Questions on just about everything

[Emily Koo]

Hey guys,

I'm Emily, another incoming freshman, and first off, I would like to
say thank you to everyone who participates in this group. All the
questions and answers are very helpful! =)

However, I have quite a few more questions myself about just about
everything, so I've consolidated the related questions together so
that they are easier to answer. Also, I think I'm supposed to know
most of these things by now, so forgive me if I sound ignorant!

Courses
- How exactly are the terms structured in the first year? I've heard
that most US universities have a 'general year' where undergraduates
get to try out anything they want so that they can find their own
niches, so is it true for JHU? If so, how exactly does that work? Do
you have to pick at least a Humanity, a Language, a Science subject
etc. or do you just take what you want? I've looked at the British
system more closely than the US one, as I had also been planning to go
there, and they have a very structured curriculum right from the
start, which I think would hinder me since I'm not sure if I want to
follow through with a straight Biology degree (at Imperial College)
now.

- There's also a question about the major-minor/double degree system,
which I'm not so sure about. Does that apply only after you have
specialised in a subject in the later years?

- And, in the most general sense, how busy are your timetables?
Definitely less than 8 hours a day?


Moving in
- Is it possible to move in before the stated 'moving in' date (let's
say about 2 weeks before), which is in early August? I have 3 younger
siblings who will be starting school just slightly after that and my
parents want to help me move in without leaving them on their own.


Housing
- I've read some responses about this and watched some Cribs videos,
so I have some sort of idea how the buildings differ. However, I'm not
so sure about the weather in Baltimore and how that would affect my
choice of housing. I've never been there (or to any part of the US,
for that matter) but there seems to be quite significant differences
between the data from the annual weather reports and well, the
students' reports. At least in terms of temperature. To put it simply,
is the lack of AC in the AMR buildings that bad? Baltimore seems to be
pretty cool throughout the school year but I've read some complaints
about how hot it is without the AC and how multiple fans have to be
brought from home.

- Suites... are they worth the price? I've read that it is actually
roomier in the AMR buildings but the common bathroom doesn't really
appeal to me. How does it actually look like (if you have pics, haha)?
Is it going to be like living at a camp for a whole year, bringing the
bathroom kit and towels back and forth every trip?


Dining
- What is a good meal plan to start off with for the first term/year?

Well, that's it for now! =P As you can tell, I'm quite apprehensive
about going there and living by myself without knowing exactly what
I'm getting into. At least at Imperial I would have quite a few
friends who would be there with me, but I am the only one from my
school going to JHU, so it would be a huge step for me and I'm worried
I wouldn't be able to handle it.

Anyway, if any of you have time to answer some of the questions or
give some opinions, I'd be very happy!

Thanks,
Emily

[Joseph Heng]

Dear Emily,

You might have to wait a few days for any replies, but I'll try to answer your questions soonest. All of us here at JHU are having our final exams right now, so we are buried in our books and papers! Sorry about that!

Joseph

[Emily Koo]

Hey Joseph!

That's ok, I don't mind. All the best to all of you for the finals! =D

Emily

On May 8, 1:06 am, Joseph Heng <lamero...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Emily,
>
> You might have to wait a few days for any replies, but I'll try to answer
> your questions soonest. All of us here at JHU are having our final exams
> right now, so we are buried in our books and papers! Sorry about that!
>
> Joseph
>

[Chyan-Ying Ke]

Hi Emily,

 

Congrats on your admission to Hopkins. I know it is an exciting time for you to be college-shopping now. Incidentally, I am an alumni who graduated from Hopkins in 2007, now doing graduate school at MIT (if you are interested in graduate sch in the US, it'll make your grad sch application (much) more attractive if you have a US degree). I'll answer what I can in general, certain things I hope they have not changed. :)

 

Courses:

1. The US system is one where you can pick any class you want to take, but you have to complete certain number and types of classes in order to graduate. It is true that freshmen usually take more general classes (like gen bio, gen chem) while deciding what major they want to do (BMEs are the exception, but apparently you're not a BME). Singaporeans usually enter JHU with the entire first year waived based on your A levels, so you can actually go straight ahead to second year classes and graduate in three years comfortably. There should be some suggested coursework at your department website, you can use that as a guide. If i'm not wrong, first sem Bio students from Singapore take Biochem, Biochem Lab, Orgo Lab, a humanity and probably another class (notice you are waived of gen bio). You will have an academic advisor who is a prof who will make sure you're still on track to graduate, and they'll help you at your first meeting in the first week of class to solidify your class schedule.

2. Major/minor: You usually declare your minor in your final year by submitting a form. Once again, whether you want to do a minor is completely up to you; each department has a guide to tell you what classes to fulfill if you want a minor, you take your time to complete those during your tenure at Hopkins. Usually classes overlap a lot, e.g. if you want a minor in Economics, you take those classes which also fulfills your Humanities requirement. Particularly for Bio students, it is easy to squeeze in a minor or double major. You can also get an advisor in the 2nd department that you are majoring in.

3. Timetable is planned by yourself. Typically 5-6 classes a sem, about 4-5 hours a day on average, esp in your first year. Things should become less structured in your upperclass years when you get to choose your electives and have time for research/internship etc.

 

Moving in

1. I know I'm ancient, but they had this international move in date when I was there which is half a week earlier than move in dates for other US students.. Else you can try to find a senior at Hopkins who has off-campus housing to bunk in with them if you need to be there early.

 

Housing

1. I had my gripes about common bathrooms too, hence I chose Wolman in my freshman year. My suite consist of my best friend cum Taiwanese roommate, a Korean girl and a Bahamas girl, I think I can say I made many international friends at my suite as well as my floor mates. Sorry to say I think AMRs can be a little too wild for me, since it is a popular choice among Americans. I frequently hear from friends who are Resident Advisors at AMRs that they do get into trouble sometimes (drunk, sex, rowdy). As for the bathrooms, yes it will be like camping. Not fun in my opinion. Besides, if you think you will miss Singapore food a lot and you might try your hand at cooking, the suites feature a private kitchenette where you can show your culinary skills and invite your friends over for a meal. My classmate-turned-husband charmed me that way. :) (As you can see, I'm biased towards the suites, so do seek a second opinion)

2. Weather: Baltimore has pretty good weather during the school term. If you are not intending to stay at non-AC housing over summer, I think you'll be fine, except certain days early in Fall and certain days late in Spring. That summer I stayed (off-campus), temperature soared to 37oC and I had to retreat to lab or library where it was air-conditioned. People do install window ACs/fan when they are at the AMRs.

Dining:

Can't help you on this. I got off the dining plan at earliest opportunity because it tasted bad and it was making me fat.

 

Yay thanks for giving me this opportunity to do this Hopkins4U thing. I really love Hopkins and continue to miss it even during my graduate school. In fact, I'm going back to visit during graduation day this year. I've never considered studying in UK, and if I were to do it all over again, I'll definitely come back to Hopkins.

 

Regards,

Chyan Ying

[Yun Liu]

Hi Emily,

First let me introduce myself. My name is Yun Liu, a 2nd year undergraduate majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology (a.k.a Bio-BS) and Computer Science, maybe with a minor in Physics or Applied Math.

May I suggest that you take a look at this website, the JHU Singapore Students Association (I wrote the FAQ):
http://ww2.jhu.edu/ssa/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=3&id=7&Itemid=25

They include the most common questions and their answers.

My answers to your questions are below:

Courses:
You choose a certain number of courses (typically 4-6), each of which is worth a certain number of credits (typically 2-4 each).
Your maximum credit load depends on whether you are in the engineering school (WSE) or arts and sciences (KSAS) school (but both 'schools' can take the same classes and in the same location)
For freshman: The first year's credit limit is 16.5 (KSAS) and 18.5 (WSE).

Each course then has its own designation, which is one or more of the following:
H - humanities
S - social science
E - engineering
Q - quantitative
N - natural sciences
W - writing intensive

These are related to your graduation requirements:
Each major has its own graduation requirements which include:
1. core courses, eg you have to take Course A,B,C...
2. electives, eg you have to take X number of courses from a certain selection
3. upper level electives, same as 2, except that they are typically harder and/or more specialized courses

The total credits required for graduation is 120/130 depending on your major (130 for all WSE majors and some KSAS, 120 for the rest)

You are free to register for any course you like, and there are advisers to help you with course selection, although typically singaporeans take sophomore-level courses in freshman year because A levels are more in-depth than american high school curriculum.

If you are graduating in 4 years (the norm), you can typically take 3 required courses every semester and "explore" with your remaining credits, but if you are graduating in 3 years, you have less freedom, although even then you can use the humanities requirements to 'explore'.

Humanities/Social Science requirements:
(Applicable only to science/math/engineering-based majors)
Typically you will need 30 credits of "distribution" (outside of your major's focus) , out of which about 18 credits must be H/S
Some majors have additional requirements, but this is the gist of it.

Personally I am a Biology major who does not particularly savor the idea of doing Biology Experiments for the rest of my life, so the U.S. 'structure' allowed me to double major in quantative areas. (CS, applied math)
(I did not apply for the UK universities for that reason.)

>
> - There's also a question about the major-minor/double degree system,
> which I'm not so sure about. Does that apply only after you have
> specialised in a subject in the later years?

Firstly, degree != major:
A degree means that you complete requirements of the major + other electives
A major just means the stuff related to the major.

So most people (in JHU at least) go for double major, where you fulfill requirements for 2 majors, but only the Humanities/social sciences stuff for one major.

For KSAS: you can only declare your "first" (primary) major after the first year, and you can declare a second major or minor(s) after that.
For WSE: you apply to a specific major, so you an Material Sciences major from the moment you matriculate. You can change your major after that, or declare more majors once you matriculate, essentially.

You can declare major/minors across schools.
Eg you are a BME (WSE) major, you can declare an additional major/minor from KSAS and/or WSE
Eg you are a Biology (KSAS) major, you can declare an additional major/minor from WSE and/or KSAS.

You can also drop majors, but because of the administrative hassle, it is recommended to be sure of your change before changing it. Although the process just involves getting a few forms and a few other signatures, why go to the extra trouble? =)
(Just note that you CAN drop majors/minors)

>
> - And, in the most general sense, how busy are your timetables?
> Definitely less than 8 hours a day?
>

Each credit typically corresponds to one hour in class.
Eg. a 17 credit load means that every week, you spend *about* 17 hours in the classroom.
(This can mean 5 hours each on mon,wed,fri and 1 hour on tue/thur, or more spread out - it depends on how you plan it)
(Exceptions are labs which take more time)

In JHU, the "rule of thumb" is that for every credit you are taking, be prepared to spend 3 hours *outside of class* studying/preparing for it.
(So in the same 17 credit case as above, be prepared to spend about 51 hours outside of class - that's why its called "Full time" undergraduate ;))
However, some classes require much less than the 1:3 ratio, while others might require much more.
The key point is that most of your time will be spend going through the material or doing homework and not in the classroom. Welcome to college :)

>
> Moving in
> - Is it possible to move in before the stated 'moving in' date (let's
> say about 2 weeks before), which is in early August? I have 3 younger
> siblings who will be starting school just slightly after that and my
> parents want to help me move in without leaving them on their own.
>

Move in a few days early = generally possible, just email the housing people and ask.
Move in 2 weeks early = might be a problem, although you can try asking.

On another note, there are people here (orientation staff) to help you move in if you move in during the regular time - something to keep in mind. Also, people here are generally very helpful, if you need help, you can generally get it.

>
> Housing
> - I've read some responses about this and watched some Cribs videos,
> so I have some sort of idea how the buildings differ. However, I'm not
> so sure about the weather in Baltimore and how that would affect my
> choice of housing. I've never been there (or to any part of the US,
> for that matter) but there seems to be quite significant differences
> between the data from the annual weather reports and well, the
> students' reports. At least in terms of temperature. To put it simply,
> is the lack of AC in the AMR buildings that bad? Baltimore seems to be
> pretty cool throughout the school year but I've read some complaints
> about how hot it is without the AC and how multiple fans have to be
> brought from home.

I wouldn't know about AMR's, but Wolman is generally very comfortable if you can come to an agreement with your roomate (each room has its own AC control). You can very well freeze in summer and sweat in winter indoors :)
The climate in general in Baltimore is mild for USA, but extreme if you're used to SG.
For example, you can have upwards of 15C variation in a single day outdoors.

>
> - Suites... are they worth the price? I've read that it is actually
> roomier in the AMR buildings but the common bathroom doesn't really
> appeal to me. How does it actually look like (if you have pics, haha)?
> Is it going to be like living at a camp for a whole year, bringing the
> bathroom kit and towels back and forth every trip?
>

If you don't want to use a common bathroom, then go for suite :)
(You don't want to be uncomfortable for the entire year, right?)
Unfortunately I don't have pictures of wolman or AMR...
Here's pics of the outside though:
http://www.jhu.edu/hds/oncampus/buildings.html

>
> Dining
> - What is a good meal plan to start off with for the first term/year?

The meal plan has changed since last year, but for the first year, you *have* to have a meal plan.
see:
http://www.campusdish.com/NR/rdonlyres/0DEE6A8C-AB7B-4CBF-8643-A98543A649FC/0/JHUDiningTimes.pdf

>
> Well, that's it for now! =P As you can tell, I'm quite apprehensive
> about going there and living by myself without knowing exactly what
> I'm getting into. At least at Imperial I would have quite a few
> friends who would be there with me, but I am the only one from my
> school going to JHU, so it would be a huge step for me and I'm worried
> I wouldn't be able to handle it.

Seriously? Don't worry. You don't know what you are capable of until you try it. You always have seniors around to help!

