News Release

The Johns Hopkins University will gear up for its 133rd academic year by welcoming the class of 2012 to the Homewood campus on Friday, Aug. 29, and Saturday, Aug. 30. Move-in is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Members of the media are welcome to come to campus, located at 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore, to cover this annual rite of passage. To arrange your visit, contact Amy Lunday at 443-287-9960 or acl@jhu.edu.

Tradition dictates that the freshmen will start their move-in weekend with a warm welcome from President William R. Brody and his wife, Wendy: As the caravan of family cars and SUVs winds its way onto campus toward the students' ultimate destination — the residence halls — the Brodys will be moving from dorm to dorm and greeting newcomers while riding zero-emission personal electric mobility vehicles by T3 Motion Inc. The cost-effective, three-wheeled vehicles look like a motorized chariot with handlebars and are ridden while standing. (This will be the Brodys' last move-in weekend; President Brody will step down from his post Dec. 31. The T3 vehicles are the last in a long line of mod modes of transportation that the Brodys have ridden to meet the students and their families. Past vehicles have included Segway scooters, inline skates and folding bikes.)

The red-carpet welcome continues when a contingent of helpful upperclassmen whisks the necessities of college life from the car to the students' new homes. While the freshmen settle in, parents are treated to refreshments and a have a chance to meet faculty, staff and students, as well as their fellow freshmen parents.

Notable information about the class of 2012:

Major shifts: Compared to 10 years ago, the applicant pool for the class of 2012 had three times the number of students planning to major in Near Eastern studies, applied mathematics and statistics, public health studies, biomedical engineering, East Asian studies, sociology, cognitive science and history of art. Biology, although still the most common major interest, is actually growing at a rate slower than the applicant pool as a whole.

Geographic expansion: Comparing the current enrolling class to that from a decade ago, Johns Hopkins has seen a big upswing in students from California; the southeast coast states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina; and students from abroad. The number of Californians in this class is 87 percent higher than in 1998; the number from the Southeast coast is 40 percent higher; and 39 percent higher from students residing outside the United States.

Some facts and figures about the class of 2012 (as of July 25, 2008):

Total freshman enrollment	1,238
Number of freshman applicants	16,011
Number of freshmen admitted	4,056
Male	53 percent
Female	47 percent
International students	103, from 29 countries; the furthest is a student coming from Singapore.
Underrepresented minority students	198
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences	65 percent
Whiting School of Engineering	35 percent
Early decision	422
State representation	45 states plus Puerto Rico, D.C., and the Virgin Islands
Top five states, in order	New York, Maryland, New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania
Median SAT I combined score	1410
Median high school class unweighted GPA	3.77

Events of note during the first week of the school year. In addition to move-in itself, these events will present good visual opportunities for the media:

New Student Convocation, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Shriver Hall Auditorium
This is the traditional academic welcome to Johns Hopkins. President Brody and the Homewood campus deans will address the students, who will recite the university's ode. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the class of 2012 will march its student-designed class banner across campus to the library, where it will be put on display. Incoming freshmen were sent an e-mail in June, asking for submissions for the banner competition. A panel of judges narrowed the 63 submissions to seven banners and put it to an online vote among the students.

Hopkins Involved, Tuesday, Sept. 2, noon to 5 p.m., various locations throughout Baltimore
Freshmen will participate in community service projects, including a community garden beautification, photography and painting in Remington. More information is available at www.jhu.edu/csc/pages/Involved08.html.

Welcome To My City, Thursday, Sept. 4, 11 a.m. Glass Pavilion.
The Baltimore Scholars and the Senior Leadership Consultants are hosting a fair to introduce new students to the city with the help of representatives from several community organizations. Guests will include Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, president of the Baltimore City Council; Deputy Mayor Salima Siler Marriott; Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler; and Andr&eacuate;s A. Alonso, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools.