2015-2016 Johns Hopkins University Application Thread

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esabs15 said:
A waiting room where you are observed (after 2 pm, I believe) to see how you interact with others who, well at least in my group, include the the sorts of folks who introduce themselves as you describe above.
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Are you sure you were not secretly interviewing for the government? lol
 
esabs15 said:
Lol @Officer Farva. I doubt that the observers in this case even have the pysch training to decipher character, lol. At any rate, if you read my account, you'll see that, well at least for me, the day was quite strange, especially my faculty interviewer's cold behavior, and the story of the dude (who was already a first year med student elsewhere) who knew he was already getting in after his interview.
Then again, this is n = 1, and different folks are probably best suited for different places.
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I heard from like 3 interviewees at other schools that JHU is the only medical school that doesn't have the stereotypical interview day of cramming collaboration and community and "chillness" down your throat. But what do I know, I never interviewed there haha
 
1. Don't believe everything interviewees tell you 😉
2. I had a very reserved interviewer who I felt was thoroughly unimpressed with my application – don't put any stock into your interviewers' perceived impressions. I had friends rejected from schools where interviewers "promised" they would accept them.
3. The interview day – or at least, as of last year – doesn't try to "sell" she school, so don't expect a lengthy curriculum/student org/clinical ops speech. If you have any unanswered questions, please reach out to a current student.
4. I came from a very low-tier undergrad and am guilty of prefacing my introduction with "you probably haven't heard of it" (so far I am the first and only student from my UG to interview at Hopkins). The interview process was really intimidating for me, but I had to let go of these insecurities and trust that my application would speak for itself. So far, my classmates haven't cared a whit about my academic pedigree and I've experienced less "snubbing" here than I did at my big-name state schools. TBH, I still suffer from impostor syndrome... but then again my utterly brilliant Harvard/Oxford/FancypantsU classmates have confessed to feeling the same. :shrug: I suppose it's a med school inevitability.
5. You'll meet some less-than-friendly interviewees on the trail. Hopefully you won't see them in the accepted students' FB page – the admissions process is (usually) a very effective screen.
 
esabs15 said:
@hellanutella The reason this was unusual is b/c the interviewee in question was currently enrolled in medical school as a first year in Lebanon, I believe. He wasn't there as a "transfer applicant" or as a "visiting applicant," but rather as a first-year applicant. At any rate, if i'm not mistaken, JHU in theory doesn't accept transfer students, and by extension, I believe, students who are already currently enrolled in medical school elsewhere. It was a first for many of us, I believe, to be interviewing for med school with someone who was already a med student themselves. It just looked unusual on the surface. At any rate, part of the point is that some folks' fate is already set before they set foot. It's probably something that happens everywhere, but c'est la vie.
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I don't agree with most of what you have said over the past few days. I, for one, did not sense any sort of elitist attitude from interviewees, interviewers, current medical school students, or anyone I met during interview day. Maybe you were in an especially proud group or assigned a less friendly interviewer and if that's the case, I feel sorry for you. I am from a state school myself and did not feel like I needed to "apologize" for where I came from. In addition, I don't think that JHU would waste their time interviewing applicants if they have already determined who they are going to accept and who they are going to reject. It's true that the interview can have different weights for different applicants. Some applicants will really need to do poorly on the interview to be rejected. Some will have to show how amazing of a person they are to overcome weaknesses on their application and be accepeted. But this is true at most other medical schools and in my opinion, I did not get the feeling that the name of your alma mater would be considered a weakness by JHU.

So if any of you out there have been discouraged from applying to JHU in subsequent cycles because of negative things that have been said over the past few days, please know that there are people here that have felt completely differently about this matter. Even if I am rejected in a month's time from JHU, I will still say the same about the school.
 
I'll say it again, IF you believe JHU to be elitist based on the limited experiences and observations above, then every single private top school is also elitist to their cores. People make livings off of pitching how universities have different cultures, but the top schools are basically the same: diverse, intellectual, well-resourced...and elitist. How else do you think they got their reputations to where they are?

Now if you step back and think about it the way I said, you'll realize you've only seen a small slice of every school at interviews and thus we're already starting to enter that dangerous, dark world of circlejerking
 
I am not sure if the alma maters of current students is made available at interview day, but it is certainly more diverse than at many peer institutions. It's inevitable that alumni of elite institutions will be over-represented here (you wouldn't believe how many people in my class have advanced degrees from Oxbridge alone), but these are also some of the sweetest and most helpful people I've ever met.

