Hopkins Insider

Welcome to the Hopkins Insider Admissions Blog!
For new readers, visit this previous blog entry for an introduction of Who and What is the Hopkins Insider. Make sure to use the Categories on the left menu to search previous posts.

Questions? Feel free to post a comment or check out the “Ask Admissions” section of the Hopkins Forums.

Thanks for visiting and make sure to come back soon.

- AdmissionsDaniel

Friday Favorites: The Amazing Guest Blog

Back when we launched Hopkins Interactive and the Hopkins Insider blog in December 2005 one of our initial ideas was to include a "Guest Blog" along with the blogs written by current students. Here is what we wrote when we debuted the Hopkins Interactive Guest Blog in January 2006:

Did you ever wonder what it was like to explore a foreign country through a study abroad program? play lacrosse at Hopkins? participate in a theater group? study engineering? apply to law school? be an international student? join a sorority or fraternity? write for the student newspaper?

Well then, you've come to the right place! Welcome to the latest addition to Hopkins Interactive: Guest Blogs. In addition to our current student blogs, we are adding this fun and new way to learn even more about Hopkins. Each Monday, the guest blogs will feature a new student who will post on a different topic, allowing you to gain a "bird's eye view" of life at Hopkins. Posts will focus on academics, extracurriculars, and social life at Hopkins - all aspects of college life here at the Homewood campus. So, be sure to check back frequently to make sure you don't miss anything!

Next month will be the four year anniversary of the Hopkins Interactive Guest Blog and though there have been changes to design and the frequency we post (normally twice a week now), the mission of the blog remains the same: Featuring a different Johns Hopkins student each week.

To celebrate we created a fun Google Map with links to hometowns (or study abroad sites) for our nearly 150 posted guest blogs. Check it out below, and click on the link for the full map:

View Hopkins Interactive Guest Blog in a larger map

Pretty cool, huh? Curious about the meaning behind the different color pins ... here is your key:

Blue = Traditional Guest Blogs
Yellow = Current Members of Hopkins Interactive who have written Guest Blogs
Red = Blogs of our Current Members of Hopkins Interactive as well as Retired Alums
Airplanes = Study Abroad Guest Blogs

The Hopkins Interactive Guest Blog remains one of my favorite projects we have ever created, as each week I truly enjoy getting to know another one of the amazing Hopkins students. The Guest Blog even spawned other blog types, including our Alumni Blogs, our Parent Blogs, and our Faculty and Staff Blogs all part of our Blue Jay Buffet compilation blog. You can even check out a JHU Gazette article from last spring that talked about our Guest Blog, Blogging a Big Hit for Admissions.

Enjoy the map and enjoy the great variety on our Guest Blog ... I know I will.

Friday Favorites: Admissions - The Musical

It's Friday and that means another Friday Favorites entry for you all. Actually, today is going to be a double dose of Friday Favorites ... woo hoo. I am working on an entry that will be posted later today, but when I stumbled upon this video earlier in the week I knew I had to share it.

Drum roll please ... ladies and gentlemen prepare for ...

ADMISSIONS: THE MUSICAL

Did you enjoy that? I wonder if this is the type of humor only people who have worked in Admissions get. Oh well, the guys from the University of Delaware did an amazing job and I just had to share it.

Back to reading files for me ... hmmm, I am thinking that today's musical selection to accompany my reading should include some Broadway tunes. I wonder why?

Applying to Hopkins as a BME Applicant

A Note of Introduction from AdmissionsDaniel: We complete our series of guest entries with this post written by my colleague Sarah Godwin. Sarah and I chair the Engineering Admissions Committee and the BME selection process, so who better to compose an entry providing advice to those Hopkins applicants considering the Biomedical Engineering major. There is a lot of confusion about how the BME selection process works, so we hope this entry makes the process more clear.

A Post For The BME Applicant
Finally, a post just for you!  If you are thinking “What is BME, and why do these students get a special post?” -- don’t worry, this doesn’t apply to you. If you have applied (or will be applying) to the Biomedical Engineering (BME) major at Hopkins, then pay attention. The application and decision notification process is different in some small but very important ways which will be outlined here for you.

