Hopkins Insider

Live Blogging on ED Notification Day (Class of 2014)

Good day Early Decision applicants. The tradition of live blogging on decision notification days continues today with the release of our Early Decision notifications for the Class of 2014. As I have done the previous few years, I will be "micro-blogging" throughout the day to provide you all with a view into what transpires in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions on the day we release decisions. If you want full details on how the release of ED notifications will work today, please return my previous blog entry. You can also read previous ED Notification Day entries for 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005. So check back throughout the day and follow the process of the release of our Early Decision notifications.

December 15, 2009

12:55 a.m. EST
As I was finally preparing to go to bed this late Monday evening, I realized it was no longer Monday evening but rather it was the start of Tuesday, December 15, 2009. I couldn't resist staying up just a little bit longer to post this first entry of my live blogging journal for ED Notification release 2009. I can barely keep my eyes open right now after a long day and evening of work, so I am going to hit the pillows until my alarm clock rudely awakens me at 4:58 a.m. I'll sign off with an appropriate famous quote ... "Good night, and Good Luck."

5:03 a.m.
I almost threw my alarm clock across the room. Four hours of sleep is not enough for me. I know it is way too early in the morning when Soze won't even wake up to go for his morning walk. Enough complaining from me ... too much to do today so the day must begin.

6:01 a.m.
Just spent the last hour responding to e-mails received in our primary Admissions e-mail accounts. Lots of questions from regular decision applicants. Going to use the next half-hour to pay bills (today is pay day ... woo hoo) and watch my morning staple - Mike and Mike in the Morning.Golic and Greenberg are going to talk to me about how the Cardinals stunk last night and led to a loss for one of my fantasy football teams, and the baseball hot stove and how the Mets DID NOTHING. Yuck!

6:03 a.m.
Just noticed that the College Confidential servers appear to be down and one can't access their Discussion Forms. Have my prayers been answered???

6:51 a.m.
Finished typing out my "To Do" List for today and it is a bit scary -- it's a page and a half long. Need to get started on crossing off items, but the sleeping dog just woke so I need to bundle up and go out and walk Soze. Then shower, shave (ha ha ha - inside joke), and my 15 minute commute to work.

7:45 a.m.
As I headed out, Soze wanted me to take a picture of him and let you all know he is thinking of you and is hoping you all handle today's news well. He would have smiled but it was cold and rainy for his morning walk, plus he wanted me to leave so he could start his daily partying.

8:10 a.m.
Uneventful commute to work. Overcast weather but not as bone-chilling cold as it has been the last few days. Powered up the computer, and signed into Pandora -- today's play list will be a mix of Erasure, Depeche Mode, New Order, and the Smiths. Yes, I am a child of 80s alternative radio.

8:45 a.m.
Just headed up to the third floor to see how the stuffing and sealing of letters was going. Pretty much everything is finished. Now we just wait for Dean Latting to officially seal the class and then to the post office we will head with just over 1100 pieces of mail.

8:50 a.m. 
As I was upstairs in the Operations area I snapped a few other pictures that I thought were interesting to share.

 

First is an unprocessed bin of application mail for Regular Decision applicants. By weeks end that will be probably a stack of 10 bins and by months end it will be closer to 20 bins. (Just a few years before 98% of our students applied online the number of mail bins could reach triple digits.

  Next is a box of binder clips. Not binder clips that we have purchased. Nope these binder clips are sent by applicants. Thanks for the office supplies ... but just remember we read online so we will never see your binder clips, your sleek folders, your perfumed resume paper, etc. 

Finally, is a picture of one of the boxes that our materials are shipped in. Notice the spelling mistake? Notice the OTHER spelling mistake? Pretty hysterical ... thankfully everything in the box is spelled correctly and has the proper numbers of "S"s.

10:11 a.m. 
Just spent the last 45 minutes reviewing the updates to our Admitted Student Web Site and also all the new updates to Hopkins Interactive. The Hopkins Interactive site is now fully updated with profiles for our newest members (8 freshmen and sophomore Keith), links to all our new blogs and Twitter accounts, and a variety of other updates. Always with the release of decisions we make sure our web sites have the most updated content possible.
 
10:16 a.m.
A special "shout-out" (yes I did just write shout-out, and yes I know I am lame) to those posting comments to this entry. Thanks for the positive remarks and I am pleased to hear that you are enjoying the micro-blogging. No big updates yet. Just waiting for Dean Latting to seal the class. Be back soon.

11:01 a.m.
Took a twenty minute break and played around on Sporcle.com. So addicting. My favorite game is Countries of the World. My highest score is 186 of 195 countries. I always seem to forget Malawi and I struggle with the small island nations in the pacific near Australia. I do get Vanuatu and Palau -- those were sites for Survivor seasons.

11:30 a.m.
Now things are moving along. Dean Latting has still not given the final O.K. yet, but all the packets have been sealed and moved into mail bins. One final set of checks and we should be ready to send them on their way.

 
11:58 a.m.
THE EARLY DECISION CLASS OF 2014 IS SEALED. "And with two minutes to spare," joked Dean Latting. The bins have moved to my colleague John Birney's SUV and will be heading out onto the road and to the post office in the next few minutes.

 
12:04 p.m.
The finishing touches have been been done to our Admitted Student Web site, our new Class of 2014 Facebook group, and the Class of 2014 Discussion Sub-Forum on the Hopkins Forums. Everything is edited and ready for later this evening once e-mail notifications have been sent. Whew, those were major items crossed off my "to do" list.

12:20 p.m.
Just sent an e-mail to all the Hopkins Interactive student volunteers (also known as the Student Admissions Advisory Board). I wished them luck with their continuing finals (it is day three of finals for the fall semester) and also reminded them of the release of ED notifications. They will be the students that the new members of the Class of 2014 will interact with over the coming months.

