2015-2016 Johns Hopkins University Application Thread

[Ismet]

Space reserved for prompt.

Please PM the essays or lack thereof to me when the secondary is available and I will update this.

Good luck to everyone applying!

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[hellanutella]

Incoming MS1 here, so I can't speak on very much aside from my interview and second look experiences – which were awesome. I'm sure the MS2+s will be much better sources. Just want to say that I am pumped to matriculate here and cannot wait to meet (and possibly host!) some of you guys for interviews!

Stats [source]
~6,500 applicants
~4,500 secondaries completed (though no screen)
~600 interviewed (MD) + ~60 interviewed (MSTP)
As per interview day, about 200 are accepted, 200 waitlisted, and 200 rejected.
~250 total acceptances
118 matriculated (10-12 MSTP students)

As per interview day, there is no in-state bias.

2014-2015 Secondary Application (there is no screen)

1. If you have already received your bachelor's degree, please describe what you have been doing since graduation, and your plans for the upcoming year. (700 characters)
2. If you interrupted your college education for a semester or longer, please describe what you did during that time. (700 characters)
3. List any academic honors or awards you have received since entering college: (600 characters)
4. Briefly describe your single, most rewarding experience. Feel free to refer to an experience previously described in your AMCAS application. (900 characters)
5. Are there any areas of medicine that are of particular interest to you? If so, please comment. (1100 characters)
6. Briefly describe a situation where you had to overcome adversity; include lessons learned and how you think it will affect your career as a future physician. (900 characters)
7. Briefly describe a situation where you were not in the majority. What did you learn from this experience? (1100 characters)
8. If applying to the dual MD/MBA program, please describe your reasons for wishing to obtain this degree. (1100 characters)

*Note: in the 2014-15 application cycle it often took over a month for a submitted secondary to be marked as complete.
*Note: you can discuss experiences already selected as "most meaningful" or discuss entirely different ones; applicants from either approach received interviews and acceptances so do not fret. Yes, the secondary questions are somewhat redundant, but trust me... JHU is worth it.

2014-2015 Important Dates
First secondary: July 2nd, 2014
First interview: August 13th, 2014
First acceptance: December 12th, 2014 via portal update (with email alert)
First waitlist: December 12th, 2014 via portal update (with email alert)
First pre-interview rejection: December 16th, 2014
First acceptance off waitlist: April 19th, 2015

JHU is semi-rolling, so post-interview decisions were relayed solely on Dec 16th, Jan 30th, and March 30th. As per JHU’s Facebook page, waitlist movement should occur by mid-May.

Update Letter Policy
Updates are not accepted pre-interview. Post-interview updates may be sent to Ms. Valerie Mazza at: vmazz[email protected]

Curriculum
Genes to Society 1.5 year condensed preclinical. Preclinical has been P/F since 2009.

• Pass is set to 70%
• Clinicals are graded honours/high pass/pass/fail
• Lectures are non-mandatory and recorded; labs and small group activities have 80% required attendance

Interview
One faculty interview, one student interview. Faculty interview is open-file.

Of Note

• As of 2014-2015, JHU offers a $20,500 unit loan and need based aid only. As per interview day, the average graduate debt for the class of 2013 was $108,000 (not including undergrad debt).
• Johns Hopkins Admissions has an informative and frequently-updated Facebook page. Check it out.
• There does not appear to be an internal ranking in the preclinical years. According to this evaluation of MSPEs, the Johns Hopkins’s Dean’s Letter provides: “Incomplete data. The summary paragraph sometimes concludes with a Most Confident and Enthusiastic recommendation, or with a Confident and Enthusiastic recommendation. But there are no appendices that define a student's performance relative to his or her peers.”

Oh, and we have a cool dome.

 

[skooper]

no love for Johnny Hops??? where all the applicants at?
Throwing my hat in the ring, 3.8/35, solid ECs

 

[bobmccorweg]

applying here as well. my stats are below their median. hope my unique (kind of) ECs plus my research makes up for it

 

[phuynh94]

I think it's more like most of us are just intimidated, haha!

