Culture & Fit: Collaboration Over Competition: The Real Culture at Johns Hopkins
Your studious Korean high schooler lands at Baltimore-Washington Airport and steps onto the Homewood campus. Four years later she flies home speaking fluent English and citing public health data to back up her ethical argument points over dinner. That surprise is exactly what you invested in.
Johns Hopkins is America’s first research university. It’s ranked among the top ten nationally and has been for the last decade. The institution sends more undergraduates to medical school than almost any peer institution.¹ However, I’d argue that the signature Hopkins experience is not getting perfect grades but engaging in deep inquiry. Eight in ten students join a laboratory or field study before graduation, often as early as the first year.² Days spent culturing neurons or interviewing Baltimore residents teach students evidence and persistence (as well as a little humility) better than any lecture.
The culture may shock parents who imagine ruthless competition. The school is well known for its biological and other STEM-related research endeavors as well as cutthroat academic performance environments. Epitomic of Hopkins is the mental image of students guarding their GPAs through rote and solitary memorization. However, campus study rooms often feature chemistry section pooled notes and seniors running review nights to help each other learn. The Korean Student Association met weekly for jjamppong and advice, proving that collaboration can thrive even in Organic Chemistry season.³
A quick word on fun. Hopkins is famous for rigor as opposed to raucous parties. Even alumni on student forums insist it is “not a party school by any stretch.” Students make their own thrills instead. Adventurous Blue Jays slip into the century-old steam tunnels after dark beneath campus. This location is an unofficial rite whispered across generations. By day, the Blue Jay statue outside Fresh Food Café changes outfits (through spray paint, of course!) Clubs and protesters alike repaint the shield whenever inspiration strikes.⁴ The result is a social scene that many see as valuing creativity over competition.
Hopkins also pushes students beyond medicine. I arrived to the school certain I would be a surgeon or a clinical geneticist. After a global health practicum in Uganda, I chose policy research. I was convinced I could help millions without a scalpel. Many classmates made similar pivots into data science or international studies, or even social entrepreneurship. The common thread was the confidence to chase evidence and speak up for change.
So do not be alarmed if your child returns quoting Foucault instead of Freeman Dyson. At Hopkins, intellectual transformation is the goal and not a side quest.
Kash Charania serves as Head of Growth and Associate Consultant, holding a degree in Behavioral Biology and Economics from Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. in Behavioral and Decision Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania.
Footnotes
¹ Association of American Medical Colleges, 2024 enrollment data.
² Johns Hopkins Office of Undergraduate Research, “Student Participation Report,” 2023.
³ Johns Hopkins Korean Student Association meeting minutes, 2024.
⁴ JHU Admissions Blog, “A Hopkins Bucket List for Every Blue Jay,” 2024.