>
> Anyway, if any of you have time to answer some of the questions or
> give some opinions, I'd be very happy!
>
> Thanks,
> Emily
>
>
>
>

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[Victor Li]

Hi Emily,

Here is my reply, for what it's worth

Courses: JHU has a covered grades policy for the first semester (that may be changed in your year, i'm not sure). I don't like it, but at any rate it gives you freedom to explore courses that you might not take otherwise (for fear of doing badly). If you apply to Arts and Sciences then for ur first year you're officially "undecided": you only get to choose a major at the end of the first year: this works really well. I know lots of people who came in as x and x major, but decided that y major suits them better. You really get a lot of room for exploration and finding new passions. I know a lot of people at Hopkins who came in pre-med or biology but have now decided that they are better off pursuing other fields. I think you will like this space for exploration especially as you're not entirely (100%) committed to biology now.

You can pretty much take what you want: Hopkins has general distributional requirements, but they are not that stringent and they are pretty easy to meet. This means that you would have to get a certain number of credits for humanities or for social sciences or for natural sciences, etc. There is tremendous freedom in how you meet this requirement so I wouldn't worry about it. Plus, this helps you discover new passions that you may not have had the chance to discover previously.

Major/Minor/Double degree
In arts and sciences you declare your major at the end of your 1st year, so you don't have to declare a major or minor yet. Even after declaring a major or minor it can be changed at any time! So it's a really flexible system that you can tailor for yourself.

I'm a double degree student although prob not the kind you're thinking of (I'm studying music at Peabody and applied math and JHU). There are a lot of 5 year combined Masters and Bachelors programs at JHU. Technically you are usually suppose to apply in your 3rd year (if you are graduating in 4 years). I think there is considerable freedom in when you apply though: I'm a freshman but my advisor was trying to persuade me to apply.  What is good to know is also that there is considerable funding available for the 5th year: I think tuition for the 5th master's year in the 5 year program was just cut by half!

Workload

Not much time is spent in class actually (or you can decide how much time you want to spend in class).  I'm doing about 30 credits this semester but I still definitely spend less than 8 hours in class everyday (assuming I go for all of them). Actually, I actually think I'm still considerably more free than I was when I was in JC.

Can't help you with moving in or housing as I stay at Peabody. Just be assured that whatever you choose at Homewood, the facilities will be nicer than at Peabody :)

The hottest Baltimore gets is in Summer, which even then, will only be about Singaporeanish weather. Most Americans complain because they're not used to it. One of the things I like about the weather here in Baltimore is the mild winters: you should see the city. They freak out over 2 inches of snow! Marylanders are such wimps.

Hope this helps

Victor

[Yi Chung]

Hello from London, where the beer is cheap and the weather is surprisingly lovely.

 

Incidentally I saw Imperial today.  The place can’t be much more different than Hopkins.  Located in one of the poshest neighbourhood, Hyde park behind it, modern façade, (amazingly) even smaller than Hopkins.

 

Nonetheless, think you made the right decision based on what you wanna do in school.  Won’t start another essay since everyone has well covered everything.  Just two things to point out about the weather and the academic credit system. 

 

Firstly, I think Victor’s skin has turned into hide due to the bitter weather in Seattle :D Baltimore does get cold (-15 to -20 at its coldest in the winter) and hot (above 35 at its hottest in the summer), but neither is significant considerations if you’re not staying through the holidays.

 

Secondly, here’s the general guideline on workload:  Every academic credit translates to 1 hour in class per week.  i.e. 4 credits = 4 hours in class.  There are exceptions to this general reference of course; most notably, you spend a lot more time in class if the class is a lab.  Every credit roughly translates to 2 hours of preparation outside of class, meaning a 4 credit class is expected to take up an extra 8 hours outside of class for homeworks, revisions etc.  This is of course a rough reference, and there are many classes in which you can get away with doing a whole lot less, as well as a minority which will demand significantly more.  It also depends, of course, on how efficient you are outside of the class room.  So the recommended number of credits taken each semester is 15-18, if you’re not double majoring or minoring, this should be more than enough to graduate in 3 years, which translates to 45 hours to 54 hours a week.  This is 6.5 to slightly less than 8 hours a day, including sat and sun, which sounds quite reasonable.  You should be able to see now why an inflated academic workload is possible and in fact undertaken by many Singaporeans at Hopkins, but worry about crossing this bridge only when you come to it.

 

Good luck.

 

Cheers

Yi Chung   

 

---

[Emily Koo]

Wow, I had not expected such comprehensive replies! Thank you all for
taking your time to respond. I feel much better about the situation
now. =)

About the dining options, what exactly is a Kosher Meal Plan? How does
it differ from the Regular Meal Plan? (And, just to complain,
rhetorically of course, about it before I even set foot in the school,
why are we only allowed to choose the most expensive options when we
don't even know how much we would like the food?!).

I have a few more questions about course credits. I'm thinking of
using the A level credits to reduce the overall required number of
credits instead of going straight into the second year (where I would
have to declare a major, right? Because then that would defeat the
entire purpose of studying in the States in the first place), but I'm
not so sure about the system. Are the number of credits that can be
attained cumulative? According to this website (http://www.jhu.edu/
admis/apply/apib.html#), one subject can already yield up to 8 credits
and the credit limit for KSAS is 16.5, so it doesn't look like it is
cumulative. Also, if I am awarded credits, it means that I can
technically reach the limit without taking as many courses, but I can
still take new courses as long as the total credits for the existing
courses I take do not go beyond 16.5, right?

And thanks for the link Yun Liu. I think it contains the answers to
all of my unasked questions. =) Also, it seems like you and I are
doing pretty similar subjects (I'm currently taking 3 Sciences,
Computing and Further Maths for A Levels) and I'm applying for
Biology, although I have intentions of going into Applied Science (or
more specifically, Biomimetics), so can I ask how you are liking the
courses so far? Are they as difficult/easy as you've had expected?
Also, since the first year courses apparently overlap with the A level
syllabus, does it mean that the transition (in terms of knowledge) is
not very drastic?

Emily

[dom seow]

Hi Emily!
It's nice to know that there's a girl coming, since there are so few of us here!

Anyways, in answer of your question:

 

About the dining options, what exactly is a Kosher Meal Plan? How does
it differ from the Regular Meal Plan? (And, just to complain,
rhetorically of course, about it before I even set foot in the school,
why are we only allowed to choose the most expensive options when we
don't even know how much we would like the food?!).

Kosher meal plans are for jews, simply put. It's kinda similar to halal food. And yes, freshman meal plans at Hopkins are ridiculously expensive for the quality of . The school just wants to squeeze you dry of money. 

 

I have a few more questions about course credits. I'm thinking of
using the A level credits to reduce the overall required number of
credits instead of going straight into the second year (where I would
have to declare a major, right? Because then that would defeat the
entire purpose of studying in the States in the first place), but I'm
not so sure about the system. Are the number of credits that can be
attained cumulative? According to this website (http://www.jhu.edu/
admis/apply/apib.html#), one subject can already yield up to 8 credits
and the credit limit for KSAS is 16.5, so it doesn't look like it is
cumulative. Also, if I am awarded credits, it means that I can
technically reach the limit without taking as many courses, but I can
still take new courses as long as the total credits for the existing
courses I take do not go beyond 16.5, right?

The whole credit thing isn't quite as complicated as you are making it out to be here. I'll just use my case to explain my point: I took H2 Bio/Math/Chem/Econs (you don't get credit for GP or H3). I got 8 credits each for Bio, Math, and Chem; 3 credits for Econs. On top of this, they waived intro chem labs for me. That was a total of 27 credits. The 8 credits for each subjust were equivalent to the intro level classes one normally takes at college. That means I didn't have to take Gen Bio I and II, Intro Chem I and II, Calc I and II. Econs Credits were just an extra thing for me that adds to my humanities credits.A level credits do not count towards your 1st semester course credit load(or whatever it's called), and you can just jump straight into classes that sophomores normally take, since your A level work gives you credit for your intro classes already. In my first semester, I took 18 credits(you may overload if you bug your advisor). You don't have to strictly adhere to the credit limits they set. And just to set this straight: even if you are taking 'sophomore' classes because of a level credits, you are still a freshman and you will not need to declare a major.
 

Hope this helped!

-Dominique

Emily

[Yun Liu]

Hi Emily,

Since dom already answered most of it, I'll just add on:

the "credits" that you get for A levels are not part of the 16.5/18.5 limit:
(the limit is only for the courses you take in hopkins)
they only count toward the total credits you have for graduation.

the 100-200 level courses typically aren't too hard, its the higher level/graduate-level courses that typically give me trouble.
it looks like you are way more prepared than i was, with your trip sci + math/fmath + compsci, so you shouldn't need to worry about the transition.

basically the first year is for what we call "101" classes (due to the numbering system, those are the "first" or usually, the most basic courses in each department).
these courses are typically large lectures, and the professors try to cram a huge amount of information into the course. the result is that you typically don't get much practice/chance to understand each concept, but the breadth of information is similar to A levels (the emphasis for A's were changed a couple of years back - for eg biology changed from medical (learn about heart, liver, kidney etc...) to molecular (cloning, PCR etc...) )
I have no idea what A level computing teaches, but you might be able to get credit for that too :)

So the answer is that if you want to take the .101 classes, you waive those credits that you get, but a lot of the material should be review. If you choose those classes and take the 2nd-year classes, you should still be fine - all of us did it, along with many, many international students and some americans.

In addition, I *think* you still have the covered semester policy, so you don't have to worry about your grades in the first semester - even if you get "C", it still translates into a "S" - satisfactory.
However, I would suggest that you take the first semester as a chance to do two things:
1. explore and find your interest, but still take some core courses for your intended major so that if you do go through with it, you are not behind.
2. get into good study habit and get used to the pace as well as studying on your own without teachers cramming knowledge into you (you have to do the cramming!)


hope i answered your question!

--yun

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Emily Koo" <emily...@gmail.com>
> To: Hopkins4U <Hopk...@googlegroups.com>

> Subject: [Hopkins4U:328] Re: Questions on just about everything
> Date: Fri, 8 May 2009 07:35:32 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
>
> Wow, I had not expected such comprehensive replies! Thank you all for
> taking your time to respond. I feel much better about the situation
> now. =)
>

> About the dining options, what exactly is a Kosher Meal Plan? How does
> it differ from the Regular Meal Plan? (And, just to complain,
> rhetorically of course, about it before I even set foot in the school,
> why are we only allowed to choose the most expensive options when we
> don't even know how much we would like the food?!).
>

> I have a few more questions about course credits. I'm thinking of
> using the A level credits to reduce the overall required number of
> credits instead of going straight into the second year (where I would
> have to declare a major, right? Because then that would defeat the
> entire purpose of studying in the States in the first place), but I'm
> not so sure about the system. Are the number of credits that can be
> attained cumulative? According to this website (http://www.jhu.edu/
> admis/apply/apib.html#), one subject can already yield up to 8 credits
> and the credit limit for KSAS is 16.5, so it doesn't look like it is
> cumulative. Also, if I am awarded credits, it means that I can
> technically reach the limit without taking as many courses, but I can
> still take new courses as long as the total credits for the existing
> courses I take do not go beyond 16.5, right?
>

> And thanks for the link Yun Liu. I think it contains the answers to
> all of my unasked questions. =) Also, it seems like you and I are
> doing pretty similar subjects (I'm currently taking 3 Sciences,
> Computing and Further Maths for A Levels) and I'm applying for
> Biology, although I have intentions of going into Applied Science (or
> more specifically, Biomimetics), so can I ask how you are liking the
> courses so far? Are they as difficult/easy as you've had expected?
> Also, since the first year courses apparently overlap with the A level
> syllabus, does it mean that the transition (in terms of knowledge) is
> not very drastic?
>
> Emily
>
>

[Emily Koo]

Thanks for the replies about the credit system! I more or less
understand the concept now. =)

@Dom - Glad to increase the female population! =P I'm wondering, do
most Singaporeans stick together at JHU? You all seem to know each
other well enough.

@Yun - Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely going to do the first,
and the second, well, I'll work on it. XD

Also, I just remembered about scholarships (my dad was pushing me to
apply to NUS again, semi-seriously, because it's so much cheaper,
haha). Did any of you apply for Singapore scholarships? Or get any of
the JHU scholarships? I've applied to the A* STAR one, but I'd have to
review the binds again if I get it. I don't know if getting the
scholarship would limit what I can do after graduation.

Emily

[Nicholas Tan]

Hi Emily,

It depends on what you plan to do after graduation. If you're really interested in scientific research, especially in the biomedical field, then you should seriously consider the A*Star scholarship. You'll have a (pretty) secure job as a researcher if you do well enough in school and your tuition will be paid for in full. The biggest catch, of course, is that you have to sell your soul to A*Star and be their "labdog" for the next 10 years or so. A number of us here are A*Star, EDB and PUB scholars, so they'll probably be better placed to answer your questions regarding scholarships.

If you're planning to work here after you graduate, then your scholarship options will be much more limited. You can try looking into non-binding scholarships like Loke Cheng Kim, but there aren't many out there. You can also try applying for financial aid in order to alleviate some of the tuition costs. JHU is notoriously stingy over financial aid, but you may get lucky. If I remember right, Victor is currently receiving enough financial aid to cover most of his tuition. That is almost certainly the sweetest deal that you can get, since there're no bonds involved. Hope this helps.

Nicholas

[Victor Li]

Hi

I actually kind of regret telling the LCK ppl I wasn't really interested in the final interview: that is the sweetest deal you can get; only thing is that that places you under an obligation to return to Singapore. They are also more inclined to support ppl in the arts: they were quite interested in me because of my music degree. Supposedly they like botanists as well. Bioinformatics is kind of related? I dunno, but go for it!

And yet I am getting money from JHU. But I think you have to apply for international funding at the same time that you apply for university. So it might be too late now :(

Cheers

Victor

[Nicholas Tan]

Dude, I kind of regret not applying for the LCK scholarship at all haha. Oh well.