 

[Jimmy Jones]

'm intimated by the riots

 

[skooper]

I think it's more like most of us are just intimidated, haha!

there's notHING to be scared of by just posting

'm intimated by the riots

hahahahahSHAHAHAHHAHAHAHahahaha you're so funny

NOT. **** out of here with that sweetie

 

[Jimmy Jones]

no seriously, its concerning for student safety which was already the poorest in the nation

 

[skooper]

no seriously, its concerning for student safety which was already the poorest in the nation

they will be all gone by the time any of us even step on campus for interviews, let alone matriculate.

 

[hellanutella]

no seriously, its concerning for student safety which was already the poorest in the nation

they will be all gone by the time any of us even step on campus for interviews, let alone matriculate.

Hey, so I'll just chime in with my personal experiences. I'll admit that going into my JHU interview I was wary of Baltimore; thankfully, my interview day and second look weekend dispelled my fears. The city has changed a lot within the past decade and JHU has been expanding more and more within East Baltimore, buying up previously derelict housing blocks and paving the way for luxury apartment complexes/research buildings. (The pros: increased student housing offerings, safer surrounding area, less of a "food desert," etc. and the cons: displacement of low-income families, the ills associated with gentrification, etc.).

Current students will be a much better source of info, but for the week or so I stayed in Baltimore I felt safe. Students regularly run around the harbour in the early morning. Heck, my roomies and I went out a few nights and walked back to our hosts' at 4 am. I hate to trot out these tired old cliches but, as in any town, try to be aware of what streets/blocs to avoid, don't wander about with your phone out, etc.

Of course, Baltimore is not Irvine or La Jolla. But it's also not The Wire. Maryland is the state with the highest median household income... though in its largest city, one quarter of the population (and 37% of children) live in poverty. If you don't want to deal with the issues associated with living in and serving those within an urban locale – including places like Chicago, NYC, LA, and the like – I'd recommend not applying to such schools. JHU and Baltimore need students who want to be a part of the community and delve into the issues affecting people like Freddie Gray.

Also keep in mind that the media loves to sensationalize the Baltimore protests and demonize many of the protesters. Yes there were acts of violence and destruction, but they were in the minority compared to the number of peaceful protests... which went largely uncovered by media.

Extra reading for any interested. Some of these articles were shared by current JHU students and longtime Baltimore residents:

• Expose on police brutality in Baltimore from 2014 (long read, but an excellent one)
• Discussion of the Freddie Gray case
• The Onion, which is sadly on point more often than not

 

[Jimmy Jones]

well you did say you'r egoing to be an M1 there so
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization_(psychology)

 

[skooper]

well you did say you'r egoing to be an M1 there so
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization_(psychology)

I have no connection to Bmore other than the fact that I have spent a good amount of time there. you will live so calm down

 

[heywhatsuphello]

'm intimated by the riots

Alright first of all the media hyped up these riots to the point where they were demonizing the entire city for the actions of a few violent protesters who were outnumbered by peaceful protesters 100:1. The riots were meant to for once, have the world take notice and spark debate and change about the state of police brutality against the black population. Probably isnt the right place for this but its a subject I feel really strongly about. I was born and raised in MD not too far away from Baltimore. I'm gonna rep the city till the day I die.

Yeah sure Hopkins is in a bit of a seedy area, but the area, and East Baltimore as a whole has taken huge strides in cleaning up. the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and the area surrounding M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards are all very nice. It's not really like The Wire (shot in West Baltimore, which admittedly, is still pretty sketchy). Use common sense for any city (learn which areas in particular around campus to avoid, dont walk around at 3am by yourself), and youll be alright

Place is a bit of a reach for me (who isnt it a reach for?) but I think I'm at least competitive and its my dream school, so we'll see how it goes

 

[panda16]

These last-year secondary prompts are rather...short. Describing your biggest adversity and what you learned and how it changed you in 900 characters is weirdly brief.

