Accepted via phone call from waitlist - so shocked right now!
2011-2012 Johns Hopkins Application Thread
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Congrats everyone! Please come join us in Baltimore!
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Accepted as well! Can't stop smiling!!
Congrats buddy! Very happy that you got in!
And congrats to everyone that was accepted off the waitlist recently. I completely agree with sharpie and masrawy, my future classmates! Come to Hopkins! The current students there are amazing, but what really sold me on the school at second look was getting a chance to meet all of my future classmates. Everyone was incredibly friendly, down-to-earth, and unique. I could easily see myself going to class and becoming friends with each and every one of the people I met at second look.
Let me add a couple more things from second look that I think might help in your decisions.
1) The faculty and administration we met at second look were incredibly inspiring and supportive. They really emphasized that going to Hopkins was like becoming part of a new family. We heard various faculty speak, from chiefs of surgery to deans of education, and each and every one of them was not only supportive but interested and invested in our development as future doctors!
2) The new hospital is absolutely awe-inspiring. Everything is completely brand new, and the entire hospital has a patient-centric design. You can see this especially in the fact that each pediatric room has a built-in Xbox360.
3) The school, as a whole, is incredibly supportive of everything and anything the students want to do. Every student's scholarly concentration is funded with a $5000 grant from the Dean's Fund. And the concentration can be done on anything from community service to the history of medicine to international work. In addition to that, students that are interested in doing an MPH at Bloomberg can most likely do it completely tuition free.
4) The school is receptive to student feedback, and actually, the students have a lot of representation throughout the school. Students serve on nearly every committee, even down to the "furniture committee" that helps decide the furniture in Armstrong Education building. In addition to that, the school is receptive to student feedback. This can be said about a lot of schools but Hopkins demonstrated that during second look by changing the longitudinal clerkship that starts in the first year from being graded(like other clerkships) to being P/F, making the first two years completely P/F. It was a nice touch.
These were just a few of the things I picked up on during second look! There have been some great questions about the school on the facebook page, so feel free to join that while you make your decision. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/219621724779709/
Hope this helps! Good luck with your decision, and let us know what you decide!
Congrats!
You thinking about joining us in Baltimore?
Yes I am! Finally sending the acceptance today - can someone tell me a bit about the 929 housing they saw on interview day - I didn't get a chance to go - planning to take it - current students tell me it is really affordable because rent includes amenities
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Glad to hear it! Welcome to the group.
I really liked 929 when I saw the demo unit during my interview(didn't get a chance to see it again during second look). The staff has been friendly and responsive about answering my questions, so I'm confident that they'll make our needs as student a priority(even though they're privately owned). The building is right on Hopkins grounds, so it'll be safe going to and from campus at any time of the day. The Charm City Circulator stops right outside of the building and runs to Whole Foods and other markets. In addition to that, Safeway delivers!
Judging by my conversations during second look and the facebook group, a large number of our class is going to be living in 929 for the first year, at the very least. In my opinion, that's the biggest draw of 929. Also, as someone coming from California, I'd like to be close to campus while I get acclimated to Baltimore. Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions!
Congrats!!!
929 definitely has the benefit of being close (right next to) campus and there will be other hopkins grad students living there, but in terms of affordability it is more expensive then what you would find elsewhere even with amenities incl., and especially for the neighborhood it's in. The JHMI shuttle that runs between Charles Village, Mt. Vernon, and the medical/ public health campus is extremely accessible and runs every few minutes during most of the day. In neighborhoods like Charles Village, Mt. Vernon, Fells Point, etc. it is not difficult to find nice shared housing options in the $500 - $700/ month range. That being said, it's a great option for those coming from far away who want to 'acclimate'.
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This is good advice as well! The JHMI shuttle runs regularly, and on weekends, it runs past midnight. In addition to that, the Charm City Circulator(free bus) has the green line that stops right between 929 and Hopkins.
My student host had a gorgeous row home in Fell's Point that was right within the price range that Jen222 mentioned. It was 3 stories with a room and bathroom on each floor. It had a dual-sided garage and a roof deck. I'm definitely getting a place like that after first year!
