2009-2010 Johns Hopkins Application Thread

[violincuty]

Anyone else get calls? If we didn't, should we assume non-acceptance?

I am going to give it until about 8pm EST before drawing any hard conclusions...but that does seem to be the case

I would still be pretty excited about being placed on the WL, though. I guess we'll find out our ultimate fate next week!

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[jaasu09]

No calls tonight?

 

[freeculture]

Hi JasonE and others who can pitch in on this,

How many acceptances had Johns Hopkins offered already (including this week)? I was a late interviewee (Feb) and just want to see if I still have a shot.

I really like Hopkins and really do believe Baltimore is a city to fulfill my dream. Due to my personal upbringing in an extremely impoverished family, my life goal is to become a physician so that I can help underserved communities and bridge health disparities in the US. I really don't know a better place than Hopkins to live this dream and would be so so happy if Hopkins can have a place for me in its incoming class.

 

[JasonE]

Hi JasonE and others who can pitch in on this,

How many acceptances had Johns Hopkins offered already (including this week)? I was a late interviewee (Feb) and just want to see if I still have a shot.

I really like Hopkins and really do believe Baltimore is a city to fulfill my dream. Due to my personal upbringing in an extremely impoverished family, my life goal is to become a physician so that I can help underserved communities and bridge health disparities in the US. I really don't know a better place than Hopkins to live this dream and would be so so happy if Hopkins can have a place for me in its incoming class.

im not sure ill have to ask. you def still have a shot if you've interviewed. if you havent gotten an invite yet, its looking pretty slim.

in terms of working in the community here, i think a current med student could chime in better than i could. i know that hopkins does not have any student run clinics in the city, and the one free clinic that many hopkins med students used to work at, they no longer do as frequently (apparently hopkins didnt want their students working there because the clinic is not associated with hopkins, i think it was an insurance issue?). i would imagine there are opportunites to work as there is much need.

 

[violincuty]

No calls tonight?

Not that I know of

It was kind of an anticlimactic admissions week...I was really hoping to hear lots of good news all around. Only the 1 girl out of the 7 that I spoke to today got in from my interview group. I am still holding out for a spot on the waitlist and potentially an acceptance from there- it's not over till it's over!

To be fair, though, I knew the reality of my chances going into this. I was blown away when I got the invitation to interview, and it turned out to be a great learning experience. Try to see the positive side guys- we were selected for interviews out of a huge group of highly qualified applicants. I think it is quite a compliment just to have been interviewed. I also more fully realized why I am so committed to pursuing some aspect of my training there, even if it is an MPH or a PhD. I hope you choose to not see this experience as a loss even if we're not offered admission- just my 2 cents.

 

[dontFREToverit]

to add to violincuty's informal count, I spoke to someone else from the group who has not heard back either, which makes 1/8.
on interview day they said 225 acceptances out of 700 interviews, roughly a third. Yet out of the 40-50 people who interviewed on jan21-22, they accepted one that we know of, so maybe a handful total. That makes me sad.

 

[jaasu09]

 

[masturhu]

oh noes, it sounds like the later the interview date the fewer the spots they have. I interviewed in early march so I am guessing my chances are very very very very very very very very slim. I was originally scheduled earlier but was rescheduled due to the snow storm :/

 

[nonameavailable]

can someone comment on the college system at hopkins? i heard a little about it at my interview...

 

[JHopRevisit]

can someone comment on the college system at hopkins? i heard a little about it at my interview...

The colleges are meant to be social and an opportunity for vertical advising. You're randomly assigned to one of four colleges, Harry Potter style, and from there on you take as much advantage of it as you want.

The main way you'll be involved with your college is through clinical skills. You, three of your college-mates and a faculty preceptor will be grouped together pretty much day one of med school. Over the next year and a half or so this group is where you'll learn to interview patients, do a physical exam, etc. Your preceptor stays with you all four years and for a lot of my classmates has been one of their go-to advisors, especially early on before they've settled on a specialty. The faculty who work with the colleges volunteered to do it, and it's pretty intensive for them, so you get a lot of people whose primary reason for being an academic is being educators.