 

[phuynh94]

These last-year secondary prompts are rather...short. Describing your biggest adversity and what you learned and how it changed you in 900 characters is weirdly brief.

Indeed. My saving grace is the fact that UCLA's prompt is even shorter, so I can plug that one here.

 

[hellanutella]

These last-year secondary prompts are rather...short. Describing your biggest adversity and what you learned and how it changed you in 900 characters is weirdly brief.

Indeed. My saving grace is the fact that UCLA's prompt is even shorter, so I can plug that one here.

Oh goodness gracious, yes. Trying to condense a pivotal time in your life down to 3 or so sentences is a bit of a... challenge.

I don't know if this helps you guys, but last year I wrote out my "greatest challenge" longform (~3000 characters) to fulfill my longest prompt and then successively whittled it down from there (1500 characters, 1000 characters, 500 characters). Doing this also helped me identify the core pieces of information I wanted to share, which helped me structure the underlying themes of my "autobiographical story" secondaries and several of the other prompts I came across.

Good luck!

 

[wanderyonder]

Secondary received!

 

[G.NA]

Secondary received!

Could you post the questions? Are they the same as last year's?

 

[lumberjack89]

Just got my secondary as well. Good luck everybody!

 

[Hupsty]

I think only questions apply to academic breaks, misconduct, info about time spent after graduation and listing academic honors/awards.

Anyone find anything else on the secondary? I just glanced through.

EDIT: oops - there are actually about other 4 essays as stated below

 

[lumberjack89]

I think only questions apply to academic breaks, misconduct, info about time spent after graduation and listing academic honors/awards.

Anyone find anything else on the secondary? I just glanced through.

Could you post the questions? Are they the same as last year's?

The questions are all the same with the addition of this optional one:

"The Admissions Committee values hearing about each candidate for admission, including what qualities the candidate might bring to the School of Medicine if admitted. If you feel there is information not already addressed in the application that will enable the Committee to know more about you and this has influenced your desire to be a physician, feel free to write a brief statement in the space below. You may address any subject you wish, such as being a first generation college student, or being a part of a minority group (whether because of your sexual orientation, religion, economic status, gender identity, ethnicity), or being the child of undocumented immigrants or being undocumented yourself, etc. Please note that this question is optional and that you will not be penalized should you choose not to answer it."

Hupsty the other questions are further down in the "Other Experiences & Interests" tab.

 

[Hupsty]

Also... What happens if you just realized you accidentally assigned 4 letters, instead of just 3 letters...?

EDIT: from website FAQ "Additional letters may be sent; however, your application will not be considered complete until all letters have been received in the AMCAS letter of recommendation service repository. Furthermore, additional letters do not give you an advantage over the required three letters. Nor can we guarantee that we will evaluate more than the required number of letters."

 

[G.NA]

So the substantive ones are still these? Same character counts too?

• Briefly describe your single, most rewarding experience. Feel free to refer to an experience previously described in your AMCAS application. (900 char)
• Are there any areas of medicine that are of particular interest to you? If so, please comment. (1100 char)
• Briefly describe a situation where you had to overcome adversity; include lessons learned and how you think it will affect your career as a future physician. (900 char)
• Briefly describe a situation where you were not in the majority. What did you learn from this experience? (1100 char)

 

[lumberjack89]

So the substantive ones are still these? Same character counts too?

• Briefly describe your single, most rewarding experience. Feel free to refer to an experience previously described in your AMCAS application. (900 char)
• Are there any areas of medicine that are of particular interest to you? If so, please comment. (1100 char)
• Briefly describe a situation where you had to overcome adversity; include lessons learned and how you think it will affect your career as a future physician. (900 char)
• Briefly describe a situation where you were not in the majority. What did you learn from this experience? (1100 char)

Yes, same questions and same character counts. The only thing that's different/new is that longer optional prompt that I posted above.

