Taking a Summer Class at Hopkins

Summers between school years are a great time to do anything from chilling out, a part-time job, a cool internship, taking a summer class, learning to cook something new, or just trying something fun that you wouldn't normally have time to do.

This Summer, I've been taking Elements of Macroeconomics. Because it's a summer class, the class size isn't as big and we cover a whole semester's worth of material in just five weeks.

My class is in Gilman Hall, technically the oldest and one of the newest buildings on campus. Gilman Hall was the first building on the Homewood Campus. Originally built in 1915, Gilman Hall underwent a three-year renovation that was completed in 2010, completely modernizing the building, yet keeping its character intact.
Check out 95 Scenes of Gilman Hall



The lecture room where Macro takes place this term, located right under the Hutzler Reading Room.

Gilman Hall is home to so many resources for Hopkins students, like the Hutzler Reading Room (aka The Hut) where you can study, go to the writing center for help on a paper, or to the Learning Den for group tutoring.

The Gilman Atrium, my favorite part of the building. There's space to study, and a coffee shop to get a drink and some snacks.

My Discover Hopkins class back in 2011 was in Room 400, the classroom that provides access to the clock tower.


Couldn't quite get up to the top of the tower, but it's still a good view



 While some people might not want to come right back to school after finals, there are definitely a lot of pros (and some cons) to taking Summer courses.

Pros:

• Small Class Size: Instead of having a big lecture, then TA sections to ask questions later, you can just ask the instructor during class
• Taking Fewer Classes at a Time: You can really focus on 1 or 2 classes instead of the usual 4-6 during the Fall or Spring. It's the perfect time to take a harder required class (i.e. Organic Chemisty) or something just for fun (there's a ton of courses to choose from in the Humanities, Film and Media Studies, Psychology, and many other departments)
• Cost: For undergrads, based on the tuition we pay during the school year, taking summer classes is less expensive. There's even the potential to get financial aid for the summer based upon the previous year's application.
• Free Time: Although I'm taking a class and studying, I still have time for my job at Summer Programs, explore Baltimore, experiment with cooking new foods, and chilling out with friends.

Con:

• A Summer Term is Only 5 Weeks Long: Because we need to cover 15 weeks of material in 5 weeks, each lecture is packed with information and you really need to pay attention and study to stay caught up.

And So It Begins...

So after spending a week at home to unwind with my family, I've come back to Baltimore to get back to work in the Summer Programs Office and take Elements of Macroeconomics in Term I. Now, while Macroeconomics is not required for my major, the reason I'm taking this course is because this fall, I'll be taking the new Intro to Social Policy course for JHU's new minor in Social Policy.

This minor is a new interdisplinary program at Hopkins and I'm really excited to be one of the first people to take the new class. Social Policy basically encompasses the study of social problems facing a city such as Baltimore and finding policy solutions to these problems. Hopefully, this summer I can increase my understanding of the economy in general in preparation for the class.

For more information on the program: krieger.jhu.edu/socialpolicy, http://krieger.jhu.edu/socialpolicy/2013/04/26/new-program/

I hope I can manage to wake up in time... I've been able to avoid 9 AM classes until now.

Just a reminder that Term I starts tomorrow! Good luck to everyone taking classes this term. Hopefully everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend!

It's Summer!

After powering through my last week of finals, I've finally finished my freshman year at the Johns Hopkins University. It's kind of hard to believe how fast a year has gone by. 


Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus in the Summer

While I can't wait for whatever awaits me next year, for now I'm going to celebrate the fact that it's finally Summer!

Officially a sophomore! I'm really excited but at the same time, a little terrified.

Let me introduce myself, I'm Austin, rising sophomore, and recently declared Public Health Studies Major. Home is in Holmdel, NJ, but Baltimore is definitely like my home away from home. On campus, I am the Marketing Chair for the JHU Chapter of United Innoworks Academy, the Cultural Chair for Taiwanese American Students Association, and on the Operations Staff for the JHU Model United Nations Conference. It's hard to believe that so muich has happened in just one year, but even more so, that not too long ago I was where most of you were, getting ready to come to Hopkins for Pre-College.

Back in the Summer of 2011, I decided to apply to Discover Hopkins and take Health and the Urban Environment. To this day, I'm still glad that I chose to take that class because we had discussions that I didn't have the opportunity to have in my high school classes. Our course covered food access, water quality issues, urban redevelopment, human movement patters, and how they all related to disparities in health quality. We took walking tours of different Baltimore neighborhoods and even got to work with Habitat for Humanity in Sandtown. I really enjoyed my experience with Discover Hopkins and it really helped me see that Public Health was a real career path for me. I hope you all enjoy your Pre-College experiences, whether you're in Discover Hopkins, getting to visit the Johns Hopkins Hospital, or in Summer University getting to live and learn with great friends for the whole summer.


Discover Hopkins: Health and the Urban Environment, 2011 Session 1 Class Picture

As for me, this Summer I'll be taking a course here at Hopkins during Term I as well as working with the Office of Summer Programs. If you see me around, definitely feel free to say hi. I'd really like to get to know you guys and talk to you more about Johns Hopkins. I'm really excited for this summer and everything it has in store. I'll be posting on this blog every week so definitely stay tuned!