2009-2010 Johns Hopkins Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Could someone please post or PM me an example of an "in area" email?

Thanks so much!







Since I am interviewing at Gtown on 1/11/2010, I sent JHU an "in the area" email about 6 days ago.

Is there any chance JHU will invite me for 1/12 or 1/13? (Is JHU at all receptive to in the area emails, do they even interview on those 2 days, are those days already full?)

I want to book my return flight for 1/11 before the price goes up but I also wanted to give Hopkins a chance to consider inviting me before buying a non-refundable tix.
 
Could someone please post or PM me an example of an "in area" email?

Thanks so much!

Email Subject Line: AMCAS ID [#XXXXXXX]: Inquiry Regarding Potential Interview Dates

Dear Admissions Committee [Insert name of specific person if available],

I recently submitted my application for admission into your MD program. I will be in the [insert city] area on [Date] for another obligation. If you are considering me for an interview, I would like to inquire if you can accommodate scheduling one for [dates desired] as I will be in your area.


Thank you,

[NAME]
[AMCAS ID XXXXXX]

PS: Unless you know schools interview until past January, it may be too late for this.
 
Hey has anyone who interviewed in December heard back yet? I interviewed on 12/11, really hoping to hear soon...but I guess the holidays might have slowed things down a bit.
 
A week ago I sent the admin office an email asking about the status of my app, and today I got this "rejection" letter, riddled with typos and bad grammar:

Dear Ms. XXXXX,

Thank you for your interest in The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and your inquiry.

Your application has received a preliminary review by the Admissions Committee and they did not decide to interview at the time of their review.

If it difficult to predict the decisions made by the Committee, however, if they do decide to invite you to interview at our medical school, we initiate all invitations to interview via email.

We appreciate the patience and understanding you have shown during this very busy time while we process hundreds of applications.

Please feel free to let us know if we can be of further assistance.

We will place a copy of your email in your file.

We wish you success in your endeavor to become a physician.

Sincerely,

Dean Hicks
(Ms.) Hermione M. Hicks, M.P.A.
Assistant Dean for Admissions
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine
Office of Admissions
 
hmm i dont think thats a rejection for hopkins. i think that's a maybe pile. they send rejections to pple they arent into. they interview till march i believe so till hope unels u get a letter in the mail saying otherwise

A week ago I sent the admin office an email asking about the status of my app, and today I got this "rejection" letter, riddled with typos and bad grammar:

Dear Ms. XXXXX,

Thank you for your interest in The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and your inquiry.

Your application has received a preliminary review by the Admissions Committee and they did not decide to interview at the time of their review.

If it difficult to predict the decisions made by the Committee, however, if they do decide to invite you to interview at our medical school, we initiate all invitations to interview via email.

We appreciate the patience and understanding you have shown during this very busy time while we process hundreds of applications.

Please feel free to let us know if we can be of further assistance.

We will place a copy of your email in your file.

We wish you success in your endeavor to become a physician.

Sincerely,

Dean Hicks
(Ms.) Hermione M. Hicks, M.P.A.
Assistant Dean for Admissions
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine
Office of Admissions
 
Alright, we're approaching mid-January. The last batch of acceptances went out on December 17th. Any idea when the next batch will be? :luck:
 
So I have been complete here for over four months with still no news, and I tried calling them in the morning without success (no one picked up). Is 410-955-3182 the correct number, or am I just being silly? At any rate, when does Hopkins stop sending out invites?
 
Last edited:
They are still giving out invites!! For people still waiting to hear, interview invitation 1/13, interview date 1/28, meaning there are probably some spots left for february and maybe march? anyways, so excited to be interviewing right here at home school 🙂
 
Last edited:
I have an interview this up coming Thursday. It was originally scheduled for early December but I had surgery on my acl. Keep hope everyone, my stats are not the greatest. 3.44 and MCAT of 33. My resume is thin, volunteered in clinics, schools and played college ball. Thats pretty much it. Hope everyone gets their shot:xf:
 
nice congrats guys. when were you complete? did you send any updates?
 