Your End: The Application:
The single most important thing for you to know as a BME applicant is that you MUST (no exceptions) indicate Biomedical Engineering as your first choice major on the JHU supplement.  It is as simple as listing (03) Biomedical Engineering in the first box of question #9 on the supplement. Unfortunately, if you forget this small step, you will not be reviewed for BME. The nice thing is that is all you have to do. There is no separate application for BME applicants nor any additional requirements that must be completed.

The second important thing to note is that you fully understand the nature of the Biomedical Engineering program at Hopkins. It is first and foremost an Engineering major, that stresses mathematics and the applied sciences. It is not a direct path to medical school. In fact most BME graduates at Hopkins do not go on to medical school.  Where do BME graduates go and what do they do? It breaks down fairly evenly between 1/3 to medical school, 1/3 to Research, and 1/3 to industry. 

Our End: The Review:
Often there is some confusion about how the review of a BME applicant works. Just like all other applicants for admission, a BME applicant is reviewed completely and holistically by their regional admissions counselor first and then one of the admissions committee. A decision is ultimately rendered as to whether we will admit the applicant to the University or select another decision, wait list or deny. For those applicants who selected BME as their first choice major on their JHU supplement and have been slated as an admit, there is an additional review done in conjunction with the BME department to determine admission to the specific BME program. Basically, one is first selected to be admitted to the University and held to the same standards as the rest of the applicant pool -- then the BME review takes place.

We are also asked often what matters during the BME selection committee. Just like with all of our admissions decisions, everything in one's application matters and all factors lead to the ultimate decision. For the BME review, there is emphasis place on a few factors that include but are not limited too:

1. The applicant's academic ability, rigor, and succcess in mathematics, physics, and other related sciences.
2. The applicant's knowledge and understanding of the BME program.
3. The applicant's interest and passion for the field of bioengineering.
4. The applicant's extracurricular and academic enrichment experiences in related engineering fields.
5. The applicant's experiences with research and inquiry in the fields of math and science.

The most important thing to note though is the BME review is not just based on statistics, but the overall fit of an applicant academically and intellectually to the program .

Our End: Decision Notification:
Okay! As mentioned above, there are a lot of different potential decisions and letters you could get as a BME applicant.  I’ve outlined them all below.

Early Decision
If you’ve applied by November 1st  under our binding Early Decision program,  you will receive one of the following decisions from our office:

(1) ED BME Applicant - Admitted to Hopkins, Admitted to BME:
In your admit packet you will have a letter signed by the Dean of Admissions saying “Congratulations on being admitted to Johns Hopkins!” In addition, you will have a letter signed by the Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering saying “Congratulations, on being admitted to the Biomedical Engineering program at Johns Hopkins!”  If you get both of these letters as an Early Decision applicant – you are all set as a BME major at Hopkins. Send in your deposit check and get ready for September 2010.

(2) ED BME Applicant – Admitted to Hopkins, Not Admitted to BME:
In your admit packet you will receive a letter signed by the Dean of Admissions saying “Congratulations on being admitted to Johns Hopkins!” You will also receive a letter from the Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering saying, “We are sorry that we are not able to offer you a spot in our Biomedical Engineering program”.  What do these two letters mean?

Well, first – you should congratulate yourself on being admitted to Johns Hopkins – we’d love to have you attend! Since we are unable to offer you a spot in your chosen program, you are no longer bound by the Early Decision contract. You may choose to apply to other schools, and need not make a decision about attending Hopkins until May 1st. However, if you are still 100% sure that you’d like to come to Hopkins – you may choose any other major within the Whiting School of Engineering or the Krieger School of Arts and Science and send in your deposit. Often times students in this position select to enroll at Hopkins and choose one of our other bioengineering options, detailed here: http://apply.jhu.edu/academics/bioengineering.html.

Frequently asked questions related to this decision include:
Q:  Will my application be re-reviewed for BME with regular decision applications?
A:   No. Your application has already received a complete review for BME.