Nick

[Emily Koo]

@Nick: Thanks for informing about the LCK scholarship. I had no idea
it existed. About the A*Star scholarship, the 'labdog' thing would
certainly be the one factor which may prevent me from going for it if
I actually get it. I mean, I am thinking about going into scientific
research right now, but who knows what would happen after a few years?
The whole point of going to the States to study was to allow me to
explore my options and allow me to find out what I really want to do.
I don't mind returning and working/researching in Singapore because my
family is there, but 6 years of service commitment is a long time.

@Victor: You were invited for the final interview but you rejected it?
o_O Why? Was it a difficult process?
It's too bad everything has to be done manually (get the form, mailing
etc.) since I don't actually live in Singapore. Would it be too late
to apply during the summer?

Thanks again for all the responses!
Emily

[Emily Koo]

Hey again,

I have a query about the student visas. When does JHU send out the
I-20 forms? Has anyone received them yet?

And is the Visa interview compulsory for everyone? What kind of
questions do they ask about?

Thanks,
Emily

[Victor Li]

Hey Emily

Sorry for the delayed reply. About LCK: I wasn't sure that I was returning to Singapore (as I write this I'm back home in Seattle!) which was the main reason why I rejected it. I wouldn't have been able to accept it in good conscience, much as I would have liked the money :P It's probably too late to apply already I'm afraid. I assume you are living in the UK now?

The student visas were mailed out really late (late July/early August). The international students office in Hopkins is dismally horrible, I'm sad to say. The visa interviews are not much lah: they just ask you simple questions. You shouldn't have much problem as you are Singaporean.

Rgds,

Victor

[Emily Koo]

Hey Victor,

Thanks for the reply! My mum is anxious about getting everything done,
so she's making me so nervous about missing a deadline. It's good to
know that we have to wait for JHU to take the first step rather than
try to figure out everything on our own. =P

I'm living in HK now. UK and US are just the more popular choices (as
usual), but that depends on whether or not people want to go through
the SAT experience, haha.

And I'm curious, why does being a Singaporean make the interview
easier? Is it because they have less reasons to be suspicious of us?

Emily

On May 17, 10:55 pm, Victor Li <melchizedekofsa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Emily
>
>
>
> > Sorry for the delayed reply. About LCK: I wasn't sure that I was returning
> > to Singapore (as I write this I'm back home in Seattle!) which was the main
> > reason why I rejected it. I wouldn't have been able to accept it in good
> > conscience, much as I would have liked the money :P It's probably too late
> > to apply already I'm afraid. I assume you are living in the UK now?
>
> > The student visas were mailed out really late (late July/early August). The
> > international students office in Hopkins is dismally horrible, I'm sad to
> > say. The visa interviews are not much lah: they just ask you simple
> > questions. You shouldn't have much problem as you are Singaporean.
>
> > Rgds,
>
> > Victor
>

[Yi Chung]

Haha yep. Although I'm not sure why. They do ask you if you want to get
married and stay behind in the US. I think the standard answer should be a
no.

-----Original Message-----
From: Hopk...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Hopk...@googlegroups.com] On

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

hi emily,

i just read through the whole of this thread and i guess i can give you my perspective as an astar scholar too...

my opinion regarding scholarships is - don't take it up if you are not sure that you are definitely okay following the path that the organisation sets for you, and don't take it up especially if you do not have a reasonably good idea of the nature of the organisation and the path.

if you are currently interested in biomedical research, and your interest is based on your previous experience working in labs + academic knowledge, hopkins is more likely going to reinforce your interest rather than diminish it - and hopkins might inspire you to become a doctor too in addition to that. if you have never worked in a lab before, and if you are serious about taking on a research career, i strongly recommend that you try to get an internship position in a lab even before coming to college. if you are in hong kong, HKU or CU should have the relevant labs (HKU has strong links with Queen Mary hospital; CU has a biotech park, as far as i know). hong kong polytechnic university also has research labs in their health sciences departments.

and do not take up a*star before working in a lab at least once.

a*star is currently pretty accommodating towards the interests of scholars. as long as you stay within biomedical research, you will be able to find something to do, even if you want to do both clinical medicine and scientific research, albeit with some restrictions. and if you don't mind staying in singapore and wants to do research, being restricted to a*star is fine especially during service commitment period (at least this is what i think). there are talks about allowing scholars to do post-doctorate postings in overseas universities after getting their PhD to make sure we get solid training; as long as we can continue to secure funding, we can still build a career out of that service committment period. they have loosened up quite a bit compared to a few years back.

if you are interested in finding out more information about a*star, let me know - i can tell you more, and i can refer you to people who know if i don't have an answer to your question.

- xiaoyang

[Emily Koo]

Thanks for the advice on the scholarship. I'll definitely look into it
in more detail before making any decisions. =)

Also, I'll be going to Singapore over the summers, so is there any
place that is good for internships for research? I have been to Max
Planck Institute and experienced some form of research last year, but
it wasn't really a full-time commitment and more of a tour with hands-
on experience in different parts of the department.

Emily

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

hi emily -

yup there are. a*star takes in a lot of students over summers - you can find pre-college students in almost all research institutes. i would suggest that you apply soon - these positions get filled up pretty quickly.

as to how to choose a suitable lab - it will have to be based on your general interest at this stage (e.g. if you are interested in cancer, just try approaching labs which work is related to cancer). approach the principle investigators directly to ask for opportunities; you will need to go through the human resource departments of the individual research institutes, but the most important thing is to get the profs to accept you.

broadly categorising a*star biological research institutes (those that i can remember off-hand):
- basic/human biology research: IMCB, IMB, GIS, SICS, SIgN
- applied biology research: IBN, BTI, GIS
- computational biology: BII

just google the acronym + A*STAR and you will find the websites and the project listings.

there is also a non-a*star good research institute in singapore called Temasek Life Sciences Laboratories - they specialise in basic developmental biology and genetics research (i like this kind of work :P). try to look through their listings too!

i am not too sure about opportunities in the universities (NUS/NTU/Duke-NUS) and the various MOH research institutes (National Cancer Centre / National Skin Centre etc.); i am pretty sure some of them do take in students. just email the PIs to ask.

good luck with finding a lab! if you have further questions, don't hesitate to ask us!

(if someone else have anything to share, i.e. which lab(s) to avoid etc., please share too!)

- xiaoyang

[Emily Koo]

Hey Xiaoyang,

Thank you so much for the listing! I'll certainly check out those labs
you've stated and hopefully get a placement in one of them. =)

Emily

> > > > > >> Emily- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Emily Koo]

Hey guys,

I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but can a KAS student
enroll into WSE courses?

Thanks!
Emily

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

absolutely. you can also enroll into some peabody courses. you can even enroll into med school administered medical tutorials.

- xiaoyang

[Emily Koo]

Thank you so much!

On Jul 3, 5:01 pm, Hiu Yeung Lau <xiaoyan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> absolutely. you can also enroll into some peabody courses. you can even
> enroll into med school administered medical tutorials.
>
> - xiaoyang
>

[Katherine Tan]

Hi everyone!

I think I'm probably the "odd one out" here. I'm actually not a
Singaporean, but a Malaysian.

About classes:

I thought of enrolling in a writing intensive class for my first
semester. Any suggestions? How is fiction/poetry like?

Thanks!

Katherine Wei Ling Tan

[simon]

hey emily,

if i'm not wrong there's also a novartis next to biopolis, and
genentech has a branch office in singapore as well, not to mention
that genentech came over to give the ChemBE students a presentation,
so they definitely know us.

simon

[Nicholas Tan]

Hey Katherine,

Enrolling in a writing class for your freshman fall semester's actually a pretty good idea. Writing classes can be rather time-consuming, and grading depends largely on the temperament of your instructor. So getting part of your writing requirements cleared while your grades are covered may make your life slightly easier. I took Intro to Fiction and Poetry (IFP) in my first semester here and I really liked it. Most of the instructors were grad students but I got a professor as my instructor, who published a book recently about naked swim parties. Ahem. Anyway, my point is: go for it, and explore your other interests if you can. What's your major, and are you on any scholarship of sorts?

Regards,
Nick

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

hello katherine,

yes it is definitely a good idea to enroll in a writing class during covered grade sem, especially if you are from A&S and you need to clear 4 sems of writing. personally i did expository writing; my teacher was very dedicated and very helpful - she helped me tremendously in building up my confidence in writing essays, which i did a lot subsequently. just like IFP, the quality of expos is dependent on teacher too. if you intend to do expos, be mindful that it is a lot of work (haha not as if IFP is not), but it is likely that it will help you to some extent in your subsequent writing or general humanities classes.

- xiaoyang

[Victor Li]

On Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 3:21 PM, Victor Li <victor...@gmail.com> wrote:

You might want to consider doing IFN which is the alternative to IFP1: that's taught by a professor and she's really generous with A's :P IFP is kind of iffy, really depends on who you gets as your teacher.

[Nicholas Tan]

Covered grades, dude. If you've a penchant for poetry, go for it :)

Nick

[Katherine Tan]

@Nick,

Thanks for the info about IFP. I thought that classes involving
fiction would be fun, but am not sure about the grading. So, I thought
of enrolling it during my first semester. :)

I'm thinking between Biology and Biophysics. Am leaning more towards
Biology now. And yes, I'm under the full sponsorship of the public
service department of Malaysia.

What is your major?

@Xiao Yang,

I've heard that expository writing is VERY technical. Is it true? :D
Anyway, I think the classes are all full for expository writing, or so
when I last visited ISIS :)

I suppose you're a Humanities major?

@Victor,

What is IFN? Sorry but I'm not familiar with the short forms (took my
a few seconds to realize that IFP means Intro to Fiction and
Poetry, :D)

Thanks everyone!

[Nicholas Tan]

Hi Katherine,

Good to have public money to spend. Don't worry about grading for the 1st semester. In fact, don't squander your chance to do something more interesting than Bio classes :P I'm majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Math.

Btw, IFN = Intro to Fiction and Non-Fiction.

Nick

[dom seow]

Hello Katherine,

I'm Dominique- a Bio major. Biophysics is definitely one major option that you might want to think about. If you look at the list of the major requirements, alot of it actually overlaps with Biology. However, the Biophysics department at Hopkins isn't terribly big. They do not offer that many classes, nor are there as many faculty as you would find in the bio dept or an engineering dept.  I personally know a rising junior who is a Biophysics major who told me that there are probably only around 20-30 biophysics major per year. Being small definitely has its advantages: most biophysics classes are only open to biophysics majors, unless you get special permission, and with such a small faculty/student ratio, you really get to know your professors and classmates better. (I myself would major in it, if not for some of their math requirements... haha.)

Also, I have taken 2 semesters of expos writing so far. In the first semester, I took intro to expos, which was in hindsight, super easy (lots of lacrosse people/athletes there). I took it because I didn't have a good idea about what the demands of college writing were, and I wanted to make sure I have a good foundation before I jumped into an actual expository writing class. I loved it, though it required some hard work. Mostly, I loved the professor (Murdy) . No, they do not teach you grammar or sentence construction or things like that. Rather, they teach you how to structure a piece of academic writing(the paradigm of academic essays) through an exploration of different essays. These techniques  proved helpful when I took a 'real' Expos writing class in my second semester. 

Every expos writing class has a specific topic of interest and typically, you are assigned various readings in relation to the paper that you will be writing about. I don't know what you mean by "technical", but it's pretty much like writing an extended argumentative essay that is original, persuasive, and watertight (against possible counterarguments). I don't mean to scare you, but Expos really is no easy class. I spent the most time on it compared to the other classes I was taking in my first year, and it did not help that my instructor was the type who would take off her shoes in class, say "f***" to our faces, and write us emails with a tasteful array of profanities. This was all amusing at first, but after a while, it just became unprofessional. That said, I think I learnt alot from Expos (but I also learnt that I will never ever take another expos class again). 

I don't know much about IFP, but I also heard it's alot of work because you have to build up a portfolio or something. No idea. But it should be quite different from expos writing. Writing classes are usually popular because everyone has to take it in order to graduate. It's not easy to get a place in one. Arts/Sciences majors must take at least 4 semesters of writing or we can't graduate. God, just typing that last sentence made my blood boil. 

Good luck on your first semester class choices!

-Dominique

[Grace Tan]

hi katherine,

 

i am grace, biomedical enigneering and mathematics double major, just graduated from hopkins this past may.

 

i took expository writing the second semester of my freshman year, and my 'theme' was children's books (don't think it is offered anymore but you can check). and since we were writing expository essays on children's books, we read children's books ... like 'where the wild things are' by maurice sendak and 'goodnight moon'. so my essays were typically 100 times longer than the reading we were assigned.

 

anyway, i felt that the grading was very difficult, but at the same time i did not feel like i learnt anything substantial at all.

 

i would actually recommend taking classes from the history / political science / etc. department that are listed 'W', or writing intensive. i took my 3 other writing intensive classes from the history department and i enjoyed them a lot more than my expository writing class because i learnt so much more from the reading, and wrote essays on things that i actually cared about.

 

whatever it is though, remember that your first semester grades are covered, so definitely take advantage of that to take classes that you normally would not.

 

grace

2009/7/10 dom seow <domini...@gmail.com>

[Nicholas Tan]

I disagree somewhat with Dom's and Grace's reviews about the expository writing class, because mine was really good. Our class focused on the theme of selfishness and altruism, and we read scientific articles as well as short stories that explore the selfish nature of living beings, including man. It made for very interesting discussions, to say the least, and Richard Dawkins's book "The Selfish Gene" was really thought-provoking. So I think it really depends on the topic you pick and the instructor you get (which, unfortunately, is luck of the draw), but if you see a subject that really catches your eye, go ahead and try it out.

Nick

[Joseph Heng]

Hi Katherine,

My expository writing class was on revenge, enshrined in the rule of law. It focuses on the principles behind modern judicial systems, and we read books and writings by luminaries such as Cesare Beccaria and Rene Girard, who are dead now, I think.

