all n=1 personal opinion~
Pros:
1) I love the food scene here. Been really pleasantly surprised with the food (sans legit Chinese and sushi) and will regularly lament/bemoan moving away from some of my fave spots. Lemme plug some of my faves: Ekiben, Clavel, Alma, The Food Market, Taharka Brothers, The Helmand... ugh so good.
2) The size of the city (~600k) makes things accessible and doable as a time-strapped student. Things are seldom more than 15 min away. You can have a car, or you can just take advantage of the free after-hours Lyft (runs 5p-7a). Nobody lives that far apart, so I've found my class to be very cohesive.
3) For being a mid-size city, there's a lot going in Baltimore insofar as events and activities. Major performers come through but there's also a thriving indie scene. We have a premiere arts school here (MICA) and a really offbeat/quirky arts scene.
4) Easy hub for transport. BWI is actually a great airport, DC is a 45 min train away, Philly is easy as a day trip. Never appreciated how important this was until MS4 when I was travelling for interviews and visiting friends every week. For MS1-3 I was usually just bopping around Baltimore or DC.

Cons:
1) Security is still a major consideration and I would definitely ask current students about experiences before locking in a long-term lease in an unfamiliar neighbourhood. I've personally been the victim of violent crime twice and I won't brush it off and say "oh I should have known better" or "oh this was a one-off event." If you have a row house, I'd recommend having a security system. If you go running/walking outside of the harbour, I'd recommend not having headphones in or having your phone out. After dark, seek a Lyft (or – at the bare minimum – don't walk alone). That said, I'm currently quarantined at my fam's place in the sterile suburbs, and I'm boggled that people go running around the neighbourhood after 7pm.
2) Cost of living isn't as cheap as people hype it to be. Now that I'm looking at housing in the Bay Area for residency (RIP) I'm missing Baltimore prices even more, but it's not the deals-n-steals you see Midwestern programs raving about. An apartment is going to typically run you around 1k, if not more. Sharing a row house may net you in the ~$700 neighbourhood, but you'll usually have to compromise living in a less safe area to net that price. It costs A LOT to heat an older row house too, so lots of surprise costs. The produce here is surprisingly costly. Gym memberships aren't cheap and it can be kind of hard to access fitness centres (though the Hopkins MSS is working to get a discounted rate at the Maryland Athletic Center).
3) Trader Joes is a 30 min drive away :,(
4) The dating scene is majority Hopkins + UMD residents and grad students, so can be claustrophobic.

 

[lucyrose42]

@hellanutella in which neighborhoods/areas do you recommend med students look for housing?

 

[efle]

^^ As an FYI the aforementioned match list only includes MS4s who elected to include their name – know of several people who did not include their (outstanding) matches in this public list.

Very happy with my Match and the support Hopkins provided me with! Happy to answer any questions, especially given the lack of SLWs this year.

This list came from a CAP advisor rather than the public document on the facebook page, I'm surprised to hear it's missing matches. It must only be missing a few since it has 113 people?

 

[efle]

how bad is living in Baltimore really?

@hellanutella in which neighborhoods/areas do you recommend med students look for housing?

It's tolerable, not great but much better than it used to be in the era of The Wire. We all get free lyfts to and from the hospital before 7am and after 5pm to avoid any issues with crime in the parking garages and blocks immediately surrounding the area. I live in a popular area for students in a rowhome and we still have to worry about walking around late or having cars smashed up/broken into (happened to half a dozen cars on our block in a single night last month). Upside is that my rent is only $~650 for my room in said rowhome. Basic city living rules (e.g. don't ride metro alone late at night, make use of the free lyft when it's dark) and you shouldn't ever be in any danger.

As far as areas to live, my .02 is do not pay the absurd pricing to live in 929. It's isolated from anything and everything (no food, no bars, no other nearby housing). It's a giant overpriced dormitory sitting in no-mans-land. Highly recommend either Mount Vernon apartment if you want to be near coffee shops, bars, restaurants and artsy stuff, that's where I lived for first year. If you plan to grab a rowhome/house with a few classmates to live cheap, I would recommend something in Upper Fell's (like along Lombard, Gough or Pratt streets). That's within easy walking distance to the hospital and also to the food and bars down along the water.