Q:  Can I transfer INTO the BME program once I arrive on campus?
A:   Most likely not. The only official point of entry into the BME program is as a first year student. In rare cases over the past few years, there have been a few openings within the program and the department has allowed current students to apply for transfer. This process is highly competitive and may not happen at all during your 4 years at Hopkins, so if your heart is truly set on this major you should consider other schools.

(3) ED BME Applicant -- Deferred:
You will receive a letter from the Dean of Admissions stating that you have been deferred. You can check out this Hopkins Forums discssuion thread to learn more about what a deferred decision means.  

Frequently asked questions related to this decision include:
Q; Will my application be re-reviewed for BME with regular decision applications?
A: No. Your application has already received a complete review for BME.  If you are ultimately offered admission to JHU, you will have the option to choose any major except BME in the Whiting School of Engineering or the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.  

(4) ED BME Applicant -- Denied:
This decision is the most difficult, and the deny decision for BME applicants is the same decision as it is for other applicants.

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Whew…those are just the possible decisions for an ED BME applicant.  Since most students will be applying regular decision, let’s look at those possible decisions:

Regular Decision
 
(1) RD BME Applicant - Admitted to Hopkins, Admitted to BME:
In your admit packet you will have a letter signed by the Dean of Admissions saying “Congratulations on being admitted to Johns Hopkins!” In addition, you will have a letter signed by the Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering saying “Congratulations, on being admitted to the Biomedical Engineering program at Johns Hopkins!”  If you get both of these letters as a Regular Decision BME applicant to Hopkins, congratulations as you got the best news possible. You will have until May 1st to make your decision and send us your enrollment form.
 
(2) RD BME Applicant – Admitted to Hopkins, Not Admitted to BME:
In your admit packet you will receive a letter signed by the Dean of Admissions saying “Congratulations on being admitted to Johns Hopkins!” You will also receive a letter from the Dean of the Whiting School fo Engineering saying, “We are sorry that we are not able to offer you a spot in our Biomedical Engineering program”.  What do these two letters mean?

Well, first – you should congratulate yourself on being admitted to Johns Hopkins – we’d love to have you attend! Since we are unable to offer you a spot in your chosen program, you are able to choose from any of our other majors in the Whiting School of Engineering or The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and are welcome to join us as a Hopkins student next fall. Often times students in this position select to enroll at Hopkins and choose one of our other bioengineering options, detailed here: http://apply.jhu.edu/academics/bioengineering.html. You have until May 1st to make your decision and send us your enrollment form.

Frequently asked questions related to this decision include:
Q:  Can I transfer INTO the BME program once I arrive on campus?
A:   Most likely not. The only official point of entry into the BME program is as a first year student. In rare cases over the past few years, there have been a few openings within the program and the department has allowed current students to apply for transfer. This process is highly competitive and may not happen at all during your 4 years at Hopkins, so if your heart is truly set on this major you should consider other schools.

Q:  Do I have to decide a new major at the time of enrollment?
A:  You can let us know the new major your intend to study but it is not a requirement. Additionally, you have until the end of your freshman year to change your mind.

(3) RD BME Applicant – Wait Listed:
You will receive a letter that you have been offered a spot on the Johns Hopkins Wait List. You can check outthis Hopkins Forums discussion thread to learn more about how the Johns Hopkins Wait List works.

Frequently asked questions related to this decision include:
Q: If I am admitted off of the Wait List, will it be to BME?
A: No.  If you are admitted off of the Wait List, you will have the option to choose any of our other majors in the Whiting School of Engineering or the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

(4) RD BME Applicant – Denied:
You will receive a letter saying that you have been denied from Johns Hopkins.  This decision is the most difficult, and the deny decision for BME applicants is the same decision as the deny decision for other applicants.

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The above covers every possible decision scenario if you apply to Johns Hopkins as a BME applicant.  Hopefully the above has answered some of your questions (and reminded you to indicate BME as your first choice major).  Please note that whatever your decision, it will be explained to you in the letters that you receive so although I would be flattered – you don’t have to book mark this page.   

Editor's Note: For additional information on applying to JHU as a BME applicant and an opportunity to ask your own questions check out the Questions Re: Biomedical Engineering (BME) discussion on the Hopkins Forums.