The class was taught by an Australian who emphasized writing in American English. I think he is trying to cast off the vestiges of colonialism. Incidentally, he also recommended me his dentist when my tooth broke off, who I must say is very good. He has a good dress sense and also has a hot butt, by the way. (His name is George Oppel.)

I also spent a large part of my time writing essays for this class. While writing these essays, I discovered that it was easier to write while laughing at funny stuff on youtube. Maybe that is why I took so much to write.

Anyway, although I enjoyed this class a lot, I would not do expository writing again. The grading for my class was tough - noone got As, and what I learned from it was that you learn nothing in expository writing.

But like what people have been telling you, you should take whatever catches your fancy. If you are lucky, you will end up with a teacher with a hot butt.

See you in fall,

Joseph

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

haha woah everyone so enthu about discussing expos...

yes you can consider me a humanities major. i graduated with a double major in molecular and cellular biology and history of science, medicine and technology.

and yes, grading for expos is tough (covered grades man - it's your chance to screw up. i don't recommend intro expos for that reason). that said, i enjoyed my expos class too - mine was on constitutional and criminal law, and we read actual law cases and herman melville's 'billy budd, sailor'. our essays were all based on our analyses and judgment on the law material that we read, which made writing those essays very interesting - part of our assignment was to prepare for a mock court hearing, which my side sadly lost. my teacher was michelle cotton, she is a JD and an english PhD, and her class is called 'guilt and justice'. i don't know if she is still around though.

expos is technical in a sense that the class focuses on how you actually structure an essay and present it effectively. those law stuff, etc. are merely tools to bring that out.

whether you should launch straight into those history / philosophy / social sciences classes - it depends on how confident you are writing essays. for me that great expos experience gave me the confidence - honestly my english was pretty bad before i entered college; i never expected that i would come out of the other end enjoying writing essays on topics that i care about (sorry grace borrow your phrase).

hot butt? joseph you have one too.

- xiaoyang

[Nicholas Tan]

I see. Now I know who you loved too late, Xiaoyang. You should have made your move earlier...

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

hmms, that's why. now it will be too scandalous... i wouldn't try :P

[Katherine Tan]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the fast (and lively) replies. :)

So the idea I get is: since first sem grades are covered, I should
take classes I really want to enroll in but may not do so in other
semesters because of the grading.

I'm planning my schedule (for the nth time now), and I realized that
I've got my MWF mornings really packed! (Like, classes non-stop from
9-1) Is that bad? Sadly, most of the required courses (like Calculus
and Chem) are in the morning.

And, about textbooks: are they required in every class? How do we find
out?

@Nick: I agree. Good to spend public money, when you have the
chance. :P Are you Malaysian too?

@Dominique: Nice to know a fellow Bio major. Your expo lecturer sounds
nasty, though. One thing that made me ponder about Biophysics was
actually the mathematics requirements (I'm not a big fan of math) and
also the more "technical" classes required. Funny thing is, Bio and
Biophysics sound so similar, but when I have to make a decision
between both, it's really hard!

@Grace: BME is really popular in Hopkins, I heard! How do you think
about the mathematics classes there? I mean, I've heard that US math
is not as hard as our Asian ones, but I've never been there.

@Joesph: Are you still in JHU currently? "See you in fall". :P. And
it's *notably* funny sometimes that we *can't help* noticing our
lecturers' physical appearances. But what exactly how a "teacher with
a hot butt" help? Haha.

@Xiao Yang: I supposed you did a B.A in Bio? I am really amused and
attracted to that particular expo writing class you took! I mean,
lawsuits and everything should be really fun!

One more thing about expo writing and fiction&poetry: do we get to
choose our own topics, or it depends on the lecturer's instructions
(which again, depends on the sections)?


Katherine

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

9 - 1 is not a problem. i had that one of the semesters. UK and singapore schools can have days with lectures from 9 - 5...

 

i did a BS in bio. one thing good about the bio major - both BA and BS (diff is just 2 more elective classes and 1 semester of research) - is that you get to double major pretty easily in whatever you want. basically i only have to take 3 - 4 extra classes in addition to the standard bio distribution requirements.

 

haha if you are not a big fan of maths, don't do la. i took ZERO maths in hopkins (basically the thought of doing math-related coursework freaks me out. but i don't know why i am always the person calculating bills though) and i blatantly tell people that in the future if i need to do any maths because of my research i will get those who can to help me :P

 

- xiaoyang

[Yun Liu]

i had classes 9 to ~4 or 5 two days a week, and 9 to ~2pm the rest of the days, with a 2.5 hr night class on thurs -_- (with 1-hr breaks for lunch of course)
to answer your questions - textbooks are always "required"... (according to the bookstore), but rarely essential (ask the prof if the hw will be from the textbook, most profs will tell you to buy the textbook though.)

regarding covered grades..
YES!!! take FULL ADVANTAGE of the it!!!!
if you're bio, try to include organic chemistry I, and if you've had some organic chemistry in high school, try to do organic chemistry lab too (because its a pain)
also include at least one H/S course (recommended: H/W or S/W since writing intensive requirement can overlap with *any* other requirement)
other than that, feel free to take any course from any department - shop around during the first 2 weeks (you can add courses up til the end of week 2, and you can drop courses up til the end of week 4 or so - check the registrar's website)

ok and now let me clarify one thing....
bio and biophysics are *totally* different.
bio is a qualitative science derived from chemistry and some physics, losing almost all quantitative aspects in the process.
physics is math, with difference formulae
biophysics is quantitative for the most part

to illustrate the difference...
lets say you want to know what a protein does.
bio approach: chop up the dna using chemicals and enzymes, put it into a organism to replicate, express the protein and get a whole bunch of it, then do (bio)chemical assays to see what it does
biophysical approach: model it with computer simulations if you know the structure, if not, crystalize it and try to get the structure...
biophysics will require some of the bio techniques, but the emphasis in the end is the physical principles...
you will need courses that cover stuff like thermodynamics, physical chemistry and at least some elementary programming.
also note that the biophy dept in jhu only offers a BA.
Depending on what aspect of bio you are interested in, also consider neuroscience, psychology, etc.
(chemical & biomolecular engineering and BME are also somewhat bio-related, but if you don't like math, stay away from those 2...)


regarding math:
(vector calculus, linear algebra, differential equations etc are foundation courses required/recommended for any quantitative major. honestly speaking those courses aren't that difficult, but if you don't like it, don't do it. if you're not sure, try out a math course in your first semester)

as for expos writing, check this site:
http://sites.jhu.edu/ewp/courses-fall.html
(it tells you what each section of the expos writing course does - each section has a different topic)

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[ganeshs]

hi all,

continuing on the writing courses topic, how does adam maskevich for
use and misuse of archaeology sound? or sujata gupta for re-inventing
nature? they are both expository classes..

and on a totally different note, i wanted to ask, whether its cheaper
to buy a return ticket in singapore or usa? if i buy a return in
singapore i mite be back for the mid term vacation (19 december to
begin june), or sld i not even consider coming back during that mid
term vacation?

also, im planning to come a few days before our move-in...so wat are
some cheap hostels/hotels near jhu? anything from past experience?

thankew! =)

ganesh

> Get a Free Account atwww.mail.com- Hide quoted text -

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

haha people like me will always tell you - DON'T GO HOME. use the break to go learn how to ski or snowboard (or go do it if you already know how to do it), go to new york city, go to peru, road trip to florida, start finding a lab, stay around and see miracles on 34th, etc... and summer go and work either in hopkins or in europe or in another university...

(i have been told that i am 'strange' because i don't go home often and for long... you can decide yourself if you want to go home or not la.)

i saw somewhere today that a 12-month open on SQ to NYC is ~SGD2000 (doubt the number includes surcharges). a return during christmas period is roughly USD1600 total from washington. you can do some research on your own too...

not too sure about those two expos classes - like we said, sometimes it is really just luck - if someone knows then good for you! :P

okay, for the last problem - as long as you are not moving in 2 weeks before time, you can call up the housing office, tell them that you are an international student, and because of air ticket crap you can only be there at that time etc etc. and they will usually allow you to move in a little early because the orientation people and the RAs have to go in a bit earlier too. just convince them that you really need it, and if it is not an unreasonable demand, usually they are alright with it.

-xiaoyang

[Joseph Heng]

ya i agree 100% with mr lau here. don't go home (unless there is a very good reason for you to go home)

otherwise, just expand your experiences by doing stuff here that you can never do in singapore.

[Grace Tan]

eh the hopkins wireless is lousy. i typed a substantial email and then IT DIDN'T SAVE. maybe also because i am sitting in the levering courtyard trying to get skin cancer while typing this.

hey i always go home for breaks, because i need my singapore food fix and because my family wants to see me and i like to see my grandparents. but that doesn't mean i don't take the chance to do other things too. it is up to you how you use your time + resources. i try to make 100% use of my time in US/baltimore by going to nyc multiple times to seek food, going to philly multiple times to seek food, going around baltimore to seek food, and volunteering in baltimore to serve food (to homeless people)

i would really encourage the incoming freshmen to volunteer in baltimore!! if there is one thing baltimore offers well, it is the myraid of service opportunities. and i don't mean this in a sarcastic way. i am very thankful for the people i meet when i volunteer about baltimore. and if you can't find any service opportunities, ASK ME AND I WILL SHOW YOU. it takes you out of your comfort zone, out of the tiny oasis that is the hopkins homewood campus, and brings you to the inner city where you get to encounter true poverty and maybe a bit of hopelessness. it helps you appreciate what you have more and stops your whining about schoolwork for a while. i always think that i have gained so much more from serving people than they gained from me serving them, because i get to see what it really means to have hope and faith. and strength.

grace 

2009/7/11 Joseph Heng <lame...@gmail.com>

[simon]

hey ganesh,

depending on how early you're coming over, you can just email some
people (i think siah hong did this, or some other person =p) and they
won't mind you moving in a few days earlier, because the RAs have to
be in earlier, so as long as you're moving in at around the same time
as the RAs, they should have not much problems letting international
students moving in earlier. usually.

also, i agree with most of the others on holidays.

1) christmas holidays are too short to really do much in sg if you
plan to take intersession, which i recommend at least for freshman
year because it's a good opportunity to take some fun classes, have
virtually little or no homework, and have an opportunity to go out
with friends from hopkins and explore baltimore.

2) if you plan to graduate in 3 years, you *might* need some summer
school, depending on how much credit you get from a level, or how many
classes you miscalculated =p

3) if you're interested in internships summer's the best time to get
ALOT of experience in them (being a research assistant on campus
during the schools year's one thing, but summer internships in the US
with the right company is awesome, speaking from DEKA R&D =) i love
this place). many internships in the US/UK/anywhere else give you alot
of different experiences from a*star.

4) tickets seem cheaper in SG. on expedia, it's costing me nearly US
$1700 to get back to baltimore. somehow my dad did the same thing from
SG with some travel company for SG$1200.

simon

On Jul 11, 3:37 pm, Grace Tan <graceta...@gmail.com> wrote:
> eh the hopkins wireless is lousy. i typed a substantial email and then IT
> DIDN'T SAVE. maybe also because i am sitting in the levering courtyard
> trying to get skin cancer while typing this.
>
> hey i always go home for breaks, because i need my singapore food fix and
> because my family wants to see me and i like to see my grandparents. but
> that doesn't mean i don't take the chance to do other things too. it is up
> to you how you use your time + resources. i try to make 100% use of my time
> in US/baltimore by going to nyc multiple times to seek food, going to philly
> multiple times to seek food, going around baltimore to seek food, and
> volunteering in baltimore to serve food (to homeless people)
>
> i would really encourage the incoming freshmen to volunteer in baltimore!!
> if there is one thing baltimore offers well, it is the myraid of service
> opportunities. and i don't mean this in a sarcastic way. i am very thankful
> for the people i meet when i volunteer about baltimore. and if you can't
> find any service opportunities, ASK ME AND I WILL SHOW YOU. it takes you out
> of your comfort zone, out of the tiny oasis that is the hopkins homewood
> campus, and brings you to the inner city where you get to encounter true
> poverty and maybe a bit of hopelessness. it helps you appreciate what you
> have more and stops your whining about schoolwork for a while. i always
> think that i have gained so much more from serving people than they gained
> from me serving them, because i get to see what it really means to have hope
> and faith. and strength.
>
> grace
>

> 2009/7/11 Joseph Heng <lamero...@gmail.com>

>
> > ya i agree 100% with mr lau here. don't go home (unless there is a very
> > good reason for you to go home)
>
> > otherwise, just expand your experiences by doing stuff here that you can
> > never do in singapore.
>

> > On Sat, Jul 11, 2009 at 1:15 PM, Hiu Yeung Lau <xiaoyan...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> >> haha people like me will always tell you - DON'T GO HOME. use the break to
> >> go learn how to ski or snowboard (or go do it if you already know how to do
> >> it), go to new york city, go to peru, road trip to florida, start finding a
> >> lab, stay around and see miracles on 34th, etc... and summer go and work
> >> either in hopkins or in europe or in another university...
>
> >> (i have been told that i am 'strange' because i don't go home often and
> >> for long... you can decide yourself if you want to go home or not la.)
>
> >> i saw somewhere today that a 12-month open on SQ to NYC is ~SGD2000 (doubt
> >> the number includes surcharges). a return during christmas period is roughly
> >> USD1600 total from washington. you can do some research on your own too...
>
> >> not too sure about those two expos classes - like we said, sometimes it is
> >> really just luck - if someone knows then good for you! :P
>
> >> okay, for the last problem - as long as you are not moving in 2 weeks
> >> before time, you can call up the housing office, tell them that you are an
> >> international student, and because of air ticket crap you can only be there
> >> at that time etc etc. and they will usually allow you to move in a little
> >> early because the orientation people and the RAs have to go in a bit earlier
> >> too. just convince them that you really need it, and if it is not an
> >> unreasonable demand, usually they are alright with it.
>
> >> -xiaoyang
>

> ...
>
> read more »

[Nicholas Tan]

Speaking of volunteering, if any of you out there are pre-med, you should consider joining the Hopkins Emergency Response Organization (HERO). Apart from possessing the most ostentatious name for a student group you can ever find on campus (or anywhere else for that matter), it is also a good platform to obtain medical experience in the field. You'll first start off by taking classes during the semester to get your Emergency First Responder (EFR) certification, and if you're successful, you're eligible to "challenge" onto the unit. Once you're part of the unit, you can take shifts as an on-campus emergency medical care provider. In other words, it's something like being a campus medic. If you like the excitement of waking up in the dead of night to rescue your fellow peers from the throes of drunkedness, then this is the job for you.