Normally you'd have a lot of honest discussions with current students at Second Look about all of this. It's important to think about, especially regarding where exactly in the city is good to live. If you are considering Hopkins, I would definitely reach out to current students to find out where they lived, how much they paid, and how the area was.

 

[efle]

What fb page?

Internal page for Hopkins med students

 

[hellanutella]

@hellanutella in which neighborhoods/areas do you recommend med students look for housing?

Most popular locales are Upper Fells, Inner Harbour, Mt Vernon, Canton, and Middle East (area surrounding hospital).

Upper Fells: row homes – big, spacious, cheap if split. Usually 2-4 person. Fun neighborhood, but wouldn't recommend living immediately off Broadway d/t crime. Also some places right next to neighbourhood bars can be quite loud. Historic row homes can be more rustic (ex: no AC), pricier ones can be fully gutted and renovated with new trappings. Lived here for 3 years and enjoyed it!

Lower Fells (aka: Fells proper): closest to nightlife, very similar to Upper Fells, but add a 10 min walk. Waterfront places here are $$$ but gorgeous. Apartments include Union Wharf and the Crescent.

Inner Harbour: luxe, kinda sterile, Whole Foods + Lululemon, easily the most pricey $$$. Apartments include Spinnaker Bay, the Liberty, Promenade, 1405 Point.

Mt Vernon: historic, chic, artsy, a little further away. Hub for LGBT scene. You'll have to drive or take the shuttle if you live here. Popular apartments include the Park street complexes, Symphony, and Waterloo.

Patterson Park: usually refers to area north of the park. Row houses, usually the cheapest options. Be aware the further north you get, the rougher the area tends to be. Right off the park is usually safe, though.

Canton: quiet, safe, residential – similar housing to Upper Fells but a little quieter. Southeast to campus – either a heck of a walk (25+ min) or drive. Can potentially hitch employee shuttle from Patterson Park area. Closest to Safeway and Target, but you'll still need a car to get there!

Middle East/Mt Washington/???: idk what to call this neighbourhood, but it's the area immediately surrounding JHMI. Apartments include 929 (to the north) and Jefferson Square (to the south). A few row houses also available. Not the glitziest or nicest area, but ~5 min or less walk to campus!

Edit: concur with @efle – lived in 929 my first year. Was great to meet everyone, but was paying basically 1k for a cube in a largely undeveloped region of campus. Dorm-esque feel, both in pros and cons. Moved here because none of my roommates knew the area or could tour places before moving.

This list came from a CAP advisor rather than the public document on the facebook page, I'm surprised to hear it's missing matches. It must only be missing a few since it has 113 people?

I think it's missing ~4 people – know at least of an additional derm and ENT person. Students can elect to include/exclude their Match results, though I'd say vast majority of people have their results up there.

 

[efle]

Most popular locales are Upper Fells, Inner Harbour, Mt Vernon, Canton, and Middle East (area surrounding hospital).

Upper Fells: row homes – big, spacious, cheap if split. Usually 2-4 person. Fun neighborhood, but wouldn't recommend living immediately off Broadway d/t crime. Also some places right next to neighbourhood bars can be quite loud. Historic row homes can be more rustic (ex: no AC), pricier ones can be fully gutted and renovated with new trappings. Lived here for 3 years and enjoyed it!

Lower Fells (aka: Fells proper): closest to nightlife, very similar to Upper Fells, but add a 10 min walk. Waterfront places here are $$$ but gorgeous. Apartments include Union Wharf and the Crescent.

Inner Harbour: luxe, kinda sterile, Whole Foods + Lululemon, easily the most pricey $$$. Apartments include Spinnaker Bay, the Liberty, Promenade, 1405 Point.

Mt Vernon: historic, chic, artsy, a little further away. Hub for LGBT scene. You'll have to drive or take the shuttle if you live here. Popular apartments include the Park street complexes, Symphony, and Waterloo.

Patterson Park: usually refers to area north of the park. Row houses, usually the cheapest options. Be aware the further north you get, the rougher the area tends to be. Right off the park is usually safe, though.

Canton: quiet, safe, residential – similar housing to Upper Fells but a little quieter. Southeast to campus – either a heck of a walk (25+ min) or drive. Can potentially hitch employee shuttle from Patterson Park area. Closest to Safeway and Target, but you'll still need a car to get there!