12:36 p.m.
This will be my last update for the next few hours. I expect to be back around 5:00 p.m. Now that decisions have been mailed, the whole Admissions staff is heading out for a Holiday Celebration Party. We are all going Duck Pin Bowling -- a Baltimore tradition. It should be fun and it is well-earned as the whole staff put in tons of energy these pasts few weeks. As I depart for the afternoon I leave you all with two pieces of advice:

FIRST, go do something fun. Step away from the computer. Relax. Chat with your friends. Watch a movie. Read a book. Play a game. Spend time with your family. Take a nap. 7:00 p.m. is going to come very slowly if you stay on the computer refreshing my blog every 20 seconds. In fact, take time and don't come back until after 7:30 p.m. Don't stress right now, as there is nothing you can do now.

SECOND, I wish you all the best as you receive your e-mail decisions later tonight. My strong suggestion is that after you read your decision, log-off of your computer and go spend some time with your family. No matter what the decision is!!!

This is a major moment in your young life, and family is who you should share your initial thoughts and emotions with. Your family has been there since the first moment of your life, and they will be there FOREVER. Your family is not some online community. Afterwards you can log-on and share with others.

Let the news sink in first. React in the real world before entering the cyber world. OK, that is just my two cents ... but I do hope you all heed it.

4:45 p.m.
Back from our Duck Pin Bowling Holiday celebration. Let me put it simply ... I STINK. First game I scored a 58 and was the second worst bowler. My team came in second place which is great, especially since my score was the one they dropped. Second game I did better - a 78. I finally left when I got a strike, but it took me an additional 100 throws it seemed. I am going to stick to Wii Bowling, though my Mom and four year old niece beat me in that too.

4:51 p.m.
Thought I would share some pictures of what has gone on throughout the last few hours. First set of three pictures are of my colleagues Paul and John dropping off the decision notifications at the post office. The second set are some pics from the Johns Hopkins Admissions staff making fool of themselves, and having an amazing time doing so.

 

5:17 p.m.
Checked e-mail and Dean Latting shared some Early Decision statistics with the staff:

• LARGEST ED APPLICANT POOL EVER = 1,155. Up 10% from last year.
• Over this past decade our Early Decision applicant pool has risen 138%.
• The acceptance rate has dropped to the second lowest rate for the last ten years. We admitted 43% of the applicants. 493 applicants will be the first students welcomed into the Class of 2014.
• The male/female ration is 54%/46% which is impressive and a rise for women in the class.
• We have 53 under-represented minority students in the admitted class which is our largest number ever.
• As far as academic interest, 32% interested in Engineering (+2% from last year); 12% are interested in Humanities (+1%); 34% interested in Natural Sciences (-4%); 19% interested in Social and Behavioral Sciences (-7%); and 3% Undecided (-2%).
• All of our academic markers are either a slight bit up, the same as last year, or the slightest tick down. The quality of our ED admits just based of academic factors continues to amaze us all.
• New York is the top state (76) for admits, New Jersey is second (71), and Maryland is third (50). Pennsylvania (47) and California (29) round out the top five. 36 states are represented in our admitted ED class.
• 41 international students from over 17 nations - both records for our ED class.

Some of you will ask for additional data. Unfortunately, these are the only statistics we release publicly.

5:42 p.m.
Once again I wanted to say thanks to everyone posting comments. I really appreciate the positive remarks you are leaving and I am happy to read that you find this blog helpful. In the past someone people have written me "hate mail" about these decision release entries. Typical they say I am over-hyping the whole process. Such remarks do concern me, but in the end I feel that is the minority opinion. I think no matter what decision you all will receive in a few hours, in the end you appreciate receiving a better understanding of how the process works and knowing how much attention the Hopkins Admissions Committee pays to you and your application.

Oh and to Taylor K., the spelling of the countries is one of the hardest parts of the Name the Countries game. The former Soviet republics especially - Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, etc. - it makes me appreciate Georgia, Armenia, Belarus, and the Ukraine so much more.

6:00 p.m.
With one hour to go before we begin to release Early Decision notification e-mails I want to remind you all of a few things:

(1) We will start sending e-mails after 7:00 p.m. EST. Please note the bold, italic, underlined emphasis on the key words start and after. This means that not everyone will get an e-mail in their in-box immediately at 7:00 p.m. It can take about an hour for all the e-mails to go out. So if you refresh your e-mail in-box at 7:00 p.m. or 7:05 p.m. or 7:10 p.m. and there is no message - DO NOT PANIC and do not assume anything. Be patient and allow our e-mail servers to work properly.

(2) For those who applied for the Biomedical Engineering program (selected it as your first choice major) - if you receive an admit notification you will receive a second e-mail later this evening. That second message will be your BME decision notification. The decisions come in two separate e-mails. So if you receive an admit notification, don't assume you are also admitted to BME. Be patient and you will receive that news a little later through e-mail.

(3) For those who do not receive an e-mail notification tonight, please refer to what I wrote in my previous blog about such situations:

What happens if I do not receive an e-mail decision on Tuesday?
If an applicant does not receive an e-mail there a couple of things he or she can do: 1. Check your SPAM folders. 2. Check ANY and all e-mail accounts you have ever used during the college search process. We send the e-mail to the account you listed on your application. However, our database system does track all e-mail accounts that have ever been matched to your record, so on occasion the notification e-mail may be sent to old e-mail address. (So check e-mail addressess that you may have used when registering for the SAT/ACT for example.) 3. Have your parents check their e-mail accounts too. Not sure how that happens, but it has happened in the past. If none of those methods work, then unfortunately the student will need to wait to receive the decision in the mail, or can call on Thursday.

Every year some e-mail notifications just don't work. There are a number reasons for an applicant not receiving an e-mail notification including: no e-mail was provided on the student's application, the e-mail provided on the application is no longer active, there was a SPAM filter blocking the message, or some error occurred that caused a bounce-back. WE ARE UNABLE TO RE-SEND E-MAILS. Once again, in such situations the applicant must wait. We understand how frustrating that can be, but unfortunately mistakes can happen when processing over thousands of applications.

7:33 p.m.
All decision notification e-mails have been sent. Only four messages bounced-back as undeliverable but thankfully I was able to correct the e-mail address and forward the decision e-mail to the correct address. Got a lot of work to do, but I'll update again soon.