Also I think people have a wrong impression of the interview process. I have worked with a lot of first/second years who run the Greeters program and give tours and believe me when I say: they really don't care. They are volunteering because it's fun for them to meet the potential next class and hang out with friends from college; they're not trying to screen anyone out. More importantly, Admissions doesn't actually take any feedback from them regarding candidates. As for the fishbowl itself, you don't need to compete to ask questions or pretend to seem interesting. It's meant to screen for REDFLAGS. Can you make eye contact with other humans? Are you able to respond to basic social cues? Does your body language make people uncomfortable a la Ted Cruz? Are you outlandishly competitive and toxic? Do you suffer from a crippling case of imposter syndrome? If the answer is no and you can carry on a normal conversation, YOU ARE FINE.
 
Is Hopkins still sending IIs?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
II just now!

Okay, real talk, is it worth it for me to go? I would love to go to this school but I have to spend 600$ on a plane ticket and I want to be pragmatic in terms of my chances and the opportunity I'm paying for.
 
order66.exe said:
II just now!

Okay, real talk, is it worth it for me to go? I would love to go to this school but I have to spend 600$ on a plane ticket and I want to be pragmatic in terms of my chances and the opportunity I'm paying for.
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I guess it depends on whether you are already accepted at a school which you would happily attend. JHU is amazing, but so are a few others, and it really does depend on your personal preferences, current opportunities, and finances.
 
order66.exe said:
II just now!

Okay, real talk, is it worth it for me to go? I would love to go to this school but I have to spend 600$ on a plane ticket and I want to be pragmatic in terms of my chances and the opportunity I'm paying for.
Click to expand...

Though this is obviously a difficult matter to evaluate independently of any sense of the relevant variables beyond the price of the plane ticket (i.e., are you quite sure you want to attend the institution to which you've already been accepted, so that a JHUSOM admission would add only marginally to the success of your application season, are you highly confident that your application aligns with JHUSOM's priorities and preferences, will the extra $600 send you spiraling into total indigence, or do you have a support network sufficient to buoy you up for awhile if necessary, etc.), I can at least offer one source of encouragement. If you look on Hopkins' website (http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/admissions/md/application_process/timeline.html), you'll see that their admission decisions come in three gigantic "rounds"--one in December, one in January, and one, as I was just told at my interview, "on or before" April 1. Call this the unsupported optimism of someone who would be gratified and grateful far beyond his capacity to express it if his trip out to Baltimore results in admission, but I'm taking these large aggregate offer dates to signify that the lateness of one's interview at Hopkins is *less* impactful than it might be elsewhere.

It's also perhaps worth pointing out that the interview is a fantastic time. You get, if my experience is representative, to meet a fantastic group of applicants with both much in common and much distinct from yourself, who are just as honored and humbled as you are to be there interviewing, ample time to talk with M1s and faculty members about pretty much anything you might want to know (some topics included the student-run free clinic, the med school band, the goes-without-saying ubiquity of research opportunities, and the fact that the term "rounds" originated at Hopkins for architectural reasons you will see for yourself), a Panera-catered lunch (yum), a tour of the gorgeous campus, and...A CHANCE TO ATTEND HOPKINS!

For me, this was the thing. I don't know if I ever seriously and soberly so much as dreamed that the caliber of my application would be sufficient to get me even that chance: to not jump at it with all of my heart when it actually astonishingly came would therefore be to betray all of the passionate idealism that sent me striving to become a physician in the first place. You might say that someone whose self-assessed chances at interview seemed slim would be wiser not to waste his time. But I'd exuberantly take a 1/1,000,000 chance at this place, and if the admission v. acceptance graphic near the bottom of this page (http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/admissions/md/application_process/faqs.html#courses) is any indication, I actually took much better odds than that!

In short, I say go for it! If you get admitted, you'll be SO happy you did!
 
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Hopkins invented medicine as we know it in America. That's all you need to know
 
Ay @hellanutella & @Dinitrophenol, could you refresh my memory on when STEP I dedicated study time is? Is it mid MS2 or mid MS3? (I remember people talking about 6-8 weeks of dedicated time, 8 if you use some of your holiday).
 