Middle East/Mt Washington/???: idk what to call this neighbourhood, but it's the area immediately surrounding JHMI. Apartments include 929 (to the north) and Jefferson Square (to the south). A few row houses also available. Not the glitziest or nicest area, but ~5 min or less walk to campus!

Edit: concur with @efle – lived in 929 my first year. Was great to meet everyone, but was paying basically 1k for a cube in a largely undeveloped region of campus. Dorm-esque feel, both in pros and cons. Moved here because none of my roommates knew the area or could tour places before moving.



I think it's missing ~4 people – know at least of an additional derm and ENT person. Students can elect to include/exclude their Match results, though I'd say vast majority of people have their results up there.

Awesome descriptions, nailed them. This should get reposted in every yearly Hopkins SDN thread.

Want to emphasize again like you did that not all of Baltimore is cheap and rough! One of my roomies was down on the water in a beautiful new Inner Harbor apartment. Paid a lot for it, but it was a very nice area. If money isn't a huge concern for you/your family, it is completely possible to live safely and comfortably in Baltimore, you'll just have to drive instead of walk to JHH.

 

[deleted994247]

Awesome descriptions, nailed them. This should get reposted in every yearly Hopkins SDN thread.

Want to emphasize again like you did that not all of Baltimore is cheap and rough! One of my roomies was down on the water in a beautiful new Inner Harbor apartment. Paid a lot for it, but it was a very nice area. If money isn't a huge concern for you/your family, it is completely possible to live safely and comfortably in Baltimore, you'll just have to drive instead of walk to JHH.

Thanks for these practical tips, great stuff. When you say expensive, how much exactly would a waterfront Fells apartment be (with roommates) if you aim low? And how would parking and driving to JHH work (where do you park, how much is it, etc.)

 

[hellanutella]

Thanks for these practical tips, great stuff. When you say expensive, how much exactly would a waterfront Fells apartment be (with roommates) if you aim low? And how would parking and driving to JHH work (where do you park, how much is it, etc.)

For a waterfront Fells place we're talking ~$2.5-3.3k for a 2BR at the cheaper apartments (keep in mind, the cheapest waterfront ones are still luxurious). If you can snag it, 1405 Point has a 2BR model for 2.2k, making it about the same price as Jefferson Square. (For reference I lived in one of the fanciest Jefferson units and paid 1.2k to split a 2BR).

Parking is in a garage for most of these apartments. It isn't cheap – usually $150-300 for the luxury places. Cheaper at Jefferson and 929 ($50-120) but that's because you're not on expensive real estate.

 

[efle]

The price differential for good apartments vs rowhomes is huge. That Jefferson Square complex that is becoming popular? It's literally 2 blocks from my house and costs double (~$1200-1400 per roomie versus ~$700 per roomie). It's a super convenient location and very nice brand new rooms, but I would highly recommend to anyone that getting a nice 3-4bed house in upper fells will give you the same experience for $6-9k less per year.

 

[efle]

I read on reddit that residency in meds/peds (and I’m not sure if it applies to IM too?) here is focused on primary care and won’t support you for fellowships in other areas.. is this true or is that just for med Peds?

Johns Hopkins Osler internal medicine residency will absolutely place you into fellowships. I've never heard that rumor before

 

[catchmoresun]

As far as areas to live, my .02 is do not pay the absurd pricing to live in 929. It's isolated from anything and everything (no food, no bars, no other nearby housing). It's a giant overpriced dormitory sitting in no-mans-land. Highly recommend either Mount Vernon apartment if you want to be near coffee shops, bars, restaurants and artsy stuff, that's where I lived for first year. If you plan to grab a rowhome/house with a few classmates to live cheap, I would recommend something in Upper Fell's (like along Lombard, Gough or Pratt streets). That's within easy walking distance to the hospital and also to the food and bars down along the water.

MS4 here at Hopkins, for what it's worth in terms of a differing perspective, I lived in 929 my first year and absolutely LOVED it. I thought it was absolutely worth the experience but it depends on what you're looking for. I came straight from college and really wanted a dorm style experience to get to know my other first years. For my year, probably 50% or more of my class lived in 929 so we constantly had dinners, birthday parties, study groups, and just were always hanging out with each other because we were an elevator ride away from each other. Definitely made my best friends during that year from 929. Years 2-4 lived in a row home in Upper Fell's and was equally awesome.