If you look at the facebook group, you'll see that a lot of the incoming class is interested in staying in 929, but there's a good proportion that are also going to be living off campus throughout Baltimore. As always, explore your options and make the decision that's best for you. The hard part is over!
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Got off the waitlist a few days ago!
For those of you who went to second look, how was it? In particular, what do you think of Baltimore, what were the students like, how did you feel about the faculty/administration being your mentors/gatekeepers for the next 4+ years?
For those who turned Hopkins down, would you be willing to share how you made your decision and where you decided to go instead?
Thanks so much guys! The offer came with a few caveats and I'm having a tough time deciding. (Soliciting advice...if you know Hopkins well, please PM me!)
For those of you who went to second look, how was it? In particular, what do you think of Baltimore, what were the students like, how did you feel about the faculty/administration being your mentors/gatekeepers for the next 4+ years?
For those who turned Hopkins down, would you be willing to share how you made your decision and where you decided to go instead?
Thanks so much guys! The offer came with a few caveats and I'm having a tough time deciding. (Soliciting advice...if you know Hopkins well, please PM me!)
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What kind of caveats? No aid?
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COME TO HOPKINS, it's going to be an incredibly cohesive class and their facilities are amazing!! If there is a huge price difference I'd understand....but try to work with fin aid office, you might be surprised. Otherwise, no way you should turn it down in my biased opinion .
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COME TO HOPKINS, it's going to be an incredibly cohesive class and their facilities are amazing!! If there is a huge price difference I'd understand....but try to work with fin aid office, you might be surprised. Otherwise, no way you should turn it down in my biased opinion
I could not agree more! Definitely looking forward to seeing our class again and meeting those whom I haven't met yet!
semicharmed, PM me and let me know who you are! Are you active on the fb group? skysongx, please check my post earlier on this page for a quick run down of my impressions of the topics you listed. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to PM me. If you're not a part of the facebook group, consider joining that as well. There have been some great questions answered on there, especially on day-to-day schedules, the curriculum, and Baltimore.
Good luck with your decision. Let us know what you decide!
The major caveat is that I haven't taken biochem, as per the new 2011 requirements. Unfortunately, I'm finishing up graduate school overseas and won't be able to go back to the US until July - and Hopkins needs me to take it by August 1. I can't take it in the UK because they don't really offer accredited individual courses (only degree programs) and Hopkins won't accept an online course. I've been racking my brains for a solution; after all the time and effort put into preparing and applying to med school, this would be a really tragic reason not to be able to go. Does anyone have any suggestions? (Perhaps any biochem courses that I could enroll in but not physically attend, then self-study and make it back in time for the final?)
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Wow.. I have trouble believing that the admissions office wouldn't try to be flexible at all in your situation. Where will you be in the month of July? Maybe we can look into summer courses for you.
That's what I thought as well! But they are being pretty adamant about it - if I can't complete the course by August 1, I can't enroll. I spoke with a Hopkins MD alum/current fellow today who candidly said that they are just trying to fill the spot, and there are 200+ applicants with biochem who would be happy to take it, so they don't have much reason to accommodate me. It's a harsh perspective and makes me feel pretty trivial, but unfortunately, it makes sense. I also tried to defer (I have a scholarship to continue grad school for another year and was on track to defer before I heard from Hopkins this week), but while they defer regular admits, they won't defer waitlist admits.
Where will you be in the month of July? Maybe we can look into summer courses for you.
Aww, thanks sharpie! I'm in Oxford until mid-July, and can really go anywhere after that... but what school in any state or country would offer biochem in only a few weeks?? I've been targeting schools in Norcal (home) and NYC (pseudo-home) with finals at the end of July, but they all have assignments and midterms that I wouldn't be able to miss. Any ideas??
I'm starting to feel more and more like I'm really going to have to give it up because of this, and am kind of in shock
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What's more important to you, finishing your current program or attending JHU? Because from the sounds of it, you will not be able to do both. Once you find out which one is more important, the choice on what you should do will be an easy one!