 

[G.NA]

Yes, same questions and same character counts. The only thing that's different/new is that longer optional prompt that I posted above.

tenks

 

[catchmoresun]

such a long secondary!

 

[lumberjack89]

such a long secondary!

Yeah, all the extra stuff that's already in AMCAS like the family background, work and volunteering experiences, etc. It's pretty friggin' redundant.

 

[G.NA]

Yeah, all the extra stuff that's already in AMCAS like the family background, work and volunteering experiences, etc. It's pretty friggin' redundant.

Isn't this because they likely have different people screening the primary and secondary? That's what a rep from another school told me when I asked about the perceived redundancy

 

[panda16]

Isn't this because they likely have different people screening the primary and secondary? That's what a rep from another school told me when I asked about the perceived redundancy

That's kind of...weird. The primary reader would then have a ton more information to assess the applicant when compared to the secondary.

 

[G.NA]

That's kind of...weird. The primary reader would then have a ton more information to assess the applicant when compared to the secondary.

anyone's guess as to what she actually meant or how her school handled the screening..even if there weren't separate screenings, I can see value in having a short summary of some important features of the primary on the secondary. The primary, even in PDF form or whatever database the schools use to view the info, isn't the easiest to navigate.

i don't mind the redundancy actually lol. I'd rather not have longer essays to write..Duke/NYU anyone? heh

 

[panda16]

anyone's guess as to what she actually meant or how her school handled the screening..even if there weren't separate screenings, I can see value in having a short summary of some important features of the primary on the secondary. The primary, even in PDF form or whatever database the schools use to view the info, isn't the easiest to navigate.

i don't mind the redundancy actually lol. I'd rather not have longer essays to write..Duke/NYU anyone? heh

Perhaps the secondary is the stuff that your interviewers get to access? That way you can talk more about the activities during the interview as opposed to being redundant if you talked more about your activities if the person who is interviewing you already read your primary? That's my best guess.

And amen, that Duke one is brutal.

 

[G.NA]

Perhaps the secondary is the stuff that your interviewers get to access? That way you can talk more about the activities during the interview as opposed to being redundant if you talked more about your activities if the person who is interviewing you already read your primary? That's my best guess.

And amen, that Duke one is brutal.

Maybe, that actually makes sense. Oh well, whatever, I'll rewrite the same stuff if they'll read it and give me an II. I'll write it 3 times over if they want..

The Duke one is great. Long, but thought-provoking. the new one about advocacy is so perfect for me since i currently work in advocacy. It's like they're giving me an excuse to talk more about my job haha. same goes for the "people unlike yourself" one. So happy to have seen those essays!

 

[heywhatsuphello]

So is it a bad look to talk about MCAT as my most rewarding experience? Like I drove myself to near insanity studying for it, and getting my score back and finding out I did well was like vindication

 

[G.NA]

So is it a bad look to talk about MCAT as my most rewarding experience? Like I drove myself to near insanity studying for it, and getting my score back and finding out I did well was like vindication

pretty lame imo. You haven't had any other rewarding life experiences? i don't think you want to come across as one of "those nerds"

 

[oneirologist]

Under the "Downloadable Forms" tab, there are only instructions available for viewing, and nothing we need to "download, print, and mail into [their] office", right?

 

[lumberjack89]

pretty lame imo."

^Tell us what you REALLY think

But for real I kinda agree. Everyone worked hard and tried their best on the MCAT, and taking it is something literally (almost) every applicant has done - why not focus on something that makes your application and/or life experience different from all of ours?

 

[mw18]

Hey everyone! I know that the secondary seems brutal...well it is, but I felt like I was wasting my time filling it out because I had no chance and I'll be there this fall. So believe in yourselves and do your best. If anyone has any questions that my future classmate @hellanutella hasn't already excellently fielded and answered I will be glad to try. Of course, we will become much more valuable as the cycle goes on.