Just got rejected pre-II. Guess I wasn't meant to stay in the Charm City. Best of luck to everyone!
 
From the Facebook page, looks like they're wrapping up:

"Good Afternoon,

I hope everyone is ding well: we were closed yesterday because of ice and snow (and not because of President's Day) and had a late start today, again, because of ice. This afternoon appears to be quite nice, however.

The final decisions were just sent for approximately 290 applicants. At this point, we only have two weeks of interviews remaining (including this week) and nearly all applicants to be interviewed have been contacted.

We appreciate everyone's patience in this very long process."
 
breezy16 said:
Ay @hellanutella & @Dinitrophenol, could you refresh my memory on when STEP I dedicated study time is? Is it mid MS2 or mid MS3? (I remember people talking about 6-8 weeks of dedicated time, 8 if you use some of your holiday).
Click to expand...

STEP can be taken either immediately post-preclinical or after your initial 3rd year rotations. All I know is that the 2nd years input their preferred step 1 studying period/exam date and hope their schedule grants them that spot. However, as a MS1, I spend most of my time actively trying to forget that STEP exists.

As per our class wiki:
"Since Hopkins operates on 9-week blocks, most students allocate one block for boards studying, often using 6-7 weeks to study and 2-3 weeks for vacation. Students who feel a strong command of the subject matter can often complete studying in four weeks, but weak test takers have taken up to 13 weeks in the past. Students who use more time to study have less time for elective rotations.
Because the summer term has an extra four weeks, students can use this time in combination with the prior or subsequent term (Summer H1&2 or Q1, respectively) to have 13 weeks for studying."

avgn said:
Quick reminder not to decide based on small things like this 😛
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Absolutely. Don't quibble over 1-2 weeks difference in STEP schedules, though if a school only offers you 3-4 weeks that might be a cause for concern.
 
Just to add to this cold discussion and add that all is not lost and perhaps people just have different styles.

My hopkins faculty interview was the strangest I had. The first thing I was asked was my GPA/MCAT...it was an open file interview?... The interview progressed and throughout it the faculty member was on his phone texting while I was talking (never did he say "sorry checking on a patient" or anything like that). He also wasn't taking notes about the interview on his phone because he was doing that on paper.

Despite this, I was accepted.

In the interest of full-disclosure, I should mention that my student interviewer was very warm and one of the nicest people I have ever met. Not just to me, but to all the applicants (fishbowl). Just a great person. <-This is what I want from my classmates
 
omnxbeast said:
Just to add to this cold discussion and add that all is not lost and perhaps people just have different styles.

My hopkins faculty interview was the strangest I had. The first thing I was asked was my GPA/MCAT...it was an open file interview?... The interview progressed and throughout it the faculty member was on his phone texting while I was talking (never did he say "sorry checking on a patient" or anything like that). He also wasn't taking notes about the interview on his phone because he was doing that on paper.

Despite this, I was accepted.

In the interest of full-disclosure, I should mention that my student interviewer was very warm and one of the nicest people I have ever met. Not just to me, but to all the applicants (fishbowl). Just a great person. <-This is what I want from my classmates
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Wow..props to you for maintaining your composure as that sounds so rude! Maybe he was having a convo on sdn during your interview.. Congrats anyways though 🙂
 
It happens. I also have had similar interview experiences at other institutions. Acted like it wasn't happening and continued on too. Best approach
 
avgn said:
Quick reminder not to decide based on small things like this 😛
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Oh no, of course not. I was thinking about it today at work and it bothered me that I couldn't remember.

hellanutella said:
STEP can be taken either immediately post-preclinical or after your initial 3rd year rotations. All I know is that the 2nd years input their preferred step 1 studying period/exam date and hope their schedule grants them that spot. However, as a MS1, I spend most of my time actively trying to forget that STEP exists.

As per our class wiki:
"Since Hopkins operates on 9-week blocks, most students allocate one block for boards studying, often using 6-7 weeks to study and 2-3 weeks for vacation. Students who feel a strong command of the subject matter can often complete studying in four weeks, but weak test takers have taken up to 13 weeks in the past. Students who use more time to study have less time for elective rotations.
Because the summer term has an extra four weeks, students can use this time in combination with the prior or subsequent term (Summer H1&2 or Q1, respectively) to have 13 weeks for studying."