after hearing horror stories about 'lost' applications or 'lost' interview invitations (happened to one of my buddies- he called the office in december to see the status of his app and was told that he had been given an interview invite weeks before 😱). I'm waiting on about 5 or 6 more schools pre-interview, and I haven't bothered to call about the status of my app or anything (just assumed I'd get an email if they chose to interview me)... but now I'm wondering. I've been complete at hopkins since early sept, but have not received an invite or rejection. do you think this could be a lost app? or is anyone in the same position as i am?

and has anyone heard of lost apps or lost emails from other schools? I'm using gmail and I really don't know if gmail tends to lose these things... really wished I had checked up on this in december...
 
after hearing horror stories about 'lost' applications or 'lost' interview invitations (happened to one of my buddies- he called the office in december to see the status of his app and was told that he had been given an interview invite weeks before 😱). I'm waiting on about 5 or 6 more schools pre-interview, and I haven't bothered to call about the status of my app or anything (just assumed I'd get an email if they chose to interview me)... but now I'm wondering. I've been complete at hopkins since early sept, but have not received an invite or rejection. do you think this could be a lost app? or is anyone in the same position as i am?

and has anyone heard of lost apps or lost emails from other schools? I'm using gmail and I really don't know if gmail tends to lose these things... really wished I had checked up on this in december...

I've also been complete since September. I was worried and tried calling on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but couldn't get through... 🙁
 
after hearing horror stories about 'lost' applications or 'lost' interview invitations (happened to one of my buddies- he called the office in december to see the status of his app and was told that he had been given an interview invite weeks before 😱). I'm waiting on about 5 or 6 more schools pre-interview, and I haven't bothered to call about the status of my app or anything (just assumed I'd get an email if they chose to interview me)... but now I'm wondering. I've been complete at hopkins since early sept, but have not received an invite or rejection. do you think this could be a lost app? or is anyone in the same position as i am?

and has anyone heard of lost apps or lost emails from other schools? I'm using gmail and I really don't know if gmail tends to lose these things... really wished I had checked up on this in december...

Well when they are thousands of apps you would some unfortunate instances of lost apps everywhere. The lost interview seems pretty bad but it could be that it got filtered in to Spam or there was a mix up in the files. All these are normal possibilities. If you really think something like this might have happened then do call. I did call to check the status of my app to 2-3 other schools in Oct when I had not heard from them in 3 months or so.

With that said, Hopkins doesn't outright reject or interview everyone. There is (I think) some sorta of a pre-interview hold or a maybe pile in which a certain % of the apps fall because they want to wait to evaluate a certain number of applications before giving out all the interview spots. So you could be in such a situation. Just call to make sure that your file is complete and under review and say that you haven't heard back anything in XY months
 
after hearing horror stories about 'lost' applications or 'lost' interview invitations (happened to one of my buddies- he called the office in december to see the status of his app and was told that he had been given an interview invite weeks before 😱). I'm waiting on about 5 or 6 more schools pre-interview, and I haven't bothered to call about the status of my app or anything (just assumed I'd get an email if they chose to interview me)... but now I'm wondering. I've been complete at hopkins since early sept, but have not received an invite or rejection. do you think this could be a lost app? or is anyone in the same position as i am?

and has anyone heard of lost apps or lost emails from other schools? I'm using gmail and I really don't know if gmail tends to lose these things... really wished I had checked up on this in december...

never heard of that, the system is nearly bullet proof now due to the transition to an electronic system
 
Well when they are thousands of apps you would some unfortunate instances of lost apps everywhere. The lost interview seems pretty bad but it could be that it got filtered in to Spam or there was a mix up in the files. All these are normal possibilities. If you really think something like this might have happened then do call. I did call to check the status of my app to 2-3 other schools in Oct when I had not heard from them in 3 months or so.

