Q: Who Chooses Hopkins?

Johns Hopkins isn't for everyone. No medical school is. And yet for more than a century this medical school has drawn students with an astonishing breadth of experiences, interests and backgrounds. One recent first-year class of 120 students hailed from no fewer than 72 different colleges and 31 different states.

All of those students have superb academic credentials, of course, but they also bring something extra to the table. Their ranks include artists, musicians, social activists and athletes. Those kinds of skills and passions matter to us here at Hopkins, because we take a broad view of our mission. We're proud that The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is associated around the world with unparalleled clinical and scientific excellence. We're just as proud that its tradition of humanism in medical education dates back more than a century to its beginnings and shows no signs of flagging.

Passion Counts

Sure Johns Hopkins students love science, but they care about so much more. Your classmates are likely to cover the waterfront in their interests. And they'll span the spectrum of 21st-century medicine with their career goals: from surgery to pediatrics, from laboratory research to family practice to health care policy.

But first things first. Students who choose Hopkins know they're embarking on an educational adventure that will define the rest of their careers. With an amazing collection of future colleagues, you'll discover and explore:

A passion for medicine
A love of science and learning
A dedication to service and
A commitment to collegiality.

Students are drawn to Johns Hopkins because they've discovered they'll be taking part in a groundbreaking course of study, led by an internationally renowned faculty, working in a hospital that has become synonymous with excellence in medicine and research throughout the world.

Trailblazers Welcome

But perhaps above all, Hopkins students value the flexibility this curriculum offers them in pursuing their particular interests. A few examples: During their years at the School of Medicine, many students take part in groundbreaking research projects in Johns Hopkins' distinguished basic science and clinical laboratories. Some also enroll in classes at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the medical school's campus neighbor. And still others arrange to do a clinical or research rotation overseas.

Finally, because they are passionate about helping others, some choose to get involved with projects in the nearby East Baltimore community. They tutor in local schools, teach sports to neighborhood kids, work in area clinics.

When you meet men and women enrolled at the School of Medicine, be sure to ask about these kinds of activities. Ask them also to talk about their fellow students. Of all the things our students say they love about Hopkins, their classmates rank near the top.

Camaraderie Means More Than Competition

Hopkins medical students usually say they don't think much about things like grades and class standings and have no sense of competition with their classmates. Instead, they feel secure that when the time comes, the School of Medicine's reputation will help them win slots in top residency programs around the country.

What Hopkins students do say they value most about their medical school experience is the relationships they form. The concern for others that drew most of them to medicine in the first place also helps forge strong friendships. As they move out into the world, Hopkins School of Medicine alumni go on to every part of the medical and scientific professions. Some return to their hometowns to set up practice. Some go to Washington to formulate health policy. An unusually high percentage choose to enter academic medicine and join faculties and laboratories at esteemed institutions around the nation.

Whatever your professional choice, the paths that you and your classmates follow will be shaped by the challenges, friendships, mentoring and triumphs you encounter at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.