On top of that, there's social activities within or between the colleges. Lots of potlucks, trips, poker nights, things like that. There's a college olympics thing they do that's pretty fun, lots of tug of war and kickball. They also organize volunteer activities through the colleges, mine works with a meals-on-wheels type soup kitchen and gets students together to help them out, particularly around the holidays.

Aside from just hanging out and having a good time, the main benefit of these activities is that you get to meet some upperclassmen, who can help you with the nitty-gritty of med school and residency applications. Honestly, it's a relatively small school so you'll have no trouble meeting upperclassmen even if you never step foot at a colleges event, but it's just another excuse to meet some people you can ask questions.

The colleges also each have an individual space in the Armstrong building with a kitchen, couches, TV, and places to hang out or study.

So basically, aside from clinical skills, everyone is involved in the colleges to a different degree. For some people organizing all of this stuff is one of their main extracurriculars, for me it's an opportunity to grab free food sometimes.

 

[jaasu09]

Is the new curriculum at JHU 1.5 or 2 yrs pre-clinical?

 

[JHopRevisit]

The second years start their clinical rotations today (3/29). They've spent about a month doing "Intro to the Wards" stuff (I think - any second years care to comment?). So about 1.5.

And clinical skills training really does start from day 1, by your second year you're seeing patients in an outpatient ambulatory setting. One of the better things about the new curriculum.

 

[ktfh]

Hi guys,
I was just trying to find the typical response dates on this thread. I know people are waiting to hear their decisions. If I interviewed on Feb. 18th, do you guys know when I should be hearing back? I heard on a previous post that it might be around the beginning of April, but was not sure.

Thanks

Hi Enolization! We were in the same interview group!

I was told that we wouldn't hear back until after second look weekend (April 8-11).

 

[wordswordswords]

So here is my dilemma: I reeaaaaaaaally want to go Hopkins. I felt comfortable there, and it matches for a lot of reasons. But I'm having a very hard time finding housing. Maybe I shouldn't worry, but I know I need a place to move to on June 1st since my lease is up, and I'd like to start a lab rotation (with the MSTP) on June 15th. I have a few friends who have been paying attention to the med class listservs, and they've forwarded me all of the emails coming through with roommate requests. I've contacted 3 different people, all of whom say my cats are a no-go, some 'cause of allergies, some 'cause they just don't want to deal with them. :/

I definitely cannot afford to live alone, and I'm worried I won't find a roommate who is happy to live with two kittens. And what if revisit comes and goes and I still don't have a roommate?

I wanted to spam the class of 2014 facebook group but there's no email-all option, plus I know that a lot of people there are most likely not attending, so I'd feel kind of weird about sending out a mass email to them. So what should I do to find a roommate?

 

[JHopRevisit]

So what should I do to find a roommate?

You should talk to Sharon.

That's pretty much the answer to all of life's mysteries.

 

[ksmi117]

Just got my Hopkins financial aid award. It's sucktastic.

 

[Tikka36]

Just got my Hopkins financial aid award. It's sucktastic.

Mine too

 

[bearforce]

Mine too. its all loan 100%
COA: 64,000
AID: 43500
aID DETAIL....LOAN LOAN LOAN LOAN..... Is this a mistake?

 

[Oriole]

sucks about the poor financial aid packages. i'm shocked because i thought hopkins had a reputation for being one of the cheaper schools. at least in the previous years, its students graduate with one of the lower average debts. is it bad in comparison to other schools' packages or is it just bad because med school is expensive? makes me anxious waiting for my letter.

can someone pm me a little more detail? i thought hopkins works on the unit loan. and anything above the unit loan and EFC is covered by the school. what is the unit loan this year? and are any of you currently holding a FT job? i have an EFC of close to 20k bc i worked a job last year and i'm wondering if they're going to take into account that i have none of that money actually available.

 

[JHopRevisit]

This has happened in years past. Talk to the FinAid office before you freak out.

I don't know the details, but every year people are horrified by their packages when they first get them. Can't make any promises that you'll get more money, but definitely talk to someone before you start making too many calculations.