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That's what I thought as well! But they are being pretty adamant about it - if I can't complete the course by August 1, I can't enroll. I spoke with a Hopkins MD alum/current fellow today who candidly said that they are just trying to fill the spot, and there are 200+ applicants with biochem who would be happy to take it, so they don't have much reason to accommodate me. It's a harsh perspective and makes me feel pretty trivial, but unfortunately, it makes sense. I also tried to defer (I have a scholarship to continue grad school for another year and was on track to defer before I heard from Hopkins this week), but while they defer regular admits, they won't defer waitlist admits.
Aww, thanks sharpie! I'm in Oxford until mid-July, and can really go anywhere after that... but what school in any state or country would offer biochem in only a few weeks?? I've been targeting schools in Norcal (home) and NYC (pseudo-home) with finals at the end of July, but they all have assignments and midterms that I wouldn't be able to miss. Any ideas??
I'm starting to feel more and more like I'm really going to have to give it up because of this, and am kind of in shock
That's a tough time frame, but I think if you can somehow make it home a few days earlier (or even, fly over briefly for a midterm), you may possibly be able to sign up for a month-long course (late June to late July). You may have seen this already, but I found this at UC Santa Cruz (midterm on July 12, final on July 26). (I'll edit if I find anything else)
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sharpie, that course at UCSC looks good. I'm sure all lectures notes can be found online and the readings are right there on the syllabus. As long as you can make the midterm and final, it should be feasible!
To add to the list of biochem courses, here is one I have found through UC Berekeley extension: http://extension.berkeley.edu/catalog/course351.html Ask the UCB extension office for a copy of the syllabus and see if Hopkins accepts it. The great thing about this course is that you can begin at any time and it has a proctored, on-site exam. You mentioned that they won't accept an online course, but they may make an exception when they see the syllabus and qualities of this particular course. This is the first year they have this requirement, so they really should be flexible!
Here is also the list of in-class biochem courses offered through UCB extension: http://extension.berkeley.edu/catalog/course748.html. It looks like they have courses offered in Belmont and SF, which should meet the Norcal requirement. These courses began last week, but if there is a way that you can enroll in one of them and just keep up at your own pace without attending the actual classes save for exams, this could be a work around for the anti-online requirement. I would get in touch with the extension office and see what they have to say about this scenario as well.
skysongx, your situation is difficult, but I'm wishing you the best of luck! If there's anything we can do to help, please don't hesitate to let us know.
To add to the list of biochem courses, here is one I have found through UC Berekeley extension: http://extension.berkeley.edu/catalog/course351.html Ask the UCB extension office for a copy of the syllabus and see if Hopkins accepts it. The great thing about this course is that you can begin at any time and it has a proctored, on-site exam. You mentioned that they won't accept an online course, but they may make an exception when they see the syllabus and qualities of this particular course. This is the first year they have this requirement, so they really should be flexible!
Here is also the list of in-class biochem courses offered through UCB extension: http://extension.berkeley.edu/catalog/course748.html. It looks like they have courses offered in Belmont and SF, which should meet the Norcal requirement. These courses began last week, but if there is a way that you can enroll in one of them and just keep up at your own pace without attending the actual classes save for exams, this could be a work around for the anti-online requirement. I would get in touch with the extension office and see what they have to say about this scenario as well.
skysongx, your situation is difficult, but I'm wishing you the best of luck! If there's anything we can do to help, please don't hesitate to let us know.
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So, judging by your post history, is UCSF your second choice?
If so, would it be that much of a shame if you didn't go to Hopkins?
@sharpie and @Ironclad: Thanks so much for looking into this for me! I called UCB Extension - for the online version, the earliest you are allowed to finish is in 3 months, and for the SF/Belmont version, they don't allow more than one absence because of in-class quizzes/assignments. But I haven't looked into the UCSC program, and am going to do that now!