With that said, Hopkins doesn't outright reject or interview everyone. There is (I think) some sorta of a pre-interview hold or a maybe pile in which a certain % of the apps fall because they want to wait to evaluate a certain number of applications before giving out all the interview spots. So you could be in such a situation. Just call to make sure that your file is complete and under review and say that you haven't heard back anything in XY months

they don't do outright rejections? Are you sure? several people have posted pre-interview rejections on here.

never heard of that, the system is nearly bullet proof now due to the transition to an electronic system

Yeah I figured as much, which is why I hadn't really bothered to check into it. But then today I got an email from Northwestern, asking me to please respond to their previous email... problem is that I never actually received their previous email, and that made me wonder
 
they don't do outright rejections? Are you sure? several people have posted pre-interview rejections on here.



Yeah I figured as much, which is why I hadn't really bothered to check into it. But then today I got an email from Northwestern, asking me to please respond to their previous email... problem is that I never actually received their previous email, and that made me wonder

I had a similar issue. Make a gmail account and have all your incoming emails forward to your gmail address. Trust me this makes life a lot easier
 
I had a similar issue. Make a gmail account and have all your incoming emails forward to your gmail address. Trust me this makes life a lot easier

I use Gmail, and I have sent up filters that will cause anything possibly related to med sch interviews to never be sent to spam, ie. containing words such as "school", "invite", "invitation", "interview", "medicine", etc. While I am thus pretty confident I would not have missed anything if it was sent to me, the fact that there could be issues going on the schools' end is getting me worried. Probably just going to try calling again soon...
 
They are still interviewing! I was complete in September and just received an invite for mid-February.
 
they don't do outright rejections? Are you sure? several people have posted pre-interview rejections on here.

No they do, but they don't outright invite or reject everyone. Some people just don't hear anything for a while and those could be pre-interview holds or maybe pile apps. Sorry for the confusion!
 
They are still interviewing! I was complete in September and just received an invite for mid-February.

How late in sept? I submitted mid-August and was complete 10/22 but haven't heard anything either way yet.
 
hey has anyone tried emailing an update to them?
 
When you send a letter of intent or update do you send it by email or snail mail? And......who should you send it to? Admissions committee? Individual person?
 
Random non-admissions related questions: Does anyone know what JHUSOM students do on the weekends? Any trips to DC?
 
Random non-admissions related questions: Does anyone know what JHUSOM students do on the weekends? Any trips to DC?

According to my friends, there's a small group in each class that goes out on a consistent basis while the others do not.
 
To current JHUSOM students:
How much debt do you predict to accumulate? I know there is variation among students, but I'd just like to get an idea. Hopkins was great, but in comparison to cheaper schools like Mayo it may be hard to justify the pricetag. Please comment! Thanks 🙂
 
To current JHUSOM students:
How much debt do you predict to accumulate? I know there is variation among students, but I'd just like to get an idea. Hopkins was great, but in comparison to cheaper schools like Mayo it may be hard to justify the pricetag. Please comment! Thanks 🙂

I think we are on the same wavelength here. The thing is that the average debt out of JHU is only like 12k more than Mayo. I keep thinking that the places that gave money upfront (Chicago, Mayo) are going to be cheaper, but I'm not so sure of this. I wouldn't be surprised to 1/2 tuition just in need-aid from JHU. Then the two are on much more even ground.
 
I think we are on the same wavelength here. The thing is that the average debt out of JHU is only like 12k more than Mayo. I keep thinking that the places that gave money upfront (Chicago, Mayo) are going to be cheaper, but I'm not so sure of this. I wouldn't be surprised to 1/2 tuition just in need-aid from JHU. Then the two are on much more even ground.

housing is much cheaper around Hopkins as compared to Chicago. So its pretty much the same
 
I just received an interview for Johns Hopkins on February 26th. They are definitely still interviewing! I was complete in mid-September.

tjquinn
 
after hearing horror stories about 'lost' applications or 'lost' interview invitations (happened to one of my buddies- he called the office in december to see the status of his app and was told that he had been given an interview invite weeks before 😱). I'm waiting on about 5 or 6 more schools pre-interview, and I haven't bothered to call about the status of my app or anything (just assumed I'd get an email if they chose to interview me)... but now I'm wondering. I've been complete at hopkins since early sept, but have not received an invite or rejection. do you think this could be a lost app? or is anyone in the same position as i am?

and has anyone heard of lost apps or lost emails from other schools? I'm using gmail and I really don't know if gmail tends to lose these things... really wished I had checked up on this in december...


