For those thinking of JHU for Undergrad

[Dr. Kermit]

As an alumni of the school and an alumni admissions officer (I represent Hopkins and present college fairs and interview high school students in my city.), I thought I'd post this info. Here are the stats from the pre-med office that I thought future pre-meds thinking about Hopkins might find informative. It comes straight from the quarterly magazine Hopkins distributes to present students and alumni.

"In the Office of Preprofessional Advising at Homewood, advisers Mary Catherine Savage and Ronald Fishbein each year work closely with more than 200 students and recent alumni whose sights are set on med school or other health professions. The duo's brand of indiviualized advising appears to be paying off. Hopkins' medical school acceptance rate is nearly twice the national average.

93% of Hopkins students (90 total) in the undergraduate class of 2001 who applied and were accepted to medical school on their first try.

50% Rate of acceptance to medical school nationally.

89% of Hopkins "re-applicants" (those who had applied previously to medical school and been denied) who were accepted in 2001.

70 Total number of Hopkins alumni applying to medical school in 2001 for the first time. Number accepted: 58.

3.62 Mean GPA of Hopkins students/alumni accepted into medical school in 2001.

31.2 Mean MCAT total for Hopkins students/alumni accepted into medical school.

7 Number of Hopkins students/alumni who applied and were accepted to dental school.

7 Number of Hopkins student/alumni who applied and were accepted to schools of Osteopathic medicine."

Although I graduated in 2001, I applied this year for the Fall of 2002. My numbers were slightly lower than Hopkins' averages, but I was offered interviews at several Top-50 schools and will be attending a Top-30 school in the fall. Good luck.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Do you know if premed advisors/deans give out this info to students at other schools? I'm interested to find out my school's data.

 

[BUmiken12]

70% acceptance rate here at Baylor...

 

[Doctora Foxy]

When I applied to college I heard Brandeis had a 65% acceptance rate. I don't know if it has changed--I'll find out though

65% is really good, right?

 

[Neuronix]

They wouldn't give me exact numbers here, because they don't actually keep track of who is getting in. But, at my state school, the # is more like 40% - 50% for a given year out of 50 - 70 applicants.

 

[jam128]

Dr. Kermit,

On a different topic, please read my post called "Look what Einstein did!, since you know alot about that school."

thank you
jam128

 

[Gainer]

These numbers are VERY skewed.
The pre-medical commitee at Hopkins will stop you from applying to medical school if they do not think you have a 100% chance of beign accepted. This is how their numbers remain so high. A better indication of the medical acceptances would be the number of people who originally enter the commitee process in November or December of the junior year and who actually are allowed to proceed through.

This isn't to say Hopkins isn't a great school, but PLEASE don't be fooled by these numbers.

 

[coop]

gainer,
It definately is true that our preprof office weeds people out to make to reach this nice looking number, however, it's not like they throw them out on the street. They advise a lot of people on how to make their app stronger. The applicant wins as well (not just the preprof office) in this "weeding out" it means that people who likely woudn't get in this cycle can avoid the headache of applying twice. I think our preprof office is awesome, and I don't think you should discount the significance of these numbers. A lot of hopkins students go the premed route, and if you are serious about it the office will really do wonders for you.

GO JAYS!

 

[Dr. Kermit]

I just came back from alumni weekend. I had the best time and while I was there, I stopped into the office

Personally, I was told to wait a year b/c prior to junior year I had a 3.37 and <30 on my MCATs. I waited the year, brought my GPA upto a 3.57 and retook the MCATs. I was accepted to 5 schools. I think they definitely gave me some encouraging advice and I was not shown the door.

However, I have a friend with less than a 3.3 and I think a 25 MCAT that was encouraged to apply and she has not been accepted and will be applying next year.

Hopkins does weed out some applicants, but the more persistent and positive students do succeed. I have had bad experiences with Savage, but overall she was extremely wonderful and helpful.

 

[leafs]

I graduated from Hopkins in May 2001, and found the preprof office, Savage and Fishbein to be very helpful. I also decided to wait a year before applying because i was not ready to jump into med school immediately. I would recommend Hopkins for pre-med, and i don't see what all the fuss is about. What i appreciated about Savage was that she told "it " to me straight, and pointed out areas of weakness in my application. During my senior year, i was able to pull up my grades, gain more hospital experience, etc. As a first time applicant this admissions year, i have been accepted at 4 schools and am still waiting on more schools.

 

[bebe2]

I am also a 2001 Alumni. Mrs. Savage has been extremely helpful to me this year. I advise all graduated (non-traditional)pre-meds ,regarldess of undergrad institution, to keep their pre-med advisors updated on your progress during the application year.
You can get updated information first, about where you are in the process at X medical school plus tons of advice for that particular school. Advisors usually have the inside scoop.

I know what many think of Mrs. Savage but she actually told me to apply last year. I just needed a personal year off. But some have had difficult interactions with her. I think soem of it is in the way you approach her. Know what you want! Don't go to her completely clueless about medical school or about what forms you should have in to the office. Show interest.Ask her what she thinks about certain grades you have achieved, about your extra-curriculars, volunteer work, etc. The facets of my application she was most pleased with came up in one or two of my interviews.

Hopkins is tough. But you CAN find a great support system in the pre-med office. If you aren't pleased with Savage, go see Dr. Fishbein. Good luck all. You can PM me for more info!

 

[oldman]

i found that if i wanted to hear good news, i should talk to fishbein. if i wanted to hear the truth, talk to savage.

fishbein was always very optimistic and savage more business-like.

as far as weeding out goes, they have been doing this stuff long enough to know what kind of stats are gonna get you in.

they were both very helpful and i had them proofread my essays too.

 

[oldman]

the office has lots of data too. the most useful hand-out i got from the office was a list (just raw numbers) of where people applied, where they got accepted, and where they matriculated. they have this data for about 5 years back.

even though some of the students were applying to state schools, you can see where hopkins students can competitively apply for med school.