8:41 p.m.
Whew! So all decisions are out and I've already confirmed over 100 members into the Class of 2014 Facebook group. I will go back to doing that after walking Soze and eating a little bit of dinner. I do though want to address a few things before taking that break ...

TO THE ADMITS: Congratulations! I hope you are all so excited and got some time tonight to jump around and celebrate. You will get your admit packets soon and there will be a ton of information you will go through. Also, remember to use the Admitted Student Web Site, Hopkins Interactive, and the Class of 2014 Facebook group. But also pace yourself -- August 25th is still 9 months away. I will have more to say to you all in the coming weeks. Time to put that bumper sticker on the car!!!

TO THE DEFERS: I will be posting a blog entry for you all later in the week. I do though suggest that you all read the discussion thread that I have set-up for deferred applicants: Early Decision Defers - Read This.

TO THE DENIES: Please know that I understand how difficult receiving such news can be. My colleagues and I do not take pleasure in not offering admission to students, especially those where Hopkins is their first choice. Last spring I wrote a post to denied applicants, and I recommend you all read it: A Posted for the Denied Applicant. I do wish you all the best of luck.

10:33 p.m.
Well that's it for me tonight. I have hit the proverbial wall and my eyes will not remain open anymore. As I head off to bed I have my phone in hand and I keep dialing the So You Think You Can Dance phone numbers for Kathryn, Russell, and Jakob.

Thanks to everyone who followed this journey over the last 20+ hours.

 

Update on the Release of Early Decision Notifications

Knowing that all the Early Decision applicants are quite anxious right now, I thought I would step away from Committee work and provide an update on how the ED review process is proceeding. In addition, I have some updated information about how the release of Early Decision notifications will work this year.

So this past weekend I spent finishing up first reads on the ED applications from my region (ME, NH, RI, VT, and MA). It was a lovely weekend in Baltimore as we had our first snowfall of the winter season on Saturday and by Sunday afternoon all the snow was gone. I also got to relax a bit, which was necessary knowing that the coming week was going to be quite hectic. My dog Soze also got to rest a lot as these pictures detail -- he is finally beginning to enjoy the new chair I bought for him when we moved to our new apartment at the end of the summer.

I arrived in the office on Monday morning ready for a busy week of Committee work. By late morning the counseling staff was in our conference room with Dean of Admissions John Latting discussing how the applicant pool looked overall and what our process would be for Committee. Updating the numbers I released in a previous blog post, our official ED applicant pool for 2009-10 is 1,155 applicants, up just about 10% from last year. Following the discussion, we split into our Committee teams and got to work. And over this past week, my colleagues and I have evaluated and re-evaluated, discussed and discussed more, debated and argued, and as the weekend approaches the final touches are being placed on the ED JHU Class of 2014. We will have a bit of work to do early next week, but as we had expected decisions will be released on Tuesday.

And here is how everything will work on Tuesday:
(Make sure to review this thoroughly as there have been some changes from previous years.)

* ED notifications will be released on Tuesday, December 15, 2009.

* Admit packets and decision letters (defer and deny) will be dropped off at the Baltimore Post Office by late morning and enter the postal system later that afternoon. Admit packets are sent priority mail so they typically arrive within three days.  Our decision letters are mailed first-class and can take 4-7 days to arrive. Please note international addresses will always take longer for both types of mail.

* Starting at 7:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, December 15, we will begin sending Early Decision notification e-mails.It can take up to an hour for all of our decision e-mails to be sent so don't expect a new message in your in-box right at 7:00 p.m. Have patience. E-mail notifications are released in random order so there is no way to deduce the order that decisions will be released. Decision e-mails are sent only to those who included an active e-mail address with their application. (If an applicant does not receive an e-mail it is because either there was no e-mail provided with the application, the e-mail address provided no longer works, or a data entry error. Unfortunately, we do not re-send e-mails, so in such situations the student must wait for the mail to arrive.) We do not have a system of posting our decisions online or through a portal.

* We prefer not to release decisions over the phone. If applicants have not received their admissions decision by Thursday, December 17 then they may call the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (410-516-8171). We will only release the decision to the applicant, a parent or guardian of the applicant, or the applicant's high school guidance counselor. Decisions will be released only if the identity of the caller can be reasonably assured. Please do not call asking why a certain decision was rendered as Admissions Committee decisions are confidential and we are unable to discuss the factors behind our decisions.

* For applicants who applied to the biomedical engineering (BME) program, we have made a change this year. In previous years, since decisions about acceptance into the BME are departmental decisions we would not release such information through e-mail or over the phone, and applicants would have to wait for their admit packet to arrive. This year we will be sending BME decisions via e-mail. BME decision e-mails will come as a second e-mailto all admitted students who selected BME as their first-choice major. Those notifications will also be sent on Tuesday following the release of all other decisions. Further details about your BME decision will be included in the admit packet.

*********************************************************************************************

As I have been writing about our decision releases for a number of years now, I can always anticipate some of the most frequently asked questions:

Why are e-mails sent at 7:00 p.m. EST? Haven't they been sent at 6:00 p.m. in previous years?
The reason we wait to release decision notification e-mails until the evening is we feel that receiving your college admissions decision should be a personal experience that you share with yourself and your family. We do not believe students should be receiving this news in the middle of the school day. So we will wait until the majority of our applicants are out of school (4:00 p.m. PST / 7:00 p.m. EST) to send our e-mail notifications. (Yes we understand that this system does not work neatly for international applicants.) We are waiting an additional hour this year to allow the staff who are involved in the release of e-mail decisions to make it home and prepare for the release process.

What happens if I do not receive an e-mail decision on Tuesday?
If an applicant does not receive an e-mail there a couple of things he or she can do: 1. Check your SPAM folders. 2. Check ANY and all e-mail accounts you have ever used during the college search process. We send the e-mail to the account you listed on your application. However, our database system does track all e-mail accounts that have ever been matched to your record, so on occasion the notification e-mail may be sent to old e-mail address. (So check e-mail addressess that you may have used when registering for the SAT/ACT for example.) 3. Have your parents check their e-mail accounts too. Not sure how that happens, but it has happened in the past. If none of those methods work, then unfortunately the student will need to wait to receive the decision in the mail, or can call on Thursday.