So is it a bad look to talk about MCAT as my most rewarding experience? Like I drove myself to near insanity studying for it, and getting my score back and finding out I did well was like vindication

As someone who busted it to make a score that was higher than I ever could have expected, I would advise against that line of thought. Although that was quite rewarding, I think you need to think bigger than that. Maybe something altruistic. Doing well on a test won't measure up to doing good.

Under the "Downloadable Forms" tab, there are only instructions available for viewing, and nothing we need to "download, print, and mail into [their] office", right?

I didn't print and mail anything and I got in, so I think you're good. Of course, a year could change it all.

 

[G.NA]

^Tell us what you REALLY think

But for real I kinda agree. Everyone worked hard and tried their best on the MCAT, and taking it is something literally (almost) every applicant has done - why not focus on something that makes your application and/or life experience different from all of ours?

i mean to add on to that you really don't want to make it sound like you struggled so hard on the mcat that it almost took your life or something...I understand that test was hard for many, but it only gets harder from here on out. Just my opinion, though, don't know if anyone will think that much about it but I certainly would roll my eyes seeing a "overcame the MCAT challenge" essay

 

[G.NA]

Hey everyone! I know that the secondary seems brutal...well it is, but I felt like I was wasting my time filling it out because I had no chance and I'll be there this fall. So believe in yourselves and do your best. If anyone has any questions that my future classmate @hellanutella hasn't already excellently fielded and answered I will be glad to try. Of course, we will become much more valuable as the cycle goes on.

this really isn't that hard of a secondary..idk lol there are much worse

 

[panda16]

When the instructions for the secondary say "Please do not use tabs or hard returns," does that mean they don't want us to separate paragraphs in our response? I.e. have the entire response as one paragraph?

 

[mw18]

this really isn't that hard of a secondary..idk lol there are much worse

Yeah, I seem to remember it having a lot of areas for input, but it doesn't seem like they required a lot of words. I think the brutality lies in the nature of the school and the pressure that goes along with it. And the essays are a chance to stand out for an interview opportunity. Seems like there were quite a few prompts, though, and sometimes being succinct is more difficult than being wordy. Glad it isn't that bad for you. Honestly, not pre-writing the prompts made my life a blur during that time.

 

[G.NA]

When the instructions for the secondary say "Please do not use tabs or hard returns," does that mean they don't want us to separate paragraphs in our response? I.e. have the entire response as one paragraph?

You can still use soft returns, which means you do Shift+Enter instead of just Enter. Just don't do 2 soft returns in a row and skip lines between your paragraphs.

 

[panda16]

You can still use soft returns, which means you do Shift+Enter instead of just Enter. Just don't do 2 soft returns in a row and skip lines between your paragraphs.

Gotcha, thanks! You learn something new every day...

 

[G.NA]

Gotcha, thanks! You learn something new every day...

np panda bear. The paragraphs may look weird all without lines skipped but it won't cause problems at least

 

[agoron]

Question about entering ECs! I have several jobs, one of which is summer only, and another of which I have different hours during the school year and during breaks. How do you all suggest I enter that, since their format doesn't really allow for multiple occurrences of dates. I called, but they're closed after 3 for basic questions

 

[Glazedonutlove]

so we can't submit a letter from our research pi if our school doesn't have the committee service? that sucks.

 

[FutureBenCarson]

This secondary is brutal but I seriously wanna go here

 

[phuynh94]

Secondary received and submitted! What a redundant form...

In addition to all the other prompts, there is a 700C prompt for those who have already graduated!