 

[88pich14]

sucks about the poor financial aid packages. i'm shocked because i thought hopkins had a reputation for being one of the cheaper schools. at least in the previous years, its students graduate with one of the lower average debts. is it bad in comparison to other schools' packages or is it just bad because med school is expensive? makes me anxious waiting for my letter.

can someone pm me a little more detail? i thought hopkins works on the unit loan. and anything above the unit loan and EFC is covered by the school. what is the unit loan this year? and are any of you currently holding a FT job? i have an EFC of close to 20k bc i worked a job last year and i'm wondering if they're going to take into account that i have none of that money actually available.

This is exactly how my aid was calculated. They subtracted the unit loan ($20,500) and EFC from the total COA and covered the rest with a "general scholarship." Overall I am extremely happy with my award

 

[ksmi117]

Maybe a stupid question... but what's the unit loan? Is that a loan from the school itself?

 

[88pich14]

Maybe a stupid question... but what's the unit loan? Is that a loan from the school itself?

It's the subsidized stafford loan (8,500) and the unsubsidized stafford loan (12,000).

 

[ksmi117]

It's the subsidized stafford loan (8,500) and the unsubsidized stafford loan (12,000).

Oh I see.

Yeah, mine's pretty bad.

I have those two loans, plus two others for a total of $43,500 in loans.

But what about the other $20901 to get to the CoA. Am I expected to just get other loans outside of school? Or is that my EFC they calculated? Because my EFC on FAFSA was 0. This is confusing.

 

[Tikka36]

Oh I see.

Yeah, mine's pretty bad.

I have those two loans, plus two others for a total of $43,500 in loans.

But what about the other $20901 to get to the CoA. Am I expected to just get other loans outside of school? Or is that my EFC they calculated? Because my EFC on FAFSA was 0. This is confusing.

yeah the difference between the COA and your loan/scholarship total is your EFC. my EFC was also 0 on my FAFSA, but my EFC at hopkins is significantly higher than yours...

 

[ksmi117]

yeah the difference between the COA and your loan/scholarship total is your EFC. my EFC was also 0 on my FAFSA, but my EFC at hopkins is significantly higher than yours...

Ah, I see. Is this all explained somewhere on the website, or did I zone out that much when they talked about finaid?

 

[JasonE]

its tough to look at the average debt of ppl coming from a school and draw conclusions (penn made that a huge point when they give their financial aid presentation). in general though, for schools similar to jhu, coa is lower (sub 40). i think they try and remove ppl from the extremes.

 

[Oriole]

It's the subsidized stafford loan (8,500) and the unsubsidized stafford loan (12,000).

Yeah, it's the minimum amount that the school expects you to borrow before they start using scholarship money to meet financial need.

 

[88pich14]

Oh I see.

Yeah, mine's pretty bad.

I have those two loans, plus two others for a total of $43,500 in loans.

But what about the other $20901 to get to the CoA. Am I expected to just get other loans outside of school? Or is that my EFC they calculated? Because my EFC on FAFSA was 0. This is confusing.

I'm assuming the difference between the CoA and the total aid they list is the EFC. My EFC on FAFSA was also 0, but only because FAFSA doesn't take into account our parents' income.

The only loans they gave me were the stafford loans. I don't know why they only gave you a loan package without any scholarship money. Perhaps your EFC exceeds the CoA minus the unit loan. I would definitely talk to the financial aid office to see what they can do for you. It can't hurt.

 

[bearforce]

its tough to look at the average debt of ppl coming from a school and draw conclusions (penn made that a huge point when they give their financial aid presentation). in general though, for schools similar to jhu, coa is lower (sub 40). i think they try and remove ppl from the extremes.

based on this aid... im at the upper extreme.

 

[JasonE]

based on this aid... im at the upper extreme.

hmm i dunno. if it helps at all, baltimore is relatively cheap compared to many other cities. im not really familiar with jhu's financial aid.

 

[12manydrinks]

I decided to withdraw my acceptance from Hopkins. I hope my spot goes to someone that really wants to come here. Baltimore is a great city and Hopkins is a great school.

 

[violincuty]

I decided to withdraw my acceptance from Hopkins. I hope my spot goes to someone that really wants to come here. Baltimore is a great city and Hopkins is a great school.

*raises hand*...I'd gladly take it
On that note...I haven't heard anything. This is getting a bit ridiculous. I am really hoping for WL at this point, but it would be nice to know for sure. It's stressful to plan your life based on fantasies. Has anyone received a letter from last week yet?