The Do's and Don'ts to Presenting Your Resume

A Note of Introduction from AdmissionsDaniel: Part four of our guest entries that reflect on parts of the admissions application. My colleague Shannon Miller tackles the topic of the extracurrircular activity list or as many of us call it, the resume. Shannon's advice should absolutely be followed as you present this crucial information in your application.  

Are you currently filling out your college application, but think you need more room to talk about your extracurricular involvement? Are you unsure about what to include in this list? Are you struggling to include all of the information that is necessary?  Do you need more space to discuss a significant accomplishment or role you have played in an activity?

If any of these questions are running through your head, you may want to include a resume along with your application.  Since extracurricular activities are a very important part of the application process, especially at Johns Hopkins, you want to be thorough when describing what it is you do outside of the classroom.

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts to keep in mind when presenting a resume along with your application:

(1.) Do be organized and concise.  As counselors are reading over 1200 applications a year, we want to learn more about you, but do not have a lot of time. Stick to the basics: name of activity, years of participation, important leadership roles, specific projects you have played a major role in, accomplishments, etc.

Don’t exceed 2 pages with your resume. We should not be seeing resume attachments that are 10 pages long!

(2.) Do focus in on activities from your high school career…that means 9-12th grade.

Don’t tell us that you were student of the day in 4th grade…you get the idea.

(3.)    Do think broadly about activities you are involved in. Your resume should include everything from after school jobs, summer internships, and research projects to clubs, organizations, volunteer work, sports, and musical instruments. You may also have a unique hobby you want to share with us.

Don’t include activities that are part of your daily life such as “likes to eat breakfast,” “is a good sister to younger brother,” “walks the dog,” or “watches TV.” Believe it or not, I have seen ALL of the above listed on activity lists.

(4.) Do list a website if it can show us more about what you do. This might be a better way to send us supplemental material… a link to a newspaper article which talks about an accomplishment, a link to an organizations page which describes an event you have put together, a link to a page which contains data about research you have done, etc.

Don’t send us a link which contains photos or information we don’t want to see! Remember, we look at everything…so if there are inappropriate pictures, foul language, or personal items on a page, think twice about putting it in your application. Also, be sure the links are still in use and correctly written out. Many times, we have tried to view websites, only to find they are no longer available, broken, or spelt incorrectly.

(5.) Do spell out activities that are an acronym. While we know what NHS stands for, there are plenty of abbreviations for groups across the US that might be confusing to counselors. For example, if you write NFL, are you part of the National Forensics League or National Football League? (Ok, I think it’s safe to assume Forensics, but hey, you never know)

Don’t forget to detail activities. It is important to go beyond and acronym and tell us what it entails. Keep in mind though that by briefly I mean a phrase or sentence. No need for a book.

As you can see, a resume can be really helpful if you remember to be organized and concise, think broadly about the activities you have participated in during high school, and include all pertinent information about your involvement. Follow these simple Do’s and Don’ts, and the admissions committee will be able to see the impact you can make on their campus community.

Editor's Note: For additional information on the resume, extracurricular activities in the admissions review, and also supplemental information check out these discussions on the Hopkins Forums: Extracurricular Activities / Work Experience and Supplementary Materials w/ Application.

Advice on Letters of Recommendation

A Note of Introduction from AdmissionsDaniel: Here it is, the third post in our series of guest entries about parts of the admissions application. Former Admissions Office intern and JHU Class of 2009 alum Rena Barch tackles the topic of letters of recommendation. Heed her advice here as it echoes what all the admissions counselors at Hopkins have to say about recommendation letters.

I graduated from Hopkins in the spring of 2009. Throughout my senior year and the summer after I graduated I worked as the Office of Undergraduate Admissions intern. As the intern, I gave information sessions, conducted perspective interviews, and helped with general office tasks. I was the indentured servant to the Admissions office, and in the meantime learned a lot about the Admissions process. Now that I have paid off my dues, I will be headed of the London School of Economics to pursue a master’s degree in Comparative Politics. Before I depart though I thought I would share some advice and thoughts about letters of recommendation.