Feel free to ask any other questions as well. Hopkins and Baltimore were fantastic to me. I loved every second! Best medical school in the country hands down.

 

[efle]

MS4 here at Hopkins, for what it's worth in terms of a differing perspective, I lived in 929 my first year and absolutely LOVED it. I thought it was absolutely worth the experience but it depends on what you're looking for. I came straight from college and really wanted a dorm style experience to get to know my other first years. For my year, probably 50% or more of my class lived in 929 so we constantly had dinners, birthday parties, study groups, and just were always hanging out with each other because we were an elevator ride away from each other. Definitely made my best friends during that year from 929. Years 2-4 lived in a row home in Upper Fell's and was equally awesome.

Feel free to ask any other questions as well. Hopkins and Baltimore were fantastic to me. I loved every second! Best medical school in the country hands down.

Good caveat to add, I have had several people tell me they liked 929 for the social ease of being in the same building as 1/3 to 1/2 of the other MS1s. I had no problem getting to know my friends and current roomies through classes and house parties/going out, but living and studying together at 929 also seems like a big way that people spend time together in first year.

 

[deleted994247]

MS4 here at Hopkins, for what it's worth in terms of a differing perspective, I lived in 929 my first year and absolutely LOVED it. I thought it was absolutely worth the experience but it depends on what you're looking for. I came straight from college and really wanted a dorm style experience to get to know my other first years. For my year, probably 50% or more of my class lived in 929 so we constantly had dinners, birthday parties, study groups, and just were always hanging out with each other because we were an elevator ride away from each other. Definitely made my best friends during that year from 929. Years 2-4 lived in a row home in Upper Fell's and was equally awesome.

Feel free to ask any other questions as well. Hopkins and Baltimore were fantastic to me. I loved every second! Best medical school in the country hands down.

what would be your bullet-pointed arguments for why it's the best medical school in the country hands down?

 

[lucyrose42]

@catchmoresun

Hi! Thanks for offering to answer questions.

What are the best things incoming M1 students can do to prepare for Hopkins? I'm inclined to take an online Anatomy course, but I've also heard that pre-studying would be a waste of time.

Secondly, what are the best things that M1 students can do once we begin school to put us in a good position to be a competitive applicant for matching? (Find mentors, find research, extracurriculars). Ex. If you could go back to being an M1 and tell yourself what to do, what would you say?

Sorry if I'm coming off as a gunner, I just made a lot of mistakes in undergrad that made this application process very draining and difficult... and I want to be as prepared as possible for med school and matching to residency.

 

[hellanutella]

@catchmoresun

Hi! Thanks for offering to answer questions.

What are the best things incoming M1 students can do to prepare for Hopkins? I'm inclined to take an online Anatomy course, but I've also heard that pre-studying would be a waste of time.

Secondly, what are the best things that M1 students can do once we begin school to put us in a good position to be a competitive applicant for matching? (Find mentors, find research, extracurriculars). Ex. If you could go back to being an M1 and tell yourself what to do, what would you say?

Sorry if I'm coming off as a gunner, I just made a lot of mistakes in undergrad that made this application process very draining and difficult... and I want to be as prepared as possible for med school and matching to residency.

My personal opinion is not to pre-study, unless you're very non-trad and are trying to ease back into that student rhythm. It's hard to retain the minute details of anatomy over the long term and I guarantee orientation week will be enough of a blur that most everybody starts with a clean slate.

I had to work up until matriculation, so my biggest regret was not taking time off to do something enjoyable. Now that I'm graduating and the pandemic has derailed my holiday plans, I regret not pushing to quit work earlier back in ye olde 2015! (Obviously with y'all matriculating in the midst of a pandemic and are also holidayless, do whatever recharges you! If an online course is your way of distracting yourself/feeling useful, then go for it!).

For MS1 agenda, I'd say start trying to figure out what subject areas/specialities click. You'll have a research project for MS1 summer and usually have to identify a mentor in the winter/spring, so I'd really only recommend casual shadowing or attending club events until you get the hang of med school studying/exams. There's good infrastructure in place to help you identify a mentor and get the project off the ground, so nobody really falls through the cracks.

Obvious disclaimer is I don't know what the climate will be like in the autumn – I can only hope that the pandemic has been further curbed by then, but right now most research at Hopkins has been frozen.