This actually happened to me. I hadn't heard any updates in a long time so I called and they said they had sent me a verification email ( I had never recieved it). I don't know if it was just a coincidence, but I recieved an interview invite that same day. Could be nothing, or calling brought application to their attention.

Anyway, interviewed on 11/19 and just got letter last Thursday (its dated January 15th). Waitlist for me, but at least not a rejection I guess. 😕
 
oh my gosh, this is so weird, but I know who you are!! (We were at the UCSF interview together--I was the MSTP interviewee whom you already knew.) The internet is a crazy, crazy place.

The waitlist for Hopkins will probably move much, much more than last year, so keep hoping, send them an app update/letter of interest as applicable, and I am sure it will work out for the best. Also at least you know... I'm waiting for Hopkins to get back to me and it's nerve-wrackinggggggggggg. 🙁

Good luck with this process!!

Why do you say that?
The high enrollment rate last year (they seem to think) was because everyone was impressed by the new building and curriculum...it's still new
 
To current JHUSOM students:
How much debt do you predict to accumulate? I know there is variation among students, but I'd just like to get an idea. Hopkins was great, but in comparison to cheaper schools like Mayo it may be hard to justify the pricetag. Please comment! Thanks 🙂

Agreed. I would have to say that (if I get off the WL) it would be difficult to pass up the offers of other places considering the pricetag.

I think we are on the same wavelength here. The thing is that the average debt out of JHU is only like 12k more than Mayo. I keep thinking that the places that gave money upfront (Chicago, Mayo) are going to be cheaper, but I'm not so sure of this. I wouldn't be surprised to 1/2 tuition just in need-aid from JHU. Then the two are on much more even ground.

Sort of. It seems that 1/2 in need-aid is about all they offer, if I recall correctly (please correct me if I am wrong). They have NO merit aid. Also, housing will likely be more $$$ (though less than some cities) and they aren't quite as free flowing with the opportunity money for things like the travel and the testing costs that some other particular schools may cover. 😉

JHU is amazing. It would be great to go. I don't think though that they will be your cheapest offer in any way, shape, or form after you consider merit combined with need aid in other places.
 
Agreed. I would have to say that (if I get off the WL) it would be difficult to pass up the offers of other places considering the pricetag.

Sort of. It seems that 1/2 in need-aid is about all they offer, if I recall correctly (please correct me if I am wrong). They have NO merit aid. Also, housing will likely be more $$$ (though less than some cities) and they aren't quite as free flowing with the opportunity money for things like the travel and the testing costs that some other particular schools may cover. 😉

JHU is amazing. It would be great to go. I don't think though that they will be your cheapest offer in any way, shape, or form after you consider merit combined with need aid in other places.

If you factor in Reed Hall, which I couldn't imagine to be that expensive (well, you get what you pay for!), I bet housing would be just as cheap as the other place I think we are talking about here (Rochester, MN). Say Hop knocks off 25k with need scholarships. Now we're in the ballpark with Mayo! Plus, neither school is going to knock off living costs, so I think this is where schools even out in the average debt rankings.

It looks like Hopkins has a unit loan of 20k, so COA - Parent = Need. 20k is loan, rest is scholarship. So, if Parent Contr. = 0, total debt is 80k (assuming you use up all living expenses). But, if parent contribution is 40k or more, it's ALL on you. In that case, I would be frustrated to not even have the option to consider Hopkins. I'm really hopeful that they'll be within 10k per year of each other, which would be a decision. Otherwise, it wouldn't be 🙁 ~sigh~ money...
 
After your interview, what exactly happens? Do your interviewers meet in a group with the committee and advocate for you, committee decides on you, etc?

And then once you are wait listed, who makes the decision to pull you off the waitlist? I imagine at this point your interviewer has no more say and it's fully up to the dean, but I am just guessing and am unclear on how the wait list process works here.
 
Has anyone else sent them an email about a long post-secondary silence? How long did it take for you to hear back? Thanks!
 
