Hi everyone! I'm Ruthie. I was born in Seattle, WA and have lived in Pasadena, CA and Salt Lake City, UT, but my current hometown is in Virginia. I went to Hanover High School in Mechanicsville, VA and did the IB Diploma Program with my Higher Levels in Fine Arts, History of the Americas, and English and my Standard Levels in Spanish, Physics, and Math. I also took a few English and literature courses my sophomore and junior years of high school at Virginia Commonwealth University. I love anything and everything related to the humanities, which is why I plan on majoring in English with a double major in either Spanish or Writing Seminars.

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Why Hopkins?
To be honest, I hadn't even visited Hopkins when I applied last fall, but now I can't picture myself anywhere else! I know it sounds cliche, but when I finally visited Homewood in April during SOHOP (which I highly recommend!), it just felt like the right fit. Everything from the size of the campus to how friendly all the upperclassmen were (even when I was just a pre-frosh) to the amazing humanities programs (which many people often overlook when considering Hopkins) made Hopkins stand out amongst the other schools that I was considering at the time. Also, my acceptance as a Wilson Fellow played a huge role in my decision to come here. The chance to do research in any subject or field with any faculty mentor and with virtually no limitations is seriously the opportunity of a lifetime!

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My Classes
Fall 2011
-Calculus I
-Intermediate Spanish I
-American Literature after WWII
-Political Sociology of Latin America
-Professional Communication for Business, Science, and Industry

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My Extracurriculars
Woodrow Wilson Undergraduate Research Fellowship: As a Wilson Fellow, I get $10,000 to do my own research and collaborate with a faculty member as a mentor to develop my research project. The research project can be in any field of my choosing and is completed over the course of my four years here at Hopkins. We also have regular meetings and social outings in Baltimore, and at the end of each year, the Wilson seniors present their projects to members of the Hopkins community. I applied for the fellowship when I was filling out my general application for Hopkins, and was invited to join in my acceptance package, but current students can also apply during their freshman year, as well!

Vision Xchange: VX is an international relief fundraising organization that hosts one big event on campus each semester: Hopkins Top Model in the fall and a Date Auction in the spring!

Student Admissions Advisory Board: SAAB is definitely one of my favorite activities on campus! Not only do I get to blog about my life as a freshman, I also get to speak to prospective students and answer their questions about the application process. I know that when I was a prospie not too long ago, I read all of the student and admissions blogs, and now I get to work with the very same people who helped me make my decision, through their blogs, profiles, and videos, to come here!

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My Dorm Life:   
I live in Wolman Hall, on 6 West (the building is divided into East and West sides for each of the 7 floors), and I absolutely love it! I have a lot of friends on my floor, and you can always find a group of people watching TV, playing videogames, chilling out, or studying in the common room. My suite consists of two doubles, and my suitemates and I are really good living companions because we share a lot of the same eating and sleeping habits, which is incredibly important! I love the fact that we have AC and the kitchenette makes it easy to make and eat food in the dorms instead of walking all the way to the FFC. Another plus is that CharMar (Charles Street Market) is conveniently located right downstairs for anytime I'm craving something or want to grab coffee and a bagel from Einstein Bros Bagels on my way to class in the morning. And, last but not least, we have our own mailroom and a small workout room downstairs that's open 24/7!

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That's all for now! If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to ask here! To get a glimpse of my daily life as a freshman, you can also check out the Class of 2015 Blog at www.blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/2015.

Hi! Thanks for asking me a question! So Wolman Hall is actually just finishing up the Wolman Renovation Project, which started a few months after I moved in in the fall. They've pretty much re-done the entire terrace (basement) level, and it now includes a brand new workout room (which is AWESOME and I've been using it compulsively since it opened last week because it's so nice!), a multi-purpose room with couches and tables for hanging out/studying (which is also really nice, especially when you don't feel like walking to the library to study), a common kitchen, and a movie theater (seats 60 people!).
 
In light of the recent renovations, I would definitely recommend living in Wolman. I am extremely close with my floormates, and even though everyone says that the AMR's are the more social buildings, I lucked out with my floor because everyone is incredibly social and friendly. Each floor (there are seven on each side) is essentially a grouping of suites, and each suites has two or three rooms that are singles or doubles. So, for example, my suite has two doubles. You also get your own kitchenette (stove, mini fridge, sink, space for a microwave--but no oven) and bathroom, which I personally prefer a lot more to a communal bathroom, which is what the AMR's have. There's also a common room in the middle of each floor with couches, tables, and a TV where you can always find people hanging out or doing homework.

The one bad thing about living in Wolman is that it's not on the Freshman Quad with all of the other freshman dorms. I actually ranked Wolman last when I was choosing housing because I didn't want to feel removed from my fellow classmates, but honestly since coming to Hopkins, my social life hasn't really been hindered at all by not being on the Freshman Quad. However, the Fresh Food Cafe (FFC), where all of the freshmen normally eat, is on that quad, as well, so walking there is sometimes a pain, especially when it snows/rains. We do have Charles Street Market (CharMar) downstairs, though, so it all evens out!

I hope this helped! Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have!

For my Woodrow Wilson application, I actually used a 4,000 word independent research paper that I had done while I was in high school. I think you are supposed to submit something that shows that you've done some sort of extensive independent research project outside of normal class. However, I know a couple of current Fellows who outlined a general project idea in a paper and submitted that instead. I'm sorry I'm not as helpful, but my suggestion would be to make the project outline as thorough as possible. Best of luck!

Hi,

Yes, it was my extended essay for IB. I researched existentialist philosophy and anxiety, but my current project will probably be something more based in sociology. Hope this helped!

Hi,

I don't think I explicitly stated that it was my Extended Essay, but I described it as a part of the IB Program, so I'm sure whomever read my application was aware of what it was. Hope this helped!