More significantly though, being part of the unit allows you to obtain the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification at no cost (it's normally USD$800, I think). Before you get overwhelmed by all the acronyms I'm throwing in here, an EFR provides the most basic level of first-aid care, while an EMT is allowed to perform more advanced care. Furthermore, as an EMT, you are eligible to ride-along with the Baltimore City Fire Department paramedics. You'll get to see the whole city for what it really is, especially the less glamorous parts (and believe me, it IS an eye-opener). I think it's one of the most interesting college experience you can have at Hopkins, and I've definitely learned a lot from it.

It's not easy to join HERO though, I'll have to admit. The classes are intensive and time-consuming, and I recommend that you join during your freshman fall semester because grades are covered and you shouldn't be overloading (too much, at least). And there're a crazy number of pre-meds in this school (I wonder why) whom you'll have to compete against during your challenge test, so be prepared to spend a lot of time practising. However, if you're really interested in pursuing a medical career, this is pretty much the best place to be for first-hand experience. Here's the link to the application website: http://heru.jhu.edu/hertuapp.php
Please sign up! It's kinda sad being the only Singaporean in the unit... :S

Cheers,
Nick

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

hahaha nick there is a reason why we call you hero...! 3 paragraphs on HERO!

yup i concur with grace regarding service. to a newcomer - especially a newcomer to the united states - baltimore can really be intimidating initially. participating in service opportunities on campus will allow you to begin to view the city and the people (probably even the world :P) from a whole new perspective that you probably won't previously expect. i will always be grateful of the people whom i worked with while i was in baltimore.

being an EMT in baltimore will give you access to the inner city, so will doing service - and depending what you intend to do, both will involve intimate interactions with the people in different respects (haha i was a medic spec in the army, so i know roughly how it is like to be an EMT-B). approach baltimore with an open mind, try to get involved and it is going to be an amazing experience.

all incoming freshmen (and of course THOSE WHO ARE IN SG like WEIZHUANG): just to let you all know, we have a booth for Experiences 2009 on 26 July 2009 at Suntec. i will be there - and i need YOUR HELP. i will email out the details - for the incoming freshmen, this is a chance for you to talk to us as well! it is not like i will be in baltimore but i love hopkins (except midterms) so i definitely am willing to address your needs :P

- xiaoyang

- xiaoyang

[Weizhuang]

One of you mentioned earlier that JHU has reversed its policy on the
first sem covered grades. As far as I know, I am not informed of any
such thing. http://www.jhu.edu/~advising/academic_manual/grades.html

It appears the online academic manual also does not reflect the new
policy, if indeed it is changed. Maybe someone can post the link to
where the new policy was sighted?

> >> > >>> > Get a Free Account atwww.mail.com-Hidequoted text -
>
> >> > ...
>
> >> > read more »- Hide quoted text -

[Yun Liu]

as far as I know, there was a survey by JHU regarding the covered grades policy, but there hasn't been an official announcement about a reversal in policy
if in doubt, contact the registrar...

[Emily Koo]

I was discussing some JHU stuff with my parents and some questions
about the housing came up. I couldn't find the exact answers on this
group (or the SSA website), so I'm just going to ask again in more
detail.

From what I know, the dorms are closed during the short breaks (or any
other vacation period, really) and no one without a vacation housing
can stay in them. However, does that mean that you have to pack up
everything in your room? When my dad went to NUS, he had to pack up
everything all the time because the rooms are rented to other people
for use during breaks. Does that happen in JHU?

Also, what happens after university commencement? Do you have to pack
up everything, bring them all back to Singapore (or anywhere else) and
then unpack them again when the school starts in the new dorm? Do you
change a room every year?

Emily

[Weizhuang]

Hi,

There are two kinds of housing at Hopkins: Vacation Housing and Non-
vacation housing. The former allows you to stay throughout vacations
like Thanksgiving and Spring Break. HOWEVER, both housing does not
allow you stay during the 2 weeks winter break (except for certain
sophomore housing options) and generally all long school breaks. If
you do not have vacation housing, yes, you will have to find
alternative housing during that period. But you do not need to shift
your stuff out of your room until the end of Spring Term, that is,
when your contract ends.

Unless you are on a 11 month plan (not available to freshman as far as
I know), you will not be staying till commencement since your housing
contract will expire by then. There are summer storage options
available, but yes, you have to pack up and unpack when school
starts. You will most definitely not be staying in the same room when
you move on to the second year, because the first year housing are
reserved for first years only.

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

hello emily - to answer your questions:

>Q: However, does that mean that you have to pack up everything in your room?

>A: No you don't have to. You can leave everything in your room until you have to leave for summer.

>Q: Also, what happens after university commencement?

>A: For summer break, you will have to move out even before university commencement - usually you have to move out the day after finals are done, which is about a week before commencement. You don't ship things back to Singapore - you look for seniors with apartments over the summer and put your packed stuff there. It is usually not too much of a problem; it is just a big hassle. And obviously, you have to claim those stuff back when you get back for the fall.

There is commercial storage options available too.

>Q: Do you change a room every year?

>A: Usually you do, unless you are very heng like Joseph Heng and friends - then you would get to stay in the same place for both your sophomore and junior years.

- xiaoyang

[Yun Liu]

thanks for pointing out - i'll update the FAQ on the SSA site to be more explicit regarding this.
to further elaborate - due to the reasons xiaoyang and weizhuang pointed out, i would *HIGHLY RECOMMEND* to everyone who can (meaning, army guys/people who are above age 21 at matriculation) to stay off campus - for all 3 years

advantages of offcampus:
1) it is almost definitely cheaper than on campus housing
2) you get to stay there all 12 months of the year, so you dont have to worry about moving out during breaks
3) you don't *have* to make travel plans that coincide with the dates that you can't stay in dorms
4) moving in/out of dorms in between years is a HUGE hassle
5) other people in your year can stay with you when they can't stay in dorms
6) other people can temporarily store their stuff in your place

disadvantages:
1) the apartments are typically further than campus, but the difference should be <5 minute walking distance.
2) you don't get to experience dorm life with a bunch of crazy (in a good way... mostly) people
3) it is difficult to get an apartment when you aren't physically in baltimore - it is recommended to do pre-summer or come a few weeks in advance if you opt for the offcampus option

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Emily Koo" <emily...@gmail.com>
> To: Hopkins4U <Hopk...@googlegroups.com>

> Subject: [Hopkins4U:465] Re: Questions on just about everything
> Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:41:47 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
>
> I was discussing some JHU stuff with my parents and some questions
> about the housing came up. I couldn't find the exact answers on this
> group (or the SSA website), so I'm just going to ask again in more
> detail.
>
> From what I know, the dorms are closed during the short breaks (or any
> other vacation period, really) and no one without a vacation housing
> can stay in them. However, does that mean that you have to pack up
> everything in your room? When my dad went to NUS, he had to pack up
> everything all the time because the rooms are rented to other people
> for use during breaks. Does that happen in JHU?
>
> Also, what happens after university commencement? Do you have to pack
> up everything, bring them all back to Singapore (or anywhere else) and
> then unpack them again when the school starts in the new dorm? Do you
> change a room every year?
>
> Emily
>
>

[Emily Koo]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

I'm relieved to hear that we don't have to pack and unpack every
break. That's another thing to cross off my (parent's) worry list,
phew! =P

Another thing, regarding the meal plans, do they apply on weekends as
well? Or must we get our own food?

Also, I read something about advisors on the previous page and since I
have a situation with mine as well, I need some advice. I've taken my
A Levels and so I can waive most of the basic courses right? Does that
mean I can, technically, choose sophomore classes and graduate in 3
years? I wanted to take Biochem, which requires a prerequisite course,
but I cannot register for it because my A level results aren't out yet
and I 'haven't' taken any of the prerequisite courses. I really want
to take the Genetics courses which require that Biochem course, so I
wanted to get it out of the way, but my advisor is encouraging me to
'prolong and savour' the experience (of uni life I assume), which,
well, wasn't my point. He didn't really answer my question on whether
or not I can actually take that course, so I've registered for the
programming course to replace it (schedule wise) presently. The
timings clash but I'd rather take Biochem if I could. Also, is organic
chemistry really necessary to reinforce this course? My advisor also
mentioned that they are usually taken together.

I think Bing Shao (?) mentioned something about taking the Biochem
course? Are you a freshman? If so, how did you register for it?

Emily

[Chia Bing Shao]

Hi Emily,

 

Yea I am a freshman. Biochemistry was registered by my advisor after I explained to her about a-star's demand tt we finish in 3 years. We ourselves will have trouble registering biochem... So I guess you just have to email your advisor and explain your plans to finish early and that you have taken your A-levels already. And your advisor said to take both Biochem and Orgo Chem together?! Mine was advising against. >.< What courses are you taking this sem btw?

 

Bing Shao

[Emily Koo]

Hey Bing Shao!

Oh, so you are under the A* Star scholarship? Why do they require you
to finish in 3 years? Btw, when did they notify you?

And yes! My advisor said, and I quote, 'But you would need to be
taking Organic Chemistry at the same time', which well, I'm not
looking forward to because all the organic chem in A levels drove me
nuts. I've explained to him that I've done my A levels already but I
don't know if he actually understood that. I guess I don't NEED to
graduate in 3 years, but that genetics course is so tempting, haha.

I'm taking Intro to Psychology, Intro to Neuroscience, Intro to Java
Programming (I've done programming in VB, but it seems to be obsolete
here), Biology workshop and Gen. Physics for Bio. Sci. Just want to
try out everything and keep my options open, though I think I'll go
for a Bio BS major. What about you?

Emily

On Jul 21, 2:45 am, Chia Bing Shao <chiabings...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Emily,
>
> Yea I am a freshman. Biochemistry was registered by my advisor after I
> explained to her about a-star's demand tt we finish in 3 years. We ourselves
> will have trouble registering biochem... So I guess you just have to email
> your advisor and explain your plans to finish early and that you have taken
> your A-levels already. And your advisor said to take both Biochem and Orgo
> Chem together?! Mine was advising against. >.< What courses are you taking
> this sem btw?
>
> Bing Shao
>

[Emily Koo]

Oh and I forgot to add, I don't know if the courses would be subject
to change. How much does the advisor's review and analysis really
count? Should I start getting the textbooks now or would that be
jumping the gun?

Emily

[dom seow]

Hi Emily, just to clarify some stuff:

The core bio classes that bio majors must take to graduate, on top of upper level bio electives and H/S electives, are:

1. Orgo I (Fall), Orgo II(Spring), Orgo Lab (Whole year, including summer)

2. Biochemistry (Fall), Biochem Lab (Fall/Spring)

3. Cell Biology(Spring), Cell Bio Lab (Fall/Spring)

4. Genetics, Genetics Lab (Both in Fall)

5. Dvpt Bio, Dvpt Bio Lab (Both in Spring)

(I forgot if Genetics lab and D Bio are offered throughout the year, or in the Fall and Spring respectively.)

Normally, freshman begin with the intro level classes and start these core bio classes in the sophomore year. And you must take them in the sequence I have described above. Therefore :

Sophomore Fall:

Orgo I, Orgo lab, Biochem, Biochem lab. (Some choose not to take two labs in the same semester because it can be very taxing, and postpone them)

Sophomore Spring:

Orgo II, (Orgo lab, if not already completed) Cell Biology, Cell Bio Lab

Junior Fall:

Genetics, Genetics Lab

Junior Spring: 

D. Bio, D. Bio Lab (You either take Genetics or D. Bio lab. You don't need to do both).

Senior year: Do whatever you want...

Orgo is a pre-requisite, or at least, a co-requisite of Biochemistry. You have to take Orgo before Biochem, or with Biochem. A Level Chemistry will only give you credit for Intro Chem classes, but not Orgo Chem. You will find that Orgo Chemistry done in A levels is but a small fraction of what is taught in college-level Orgo Chem classes. Orgo will be useful for understanding various mechanisms involved in Biochemistry, and the bio dept hence deems it a pre-req/co-req of Biochem. 

Genetics, which you are interested in, is usually taken in the fall of the Junior year. This is because Biochem and Cell Bio are prereqs for Genetics. You absolutely MUST take Biochem and Cell Bio before you take the class. There are no exceptions to this rule.

For most people who graduate in 3 yrs, they jump straight into the sophomore schedule in their freshman year, and go on with junior year classes in their sophomore year. I plan to finish my undergrad course in 3 years too, but what I did was quite different. 

I took Orgo Chem I & II and Orgo lab in my freshman year WITHOUT Biochemistry/Cell Bio. Hence, next year, in my sophomore year, I will be doing the Biochem/Biochem Lab(Fall), Cell Bio/Cell Bio Lab(Spring) sequence without Orgo Chem. 

My advisor recommended me to go this way because

a) it will still allow me to graduate in 3 yrs, 

b) it will not tax me too much in my freshman year

c) since i am pre-med, most med schools would want to see a biochem grade on my transcript. taking it first sem would not have allowed this, because grades are covered first sem. Grades will not be released, save for special circumstances, and apparently, the school does not release first-semester grades for medical school applications.

d) it will give me more time to explore other interests- which I did. I learnt Japanese here at hopkins in my freshmen year, and I really enjoyed it. I will be continuing it throughout my whole time here.