Every year some e-mail notifications just don't work. There are a number reasons for an applicant not receiving an e-mail notification including: no e-mail was provided on the student's application, the e-mail provided on the application is no longer active, there was a SPAM filter blocking the message, or some error occurred that caused a bounce-back. WE ARE UNABLE TO RE-SEND E-MAILS. Once again, in such situations the applicant must wait. We understand how frustrating that can be, but unfortunately mistakes can happen when processing over thousands of applications.

I was deferred. What does that mean?
Stay tuned. I will post information for deferred applicants a couple of days after the release of decisions.

*********************************************************************************************

I hope you all find this information helpful. Back to Committee for me. Check back on Tuesday for my annual ED Notification Day blogging. I'll leave you with two things that make me happy - my niece and nephew & Glee:

 

Sunday Blogging: Posts for the Class of 2013 Applicants

I spent most of the day compiling blog posts for the various groups of Class of 2013 Applicants. Here are links to each entry:

A Post for the Admits - Congratulations

A Post for the Wait Listed Applicant

A Post for the Denied Applicant

And here is a link to reflect on Decision Day 2009:
RD Notification Day (2009) - Decision Release Explained

And since they are such a big part of this blog, here are some new pictures of my niece Lilly (only days away from becoming a big sister) and of Soze (just back from his vacation):

A Post For the Admits - Congratulations!!!

As I sit this Sunday evening, the only word that keeps coming to my mind is WHEW!!! I am spending my time today watching recorded shows on my TiVo (LOST was amazing), catching up with the sports world (go Mets, go UNC, go Tiger, go UConn women), listening to some cool thunderstorms, and spending as much time with Soze as I can. And yes, I have caught up on a lot of sleep. But still, all I can keep thinking of his, WHEW!

Yup, WHEW -- it sums up how I felt on Friday as all the mail was dropped off on Friday and as I followed the response to the release of emails. If you followed the posts throughout the week you know there was a lot of uncertainity about when we would finish the class of 2013 and release decisions. We had our fingers crossed that we could be done on Friday, but not until Friday morning when Dr. Latting sealed the class did we know we could do it. And we did with just about 30 minutes to spare. Follow along the madness with this slide show...

So to all of you who received the good news via email, and will receive our ultra-cool admit packets in the next few days ... CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have been admitted to one of the strongest classes in Johns Hopkins history. Each and every one of you should feel a great sense of accomplishment and honor. You should know that by offering you a spot in the Hopkins community we are saying loud and clear we think you fit. We think you will make a difference at Johns Hopkins and that we can provide you with the challenge and excitement you are looking for. After months of getting to know you all through your applications, we can not wait until you and the Early Decision admits arrive on campus this coming fall. Great things are going to be expected from the JHU Class of 2013.

You all now have a tough decision to make. Let me make it simple for you ... CHOOSE HOPKINS. For some of you that is actually what you will do and it will be that simple. For many of you though you now have a month to weigh your options and determine which of your admitted schools will make the best fit for you.

I will return in the coming days to provide you with helpful information and even a bit of advice as you tackle this big decision. (If you are anxious to read my thoughts, you can check out a few of my posts from previous years -- The Big Decision (in HDTV); Decision Time Approaches; May 1st is Almost Here.)

But until then, celebrate your amazing accomplishments and use the following resources to learn more about Hopkins and connect with our current students:

-- Tons of information at our:
Admitted Student Web Site: http://apply.jhu.edu/admitted/main.html

-- Don't forget to register for a visit:
Spring Welcome Open Houses: http://apply.jhu.edu/admitted/visit/openhouses.html

-- Follow all our new student blog posts - many directed at you all:
Hopkins Insider Twitter: http://twitter.com/HopkinsInsider

-- Ask questions of current students and meet future classmates:
Admitted Students (Class of 2013) Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58356657660

-- Also ask questions and review numerous discussion about life at Hopkins:
Hopkins Forums - Admitted Student Thread: http://tinyurl.com/2013JHUforums

WE ARE HERE TO HELP!

A Post for the Wait Listed Applicant

College admissions wait lists have been compared by many as a state of purgatory -- not yet admitted and not denied. I often feel that a wait list decision is harder to deal with than a deny decision because there is no closure yet, no definitive answer. The college admissions process is defined by waiting, and now some students must wait for another month or two for their final decision. I have written previously that this wait list process is one of the most discussed topics in my field. Just do a quick Google search and you will find countless articles about the subject and also "supposed" services or advice columns on how a wait list works. Personally, since I find the media so far off base when they report on college admissions, and I have an overwhelming fear of students buying into "how to get off college wait list" schemes, I sit down and compose this post for those on the Johns Hopkins wait list every year.

Wait list decisions exist because of the sheer competition to get into college these days, and they work as a form of protection for schools to make sure they yield their class each year. It would be wonderful to exist in a world with definitive decisions and no wait lists, but unfortunately that ideal just doesn't exist.

So what to do? Well first it is important to know that being placed on the Johns Hopkins wait list is NOT a rejection of you and your abilities. It is a statement about the exceptional quality of our applicant pool and the limited number of spots we can offer to make our class. We respect the frustration and apprehension that exists with being placed in a state of limbo, so to assist we try to provide as much information as we can along the way.

Over the years, I have composed as extensive of a list as possible of frequently asked questions and answers about how the Hopkins wait list works. This list is posted below to attempt to assist you along the way. I also have created a Wait List Discussion Thread on the Hopkins Forums for you to ask additional questions, and for me to post updates when they become available. I hope this helps.

How does the wait list work?
Our enrollment target is 1,225 new freshmen. Based on our estimates we have admitted a percentage of our applicant pool that we expect will yield a class that size. However, it is quite hard to exactly predict the number of students who will accept our offer of admissions, hence the existence of the wait list. If we miss our target, then we will admit students off of our wait list to assure that we enroll a complete class.