Hi fluffybunny... I have not heard a single word from JHU ever since i submitted my secondary back in September 2009. I emailed them if I should expect a file closed notice even if am not offered an interview.. but I havent heard anything back yet.. and it's been 2 weeks.
 
Hi fluffybunny... I have not heard a single word from JHU ever since i submitted my secondary back in September 2009. I emailed them if I should expect a file closed notice even if am not offered an interview.. but I havent heard anything back yet.. and it's been 2 weeks.

+1. Submitted in Sept, nothing at all.
 
If you factor in Reed Hall, which I couldn't imagine to be that expensive (well, you get what you pay for!), I bet housing would be just as cheap as the other place I think we are talking about here (Rochester, MN). Say Hop knocks off 25k with need scholarships. Now we're in the ballpark with Mayo! Plus, neither school is going to knock off living costs, so I think this is where schools even out in the average debt rankings.

It looks like Hopkins has a unit loan of 20k, so COA - Parent = Need. 20k is loan, rest is scholarship. So, if Parent Contr. = 0, total debt is 80k (assuming you use up all living expenses). But, if parent contribution is 40k or more, it's ALL on you. In that case, I would be frustrated to not even have the option to consider Hopkins. I'm really hopeful that they'll be within 10k per year of each other, which would be a decision. Otherwise, it wouldn't be 🙁 ~sigh~ money...

Yeah, I guess I wasn't thinking Reed Hall as one with a wife :laugh:

Weren't they thinking of replacing Reed Hall sometime soon anyhow? May just be my imagination. I guess the main thing I think about is that Mayo is already cheap without the need based aid. Hopkins, IF you qualify for the entire need-based award, will not be getting any lower than what you mentioned. That low and no lower.

Gotta tell you though, as someone who went with the expensive option for undergrad, I do NOT regret it.

If you really want to go to Hopkins, don't let the money stand in your way!
 
Hi all!

I just had my Hopkins interview last week, and I must say, I was blown away! Perhaps the cohesive, collaborative nature of the students impressed me the most....it's hard to say. Just being on the campus was an inspiration! I would highly recommend staying with both a student AND at Reed Hall for a night if you have time. I enjoyed seeing the lifestyles of both the 4th years (staying off campus) and the 1st years in Reed Hall. Also, Reed Hall isn't nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be, in my opinion. It's just dorm living. It seems really convenient to be 2 minutes from your lecture hall, the gym and the hospital. The views from the rooms are amazing too! 🙂

As far as the interview goes, the student interviews are really fun, I think! They know nothing about you, so you get to tell your story from scratch. Mine lasted 45 minutes, and I really feel like I connected with my interviewer. The faculty interview was much more challenging for me. It seemed a bit hard to engage my faculty member in conversation...they didn't ask particularly hard questions, but they seemed somewhat unresponsive to my comments. It wasn't a bad interview, but it wasn't great either. Did anyone else have this experience? My faculty interview was around 25-30 min.

I feel like the outcome is really a craps shoot...I felt so fortunate to even have been granted an interview that I am not expecting much. Of course, I would scream if I got the magic phone call 😉 Any ideas about when the next committee meeting might be?

In short, I have been accepted elsewhere, but I think I would defer a year and reapply to have an opportunity to pursue my training at Hopkins. I walked away feeling like it's an academic community that I could thrive in. Best of luck to everyone!!! :xf:
 
Hi all!


In short, I have been accepted elsewhere, but I think I would defer a year and reapply to have an opportunity to pursue my training at Hopkins. I walked away feeling like it's an academic community that I could thrive in. Best of luck to everyone!!! :xf:

and if you do this, you might not go to medical school period.
 
and if you do this, you might not go to medical school period.

Glad you liked Hopkins and good luck! Of course, JasonE is 100% correct that this would black-ball you everywhere.

Hopefully you get in soon anyway:xf:
 
Hi fluffybunny... I have not heard a single word from JHU ever since i submitted my secondary back in September 2009. I emailed them if I should expect a file closed notice even if am not offered an interview.. but I havent heard anything back yet.. and it's been 2 weeks.