 

[JasonE]

*raises hand*...I'd gladly take it
On that note...I haven't heard anything. This is getting a bit ridiculous. I am really hoping for WL at this point, but it would be nice to know for sure. It's stressful to plan your life based on fantasies. Has anyone received a letter from last week yet?

if others who interviewed on the same day as you or before you but on the same day (thurs or fri), and you didnt get called, its either wl or reject (sorry). you can always call and they will let you know if a letter is on the way (or if a decision wasnt made)

 

[kywii]

Hi, I was just wondering how you received your aid package. Was it through email or snail mail?

 

[paperclip330]

JHU sent accepted students an email with login information for accessing financial aid status/awards online. You should find this email if you want to see your award letter.

 

[jfanny88]

Hi, I was just wondering how you received your aid package. Was it through email or snail mail?

I received an email letting me know that my aid package had been determined and could be accessed online. Once you submit your forms they give you an account so you can check your status (which forms they have etc.)

 

[Cali787]

My Hopkins financial aid package is pretty awful, as well.

COA: $64,000
Aid: $43,500
Aid Detail: ALL loans (8500 fed subsidized, and the rest unsub / perkins)

This is insane; I'll be ~$200,000 in debt by the end of my four years. I'm pretty confused / surprised right now, though I guess I should've been prepared

 

[88pich14]

My Hopkins financial aid package is pretty awful, as well.

COA: $64,000
Aid: $43,500
Aid Detail: ALL loans (8500 fed subsidized, and the rest unsub / perkins)

This is insane; I'll be ~$200,000 in debt by the end of my four years. I'm pretty confused / surprised right now, though I guess I should've been prepared

I think your aid is all loans because your EFC is greater than or equal to the COA minus the unit loan.

 

[bfg9000]

+1 for the awful package: almost all loans and not even covering half the COA

 

[shgy]

What were you guys' status on parental financial info? I mean, what did you guys have on the yearly income of parents?

 

[bfg9000]

What were you guys' status on parental financial info? I mean, what did you guys have on the yearly income of parents?

Low enough that I was getting significant need-based aid as an undergrad, so I'm not sure what the deal is.

 

[bearforce]

is the consensus that everyone's package sucks? They estimated my parental contribution to be 43k a year....no way

 

[jla314]

my package was decent, i think. 30k covered by scholarship

 

[orange4me]

is the consensus that everyone's package sucks? They estimated my parental contribution to be 43k a year....no way

Yeah, my package is the same as Cali787, which I definitely wasn't expecting...sigh...

Am I completely making this up, or do I remember being told that a good number of students receive some amount of institutional aid (need based scholarship from JHU)? Probably just got that confused with financial aid in general, which would include all of these federal loans...

 

[shgy]

my package was decent, i think. 30k covered by scholarship

What was your parental income on FAFSA?

 

[jla314]

haha i don't really want to put my parents' financials on SDN

 

[freeculture]

For the people who are going to the revisit weekend, can you please let us know how many people showed up? Also, can you let us know if the admissions staff mention how many people they have already accepted and whether waitlists will be moving this year? I think they told my interview group that we will be notified in late April so I still have quite a lot of time to wait.

 

[sarahraphael]

For the people who are going to the revisit weekend, can you please let us know how many people showed up? Also, can you let us know if the admissions staff mention how many people they have already accepted and whether waitlists will be moving this year? I think they told my interview group that we will be notified in late April so I still have quite a lot of time to wait.

in case it's helpful "freeculture," i interviewed 2/22 and was told i would hear back by april 12th. good luck!

 

[jfanny88]

For the people who are going to the revisit weekend, can you please let us know how many people showed up? Also, can you let us know if the admissions staff mention how many people they have already accepted and whether waitlists will be moving this year? I think they told my interview group that we will be notified in late April so I still have quite a lot of time to wait.

Not sure how many students have been accepted (maybe someone else knows?), but they sent us a list of people coming to second-look and there are about 90 of us. I'm sure not everyone could make it, but I'd assume that there are still spots left and if they interviewed you then you definitely have a chance of being accepted.

If they say anything else at second look I'll let you know. Good luck