I still really want to go to Hopkins. What should I do if I want to remain on the wait list?
To remain on the wait list we ask that you complete and mail back the blue Wait List Reply Card that is included with your decision letter. Send this card back as soon as possible – it needs to be postmarked by May 1. We do not have an online form for submitting this information and we would prefer to receive the reply card back rather than fielding “remain on wait list” responses through email or phone. Just be patient, your decision letter was mailed on Friday (March 27th) and should arrive shortly.

For students living abroad, you may send an e-mail titled “Remain on the Wait List” to <gotojhu@jhu.edu>, since international postal times do vary so much. Please include your full name (that you used when you applied), your birth date, mailing address, and your school name. Just make sure that you do send the blue card back when you receive your decision.

Finally, it is very important to note that only those who select to remain on the wait list option will be considered for a spot in the class if spaces become available.

My wait list letter did not contain a blue card? OR I lost my blue card, what to do?
Traditionally, we request that students submit the blue wait list reply card to officially accept a place of the Johns Hopkins wait list. In such cases where a student has lost or not received the wait list card with their decision letter, we do have a process of allowing students to request to remain on the wait list. To do such, please send an email to gotojhu@jhu.edu with the subject line of "Remain on the Wait List." Please include your full name, birth date, mailing address, and school name in this email.

Should I do anything else besides sending back the card? I heard we can update our applications. Is that true, and what kind of updates can we submit?
You may certainly send updates that you would like added to your application. Such information can assist the Admissions committee if we do review wait list candidates for admission. We suggest the following if updating your application:

• A Letter of Interest – A one or two page letter to the Admissions Committee that states why you are interested in Hopkins, why you feel it is the right school for you, and why you should be admitted from the wait list.
• Updated resume – Let us know what you have gotten involved with during your senior year. This should include updated information not in your original application.
• Recommendations - One or two additional or updated letters.
• Updated transcript – Your most recent grades, even beyond the mid-year report can be helpful. Ask your guidance counselor to submit them if possible.

Please DO NOT send the following: (1) additional writing samples; (2) supplemental materials such as CDs, slides, portfolios, etc.; (3) research or term papers. Just stick to the list above. Along these same lines, I like what one of my fellow bloggers from another university (Matt at MIT) write:

Here are some things you should not do: Fly to campus to make the case in person. Send us ridiculous items or bribes. Submit a whole new application. Bombard our office with way too much stuff. Be pushy. Be sketchy. Let your grades drop. Not choose another college to attend by May 1.

Do note that you are not required to submit any additional materials, just the postcard. Also it important that if you choose to submit updates to your file, make sure that they will contribute in a substantive way or provide new information. All updates should be sent to the Admissions Office either via postal mail or fax (410-516-6025). We can not process application updates submitted through email. When mailing, do include your full name, birth date, school name, and a note that the materials are to be used as a wait list update.

Why was I wait listed? Was this just a way to break the bad news more gently?
Admissions decisions are comprehensive decisions that take into account many factors included in each individual application within the context of the overall applicant pool. In every application we are searching for the ideal fit with the university based on the information in the applicant files. The Admissions Committee is unable to discuss with applicants why we were not able to offer admission, but it is important to know that offering a student a spot on our wait list is not done out of a courtesy or to lessen the impact of our decision. Any student on the wait list who chooses to remain on the wait list will have a chance for admission if spaces in the class become available.

How big is this year's wait list? Is the wait list ranked?
We will not know the size of this year's wait list until we receive all wait list reply cards back. We expect that about 1000 students will request to keep their position on our wait list.

In no way, shape, or form is our wait list ranked. If spaces in the class become available, we will review the application of each and every student who selected to remain on the wait list.

What are my chances of being admitted from the wait list?
It is impossible at this time to predict any individual's chances of being admitted from the wait list. Admission will depend on how many admitted students accept their offer from Hopkins, how many students send back their wait list replay cards, and a series of other enrollment factors. There is just no way of telling, so we request your patience and understanding.

When will I hear if I've been accepted off the wait list? The other schools I was admitted to require a deposit by May 1 - should I wait until I hear from Hopkins?
Once again that all depends on the response from our admitted students. Our decision as to whether we will admit students off the wait list will not be made prior to May 1 and it is more likely we will make that determination closer to June 1. We strongly recommend that you submit your deposit to a school where you have been accepted. If you are later admitted to Hopkins from the wait list and choose to attend, you will withdraw your enrollment from the other school and forfeit the previous deposit.

How do you choose from the wait listed candidates? Do you choose people who will fit better at JHU than others; people who show the most interest, people who satisfy spaces open in certain academic areas, or a mix of all of this?
As I stated above, any student on the wait list who chooses to remain on the wait list will have a chance for admission if spaces in the class become available and admission off the wait list will depend on how many admitted students accept their offer from Hopkins. The main thing to note is that if we decide to use the wait list this year EVERY applicant who chose to remain on the wait list will be re-reviewed for admission. When re-reviewing students for admission off the wait list our priority will always be quality of the student and what will they contribute to Hopkins, but we may also have to factor in additional concerns dependent on the make-up of the enrolling class. It is that last note that I will try to expand on.

If the decision is made to select students for admission off the wait list than a determination is made that we have not hit our targets for the enrolling class. This means that we have not enrolled the set number of students we want to enroll. Removing students off the wait list helps us make our yield number but also helps us make sure there is diversity in our class in every way shape and form.

It might be decided that when selecting students off the wait list we specifically want to target one area of academic interest ... or we need to take students with no financial need because we have no aid ... or we want students with a specific demographic breakdown -- it all depends and unfortunately until we see the make-up of the class of 2013 we can not make a determination. Remember there is no guarantee that one will be admitted off the wait list just because they are a strong applicant, because there is no guarantee that we will need to take students off the wait list. Interest does matter but it is not the driving force of our decision making process.

I want to come see the campus in April. Can I visit, and what kind of visit programs can I participate in?
You are welcome to visit Hopkins in the month of April. Our offices are open Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm. Tours are offered on weekdays at 11am and 2pm, and information sessions are available at 10:00am and 1:00pm. There are some exceptions, so check out the visit section on our web site: http://apply.jhu.edu/visit/guidedtours.html. We regret that we are unable to accommodate any requests for overnights and/or day visits from wait listed students. Additionally, our Open House programs in April are for admitted students only.