 

[hellanutella]

Question about entering ECs! I have several jobs, one of which is summer only, and another of which I have different hours during the school year and during breaks. How do you all suggest I enter that, since their format doesn't really allow for multiple occurrences of dates. I called, but they're closed after 3 for basic questions

I don't recall how I inputted my ECs exactly, but I think I tried to input the information as close to my AMCAS as possible. Ex: I had a summer job that spanned 2010-2014... I worked about 20 hr/week during each summer, but 0 hr/week during the academic year. When I wasn't able to specify that I only worked this job for 4 months of the year, I just listed the broad timeframe (2010-14) and averaged my hours out to 5 hr/week.

Wish I could be of more help, but I only saved the answers to my secondary prompts.

so we can't submit a letter from our research pi if our school doesn't have the committee service? that sucks.

Hmm... so I actually did not follow Hopkins's LOR requirements to a T, so I'm not sure how to advise you. I submitted only 3 letters, but because I didn't have a non-science LOR, I sent 2 science faculty letters and one from my research PI. I never checked in with Hopkins to see if this was allowed... however, from what they have posted on their Facebook in the recent months, in the absence of a committee letter the 2-science/1-nonscience letter requirement seems to be pretty firm. I can't recall if this is a change from last cycle.

If anyone is interested, the LOR FAQs are here.

And here's some LOR info posted on their Facebook page for this cycle:

Long-time followers know I have addressed these questions before, and I do not want to go into a prolonged discussion (plus, this is also addressed on our website). The point of the letters is to hear about your ability in a classroom setting from someone familiar with your work and can give the admissions committee insights that not only address your academic and intellectual abilities, but can also discuss you in relation to your peers or other students they have taught. We also hope that your personal qualities and leadership are discussed.

As for the maximum number of letters, we have no control over how many letters are included in a Committee packet. But for those of you who attend schools without a Committee letter or packet, we specifically request three letters (two science and one non- science) from faculty who have taught you. We cannot guarantee that we will review more than three letters and there is absolutely no advantage to submitting more than three letters.

Frankly, three letters is more than enough to give us some sense of the type of student you are and rarely have I seen a 4th or 5th letter that shed new information that was not in the previous three. This is why I rarely bother to look at more than three letters and if there are more than three, I usually just review the first three in the folder, unless they are all from the sciences (or non-sciences), in which case I then look for which three will meet our requirements of two sciences and one non-science.

I hope this helps those of you who are still wondering how many letters to send and from which faculty. Have a good week.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. For those of you who are considering applying in this cycle, please review previous postings here regarding requirements, especially those pertaining to the letters of recommendation. I certainly don't want to be inflexible about anything, but as I have written before, the requirements are called requirements for a reason. The e-mails from individuals who think these are merely recommendations or suggestions reveal a lot about what kind of applicant they will be and should they get to that point, the kind of medical student they will be as well. I would never go into the process thinking "how can I get an exemption or exception to the requirement". I find most people know it is probably a futile effort, but they want to give it a try anyway.

And some totally unsolicited secondary advice that has been on my mind lately:
I remember really over-thinking all of my secondaries and fretting over each essay. And guess what? I submitted essays with grammar errors, essays where I wasn't sure how to interpret the prompt and went out on a limb, secondaries where I forgot to include certain ECs. For some schools, I thought my secondary was going to sink whatever chance I had. Hell, in my AMCAS I inputed the date range for one of my ECs incorrectly.

My spread of IIs ended up being totally random. I got IIs at places where I didn't enter the "optional" prompts, where I submitted secondaries with a missing word or two, essays where I had a missing/misplaced comma. Nobody gave me any beef about these mistakes. And the one school whose secondary I pre-wrote four months ahead of time and polished into (what I assumed was) a fine piece of work? Rejected. Totally n=1 anecdotal evidence, but if I could go back in time I would have tried my utmost not to obsess over my secondaries.

tl;dr: try not to make mistakes. Try your best. But if you submit something and find an error, it's probably not the end of the world.

Good luck to everyone with these secondaries! As I said before, this one is long and somewhat redundant... but I promise JHU is worth it.

 

[phuynh94]

The Facebook page also says that the adcoms won't review the applications till August, so it's okay to take your time!