@chronicidal: Nope. If Hopkins doesn't work out, I'll go to Cornell, which is also a fantastic school. But I really love a lot of things about Hopkins, and don't want the biochem issue to make the decision for me.
@jHustle: I'm willing to forgo another year of grad school to go to Hopkins, and it's possible that I can defer my scholarship and then take a year off during med school to come back. But that doesn't solve the biochem problem =/
Thanks, everyone!
Speaking of which, does anyone know how flexible and supportive Hopkins is about students having non-traditional interests (ie. research or take time off for more interdisciplinary pursuits)?
@chronicidal: Nope. If Hopkins doesn't work out, I'll go to Cornell, which is also a fantastic school. But I really love a lot of things about Hopkins, and don't want the biochem issue to make the decision for me.
@jHustle: I'm willing to forgo another year of grad school to go to Hopkins, and it's possible that I can defer my scholarship and then take a year off during med school to come back. But that doesn't solve the biochem problem =/
Thanks, everyone!
Speaking of which, does anyone know how flexible and supportive Hopkins is about students having non-traditional interests (ie. research or take time off for more interdisciplinary pursuits)?
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At hopkins you have to do a scholarly concentration project, and they offer a wide range of choices (bench/clinical research, medical humanities, global health, public health). I think something like 30-40% of our class goes abroad over the summer to fulfill this requirement, pretty much fully funded by the school. A bunch of people like the medical humanities project too.
The class profile is pretty incredible in terms of diversity of majors and experiences so you'll be in good company if you're kind of a "non-trad" yourself!
The class profile is pretty incredible in terms of diversity of majors and experiences so you'll be in good company if you're kind of a "non-trad" yourself!
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That sounds pretty sweet.
When I interviewed, the tour guide told us that ~60% of her class took a fifth year to do research or a dual degree, and this extra year was generously funded by the Dean's office with stipends comparable to those offered to grad students. At Second Look I went to the public health seminar (I'm interested in the MD-MPH) and we were told that basically anyone who wants to do an MPH has that option, with tuition for the MPH program partially or fully paid for by various scholarships. These were big reasons why I chose Hopkins over any (much cheaper) Canadian school...there is so much support for the kind of research and scholarship I am interested in at Hopkins, that I don't think I could find anywhere in Canada.
Really? That's awesome.
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first time poster but can someone (either current student or going to be a 1st year) explain to me the Genes to Society Curriculum. What are the courses 1st year? Is it in this order? Anatomy/Embryo, Biochem, Immuno/Microbio, and then Hematology?
Also how often are tests. Is there only 1 test per block, at the end of each block? How are the tests? Thank you.
Also how often are tests. Is there only 1 test per block, at the end of each block? How are the tests? Thank you.
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bump
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Maybe you should do your own research....
Side note:
I have looked everywhere for JHU's 2012 match list...any reason why hopkins doesn't publish it? I imagine it looks amazing. Anyone have a copy they can send me?
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This might not answer all of your questions, but a current MS1 posted this little summary in the Facebook group:
This was posted in the Allopathic forum on SDN:
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sharpie gave you an excellent run down of the curriculum from our fb group, but I would also like to point you towards the curriculum website: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/curriculum/
It doesn't seem like there is much there, but if you click on "a virtual tour of GTS" in the bottom right corner, you'll get a great powerpoint document from Dr. Thomas, our curriculum dean, outlining the curriculum. Within that document, there's even a slide that shows a timeline for the entire four years, including classes and rotations.
You'll see it from the document and sharpie's posit, but we have anatomy first(after a short healthcare disparities course). Immuno/micro come in the second semester followed by Hem/Onc. After that is our Brain, Mind, and Behavior course, so on and so forth. At this point, it becomes a very integrated curriculum, tackling systems from a variety of angles. One of the brilliant features of our curriculum are the intersessions. These are short(read 3-4 days) classes that come in between our major blocks. They're completely ungraded and cover awesome topics such as disaster medicine, pain care, global health, and palliative care.
Hope that sheds some extra light on your question.
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