 

[catchmoresun]

what would be your bullet-pointed arguments for why it's the best medical school in the country hands down?

- classmates: I've never met more ambitious, intelligent and all around impressive people in my life. On a scale of 1-10 I used to be like a 5-6 on the ambition scale and being around these people inspired me to be like an 8-9 now (not in a malignant way, everyone for the most part is super kind, collaborative and excited to work together, but there are a few malignant gunners who I strayed away from)
- faculty: being at hopkins feels like drinking water directly from the purest mountain-top source. you're learning medicine from the top faculty in the field, many of which have made key discoveries that land in textbooks. beyond that, most faculty love to teach and mentor students. my pre-clinical and clinical experiences have been great and I have learned so much from the attendings
- although I think our preclinical experience is pretty similar to most schools (you end up learning from First Aid anyways, or SketchyMedical), our clerkship experience is where hopkins shines. very thoroughly designed clerkships with amazing attendings as mentioned above who expect you to push yourself and perform at an extremely high level. in fourth year rotations like ICU, I came out feeling like my head grew fifty sizes because of all the knowledge and pearls I picked up.
- research: getting research experience here is extremely easy. we are a research oriented school and every student is required to do a research project in between M1 and M2. most medical students end up doing multiple projects throughout medical school, and for those going into the most competitive specialities, many students juggle 5-6 projects+ at a time and/or take a year off to dedicate to research. I didn't have that much research experience before medical school but quickly found a mentor who immediately got me involved me an abundance of projects where I learned basic skills. most times if you email a faculty member they will have some research project for you to work on
- administration: this may be controversial with the other hopkins med students but I think the administration is fantastic. really care about the students and invest a lot of time and energy into making the educational experience top notch. we have a lot of institutional history as well to go back off on. when COVID-19 cancelled our rotations, within a few weeks, administrators had set up a plethora of online rotation/electives to take which became extremely popular.
- overall history, culture and prestige: this is a place oozing with history and it feels so fulfilling to walk the halls where giants of medicine walked before us. I had many clinical experiences with absolute pioneers in surgery and medicine. the culture of hopkins is typically medicine+ (teaching us medicine but also how to become leaders in medicine). plus coming from hopkins, getting residency interviews is much easier. our match list this year (above) was insane and even the bottom 25% of our class in terms of step scores and clinical grades still matches to the top 25% of residencies for the most part!

@catchmoresun

Hi! Thanks for offering to answer questions.

What are the best things incoming M1 students can do to prepare for Hopkins? I'm inclined to take an online Anatomy course, but I've also heard that pre-studying would be a waste of time.

Secondly, what are the best things that M1 students can do once we begin school to put us in a good position to be a competitive applicant for matching? (Find mentors, find research, extracurriculars). Ex. If you could go back to being an M1 and tell yourself what to do, what would you say?

Sorry if I'm coming off as a gunner, I just made a lot of mistakes in undergrad that made this application process very draining and difficult... and I want to be as prepared as possible for med school and matching to residency.

- don't do anything...the first 7 weeks of anatomy can be grueling but I don't think pre-studying will help much. a lot of anatomy learning comes from cadaver lab which you don't have access to yet. if you're super inclined you could prob flip through Gray's but again it's not necessary.

- @hellanutella's advice is spot on for everything

What's the infrastructure for helping you find a mentor and develop a project?

There's a database available to find mentors for your "scholarly concentration" which is the project you do between M1 and M2. most students typically find mentors from speciality interest groups, talking to peers, talking to upperclassmen, cold emailing, or through "Evening Rounds" which is a biweekly happy hour in the medical school where a specific department comes and hangs out with the students.

 

[tofuhearts]

maybe a silly q - I'm not looking to live in 929, but how early do people start looking for housing + roommates? and what do people use to find roommates or look for housing?

 

[Saturday’s Child]

maybe a silly q - I'm not looking to live in 929, but how early do people start looking for housing + roommates? and what do people use to find roommates or look for housing?

Hello! I think most people start working out living arrangements around May. I would imagine that these discussions would’ve typically taken place in the weeks following SLW, when incoming students would’ve had a chance to meet and get to know each other. When I talked to someone on the SLW committee, he mentioned that they’ll be sending out a spreadsheet for students to fill out that’ll help us find people we might want to live with. I’m sure an actual student can give you a more accurate answer, but these are just my 2 cents!