But taking Orgo Chem and Biochem together is totally do-able and recommended. If you do it this way, you free up time in the junior year. (Unlike poor me, who has to do Genetics/D Bio in my junior year. It's just long, drawn-out pain for me. )

Good luck with class shopping!

-Dominique

[Emily Koo]

Dominique, thank you SO MUCH for that list! I swear, that's like the
only clear-cut info regarding any course/major I've seen. Those word
documents they have for each major lists so many courses it's quite
hard to find a starting point or plan any course structure when you
have no idea how everything works. So thank you for that.

It seems like I'm destined to study for 4 years because Orgo I is full
and I can't register for Biochem, so I guess I'll just drop the whole
discussion with my advisor. That way, I get to explore new things in
freshman year as well, which WAS what I wanted to do in the first
place, choosing JHU over Imperial (where so many of my friends are
going).

Anyway, how are the language courses, since you mentioned it? I took
German in my school (well, HAD to) and dropped it after taking GCSE in
favour of learning at my own pace without exams by listening to German
music etc. because I DO want to learn it, so I'm not sure if the
situation is different in college. Also, is anyone taking any music
lessons? I want to continue having private piano and cello lessons but
the auditions sound intimidating. I have no idea which teacher to
choose as well, so I'm stuck.

Emily

[simon]

Hey Emily,

Just a note on registering for classes. Even though you don't get it
on ISIS, you don't have to worry, because:

1) Alot of people usually drop out, depending on the class it is
(moreso for something like orgo), so you can just go to class anyway
and ask the professer if he/she's willing to sign an add/drop form to
let you into the class, then you can still get in even if the class is
full. If not you've just wasted only one or two of your mornings.

2) Summer school for some of the classes you missed

3) There isn't anything wrong with doing 4 years (cause I'm stuck
doing it too. haha)

I'm not too sure in terms of language classes, but I know that Dom has
a friend (Jenny) who took intro to Jap. You could bribe Dom with
banana bread to get her to ask around.

And as for music, bribe Victor. With vodka or some inebriating
substance of the like.

simon

[Grace Tan]

hi emily,

on language, you have to take a placement test of sorts for them to figure out what your level is, so that you get placed into the appropriate level (ie, beginner, intermediate, advanced). i emailed the head of the japanese language department, and arranged a date to take a written and listening test. unfortunately i never got to take any japanese classes.

grace

2009/7/20 simon <simon...@gmail.com>

[Yun Liu]

sorry to contradict dom, but regarding the pre-reqs...
the profs are usually flexible about pre-reqs if you talk to them... just say that your a levels covered a lot of stuff.. :)
so i had people taking genetics with me that haven't taken biochem/cell bio.... and ppl taking cell bio without biochem (but they did worse )

as far as the 3 -years grad thing and biochem in first sem...
just note that sometimes you want to finish the genetics/d bio *before* junior (last year), so that you have the background necessary to take more advanced bio courses.
you can use non-bio courses to fulfill the upper level electives though (eg. physical chem, probability and statistics etc, where genetics and d bio will not help), so if you plan to do that, go ahead, dom's plan has merits for med school application.

(oh and med schools frown on 3 years / early graduation... but a lot of people do it anyway... one way to stretch it out is to do a (combined) masters afterwards, for your 4th year, or do more research)

--

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[Siah Hong Tan]

Emily,

I took Advanced German in my freshman Fall semester. I really enjoyed the course because we got to learn about Germany's post-WWII development till the end of the Cold War in German. How cool is that? Also, my TA rocked. This was a writing intensive course so we got to do things like film reviews, book reviews, express our opinions on various things..you get the drift. Sometimes it can be a pain to write stuff but all in all, it was definitely one of my favourite courses then. 

Definitely take the placement exam at the Language Learning Lab to find out which level is appropriate for you. If you go to the website at http://www.langlab.jhu.edu/ there should be information on the next sessions of placement tests when school reopens. Otherwise, just pay them a visit (at the Krieger building I think) when you get here.

Also, I took piano lessons at Peabody last fall as well. You don't get to choose a teacher, haha. Basically all Homewood students learn from the same teacher, Mr Corey McVicar. He's a wonderful, excellent teacher, so definitely make use of this opportunity if you can. To register, go to http://www.jhu.edu/advising/music_request.html, fill up the form and send it back to the given address. You should get an email in the first or second week in school requesting that you go for audition. Don't worry, Mr McVicar is really nice and you should not feel intimidated. I am not sure about cello but I think the process is the same as well. 

Hope that helps. :)

Siah Hong

[Victor Li]

On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 10:52 PM, Victor Li <victor...@gmail.com> wrote:

Waaah everyone is giving such long replies.

You really should take lessons at Peabody! The lessons that Homewood students get are "minor" lessons. Peabody has both "major" and "minor" teachers. If you have a faculty member who is contracted to teach "majors" you can still try asking that teacher and auditioning: they may let you in their studio. If not you will be assigned to one of the teachers who is contracted to "minors". They are pretty flexible: I have a friend from Homewood who takes a cello minor with a major teacher. I'm also doing a piano minor with a major teacher: so there is some overlap.

Let me know if you need any help auditioning or with the process or coming down to Peabody itself: a lot of people get lost in it, it is a venerable maze :P

Cheers

Victor

[Emily Koo]

Thanks again guys. There's so much to take in, so I'll just review
this bit by bit. I think I'm finally understanding the whole 'you plan
your own degree' thing in US unis because the system really is
flexible like that.

@Simon - That's good to know (about the add/drop thing). It's
unfortunate though, that it takes up so much credits, if you include
the lab, which makes it 7 in total already. There's not much space
left to try other things. I'd have to drop quite a few courses to make
way for it and I don't know if I want to do that. And of course, I
don't have anything against studying for 4 more years, haha! It's just
that if I can, then why not? =P

@Grace - I was taking the placement test on the website, but it seems
like there's something wrong with it and I couldn't resume it
properly. Anyway, I'll try again later.Why didn't you get to take any
Japanese classes? Too full? Scheduling problems?

@Yun Liu - Hmm... so I guess taking all the prerequisites would still
give a better preparation. No point rushing and skipping over things.
I'm not really aiming to go to med school, though who knows what'll
happen. Are you doing a Bio major as well?

@Siah Hong - Ooh, history sounds interesting! Did it cover the fall of
the wall and such? Btw, the syllabus would vary depending on the
teacher, right? I don't think I'll do that well in a writing intensive
German course but I would like to try. Must you major/minor in a
language course if you take it? And thanks for the form. I've seen it
before but I think I was confused at the 'instructor' part. Do I fill
in Mr Corey McVicar then?

@Victor - I would love to take lessons there. Can they be taken as an
ECA or must they be part of a major/minor, with credits and all that?
I don't know if I have enough free credits left, haha. How does the
audition go anyway? Do you just bring any piece with you and play it
for them? Also, how is it different from private lessons outside of
school? Can you study for diplomas? One last thing, are you in the
orchestra? I loved being in the orchestra in my school but I think
I'll need to brush up on my cello first. I'm just a beginner and I've
stopped for a long while because I couldn't find a teacher near where
I lived.

Thanks again!
Emily

On Jul 21, 10:53 am, Victor Li <melchizedekofsa...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 10:52 PM, Victor Li <victoryuse...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Waaah everyone is giving such long replies.
>
> > You really should take lessons at Peabody! The lessons that Homewood
> > students get are "minor" lessons. Peabody has both "major" and "minor"
> > teachers. If you have a faculty member who is contracted to teach "majors"
> > you can still try asking that teacher and auditioning: they may let you in
> > their studio. If not you will be assigned to one of the teachers who is
> > contracted to "minors". They are pretty flexible: I have a friend from
> > Homewood who takes a cello minor with a major teacher. I'm also doing a
> > piano minor with a major teacher: so there is some overlap.
>
> > Let me know if you need any help auditioning or with the process or coming
> > down to Peabody itself: a lot of people get lost in it, it is a venerable
> > maze :P
>
> > Cheers
>
> > Victor
>

> > On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 9:46 PM, Siah Hong Tan <siahh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> Emily,
>
> >> I took Advanced German in my freshman Fall semester. I really enjoyed the
> >> course because we got to learn about Germany's post-WWII development till
> >> the end of the Cold War in German. How cool is that? Also, my TA rocked.
> >> This was a writing intensive course so we got to do things like film
> >> reviews, book reviews, express our opinions on various things..you get the
> >> drift. Sometimes it can be a pain to write stuff but all in all, it was
> >> definitely one of my favourite courses then.
>
> >> Definitely take the placement exam at the Language Learning Lab to find
> >> out which level is appropriate for you. If you go to the website at

> >>http://www.langlab.jhu.edu/there should be information on the next

> >> sessions of placement tests when school reopens. Otherwise, just pay them a
> >> visit (at the Krieger building I think) when you get here.
>
> >> Also, I took piano lessons at Peabody last fall as well. You don't get to
> >> choose a teacher, haha. Basically all Homewood students learn from the same
> >> teacher, Mr Corey McVicar. He's a wonderful, excellent teacher, so
> >> definitely make use of this opportunity if you can. To register, go to
> >>http://www.jhu.edu/advising/music_request.html, fill up the form and send
> >> it back to the given address. You should get an email in the first or second
> >> week in school requesting that you go for audition. Don't worry, Mr McVicar
> >> is really nice and you should not feel intimidated. I am not sure about
> >> cello but I think the process is the same as well.
>
> >> Hope that helps. :)
>
> >> Siah Hong
>

> >> On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 6:21 AM, Grace Tan <graceta...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >>> hi emily,
>
> >>> on language, you have to take a placement test of sorts for them to
> >>> figure out what your level is, so that you get placed into the appropriate
> >>> level (ie, beginner, intermediate, advanced). i emailed the head of the
> >>> japanese language department, and arranged a date to take a written and
> >>> listening test. unfortunately i never got to take any japanese classes.
>
> >>> grace
>

> >>> 2009/7/20 simon <simonli...@gmail.com>

> ...
>
> read more »

[Emily Koo]

> On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 10:52 PM, Victor Li <victoryuse...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Waaah everyone is giving such long replies.
>
> > You really should take lessons at Peabody! The lessons that Homewood
> > students get are "minor" lessons. Peabody has both "major" and "minor"
> > teachers. If you have a faculty member who is contracted to teach "majors"
> > you can still try asking that teacher and auditioning: they may let you in
> > their studio. If not you will be assigned to one of the teachers who is
> > contracted to "minors". They are pretty flexible: I have a friend from
> > Homewood who takes a cello minor with a major teacher. I'm also doing a
> > piano minor with a major teacher: so there is some overlap.
>
> > Let me know if you need any help auditioning or with the process or coming
> > down to Peabody itself: a lot of people get lost in it, it is a venerable
> > maze :P
>
> > Cheers
>
> > Victor
>

> > On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 9:46 PM, Siah Hong Tan <siahh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> Emily,
>
> >> I took Advanced German in my freshman Fall semester. I really enjoyed the
> >> course because we got to learn about Germany's post-WWII development till
> >> the end of the Cold War in German. How cool is that? Also, my TA rocked.
> >> This was a writing intensive course so we got to do things like film
> >> reviews, book reviews, express our opinions on various things..you get the
> >> drift. Sometimes it can be a pain to write stuff but all in all, it was
> >> definitely one of my favourite courses then.
>
> >> Definitely take the placement exam at the Language Learning Lab to find
> >> out which level is appropriate for you. If you go to the website at

> >>http://www.langlab.jhu.edu/there should be information on the next

> >> sessions of placement tests when school reopens. Otherwise, just pay them a
> >> visit (at the Krieger building I think) when you get here.
>
> >> Also, I took piano lessons at Peabody last fall as well. You don't get to
> >> choose a teacher, haha. Basically all Homewood students learn from the same
> >> teacher, Mr Corey McVicar. He's a wonderful, excellent teacher, so
> >> definitely make use of this opportunity if you can. To register, go to
> >>http://www.jhu.edu/advising/music_request.html, fill up the form and send
> >> it back to the given address. You should get an email in the first or second
> >> week in school requesting that you go for audition. Don't worry, Mr McVicar
> >> is really nice and you should not feel intimidated. I am not sure about
> >> cello but I think the process is the same as well.
>
> >> Hope that helps. :)
>
> >> Siah Hong
>

> >> On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 6:21 AM, Grace Tan <graceta...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >>> hi emily,
>
> >>> on language, you have to take a placement test of sorts for them to
> >>> figure out what your level is, so that you get placed into the appropriate
> >>> level (ie, beginner, intermediate, advanced). i emailed the head of the
> >>> japanese language department, and arranged a date to take a written and
> >>> listening test. unfortunately i never got to take any japanese classes.
>
> >>> grace
>

> >>> 2009/7/20 simon <simonli...@gmail.com>

> ...
>
> read more »

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

>emily:

i took intro german over my junior year. except for the amount of work it was a fun experience - the teachers are really nice, and every effort is made to make the lessons interesting. i am not very sure about any class more difficult than that, but i heard that the german department (and french too) in hopkins is pretty good.

christopher neoh (who unfortunately is always hiding from here) took jap too...