Absolutely. Don't quibble over 1-2 weeks difference in STEP schedules, though if a school only offers you 3-4 weeks that might be a cause for concern.
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Thanks so much! (Sorry for bringing up the pink elephant in your room 😉 )
 
Anyone know where we send the sibling enrollment verification form for financial aid? Can we upload it or do we have to mail it
 
TickTockxx said:
Anyone know where we send the sibling enrollment verification form for financial aid? Can we upload it or do we have to mail it
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I'd recommend that you call the finaid office at 410-955-1324 to double-check, but the following is what I experienced last year re: the verification process.

As of last year it was only required for committed students – if you decide Hopkins is The One™ and matriculate you will get an email in August requesting that your sibling(s) enrollment is verified. Last year you had to pay a small fee to verify that your sibling(s) is/are enrolled through the National Student Clearinghouse. If the Clearinghouse does not have your sibling(s) information, the verification form will have to be completed and submitted by their institution(s).

The verification is to certify that your sibling is enrolled for the 2016-2017 school year (which hasn't started yet) so if you submit the form right now I don't think they'll be able to accept it.
Screen Shot 2016-02-25 at 1.56.14 PM.png

Source: the verification form [screenshot embedded]

However, unless things have changed, they will still calculate your finaid package assuming your sibling(s) will be enrolled full-time in college. If – come September – you cannot verify their enrollment, your finaid package will be readjusted. (So make sure your siblings stay in school!).
 
Can students at Johns Hopkins talk a little bit about what the financial aid is like here? I'm filling out the paperwork and all, and Hopkins is definitely my top choice but being able to afford medical school is a huge concern of mine. Thank you for your help!
 
Eastcoastlover said:
Can students at Johns Hopkins talk a little bit about what the financial aid is like here? I'm filling out the paperwork and all, and Hopkins is definitely my top choice but being able to afford medical school is a huge concern of mine. Thank you for your help!
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If you look at last year's thread you'll see some very mixed responses. Hopkins is strictly need-based, so we do lose a good chunk of folks to schools like WashU and Penn, which can ofter hefty merit awards. The unit loan last year was $20,500 – which I hope will be the case this year.

That said, I got a remarkably good aid package from Hopkins and the finaid department was very easy to work with. Anecdotally, JHU ended up being cheaper than my in-state options (CA UCs) by over a third – though this was not the case for some of my friends.

If you attend SLW there will be a one-on-one with an FA officer where you can discuss your package. I highly recommend attending this session.

tl;dr: It's impossible to say without knowing how they do their finaid magic. Just apply for aid promptly and hope for the best, as nerve-wracking as it sounds. 🙁
 
Does anyone know if Hopkins accepts less people on their final March 30th decision date than the first two dates? Or do they accept 1/3 of the people they are going to at each date? I'm just a little weirded out that the decision is so going to be so late.
 
dreamer659 said:
Does anyone know if Hopkins accepts less people on their final March 30th decision date than the first two dates? Or do they accept 1/3 of the people they are going to at each date? I'm just a little weirded out that the decision is so going to be so late.
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I believe It's roughly the same "batch size".


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
UNMedGa said:
Hey @hellanutella, do you know if the character limits for the secondary promts include spaces or not? Pre-writing my secondaries for JHU since it's my top choice.
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I honestly cannot recall, but I'd err on the conservative side and include spaces. Good luck!

Edit: already answered by suchbrio! Spaces are included!
 
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Does anyone know if Hopkins gives out Merit Scholarships or if they are flexible with the need based aid that they give?
 
Anyone know how many are picked out of the alternate list usually?
 
Can we expect to hear back about a financial aid package prior to the April 29 deadline?
 
Do any current or prospective students know when the movment from the alternate list begins?
 
Is the alternate list ranked? I have a vague memory from interview day that the Dean mentioned it was unranked, but then I just re-read my decision letter and there's this line : "Unfortunately, we are not able to tell you your rank on the list." Can someone confirm?
 
alexagator said:
Is the alternate list ranked? I have a vague memory from interview day that the Dean mentioned it was unranked, but then I just re-read my decision letter and there's this line : "Unfortunately, we are not able to tell you your rank on the list." Can someone confirm?
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Not ranked.
 