During my visit can I get an interview or meet with an Admissions counselor one-on-one?
Unfortunately, no. We are unable to grant interview or meeting requests for wait listed students. Instead, we ask that you put any information or updates in a written letter which will be added to your application file. If you do have a specific question, you may email your regional counselor: http://apply.jhu.edu/contact/staff.html.

If I am accepted off the wait list and I applied for financial aid, will I receive any financial assistance?
There is no guarantee of financial assistance for students accepted from the wait list. It all depends on whether there is available funding after the numbers are crunched from the admitted students who have chosen to enroll. If financial aid is still available, then students admitted off the wait list will have financial aid packages awarded to them. If financial aid is not available, then we will be unable to admit students off the wait list with financial need.

If I am accepted off the wait list, am I bound to enroll at Johns Hopkins?
No. If we offer places in the class to students on the wait list, those students will have the chance to select whether they want to enroll at Hopkins or stick with the other University that they had previously selected. We provide students with about a two-week deadline for responding to our offer of admission from the wait list. Submitting the Wait List Reply card and selecting that you want to remain on the wait list is not a commitment to enroll at Hopkins if admitted.

Do you have any historical data of how many students were admitted from the wait list in previous years?
Though every year is different and the numbers vary, here is what happened the past few years:

2008 - Approximately 50 student were admitted from the wait list.

2007 - Approximately 80 students were admitted from the wait list.

2006 - No offers of admission from the wait list.

2005 - No offers of admission from the wait list.

2004 - Approximately 150 students were admitted from the wait list.

2003 - Approximately 100 offers.

2002 - No offers.

2001 - Approximately 50 offers.

2000 - No offers.

I hope this information helps. I will update the blog with news from the wait list when it becomes available. Just remember, there will not be any news until after May 1st, and more likely my next wait list update will not be posted until the middle of May at the earliest. Finally, remember if you have further questions please post them to the Wait List Discussion Thread on the Hopkins Forums.

A Post for the Denied Applicant

In the three plus years I have been writing this blog about the Johns Hopkins Admissions process, I have never posted a specific entry written for those applicants denied admission. First, I always assumed that after a student received a deny decision from Johns Hopkins that they would not return to the blog. Second, I felt that my comments would not be received well by a student who had received such negative news. And finally, I feared that my words would fail me in expressing the heartfelt compassion I feel for a non-admitted student.

However, after such a difficult year in rendering decisions, I felt it was important to post some thoughts. No matter what you may think at this time, or what you may read on some anonymous online forum, admissions counselors loathe the process of denying applicants. We all universally agree this is the hardest part of our jobs.

Every year my colleagues and I are faced with the daunting task of selecting very few students from a truly outstanding pool of applicants. As I have written many times before, each applicant is considered thoroughly and holistically by a team of professionals. Unfortunately, the number of applicants (16,000+ this year) far exceeds the number of positions we can offer (our freshman class is just over 1200 students). It is never an easy process selecting students and I know my colleagues join me in saying that we sincerely understand your frustration and anger and respect your disappointment when hearing the unfavorable news.

Many deal with rejection by trying to determine where they fell short. They ask questions about what were they missing or what they did wrong. As I complete my tenth admissions cycle, I can attest to the fact that there is never just one reason that leads to our decisions. When reviewing a student's application, we take into consideration a vast array of factors including academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, leadership, commitment to community, and promise of future contribution.

It is said often, and it is quite true ... the college admission review process is about fit. Our applicant pool is filled with qualified applicants, but unfortunately being qualified is not the only consideration. Our freshman class is quite small and we are unable to admit everyone that is capable of doing the work. Please do not receive this news as a judgment of your value and your ability, but rather understand the competitive nature of applying to a highly selective institution like Johns Hopkins.

I was rejected from my first and second choice schools when I applied to college. I was angry, I vented, and I felt that all my hard work was wasted. But then with the support of my friends and family, I realized I had wonderful other options to choose from. And once I made my selection from the schools that admitted me I forgot all about my "love" for the other schools. I committed myself completely to my new college and never looked back. Even today, after realizing I made the wrong choice in the college I attended (no I am not a JHU alum), I do not look back and wonder "what if." I made the best of every day of my collegiate experience and still cherish all the memories, even though I did not attend my first choice school.

My advice is to forget about Johns Hopkins now. Know that there is a college that is going to be uniquely enriched by your presence on their campus and that you will have an amazing undergraduate experience. If there is one thing I have learned over the years, the right college for you is the one that you select to attend and the one you commit yourself to fully.

It is with the deepest sincerity that I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Answers to a few frequently asked questions:

Can I appeal my decision?
Johns Hopkins University does not accept appeals of our decisions nor will we re-evaluate applications with new information. Our decisions are final and are based on the information provided to the Admissions Committee at the time of decision.

Can I find out why I was denied?
While we as a committee do not address specific components of a student's admission decision, we always note that each year we have an outstanding pool of applicants and there are more qualified applicants than we can admit. It is our practice though not to discuss the factors that go into our final decisions nor provide students with a detailed analysis of their specific application evaluation.

Can I apply again and when?
Yes you may apply again, but must wait for our next admissions cycle which will be the Fall 2010 term. We would strongly encourage you to enroll at another university, and if after a semester or two you still feel that Hopkins is the right place for you, you may apply for transfer admission. Transfer admissions information can be found here: http://apply.jhu.edu/faqs/transfer.html.

RD Notification Day (2009) - Decision Release Explained

Greetings once again. I just returned from the downtown post office in Baltimore and I can finally declare that the Class of 2013 is sealed and decisions are on their way. It is all out of our hands now. In all my years at Johns Hopkins this is the latest we have dropped off packets to the post office, but if you have been reading this week you know the whole staff was determined to mail as soon as we could. A lot of late hours have been put in these past couple of weeks (and over the last four months truthfully) but it was all worth it. I applaud all of my colleagues for the commitment, dedication, passion, perfection, and care they all showed over these last few grueling days. The Class of 2013 is going to be amazing, and there will be time to reflect over the coming weeks.

