Spring Break
Few incentives for Hopkins grads to stay in Baltimore
Issue date: 9/20/07
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Back in the stress-free world of high school, it was unlikely for future Hopkins graduates to refer to themselves as Baltimoreans. But as over 1,000 new freshmen step onto campus each year, students from all over the U.S. and across the oceans become Blue Jays and temporary Baltimore residents. But what happens after graduation? Do Hopkins alumni, diploma in hand, scatter back to their old hometowns the moment school is out? Or do they stay behind as permanent Baltimore residents?
Statistically there is a noticeable shift in the number of Baltimore students admitted to Hopkins and the number of Hopkins graduates who become residents of the city. According to the Career Center's yearly Post-Graduate Survey, 26 percent of the class of 2006 remained in Maryland, either as graduate or professional school students, or full-time employees. But based on the admissions office's data, only 11 percent of the class of 2006 lived in-state. Hopkins' output of Baltimore students was more than twice the rate of its input. Hopkins is producing graduates who want to stay in Baltimore. But upon closer inspection, things are not so simple.
"Many people stay in Baltimore because that's where the schools are. That's where the jobs are," junior David Harris said. "If they're leaving Baltimore, I would say it's also for the same reason." The data confirms this observation. While the number of in-state students admitted does not vary much from year to year, the percentage who stay after graduation jumps around without any apparent pattern. In the past three years, the percentage changed from 38 percent in 2004, to 42 percent in 2005 to 26 percent in 2006. The accuracy of these numbers is questionable, since only about 50 percent of graduating students complete the post-graduate survey each year. The fact remains that for many Hopkins graduates their next homes are largely a matter of where their next jobs will be.
"The job market in the Baltimore-D.C. area remains competitive," said Mark Presnell, director of the University's Career Center. "The region is not dominated by any one field; instead there are a wide range of fields and firms where students are employed." On the survey, the most frequently reported organizations employing the class of 2006 included groups like Citigroup, Google, ESPN the United States Peace Corps and Hopkins institutions in Maryland. In terms of graduate schools, Hopkins has remained the most frequently reported graduate school by Hopkins alumni for the past three years.
Statistically there is a noticeable shift in the number of Baltimore students admitted to Hopkins and the number of Hopkins graduates who become residents of the city. According to the Career Center's yearly Post-Graduate Survey, 26 percent of the class of 2006 remained in Maryland, either as graduate or professional school students, or full-time employees. But based on the admissions office's data, only 11 percent of the class of 2006 lived in-state. Hopkins' output of Baltimore students was more than twice the rate of its input. Hopkins is producing graduates who want to stay in Baltimore. But upon closer inspection, things are not so simple.
"Many people stay in Baltimore because that's where the schools are. That's where the jobs are," junior David Harris said. "If they're leaving Baltimore, I would say it's also for the same reason." The data confirms this observation. While the number of in-state students admitted does not vary much from year to year, the percentage who stay after graduation jumps around without any apparent pattern. In the past three years, the percentage changed from 38 percent in 2004, to 42 percent in 2005 to 26 percent in 2006. The accuracy of these numbers is questionable, since only about 50 percent of graduating students complete the post-graduate survey each year. The fact remains that for many Hopkins graduates their next homes are largely a matter of where their next jobs will be.
"The job market in the Baltimore-D.C. area remains competitive," said Mark Presnell, director of the University's Career Center. "The region is not dominated by any one field; instead there are a wide range of fields and firms where students are employed." On the survey, the most frequently reported organizations employing the class of 2006 included groups like Citigroup, Google, ESPN the United States Peace Corps and Hopkins institutions in Maryland. In terms of graduate schools, Hopkins has remained the most frequently reported graduate school by Hopkins alumni for the past three years.
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