I just got a reply. It's more or less what we already know - they haven't decided to interview us, they're thinking about it, if they do they'll send an email, and thanks for waiting. I'm just glad to know my application didn't get lost or something.
 
I just got a reply. It's more or less what we already know - they haven't decided to interview us, they're thinking about it, if they do they'll send an email, and thanks for waiting. I'm just glad to know my application didn't get lost or something.

so if we haven't been rejected, does that mean we stand some sort of a chance? a good number of people have been rejected already...
 
Glad you liked Hopkins and good luck! Of course, JasonE is 100% correct that this would black-ball you everywhere.

Hopefully you get in soon anyway:xf:

Thanks for the feedback guys... It's just something I was considering. I would have to ask about the logistics, and of course I wouldn't do something that would jeopardize my chances of going to med school at all. Throughout this whole interview process, people have been telling me that you'll walk away from the interview knowing when you find THE school that you want to attend. I definitely felt that way at Hopkins. At the same time, I recognize that an MD education is an MD education anywhere, and I can accomplish my goals at any institution. I can always try to pursue a residency at Hopkins. It's a tough call....for now I'll just keep my fingers crossed! :xf:
 
Thanks for the feedback guys... It's just something I was considering. I would have to ask about the logistics, and of course I wouldn't do something that would jeopardize my chances of going to med school at all. Throughout this whole interview process, people have been telling me that you'll walk away from the interview knowing when you find THE school that you want to attend. I definitely felt that way at Hopkins. At the same time, I recognize that an MD education is an MD education anywhere, and I can accomplish my goals at any institution. I can always try to pursue a residency at Hopkins. It's a tough call....for now I'll just keep my fingers crossed! :xf:

I agree with the above posters. It's great to have a #1, but unfortunately, just like with residency, your #1 may not consider you their #1. In the end though the only thing you really can do is pick your top choice of those that take you. Don't risk everything at this point when you have a sure thing.

I hope it works out for you 👍
 
Hi all!

I just had my Hopkins interview last week, and I must say, I was blown away! Perhaps the cohesive, collaborative nature of the students impressed me the most....it's hard to say. Just being on the campus was an inspiration! I would highly recommend staying with both a student AND at Reed Hall for a night if you have time. I enjoyed seeing the lifestyles of both the 4th years (staying off campus) and the 1st years in Reed Hall. Also, Reed Hall isn't nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be, in my opinion. It's just dorm living. It seems really convenient to be 2 minutes from your lecture hall, the gym and the hospital. The views from the rooms are amazing too! 🙂

As far as the interview goes, the student interviews are really fun, I think! They know nothing about you, so you get to tell your story from scratch. Mine lasted 45 minutes, and I really feel like I connected with my interviewer. The faculty interview was much more challenging for me. It seemed a bit hard to engage my faculty member in conversation...they didn't ask particularly hard questions, but they seemed somewhat unresponsive to my comments. It wasn't a bad interview, but it wasn't great either. Did anyone else have this experience? My faculty interview was around 25-30 min.

I feel like the outcome is really a craps shoot...I felt so fortunate to even have been granted an interview that I am not expecting much. Of course, I would scream if I got the magic phone call 😉 Any ideas about when the next committee meeting might be?

In short, I have been accepted elsewhere, but I think I would defer a year and reapply to have an opportunity to pursue my training at Hopkins. I walked away feeling like it's an academic community that I could thrive in. Best of luck to everyone!!! :xf:

Thanks for the feedback guys... It's just something I was considering. I would have to ask about the logistics, and of course I wouldn't do something that would jeopardize my chances of going to med school at all. Throughout this whole interview process, people have been telling me that you'll walk away from the interview knowing when you find THE school that you want to attend. I definitely felt that way at Hopkins. At the same time, I recognize that an MD education is an MD education anywhere, and I can accomplish my goals at any institution. I can always try to pursue a residency at Hopkins. It's a tough call....for now I'll just keep my fingers crossed! :xf:

Nice! It's great to see another Hopkins fanatic 😀 Good luck!! :luck::luck:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top