Johns Hopkins Interview Part 1

When I applied to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU-SOM), I knew that it would be a reach. To be honest, I had always said it John-Hopkins, and not Johns-Hopkins. However, back in late September I got the email inviting me up for an interview…but of course I had to reschedule because I had already committed to interviewing somewhere else that day. I picked an interview date that fell on my undergrad’s fall break in order to #1 Not miss anymore class and #2 Save some money by having my dad drive me to Baltimore, MD.

So, in mid-October my dad and I set out on a 9 hour road trip to Baltimore. Unfortunately we had to drive past Washington, DC in the middle of a rain storm. Even at 3 pm the road was a nightmare of traffic. I am in no way used to that kind of traffic and it was a bit unsettling to see how bad it was for people who live in this area (no offense meant to anyone).

Anyways we finally arrived in Baltimore and the city had an awesome, rustic feel to it. It sort of reminded me of Boston. My dad had reserved us a room right smack in the undergraduate campus and so we went exploring. We eventually found a great place to eat, and headed back to the hotel room.

I wanted to do a “test-run” and drive from our hotel to the hospital so that we wouldn’t be stressed in the morning trying to find the place. Now, I have been in some sketchy parts of town before, but the streets between the undergraduate and medical campus were down-right scary at night. There were liquor stores on pretty much every corner, lots of yelling, and every other house or apartment was boarded up and/or completely dark. However, the hospital grounds will take your breathe away. The buildings are huge, and beautiful. They are currently doubling the size of the hospital and adding a completely new ER. It really did seem like the Mecca of the medical community. Needless to say, I became super excited about my interview the next day. Side note- there are booths on the corner of each street in the medical campus where police sit and are available to help, and make you feel safe.

Next post will be all about the interview day, but I just wanted to talk briefly about the fact that Johns Hopkins is building a very nice, very large housing complex for medical students, residents, PhD students, etc. that will open next year. We got to tour a “model” unit, and although small and slightly dorm-like it was still pretty awesome. You get a washer-dryer, and flat screen TV in every unit (also can be purchased furnished). The price per month includes the cost of all utilities and internet/cable. I don’t know if I would want to live there all four years but it was a nice/unique/pretty affordable touch for me.