>bingshao:

expos is likely to be hard - you really should take it in your first sem. not too sure about intro psych - but i have heard that it is not a free A. on the other hand, orgo lab is likely to be a free A, unless you study only for 2 hours before the exam...

haha and yes i remember the horror about the clicker but i didn't know the second half of the story... :P

AND if prof. principe decides to not have fun in europe and teach a class with the history of science department, i would strongly recommend it. AND i bet prof. leslie from history of science MUST be teaching something too... haha if you take their classes, you might just decide to double major in HSMT like me :P

- xiaoyang

[Yun Liu]

@xy - chris isn't in this group, that's why he doesn't reply... he wasn't invited because he applied to jhu as a malaysian...

christopher has taken japanese for 4 semesters in jhu, so he'd be the person to ask regarding jap...
he also audited korean for 2 sems and learnt some spanish for our trip to mexico, and is doing a business/entrepreneurship minor with a BME major.
(look him up when you get to jhu if you're interested in that)

@emily - i'm a bio and comp sci dbl major who's doing a bunch of physics, chemistry, biophysics, and some applied math courses...
i took jap because you need 2 semesters of foreign language for the BA in com sci, but stopped after 1 semester because i discovered that i only needed to take a language placement exam to waive that requirement. I was also taking way too many credits in my 2nd sem and japanese didn't seem like a good idea.

to add on, dr. principe has 2 phd's: organic chemistry and history of science and tech. (so its the same guy we're talking about for both departments)
he is also one of the best *teachers* in jhu. (i'm refering to the quality of his teaching here)

as for why japanese and other languages courses are a problem...

they take up a whole hour (slot) at the *same* time every single day (for beginning)
however sometimes the teachers allow you to attend a different slot for each day if you have a scheduling conflict
even so, it places restrictions on the other courses you can take. if it clashes with a core requirement for example, and it is essential that you be physically present for the other course (for example, a small class of <20 people), then you'd probably drop japanese...

regarding placement tests, you don't have to take them - i never took the math placement although it is supposed to be mandatory

(the book read for incoming freshman and the alcohol course thing aren't really important either)

--

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[Siah Hong Tan]

Emily,

According to ISIS, the syllabus for Advanced German hasn't changed this year so I assume it would be the same. Yes, the fall of the wall is covered (it is in fact one of the last topics of the syllabus). I highly recommend the course because it gives you a W and H credit AND is a level 300 course, which is required for most majors. Your grades are covered so you shouldn't worry about not doing well for the course. Also, you don't have to minor nor major in a language to take its courses.

As for the Peabody form, you can basically fill in any instructor's name and you will still most definitely get Mr McVicar, unless they add another teacher in because of his busy schedule. Just for laughs, I filled in Leon Fleisher. I am not aware of contacting piano "major" teachers directly but you can most definitely try if you want to. You should prepare two contrasting works for the audition. There might be sight reading and scales too.

Siah Hong

[JiaJun Chia]

Since we're on the topic of music classes, how does cross-registration with Peabody work? I sent in the Initial Enrollment form and listed the courses that I might want to take at Peabody. When the time comes, do I just sign up for the courses through ISIS or is there a certain way of doing it?

Thanks! 

Jia Jun

--
JiaJun Chia

[Victor Li]

On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 8:18 PM, Victor Li <victor...@gmail.com> wrote:

Heh very long since I've seen the words "ECA". I believe minor lessons are 1 credit, and they don't really count towards your credit limit (As in ur advisor will just waive the credit limit for you) so it shouldn't be a problem. Just prepare some pieces, maybe some scales and arpeggios whatever: the average standard here is not as high as in SG so they are not very demanding. Just be prepared and you should be okay. Um.. music diplomas are a UK thing: most ppl in the US haven't heard of them. You can do a music minor (which is a actual subject minor, not just an instrument minor). Hope I'm not confusing you.

I'm not in the Orchestra but I sing in the chorus. Peabody has 2 orchestras and Hopkins has 1. The Peabody orchestras are intense and meet very very often so you probably will not want to join them (unless you are really really enthu about spending about 12 hours a week in orchestra rehearsal). The Hopkins orchestra is pretty good as well: they have interesting programming. You should certainly try out auditioning for them.

For inter divisional enrollment you need to physically fill up a form, get the requisite signatures, and submit it to the Registrar at Garland Hall: look for Jane Gallergher if you need any help, she is a genuine angel. You can't sign up through ISIS: the whole interdivisional system is pretty screwed up: I still have classes from Spring that have not shown up on my ISIS!

Hope this helps

Victor

[Emily Koo]

@xiaoyang - I think I might want to take German now. Can you take it
in Spring? Or is it better to do it for two semesters straight?

@Yun Liu - Bio/Comp Sci double major sounds like something I'd want to
do, but I think only either for software engineering (nothing to do
with Bio) or as a precursor to Biomimetics. How do they complement
each other for you? Also, what do you mean that taking a language
placement exam waives the requirement? Just taking that online test is
sufficient?

@Siah Hong - The content for Advanced German sounds great, but I don't
know how I would cope with a writing intensive course... in German!
The placement test states that I'm on an intermediate level, so I'd
probably be falling behind? I guess I'll try it and see how it goes.
The audition sounds like the piano exam. O.O Thank god there are no
aurals, haha. I was so nervous in my grade 8 exam that I'm still
surprised I passed.

@Victor - Yes, I get it, thanks. Also, do you have to be good at an
instrument before they give you a placement? So people cannot take up
new instruments? About the form, it seems like the Interdivisional
Registration Form would be completed by the Office of Academic
Advising for you? (http://www.jhu.edu/advising/music_incoming.html) Or
is it a different thing?

Thanks,
Emily

On Jul 22, 8:19 am, Victor Li <melchizedekofsa...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 8:18 PM, Victor Li <victoryuse...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Heh very long since I've seen the words "ECA". I believe minor lessons are
> > 1 credit, and they don't really count towards your credit limit (As in ur
> > advisor will just waive the credit limit for you) so it shouldn't be a
> > problem. Just prepare some pieces, maybe some scales and arpeggios whatever:
> > the average standard here is not as high as in SG so they are not very
> > demanding. Just be prepared and you should be okay. Um.. music diplomas are
> > a UK thing: most ppl in the US haven't heard of them. You can do a music
> > minor (which is a actual subject minor, not just an instrument minor). Hope
> > I'm not confusing you.
>
> > I'm not in the Orchestra but I sing in the chorus. Peabody has 2 orchestras
> > and Hopkins has 1. The Peabody orchestras are intense and meet very very
> > often so you probably will not want to join them (unless you are really
> > really enthu about spending about 12 hours a week in orchestra rehearsal).
> > The Hopkins orchestra is pretty good as well: they have interesting
> > programming. You should certainly try out auditioning for them.
>
> > For inter divisional enrollment you need to physically fill up a form, get
> > the requisite signatures, and submit it to the Registrar at Garland Hall:
> > look for Jane Gallergher if you need any help, she is a genuine angel. You
> > can't sign up through ISIS: the whole interdivisional system is pretty
> > screwed up: I still have classes from Spring that have not shown up on my
> > ISIS!
>
> > Hope this helps
>
> > Victor
>

> > On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 10:14 AM, JiaJun Chia <chiajiajun...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> >> Since we're on the topic of music classes, how does cross-registration
> >> with Peabody work? I sent in the Initial Enrollment form and listed the
> >> courses that I might want to take at Peabody. When the time comes, do I just
> >> sign up for the courses through ISIS or is there a certain way of doing it?
> >> Thanks!
> >> Jia Jun
>

> >> On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 10:11 PM, Siah Hong Tan <siahh...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> >>> Emily,
>
> >>> According to ISIS, the syllabus for Advanced German hasn't changed this
> >>> year so I assume it would be the same. Yes, the fall of the wall is covered
> >>> (it is in fact one of the last topics of the syllabus). I highly recommend
> >>> the course because it gives you a W and H credit AND is a level 300 course,
> >>> which is required for most majors. Your grades are covered so you shouldn't
> >>> worry about not doing well for the course. Also, you don't have to minor nor
> >>> major in a language to take its courses.
>
> >>> As for the Peabody form, you can basically fill in any instructor's name
> >>> and you will still most definitely get Mr McVicar, unless they add another
> >>> teacher in because of his busy schedule. Just for laughs, I filled in Leon
> >>> Fleisher. I am not aware of contacting piano "major" teachers directly but
> >>> you can most definitely try if you want to. You should prepare two
> >>> contrasting works for the audition. There might be sight reading and scales
> >>> too.
>
> >>> Siah Hong
>

> >>> On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 5:58 PM, Hiu Yeung Lau <xiaoyan...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> >>>> >emily:
>
> >>>> i took intro german over my junior year. except for the amount of work
> >>>> it was a fun experience - the teachers are really nice, and every effort is
> >>>> made to make the lessons interesting. i am not very sure about any class
> >>>> more difficult than that, but i heard that the german department (and french
> >>>> too) in hopkins is pretty good.
>
> >>>> christopher neoh (who unfortunately is always hiding from here) took jap
> >>>> too...
>
> >>>> >bingshao:
>
> >>>> expos is likely to be hard - you really should take it in your first
> >>>> sem. not too sure about intro psych - but i have heard that it is not a free
> >>>> A. on the other hand, orgo lab is likely to be a free A, unless you study
> >>>> only for 2 hours before the exam...
>
> >>>> haha and yes i remember the horror about the clicker but i didn't know
> >>>> the second half of the story... :P
>
> >>>> AND if prof. principe decides to not have fun in europe and teach a
> >>>> class with the history of science department, i would strongly recommend it.
> >>>> AND i bet prof. leslie from history of science MUST be teaching something
> >>>> too... haha if you take their classes, you might just decide to double major
> >>>> in HSMT like me :P
>
> >>>> - xiaoyang
>

> >>>>> > >>http://www.langlab.jhu.edu/thereshould be information on the next

> >>>>> > >> sessions of placement tests when school reopens. Otherwise, just
> >>>>> pay them a
> >>>>> > >> visit (at the Krieger building I think) when you get here.
>
> >>>>> > >> Also, I took piano lessons at Peabody last fall as well. You don't
> >>>>> get to
> >>>>> > >> choose a teacher, haha. Basically all Homewood students learn from
> >>>>> the same
> >>>>> > >> teacher, Mr Corey McVicar. He's a wonderful, excellent teacher, so
> >>>>> > >> definitely make use of this opportunity if you can. To register,
> >>>>> go to
>

> ...
>
> read more »

[Yun Liu]

hi emily,
perhaps computer engineering (electrical and computer engineering dept - I think CE is just a "focus" in that department - both EE and CE are the same major) would be more appropriate for Biomimetics.
personally i'm doing CS as a supporting skill for computational biology. the "core theory" would be in applied math (machine learning), physics & chemistry (thermodynamics), and of course biology (general knowledge).
i chose CS and bio instead of applied math/physics/chemistry/any other combination because:

1. bio is jhu's strength and it looks better on transcript :P
2. bio and cs both have very few/flexible requirements, so i can use the other phy/chem courses to fulfil the bio requirements for example.
3. my scholarship agency requires something bio-related and i didn't feel like getting permission to change
4. CS has *much* better job prospects (i don't like wet lab)

in terms of course content, *very* few courses require skill sets from both CS and bio...
the major ones would be:
1. foundations of computational biology and bioinformatics (graduate level CS/BME course - teaches you about machine learning algorithms as applied to comp. bio - assumes that you have grounding in statistics and biochemistry/genetics/general biology)
2. computational biology (biophysics upper level undergraduate course - teaches you about general skills associated with comp. bio such as *some* programming in python, UNIX system commands etc... this course assumes no prior background, and starts from scratch. it is an easy course, but if you put in the effort, the instructor is glad to teach you from the what he has put on the syllabus)
3. some bioinformatics course in the applied math dept. it has not been offered in the past few semesters so I don't know much about it. it is supposed to apply probability and statistical theory to genomic data.

so to answer your question, no, the majors do not complement each other very well because jhu does not offer courses that pull together both fields. the advantage however, is that I am able to learn skill sets from both areas, which are totally different ways of thinking, which I hope will prove to be an advantage later on

regarding the language test -
the placement tests online serve to tell you which level you should start off at. the purpose of the test I took however is to waive a language requirement. basically i emailed a professor in the chinese dept and met with the professor. we conversed in mandarin and she asked me to read a passage. (basically if you are able to converse fluently about varied topics with preparation, you are beyond the advanced level in most languages)
the professor then sent an email to the CS dept, which waived the BA in CS requirement for 6 credits of foreign language.
the only other major that i am aware of that requires foreign language(s) is international relations.

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Emily Koo" <emily...@gmail.com>
> To: Hopkins4U <Hopk...@googlegroups.com>

[Katherine Tan]

Hi all!

I thought of enrolling in the Japanese class for my first semester
(although I've never taken any formal Japanese classes). It's 4.5
credit hours, and I think it's the reason my advisor said my schedule
is "demanding". :/

@Emily, I wanted to take music lessons in Peabody too. But I've zero
experience in the instruments I want to learn (harp and saxophone).
What instruments are you looking forward to learning?

And, we freshmen are "required" to participate in a summer reading
assignment. But it's sorta impossible because we'll have to get the
physical book shipped over here. :/ Heard that it's not really
required to read the book.

@Yun Liu, what scholarship are you under?

[Joseph Heng]

Hey Katherine - if you don't want to participate in the summer reading, then don't. Skip it. The book will be a waste of your money and physical space.

Yun is under an A* scholarship.