At this time, all of my colleagues are celebrating and congratulating each other. Some of them are all also packing up their bags and heading home for a well-deserved weekend of sleep and catching up on their personal lives. This will only be a short break as the task of enrolling the freshmen class begins in earnest next Monday and continues throughout the month of April. We have an extensive two page list of events, communications, and projects all related to yielding our Class of 2013. More will follow about all of that next week too.

Unfortunately, I don't get to home just yet. My list of things to do continues to be comprehensive today. Before the day can end for me, I must assume my role as "Admissions Daniel" -- e-recruitment coordinator -- and make sure everything is up and running just prior to the release of decisions. One of the many tasks I have is to explain how the decision release process is going to work. So let me get to that right now:

How will decisions be released?
By mail: This afternoon (Friday, March 27) all decision letters (admits, wait lists, and denies) were taken to the main Baltimore postal center or the Hopkins postal center in Mt. Washington. All decisions will enter the postal system by the close of business today. Admit packets are sent priority mail, whereas deny and wait list letters are sent first-class mail. International mail is sent a variety of ways depending on the country. We hope that admit packets in the U.S. arrive by Monday at the earliest and only take 3-4 days toal. Obviously, international packets will take more time. 
  
By email: As we have done in the past, in the evening we will also be releasing decision notifications via email. Emails will start going our AROUND 6:00 p.m. EDT. Please see that I have emphasized the word AROUND. It can take up to 2 hours for all decision emails to be sent. We do not post our decisions online or through a portal. Emails are sent in batches and will take time to arrive. I can guarantee you all will not get your decision email at 6:00 p.m. Have some patience ... in fact I suggest finding something to distract you for an hour, then check your email account.

Can I check my decision online?
No, Johns Hopkins University does not have an online system for the release of admissions decisions.

Can I call the Admissions Office to receive my decision over the phone?
Decisions will not be released over the phone until Tuesday, March 31st. At that time, if you have not received your admissions notification you may call the Admissions Office (410-516-8171). Please be aware, when we do begin to release decisions over the phone, we will only release the decision to the applicant, a parent or guardian of the applicant, or the applicant's high school guidance counselor. Decisions will be released only if the identity of the caller can be reasonably assured. As well, please do not call asking why a certain decision was rendered as Admissions Committee decisions are confidential and we are unable to discuss the factors behind our decisions.

Regarding the emailed decisions, what will be the subject line?
We do not release the "subject lines" of our email decisions in advance. The content of these emails will change year-to-year.

What happens if I do not receive an email decision on Friday?
If an applicant does not receive an email there a couple of things he or she can do:

1. Check your SPAM folders.
2. Check ANY and all email accounts you have ever used during the college search process. We send the email to the account you listed on your application. However, our database system does track all email accounts that have ever been matched to your record, so on occasion the notification email may be sent to old email address. (So check emails that you may have used when registering for the SAT/ACT for example.)
3. Have your parents check their email accounts too. Not sure how that happens, but it has happened in the past.

If none of those methods work, then unfortunately the student will need to wait to receive the decision in the mail, or can call on March 31st. Every year some email notifications just don't work. The reasons for an applicant not receiving an email notification include that there was no email provided on the student's application, the email provided on the application is no longer active, there was a SPAM filter blocking the message, or some error occurred that caused a bounce-back. WE ARE UNABLE TO RE-SEND EMAILS. Once again, in such situations the applicant must wait. We understand how frustrating that can be, but unfortunately mistakes can happen when processing over 16,000 applications.

I applied to the biomedical engineering program, will I receive that decision via email as well?
This is something that has changed this year. In previous years, since decisions about acceptance into the biomedical engineering (BME) major are departmental decisions we would not release such information through email or over the phone, and applicants would have to wait for their admit packet to arrive. This year we will be sending BME decisions via email. Those emails though will be sent on Saturday (March 28). We will use the same system to email BME notifications, but so as not to overload the system, those decisions will be sent sometime on Saturday. And yes, further details about your BME decision will still be enclosed in the admit packet.

How do I learn about my financial aid package?
Financial aid awards for those who completed their financial aid application will be included in the acceptance packet. You will also be able to check your award by logging into your ISIS account. If you have any questions or need access to ISIS, please contact the Office of Student Financial Services (fin_aid@jhu.edu). I believe ISIS accounts will be updated after 7:00 p.m. tonight.

What about scholarship notifications and notifications about the  Woodrow Wilson research fellowship?
These decisions are included in acceptance packets only. We do not release that information through email or over the phone.

I think that covers everything for right now. I do have pictures to upload from the day, but right now I am going to try to take a 30-minute nap in my office. I'll add to the blog a bit later tonight, so check back.

BEST WISHES!!!

Oh wait, I forgot one thing ... this has become a bit of a tradition on decision release days. Sort of an inside-joke but also sort of something to put a smile on your face before decisions come out:

Update on Release of Decisions

I just received word from the Dean of Admissions, Dr. John Latting ... the Class of 2013 is done and ...

REGULAR DECISION NOTIFICATIONS FOR THE CLASS OF 2013
WILL BE RELEASED
TODAY
(Friday, March 27, 2009)

Check back later for full details. The mail will be going out today, and decision e-mails will be sent after 6:00 p.m. ET. DO NOT CALL US -- we will not release decisions over the phone. Further details about the release of decisions will be posted soon. I have to get back upstairs and help stuff and seal the letters and packets.

March Madness Update

Friday morning (7:30 a.m.) update ... Just got in the office and thought I would share a slide show from the action over the last two days.

Also, here is a quick video I shot of the file room in Mason Hall before we departed last night. Sorry for the quality, but I shot the video on my little digital camera.

Heading in to a counseling team meeting ... I will update with a new blog entry when I know more.

**********************************

As promised, I am back with the most honest update I can provide at this time (10:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 26). This March Madness update is not about how my NCAA brackets are doing (not bad actually) or how much I am hoping UNC wins it all. This update is about where we stand with admissions decisions and when Regular Decision notifications will be released.