To those who have been accepted: have they marked your FASFA complete yet? I submitted mine over a month and a half ago, but they haven't marked it "received" yet..
 
breezy16 said:
To those who have been accepted: have they marked your FASFA complete yet? I submitted mine over a month and a half ago, but they haven't marked it "received" yet..
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Yes, everything has been marked as received, except for my parental tax information that I had submitted on time through IDOC...
 
TickTockxx said:
Yes, everything has been marked as received, except for my parental tax information that I had submitted on time through IDOC...
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Odd, everything else for me has been received but that FAFSA. I'm not sure what's going on (I don't want to have a delay in awards). I figured they still may be uploading some of the docs, but I can't help but feel that I need to be on top of this.
 
:biglove:
@(deleted user)
Anesthesia

· UPenn, PA
· UWisconsin, WI

Dermatology
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD

ENT
· Harvard Med School/Mass Eye and Ear, MA
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· USC, CA
· Cleveland Clinic, OH
· Mayo School of Grad Med Educ, MN
· Harvard Med School / Mass Eye and Ear, MA
· Barnes-Jewish Hospital, MO
· UCSD, CA

Emergency Medicine
· Icahn SOM Beth Israel, NY
· Boston University, MA
· NMC Portsmouth, VA
· NYU, NY
· Alameda Health Systems – Highland Hospital, CA
· UNC, NC
· UConnecticut, CT
· Alameda Health Systems – Highland Hospital, CA
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD

Family Medicine
· Swedish Medical Center, WA
· Sutter Med Center of Santa Rosa, CA
· Boston University, MA

Internal Medicine
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Johns Hopkins / Bayview, MD
· UTSW, TX
· Brigham & Womens, MA
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· UPenn, PA
· UColorado, CO
· MGH (Primary)
· UCSF, CA (Primary / UC)
· NYU, NY (Primary)
· UCSF, CA (Primary / SFGH)
· MGH, MA
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD (Urban Health)
· MGH, MA (Primary)
· Johns Hopkins / Bayview, MD
· Icahn SOM at Mount Sinai, NY
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD

Med-Peds
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD

Pediatrics
· UCLA, CA
· Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA
· Columbia, NY
· Stanford, CA

Neurology
· UCSF, CA
· Brigham & Womens, MA

Neurosurgery
· NYU, NY
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Duke, NC
· UWisconsin, WI

OBGYN
· UCSF, CA
· Columbia, NY
· Yale, CT
· UCSF, CA
· UCSD, CA

Ophthalmology
· U Iowa, IA
· UMIchigan
· Wilmer – Johns Hopkins, MD
· Wilmer – Johns Hopkins, MD

Orthopedics Surgery
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· UConnecticut, CT
· UNC, NC

Pathology
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· UCSF, CA
· Brigham & Womens, MA
· MGH, MA

Psychiatry
· Massachusetts General Hospital, MA
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Yale, CT
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· MGH, MA
· UCSF, CA
· NYU, NY
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD

PM&R
· Stanford, CA
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD

Radiology
· Albert Einstein, PA (Diagnostic)
· Brigham & Womens, MA (Interventional – integrated)
· Florida Hospital – Orlando, FL (Diagnostic)
· MGH, MA (Diagnostic)
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD (Nuclear)

General Surgery
· Brigham & Womens, MA
· Duke, NC
· NMC San Diego, CA
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Morehouse, CA
· Brigham & Womens, MA
· Yale, CT
· UCSF, CA
· Johns Hopkins Hospital (Prelimary)
· Washington Hospital Ctr, DC
· UCLA, CA
· UIowa, IA

Thoracic Surgery
· UPenn, PA

Urology
· Stanford, CA
· Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD
· Emory, GA
 
Is there even a shred of hope for the final round of decisions being released next week? :'(
 
rogernadal said:
Is there even a shred of hope for the final round of decisions being released next week? :'(
Click to expand...
Of course there is. There is hope for the alternate list, too. Unless it's an rejection, there is always hope.

I don't know if I've mentioned this here or not, but I met a fair amount of students who came off the AL during my time in Baltimore. Keep showing interest, updates, and if you're meant to be here, you will be 🙂
 
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