Help needed from those headed for JHU

[quake]

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Guys/gals,
I'll be very grateful if anyone out there can help me out with a couple of questions I have regarding Johns Hopkins

1. Is it cheaper to live in the Reed dorm? I was not impressed with what I saw of it during my interview. However, i only walked through the hall way so I don't know how the rooms look like. Are the kitchens clean enough? Does the kitchen have a refrigerator that can be easily used communically? Does a person really save money to live in the dorms?

2. Is it necessary to have a car? I live in the midwest and I have a 1986 Chevy caprice classic I really love. It will be quite a hassle to move it to Baltimore. Is it worth it? Even if I decide to buy a new one I'm afraid I may not even need to use it. What do you guys think?

3. I want to start cycling regularly as a work-out. The problem is that I am not sure that I can bike regularly in Baltimore. It seemed to me that it was a busy city with no bike routes. Also if I can bike in Baltimore, should I get a road bike or a mountain bike? What is the terrain like? I'm not sure i know.

I guess these will be my questions for now. Thanks for all your help. Cheers

 

[Coalboy]

Quake,

Not going to JHU, but as a native Balti-*****, I can answer a few of your questions.

1) No idea.

2) Public transportation in Baltimore is there, but it's not great. It's certainly not like NYC where you can get anywhere on public transportation. If you can get your car here, it might be advantageous.

3) Biking in the city might not be a great idea. I guess it depends on how much you care about sucking exhaust and dodging cars. As I'm sure you have heard, the area immediately around JHU is not safe, so you don't want to be biking through there. However, there are plenty of places to bike as you get further away from downtown. Check out Robert E. Lee park, which is right on the city line. There are tons of mountain biking trails, and it's a great park. You feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere. Also, the roads and trails around Loch Raven Reservoir are really nice too. I'm sure there are tons of places that I don't even know about.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hopkins2010]

I think the cost for living in Reed Hall is about $550 a month. But could be wrong about that.

Does anybody know when you have to get the medical insurance? I got some letter about it but dont remember how you are supposed to get it.

Also, has anybody gotten orientation stuff yet? Whats going on with that? What about registration?

 

[quake]

Thanks Coalboy,
How easy is it to get to the park you described? Would I have to transport my bike to the park b4 I can ride?

Hopkins 2010, the prices for the rooms vary from about $310 to $390 a month (me thinks). Yeah and I'm not sure about the insurance stuff myself. Adn the only thing I know about orientation is that it starts on the 29th.

 

[11000]

hi all,

reed hall is significantly cheaper than apartments, a room in a suite is about $350/mo.

as for having a car, if you're living in reed hall, i guess everything necessary is taken care of (your classes are right there, there's a shuttle to the grocery store, etc.). and, of course, there's a metro stop right outside of reed hall (and the metro takes you into downtown).

however, considering that there is NOTHING around campus, having a car would be really a great plus. but you've gotta think about parking, which is something like $100/month i think...

as for mountain bikes, i have no clue! 🙂

i also haven't heard about orientation either, i'm gonna call dean white tomorrow and see if they've mailed out the information. i think orientation is the weekend of august 29th. we go camping or something.

as for health insurance, i think we need to start our insurance in september, its required for everyone i think...

anyways, hope all is well with you all, see you in august!

swaroop

 

[quake]

thanks so much swaroop1. Do you know anything about the communal kitchens? Are they convenient to use or are there tons of people dying to use one kitchen? Are people generally responsible about keeping the place clean?

$100/month for parking? That is pretty steep. I guess I may have to say goodbye to my "ghetto-mobile". I'll really miss her.

It seems that I may have to give up the biking idea too. Does anybody know any good outdoor cadiorespiratory exercices ideal for Baltimore? This is really not looking promising, because if biking is out then so is jogging <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

 

[11000]

quake,

if you get on the suite side of reed hall (which i recommend), then you'd be in a suite with a common room, and small kitchen for the four people living in the suite... so its up to y'all to keep it clean (and there are only 4 people living there).

don't give up the dream of bringing your car just yet... check out this website, perhaps there's cheaper parking available!

<a href="http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/education/medicalstudentparking.html" target="_blank">http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/education/medicalstudentparking.html</a>

take care,
swaroop

 

[quake]

You're right Swaroop, there is hope for my ghetto-mobile after all. I'll share the news with her presently 😀 Of course, I still have to take her to see Dr. Pepboys for a health check-up. She may even not be up to the journey.
Thanks so much Swaroop! I look forward to meeting you.

It seems that getting into a suite is not guaranteed to all freshmen, which is the reason for my anxiety.

 

[quake]

bump

 

[doepug]

Hey everyone -

I'll do my best to answer these... if you still have questions, e-mail me at <a href="mailto[email protected]" target="_blank">[email protected]</a>.