The process of applying to college can seem like a daunting task. There appear to be so many different things to keep track of. This process can become particularly stressful when you have to rely on other people to submit components such as recommendations. However, the process of asking for recommendations is one that you are likely to have to repeat many times for internships, jobs, or graduate schools, so now is the best time to master it!

The first part of asking for a recommendation is deciding who you would like writing on your behalf. For Johns Hopkins, we require one from a guidance counselor and one from a teacher of your choice. When deciding which teacher to ask, think about who you think will be most able to speak positively about you. If there’s a teacher you are particularly close with, they should be an obvious first choice. Don’t just pick a teacher based on the grade you received in their class or because they teach the subject closest to your future major. If there’s a teacher with whom you’ve built a relationship, and that teacher does not fall into either of those two categories, they are still a superior choice. Your grades already say enough about your performance in those classes. We don’t need to hear a teacher repeat those facts. What we prefer to hear are details about you as a student, about your work habits, about your presence in class. Try to pick a teacher who could provide this kind of information for you.

With your guidance counselor recommendation, you do not have as much freedom to select the source of the recommendation. This could be worrying to some of you who attend larger schools where you and your guidance counselor might not be well acquainted. Even if you do not know your counselor well, do not be afraid to request that they discuss a particular event or situation in your recommendation. If you had some sort of extenuating circumstance that led to a particularly weak semester, or if you had a scheduling conflict which prevented you from taking a course that you wish you could have, ask that they mention those events. Overall, the guidance counselor recommendation is intended to provide your admissions counselor with some context on the student in the perspective of their school. In this recommendation, we don’t need to know as much about your presence in class, as your presence in the school.

Furthermore, if you feel that your guidance counselor cannot adequately speak about your strengths, you have the option of submitting up to two additional recommendations. If you choose to submit additional recommendations, try to refrain from simply selecting another teacher unless both teachers have a unique perspective to provide. Also, definitely refrain from parent or peer recommendations. A better source of a recommendation would be an advisor from an extracurricular activity, a sports coach, or a boss from a part time job. Select someone who knows you well enough to write about your strengths and your personality. The additional recommendations should provide supplemental perspectives by offering a different side of you.

So now you’ve chosen who to ask for your recommendation. What next? To make this process run smoothly, never forget that: 1) Your recommender is doing you a favor. 2) To stay organized!  First, make sure you ask your teacher. Do not assume that the teacher you have in mind will say yes. Teachers, especially those that tend to teach primarily juniors and seniors, may quickly have too many recommendations requests on their hands. You will want to ask early. Also, be sure to give them plenty of time to write and send the recommendation! As a precaution you should ask at least six weeks in advance.

Secondly, be prepared to give them all the information they might need. I would suggest compiling a folder for each recommender. In the folder should be any forms that he/she will need. Make sure to fill out any of your personal information, or other information they might not know. Also in the folder, include your resume or a copy of your transcript if you have one available. Remembering that the teacher is doing you a favor, you are going to want to make the process as easy for them as possible. The teacher should not have to include anything other than the recommendation. Therefore, you should include an addressed and stamped envelope. There’s also an option to submit the recommendations online, and that’s an option that should be offered to your teacher. Perhaps most importantly, include a list of any deadlines that your recommender will need to abide by. 

Once your chosen teacher agrees to write your recommendation, present them with your folder. Ask if there is any additional information that they would like to have, and make sure to turn those supplements in as soon as you can. A week or two before any of your deadlines, you should check in with your recommender and kindly remind them of any approaching deadlines. While checking in can be useful for you and your teacher,  make sure you give your teacher time to complete the recommendation. They are busy people, and they might not be able to write and send your recommendation by the next night, or even the next week.

Finally, after all of your recommendations have been submitted, do not forget to thank your recommenders. Small gifts or tokens of appreciation are nice but not necessary. Often just a thank you card will do the trick. Let your recommenders know that you appreciate their time! If you stay organized and show gratitude, your teacher, advisor, coach, or guidance counselor will be more willing to write you recommendations in the future.

Editor's Note: For additional information about letters of recommendation and an opportunity to ask your own questions check out the Letters of Recommendation discussion on the Hopkins Forums.