Unfortunately, I still do not have confirmed answers to those questions. We are not done. Tomorrow morning the Admissions Committee will meet once again and we all hope it will be for the final time, but no one knows for sure. The office is moving forward as fast as we can and we understand and respect the anxiety many of your are feeling. A few points I would like to share before I head back upstairs and continue to work for the next few hours.

First, though I know you all eagerly want to know when decisions will be released, it is our practice not to release a date and time and then need to reverse that decision. A few years ago, in the infancy of this blog, I posted that we would be mailing on a specific date. Well things occurred and we needed to delay the mailing by a day ... the backlash was a great one. So the policy is a clear one ... not until the class is sealed, the Dean confirms that decisions are complete, the Operations team figures out the most feasible mail date / time line, and Dr. Latting confirms that plan, will an official Decision Release plan be announced. And as I have said numerous times, the minute I get the O.K. from my boss I will update the blog.

Second, I assure you we are not dragging our feet and attempting to prolong this process. We are all exhausted and want these decisions out as much as you want to receive them. However, none of us are willing to do that until all the data reports have run, all the letters have been checked and double-checked, and all the proverbial "i"s have been dotted and "t"s been crossed. As I type this, a team of my colleagues are on the third floor going over the decision letters and assembling our admit packets. At the same time, I am pretty sure that Dean Latting is reviewing the extensive array of data points and projections for the class. This has been a truly interesting year with an amazing applicant pool, and though I can attest to the fact that we are very close to the end, there are still decisions that I personally need to speak with the committee about tomorrow. For all intent and purpose, we strive to be perfectionists at this time, and though that may be frustrating as you all eagerly await your fate, I think in the long run you will appreciate how delicate this process is for all of us. Just hang in a little bit more.

Finally, I had hoped to compile a post this evening of how we will be releasing decisions this year -- more specifically the process, not the date and time. Unfortunately, I really do need to go back upstairs and help my colleagues. We have some great 80s music playing right now, there is still some pizza left over, and I am craving some Dr. Pepper right now (no idea why). I will make every effort to post about the process of decision release as soon as I have a free moment. I also have some photos to download and share.

Thank you for your patience.

Status Update: Time Line Reflection

Before I even delve into this blog entry and update, I must answer the question on most of your minds -- NO, we have not yet set an official date/time for the release of regular decision notifications. Now read on for more ...

As I sit down to write this blog entry I notice my clock reads 3:30 a.m. Depending on how one looks at it, it is either very late on Wednesday evening (March 26) or very early on Thursday morning. This is a struggle that my colleagues and I have been facing each day ... is it that we are going to bed after a very long day or are we waking up very early and facing a daunting day ahead. If I think real hard, today it is the later for me ... I am just waking up after a short three hour nap and I am about to face another marathon day of work.

This is how it has been for most of the last week for my colleagues and I, and no I am not over-exaggerating for dramatic effect. Starting pretty much last Thursday, Admissions Committee work has engulfed our lives. Don't believe me ... well here are just a few of the sacrifices I have made in the last few weeks:

1. I got a year older on Sunday and celebrated my birthday working a 14 hour day (thanks to Sarah for the cupcakes ... to Jameel for the mushy card ... and to my family for the messages from home).
2. On Tuesday I sent Soze (my dog) on a mini-vacation to his boarding kennel where he will get to have fun for a week (they even provide swimming time). This is really hard for me as when I get home he is not there to greet me. But it is a necessary evil of this time of year since I can't ask him to hold his bladder for 18 hours at a time.
3. I missed this week's episode of LOST. This is the first time I have not watched a new episode of LOST upon its first airing since the pilot. Four full seasons and nine episodes into the fifth season and my streak has ended. Oh and to top if off, I already know the shocking reveal in the episode because one of my "friends" sent me an email with all the details. Nice friend, huh?
4. For the heck of it, I added some stats about my work schedule. Since last Thursday I have spent 86 hours in the office (51%), an additional 22 hours working at home (13%), and 60 hours on non-work time - primarily sleep (36%). I am using toothpicks right now to keep my eyelids open.

Even though this may sound like I am complaining, in fact I am not. I do enjoy it. Despite this being one of the most difficult work weeks of my professional career, and being constantly reminded of the all-nighters back in my collegiate days,  I have appreciated the challenge. I have ten years of experience with the madness that is the month of March in college admissions, and sadistically it is one of the things I do embrace about my job. The work shaping the class is tough, the discussions with my colleagues are intense, the emotions can become quite raw, but in the end it is clear we are all proud of the class we admit and the tireless work it took to get to the best class possible. If there is one thing I can attest to, we take each and every decision very seriously and understand how delicate a process this can be, and respect all the emotions involved for the 16,000+ applicants.

Before I close, let me return to the issue that you all want me to address - when are decisions going to be released. I am being 100% honest when I tell you we do not know yet. There is still work to be to finish the class, and not until Dean Latting seals the class and finalize all the decisions can we determine when notifications will be released. We are moving as fast as we can, and our amazing Operations staff has been preparing as much as they can so that once the class is finalized we can move forward at a rapid pace. There is so much that must be taken into account before finalizing a class, and Dean Latting and the Admissions Committee are doing our due diligence to make sure we continue our record of perfect decisions and the best class possible. In no way are we trying to drag this process out -- why would we do that? The minute I become aware of an official mail date/time, I will update the blog -- you have my word.

In the meantime, with the help of one of my student workers and one of the greatest Hopkins Interactive students of all-time -- Esther B. -- we created this photo slide show to show what has been going on in the office. More significantly, the slide show displays how much is different now that we have instituted a paperless application evaluation system. Enjoy a peak into Mason Hall and a behind the scenes look at how the evaluation and application processing system works.

I will post later today (Thursday) with details on how we will be releasing notifications this cycle, and the minute I know officially our decision release date/time I will update the blog. I am off to spend 30 minutes reading the New York Times online and catching-up on sports scores for the last two days ... then a 15 minute power nap, a shower, some breakfast, and in the office by 6:30am. I've never had a cup of coffee in my life and I have always avoided energy drinks like Red Bull ... let's hope I keep those streaks going today. My energy is going to need to come from Twizzlers, a mid-afternoon Pepsi, and good music (listening to The Killers and James has really helped).

Cheers!