1. Reed Hall is indeed cheap and convenient. Swaroop quoted accurate numbers, it costs &lt;$400/month to live in Reed, which is cheaper than almost anything off-campus. Be aware that if you do live in Reed, having a car could add $100/month to your expenses. The free satellite parking is very convenient for the off-campus folks, but it won't be viable for Reed residents unless you move your car twice a day. As far as I know, the kitchens in the east wing are ok, but I didn't live in Reed.

2. A car would definitely make your life easier, especially if you're living off-campus (how else would you bring groceries home?). Do you absolutely need one? No. If you live in Reed, there is a shuttle to the supermarket. It would be wise to consider having a car for your 2 1/2 clinical years though, since you may choose to rotate through various hospitals in the area.

3. A bike is a great idea. Lots of med students have them, and there are lots of great areas to bike around Baltimore. There are plenty of state parks nearby, in addition to places like Robt E Lee. If you're an avid biker, I doubt you'd regret bringing your bike to B'more. You'll have your afternoons off during the first year, and this sounds like a great way to make use of them.

4. Health insurance is included in your bill from Hopkins, to the tune of ~$1350/year, and it is mandatory. In my opinion, this is an excellent insurance package, and you should absolutely read your policy from Hopkins before opening your wallet to consider other additional health coverage.

5. Orientation should be just before Labor Day, so don't sweat it if you haven't gotten any information just yet. Hopkins starts later than other schools, so you can enjoy your summer. 🙂

Hope this helps,

doepug
MS III, Johns Hopkins

 

[quake]

Thanks so much, Doepug.
This really helps. I'll send you an email to clarify just one more thing.

 

[Hopkins2010]

I'm already set up in Baltimore doing a lab rotation for the MD/PhD program. I just got my parking figured out so its definitely not a bad deal.

It turns out that Hopkins subsidizes something like $50 a month for parking at one of the on-site parking lots or the satellite parking. Since the satellite parking only costs around $50 a month, to us the parking is free if you park there. The on-site parking garages are about double the cost, so Hopkins only foots half the parking bill for those.

 

[Coalboy]

•••quote:•••Thanks Coalboy,
How easy is it to get to the park you described? Would I have to transport my bike to the park b4 I can ride?••••Depends on where you are living. If you are going to live in Reed Hall, you'd have to drive to the park. If you lived somewhere else (Roland Park, Charles Village, etc), it could be feasable to ride to the park. I live in Towson, and bike about two or three miles to the park with no problem.

Patterson park is near JHU, but I can't attest for its safety. I think it's gotten much better in recent years, but I can't say for sure. It's probably fine during the day.

 

[quake]

I'm planning to live in Reed and I may not be taking my car to Baltimore. This probably means that I may need to find someone with a car who would want to ride with me. On the other hand, I could dare to ride at the closest park to Reed, which may not be very safe. I guess I have to sleep on this. Thanks Coalboy

 

[waiting4uvm]

Hey Quake,

new to this pole, but I used to live in Reed back in 1999-2000 on the suite side. I was a public health student at that time. I would recommend the suite side over the dorm side.

About the biking in Bmore--don't if you want to live (overexaggerating)--but I know of two friend, one a MS and another PhD who where mugged at gunpoint during the morning and evening. I'm not trying to scare, just be careful, alert, and know your surroundings.

It'd be nice for you to have a car--so you can escape school for a bit--after awhile--it seems like a prison--b/c you do not want to go out after dark.

Obviously I did not enjoy Baltimore (not my cup of tea)--but Reed is a good place to live for your first year. I had MS friends who lived their for all four years. By the way, if the suite hallways smell like trash--it's b/c you put your trash out in the hallways on certain mornings for pickup.

Let me know if have any questions about the suites. All the best at Hopkins!

 

[quake]

thanks for the reply waiting4uvm. I know you didn't mean to scare me but somehow riding in Baltimore is no longer appealing. I hope to get into the suites. However, I'm aware that there is probably a high demand for the suites, which means that I may end up in the dorm 🙁
Thanks though for the info. Good luck with UVM

 

[Gradient Echo]

Originally posted by quake
thanks so much swaroop1. Do you know anything about the communal kitchens? Are they convenient to use or are there tons of people dying to use one kitchen? Are people generally responsible about keeping the place clean?

$100/month for parking? That is pretty steep. I guess I may have to say goodbye to my "ghetto-mobile". I'll really miss her.

It seems that I may have to give up the biking idea too. Does anybody know any good outdoor cadiorespiratory exercices ideal for Baltimore? This is really not looking promising, because if biking is out then so is jogging <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

Well, Hopkins provides a student subsidy for parking fees, so what it comes down to is you pay about $50 per month to park at the on-site garages, or you can park for free at the sattellite parking lots (with regular shuttle service to the campus)

the sattellite lots are about 1-2 miles away from campus, i think they're open till like 10 pm at night and have controlled access so your car wont get jacked. the shuttles run every 10-20 mins depending on what time of day it is.