Hey guys! I'm Saznin (pronounced Shaz-neen, in case you were wondering), and I'm a senior Public Health major from Alexandria, VA.

Why Hopkins?

Because there is no core curriculum, Hopkins allowed me the freedom to explore all of its amazing programs (there’s more to us than pre-meds!), and the relatively small size ensured me personalized support from my professors. Like many Hopkins students, I like facing challenges both in and out of the classroom, and the campus as well as the city of Baltimore make for a great college experience.

My Classes

Fall 2008
- Elements of Macroeconomics
- International Politics
- French Elements I
- History of Occidental Civilization: Europe & the Wider World

Spring 2008
- Intro to Public Health
- History of Africa
- Statistical Analysis I
- French Elements II
- Biology in Film

Fall 2009
- Expository Writing: Travelers' Tales
- Calculus I
- Population, Health, and Development
- Intro to Digital Photography
- Intro to the Study of Film

Spring 2010
- Nineteenth-Century British Novel
- Intro to Sustainable Development
- History of Family, Gender, and Sexuality in the United States
- Positive Psychology

Fall 2010
- Biostatistics
- The Environment and Your Health
- General Biology I
- General Biology Lab I
- Global Public Health Since WWII

Spring 2011
- General Biology II
- Health Policy & Management
- Fundamentals of Epidemiology
- Courts, Law, and Public Policy

Summer 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa
- Public Health in South Africa
- Community-Based Learning in Cape Town

Fall 2011

- Urban Politics
- Food & Nutrition Policy (Bloomberg)
- Humanitarian Emergencies (Bloomberg)
- Life & Death in Charm City (Bloomberg)
- Refugee Healthcare (Bloomberg)
- Public Health Practice (Bloomberg)

Extracurricular Activities

Student Admissions Advisory Board
SAAB allows me to connect with you! I enjoy regularly tweeting about my life to give you a better understanding of what it's like to be a student at Hopkins and answering your questions both online and at the Open Houses. My fellow SAABers (who are awesome, by the way) are here to help you make your college application and decision process less painful!

WJHU
Music-lover that I am, I love working with Johns Hopkins' own radio station. I currently help with promotions and will be hosting my very own show this week! The best part of my participation at WJHU is getting to share all the songs that get stuck in my head, so that for once they'll get stuck in someone else's.

Campus Kitchens
We partner with local restaurants and stores and pick up food that's left over at the end of the day to transform them into meals for the homeless.

Housing

I lived in AMR II my freshmen year. It was like living in a cabin at summer camp with 200+ of my best friends. Sure, had to share a bathroom and suffered through a couple summer months without AC, but the camaraderie was well worth it. Sophomore year I moved it on up to Charles Commons, and lived in a double (with AC! And a private bathroom!). Commons was a far cry from AMR II: it had a gym, eating hall (aptly named Nolan's on 33rd, in case you forgot what street you were on), conference rooms, a study room, and game area. Right now I'm living in my own apartment off campus, learning how to function like a normal being that cooks and cleans occasionally.

Want to take a look into my freshman year dorm room? Watch my Hopkins Cribs video!

Hopkins Cribs: AMR II Baker House edition, starring JHU_Saznin

Follow me on Twitter!
JHU_Saznin tweets!

Have questions? Ask away!

A series of questions and answers previously posted to JHU_Saznin's thread accidentally were removed. Here they are now:


Posted by AnnaLewis on June 20, 2011

Do you know any student-athletes at Johns Hopkins? If so, do they have a hard time juggling the course work and the sport?


Anna Lewis Matson
From Tennessee

Hi Anna,

Yes, I do know a few student athletes, and they're doing just fine! They are the most disciplined and efficient people I know simply because they're forced to manage their time well. Classes, practices, and extracurriculars are all very important to them, so they meticulously schedule their commitments for the week in order to get everything done. Sure, it's hard, but with proper time management they can juggle a billion things at once and even have some free time afterward. Of course, there's always a trial and error process: they have to prioritize their activities and perhaps make some cuts if they feel too overloaded, but overall, it's totally manageable to be an athlete and succeed in other areas as well!

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Posted by Shop on July 4, 2011

Hi Saznin!
I very interested in public health. I was wondering if you came into Hopkins with AP science credits? Also, is there a lot to do in the public health field without being "pre- med?"
Thank you so much!

I in fact did not come into Hopkins with any AP science credits, but it REALLY helps if you do! General Biology is a public health requirement, so if you can avoid taking it by using AP Bio credits, I highly suggest you do. However, if you're not pre-med, I'd say AP Bio is the only necessary science class you'd need credit for.
And yeah there's a TON you can do in public health without being pre-med! I'm not pre-med, nor have I taken any science classes at Hopkins besides Gen Bio.
Public health has a lot of non-science facets, from economics and policy to epidemiology and biostatistics. I'm really interested in the policy and development aspect of public health, for example. Right now I'm in Cape Town to learn about how social, cultural, economic, and political factors have affected public health and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. So yeah, public health is quite different than pre-med, as you'll discover when you come to Hopkins!

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Posted by Stephanie on September 8, 2011

hi
i really like Hopkins. it really cool that you don't have to pick your major from the start..
So do you for a year do nothing but go through different courses... if you are applying to Hopkins and you want to do that how do you do it.

Well, I narrowed down the kinds of subjects I wanted to learn more about or subjects that I already found interesting, but never had classes in. For example, I didn't know anything about economics, but I found it interesting enough to take intro level econ classes my freshman year. I've always loved film, so I decided to enroll in some film classes as well. I decided to give stats a shot since I've never had a stats class in my life and ended up figuring out that I hated it, so I knew to stay away from stats-based classes.
The reason I picked my major is because I took an intro-level public health course because it sounded interesting, even though I knew little to nothing about public health before.
Taking a variety of classes in different areas gave me an idea of what I wanted to pursue further AND what I wasn't particularly good at or interested in.

Hi Maryse! I did not have much experience with the language department, since I only took two introductory level French classes, but my experiences were overall positive. My French professor was very hands-on and strict about speaking to us only in French, which was a great learning experience. And there was always outside help if I needed it: my TAs were very accessible, the language lab had exercises and tutors that could help me with my homework. Unfortunately I don't know many Romance Language majors, but from what I heard of the department, you get a pretty comprehensive mix of language and literature courses. Classes are always quite small, so you can get the individual attention you need from your professors. I'd encourage you to poke around their department website here: http://grll.jhu.edu/

Good luck!