As for Peabody lessons, even if you have zero experience, but want to start from scratch, you can take lessons at Peabody Preparatory. See http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/preparatory

Joseph

[Yun Liu]

hi katherine,

there's a rule stating that if a foreign language causes you to rise above your credit limit as a freshman, you can be exempted from the limit.
(however strictly speaking that rule only applies if (1) foreign language is X.5 credits, and (2) the .5 is the 'excess', but most advisers should let you 'overload')

if it is really too much and you just want to 'try it out', there's a "slow paced beginning japanese I", which comes in 4 parts.
however parts III and IV are not always offered. this option is only 3 credits, and the timing is for parts II through IV are flexible (just talk to the professor and she will see what time fits everyone's schedules)
the syllabi for slow paced I thru IV corresponds to that of beginning I and II, so you can continue to take intermediate after slow paced part IV, OR continue to take regular beginning part II after taking part II of slow paced.

as far as the work load is concerned, all languages have quizzes every few classes (so for a 5day class like regular beginning japanese, expect quizzes upwards of twice a week). however the syllabi should be really simple - you learn less than 50 kanji by the end of beginning part II or slow paced part IV, and you don't even finish all the hiragana/katakana by the end of beginning part I.
if you're willing to spend say... 1 week memorising the hiragana and katakana beforehand, the class should be a breeze. (its not too difficult to begin with)

specifically for japanese, you will be memorising mock conversations to prepare for each class, and the homework will include alphabet-writing exercises, reading assignments and memorising vocabulary for quizzes.

the freshman book read is "mandatory" and you will have "mandatory" book discussion sessions. I just skipped those in my year because I didn't read the book. (nothing bad will happen if you don't read it... a lot of people don't, plus sometimes its really difficult to source for the book if you are not in UK or US - amazon is available there.)
however if you *REALLY* want to read the book and you *HAVE* to get it *NOW*, then you can always approach kinokuniya - they will source for the book for it, get it delivered to their store and you can pick it up there :)

as for your question, i'm under a*star

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Katherine Tan" <sapphireli...@gmail.com>
> To: Hopkins4U <Hopk...@googlegroups.com>

> Subject: [Hopkins4U:508] Re: Questions on just about everything
> Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:11:20 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
>
> Hi all!
>
> I thought of enrolling in the Japanese class for my first semester
> (although I've never taken any formal Japanese classes). It's 4.5
> credit hours, and I think it's the reason my advisor said my schedule
> is "demanding". :/
>
> @Emily, I wanted to take music lessons in Peabody too. But I've zero
> experience in the instruments I want to learn (harp and saxophone).
> What instruments are you looking forward to learning?
>
> And, we freshmen are "required" to participate in a summer reading
> assignment. But it's sorta impossible because we'll have to get the
> physical book shipped over here. :/ Heard that it's not really
> required to read the book.
>
> @Yun Liu, what scholarship are you under?
>
>

[Emily Koo]

@Yun Liu - Thank you for all the explanations. I've looked through the
CS, CE and ChemBE courses in more detail the last few days and I think
I'm going to go with ChemBE, as opposed to following through with
Biology. I agree that studying two fairly different courses would
provide a wider variety of skill sets that would be useful later on
though, so I'm going to explore and see if there's anything I'd like
to double-major in later on if I want.

@Katherine - I want to continue advancing my cello skills because I
stopped for a long time after I passed grade 3. For my piano, I've
passed grade 8, so I just want to keep practising to keep my standards
up. =)

Emily

On Jul 24, 12:11 pm, Katherine Tan <sapphirelittledra...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Katherine Tan]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

@Joseph: I've checked out the preparatory website. Seems really cool.
And I can learn the harp there :)

@Yun Liu: Thanks for the thorough explanation of Japanese classes
there. Did you take the class too? I'd still probably try out the
class during the first semester. How is the A* scholarship like?

Guess I won't go through the trouble of getting the book, since many
internationals are not. ;)

@Emily: Cool, cello. Haha, I just finished Grade 8 piano too. =P

Besides that, I have some questions regarding housing etc:

1. I am getting bedsheets. But I heard that the beds there are
*larger*? How big are the beds? Is it advisable to get bedsheets over
there or here?

2. Can I know a sample "packing list"? Coz I just seem so lost when it
comes to packing. I just know that I'm allowed to bring 2 luggage,
each not more than 23 kg for check-in.

3. Is internet provided in the dorms? FOC or by subscription?

Also, another question about mobile phones and phone numbers: What are
the providers there? And is it advisable to bring our phones there? Or
get a new one there?

Thanks a lot!

Kath

[Emily Koo]

@Katherine: I've found this really useful page for packing list. Much
more comprehensive than the one provided officially.
http://freshmanchecklist.com/schools/johns-hopkins-freshman-checklist.html

Also, and since we are on the topic of personal items, I was wondering
if the laundromats there are coin-operated. I was advised by some
college students to bring lots of quarters for that purpose, but I
wasn't sure if that's the case at JHU. Are there stands for us to hang
our laundry to dry or are there dryers there as well? Also, do they
have shared kitchens on each floor at Wolman/McCoy? And are they
equipped with electric water boilers?

Thanks,
Emily

On Jul 27, 12:49 am, Katherine Tan <sapphirelittledra...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Grace Tan]

1. the beds are only very slightly longer, probably 5cm or so. you can buy them here if you are trying to figure out luggage space. actually, i will be looking to give away my sheets in september also ... if anyone would be willing to take them.

2. internet is available in the dorms. ethernet, so bring a cable! the charges have already been included in your housing.

3. you can bring your own phones if it is a dual band phone (or quad band?) the frequency used in america is different, so be sure to check that your phone will work. the providers here are verizon, t-mobile, spring, at&t ... a few of the singaporeans are on a family subscription plan, where 4 people are given 1000 call minutes or something. i am using t-mobile's pay-as-you-go plan, which is like the prepaid cards you get in singapore. i prefer it because i don't have to pay for the months that i am in singapore.

4. you pay for your laundry using your jcard. freshmen will be issued a jcard once you get here, where you can add money and use it for food or laundry. there are dryers. there are no stands to hang laundry

5. each suite in wolman/mccoy has a kitchen. there are no electric water boilers. you have to bring your own.

2009/7/26 Emily Koo <emily...@gmail.com>

[Nicholas Tan]

You don't need to bring a cable. Housing will issue a cable to you FOC.

[Katherine Tan]

@Emily: A very comprehensive guide indeed! Oh, are you requesting
Wolman too? :)

@Grace: Can I possibly get some sheets from you too? :) ethernet. No
wifi there? >.<

And, I wonder if anyone is selling/giving away printers?

Also, are pillows provided there? Or, where do we get them? Pillows
are really bulky to bring along.

Did any of you brought electrical boilers there?

Thanks!

[Emily Koo]

@Katherine - Yup, Wolman was my first choice. McCoy is second. =) I'm
assuming that you haven't been notified of your hall of residence or
room mate yet (if you are rooming with someone)? I haven't received
anything yet, which I think is a bit late because we should confer
with the room mate about who should bring the major appliances. I also
haven't received the I-20 forms and I'm getting worried. I hope I
don't have to use the Student Shipping for the visa forms because it's
really expensive! =P

Emily

On Jul 27, 5:56 pm, Katherine Tan <sapphirelittledra...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Victor Li]

On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 9:06 AM, Victor Li <victor...@gmail.com> wrote:

For some reason the International Students Office at JHU is really inefficient. I got my I-20 really late too, and that's even I specially wrote to them to ask them to expedite it as I had to come to the States earlier in July last year to join my family! Once you get it the process of getting a visa is really fast though (for Singaporeans) so if you're only coming over in September you really shouldn't have anything to worry about

[Joseph Heng]

Emily - I think you should contact the office soon. Many of my international friends got it back in June/July. By the end of July, I still had not received my I-20, and when I went to check with the international office, they had no record of my admission and thus did not know that I was an incoming freshman.

And it turned out that the admissions office did not send them any information about me, because they had no record of me (I think they lost it), save for an acceptance letter they issued to me. I had to send them the whole portfolio of my documents again, and then they had to pass it on to the international office who could then do the I-20 forms and send it to me.

By the time the whole visa process was completed, there were only a few days left before I had to fly here!

Joseph

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

i have a similar story. yes you really should call them and start bugging them.

- xiaoyang

[Emily Koo]

Wow, this has happened so many times and yet they still do nothing to
rectify it? They give no information at all regarding that and it's up
to us to look up on all these things we have no idea about. Seriously.
Is there nothing else I should do until I get my I-20 form?

Also, do any of you know who I should contact? The facebook group
suggested thew...@jhu.edu, but I had sent them an email about this
back in May and still had not received a reply. I just sent another
one yesterday but I don't know if I will get a reply soon enough.
Should I contact Debbie Riley instead?

Thanks a lot,
Emily

On Jul 28, 10:05 pm, Hiu Yeung Lau <xiaoyan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> i have a similar story. yes you really should call them and start bugging
> them.
>
> - xiaoyang
>

> On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 9:49 PM, Joseph Heng <lamero...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Emily - I think you should contact the office soon. Many of my
> > international friends got it back in June/July. By the end of July, I still
> > had not received my I-20, and when I went to check with the international
> > office, they had no record of my admission and thus did not know that I was
> > an incoming freshman.
>
> > And it turned out that the admissions office did not send them any
> > information about me, because they had no record of me (I think they lost
> > it), save for an acceptance letter they issued to me. I had to send them the
> > whole portfolio of my documents again, and then they had to pass it on to
> > the international office who could then do the I-20 forms and send it to me.
>
> > By the time the whole visa process was completed, there were only a few
> > days left before I had to fly here!
>
> > Joseph
>

> > On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 9:18 AM, Victor Li <melchizedekofsa...@gmail.com>wrote:

>
> >> On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 9:06 AM, Victor Li <victoryuse...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> >>> For some reason the International Students Office at JHU is really
> >>> inefficient. I got my I-20 really late too, and that's even I specially
> >>> wrote to them to ask them to expedite it as I had to come to the States
> >>> earlier in July last year to join my family! Once you get it the process of
> >>> getting a visa is really fast though (for Singaporeans) so if you're only
> >>> coming over in September you really shouldn't have anything to worry about
>

[Grace Tan]

i think the best would be to call them.

2009/7/28 Emily Koo <emily...@gmail.com>

[Hiu Yeung Lau]

call the office number (they should have a general number for you), sound distressed and be slightly pushy about it. if not - it will never get done. if your I-20 doesn't get here on time - that is the worst thing that can ever happen to an international student.

[yee qing xiang]

Hello there. First post in a long time.

>>Emily:
Please call them. I received mine way back in May this year. Applied for visa in June.

I'm actually having problems with housing deposit. My cashier's order didn't clear and I'm rather scared that I won't get the housing I want.
Have asked my bank to investigate but not sure what the outcome is yet.

Cheers
QX

---

Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:02:22 -0400
Subject: [Hopkins4U:532] Re: Questions on just about everything
From: grace...@gmail.com
To: Hopk...@googlegroups.com

---

Share your memories online with anyone you want anyone you want.

[JiaJun Chia]

Yeah, call them. The number is on the OISSS website (I can't access it now because my internet refuses to cooperate).

Be prepared to get redirected to their voicemail at least 10 times before you'll get to speak to a real person. I emailed thew...@jhu.edu but I settled the issue with them over the phone before I got an email reply from them.

--
JiaJun Chia

[Emily Koo]

Ok, I'm getting very worried now. I'd give them a call tomorrow.

@QX - My dad said that none of the cheques sent to JHU were cleared
too. We then got an email saying that there were not enough funds in
the account even though there were plenty, so I have no idea what's
going on. In the end, we had to wire the money through to them with
extra surcharges.

I just sent a bank draft for the fall semester today, so hopefully
that'll be okay.

Emily

On Jul 29, 12:06 am, yee qing xiang <qx...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hello there. First post in a long time.
>
> >>Emily:
>
> Please call them. I received mine way back in May this year. Applied for visa in June.
>
> I'm actually having problems with housing deposit. My cashier's order didn't clear and I'm rather scared that I won't get the housing I want.
> Have asked my bank to investigate but not sure what the outcome is yet.
>
> Cheers
> QX
>

> Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:02:22 -0400
> Subject: [Hopkins4U:532] Re: Questions on just about everything

> From: graceta...@gmail.com

> To: Hopk...@googlegroups.com
>
> i think the best would be to call them.
>

> 2009/7/28 Emily Koo <emilyko...@gmail.com>

>
> Wow, this has happened so many times and yet they still do nothing to
>
> rectify it? They give no information at all regarding that and it's up
>
> to us to look up on all these things we have no idea about. Seriously.
>
> Is there nothing else I should do until I get my I-20 form?
>
> Also, do any of you know who I should contact? The facebook group
>

> suggested thewo...@jhu.edu, but I had sent them an email about this

> _________________________________________________________________
> Share your memories online with anyone you want.http://www.microsoft.com/singapore/windows/windowslive/products/photo...

[JiaJun Chia]

were they singapore cheques?

--
JiaJun Chia

[yee qing xiang]

@Emily:Actually mine was a demand draft.
POSB called today and told me that my problem was due to the staff typing in the serial number wrongly o.O
Anyway I'll be wiring the money over to JHU and doing stop-payment order for my demand draft.
The details are here fyi if you choose to send the money by wire.

Wire Transfer:
M&T Bank (account #970370230 with ABA/Routing #022-000-046).
The address for wires:
Johns Hopkins University
C/O. M&T Bank
One M&T Plaza
Buffalo, NY 14203.
Please include student's name on all wire transfers.
The Swift Code for oversea wires is MANTUS33INT.

Hope this helps ^_^

Cheers
QX


> Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:08:05 +0800
> Subject: [Hopkins4U:537] Re: Questions on just about everything
> From: chiaji...@gmail.com
> To: Hopk...@googlegroups.com

>
>
> were they singapore cheques?
>
> On 7/29/09, Emily Koo <emily...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Ok, I'm getting very worried now. I'd give them a call tomorrow.
> >
> > @QX - My dad said that none of the cheques sent to JHU were cleared
> > too. We then got an email saying that there were not enough funds in
> > the account even though there were plenty, so I have no idea what's
> > going on. In the end, we had to wire the money through to them with
> > extra surcharges.
> >
> > I just sent a bank draft for the fall semester today, so hopefully
> > that'll be okay.
> >
> > Emily
> >

[JiaJun Chia]

Oh, this is for the fall semester bill.. right?

--
JiaJun Chia

[Grace Tan]

if it is for the fall semester bill, the latest you have to pay is the 2nd week of school, so if it is more convenient, you can pay it only when you get here. don't worry about the 'due by' dates that they give you.

grace

2009/7/29 JiaJun Chia <chiaji...@gmail.com>