Hopkins student getting into Hopkins

[Verloren]

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Is it more difficult for Hopkins undergraduates to get accepted by Hopkins SoM?

I think I remember reading somewhere that because there are so many kids from Hopkins applying that it's harder. And Hopkins SoM doesn't favor its undergrads.

But not only that but Hopkins deflates GPA's. Like you can get all A-'s and come out with "only" a 3.7 average. Plus our orgo/biochem/cell bio triad is notoriously hard...at least within our school.



NO I am not after Hopkins for the prestige; I've taken undergrad upper-level bio classes with the Hopkins SoM anatomy professors and I'm working for one of them now--and all of them are great, better than the undergrad professors by FAR. Approachable, understanding, and great teachers. Also I've met a lot of Hopkins SoM students and they're all wonderful people. Plus I'm from Baltimore so I want to stay close to home.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to School Specific Discussions.

 

[Algophiliac]

It's actually easier for a Hopkins student to get into Hopkins when compared with other undergrad schools. Just looking at the relative number of accepted applicants from various schools can tell you that, and Hopkins probably accepts more of its own students than those of any other undergrad.

However, you STILL have to stand out. It may be harder in the sense that all the pre-meds at Hopkins are amazing...so you have to be even more astounding to get accepted. So while your chances are numerically greater, in reality, you have more opportunities and connections (and other advantages)...so you have to put in more work utilizing those advantages.

 

[Verloren]

It's actually easier for a Hopkins student to get into Hopkins when compared with other undergrad schools. Just looking at the relative number of accepted applicants from various schools can tell you that, and Hopkins probably accepts more of its own students than those of any other undergrad.

However, you STILL have to stand out. It may be harder in the sense that all the pre-meds at Hopkins are amazing...so you have to be even more astounding to get accepted. So while your chances are numerically greater, in reality, you have more opportunities and connections (and other advantages)...so you have to put in more work utilizing those advantages.

It's not that I don't believe you, but do you know where I can find these numbers to which you're referring?

Many thanks!!!

 

[Verloren]

Bump. Plus, what gpa should would be really great for a kid graduating from Hopkins?

What I mean is, usually people say 3.8 and a good mcat and you'll get in anywhere unless you club your interviewer over the head.

But would it be a little lower for Hopkins? Like 3.7? I mean, we have grade deflation: you can get all A- here for three years and have a 3.7 gpa. I know some people get offended by this kind of question (GRADE DEFLATION AINT AN EXCUSE)...but it's true and I really would like to know...

I have a 3.86 right now but orgo and biochem are going to screw that up...

 

[FluffyRabbit]

Bump. Plus, what gpa should would be really great for a kid graduating from Hopkins?

What I mean is, usually people say 3.8 and a good mcat and you'll get in anywhere unless you club your interviewer over the head.

But would it be a little lower for Hopkins? Like 3.7? I mean, we have grade deflation: you can get all A- here for three years and have a 3.7 gpa. I know some people get offended by this kind of question (GRADE DEFLATION AINT AN EXCUSE)...but it's true and I really would like to know...

I have a 3.86 right now but orgo and biochem are going to screw that up...

I'm confused: even at places that don't do grade deflation, isn't an A- average usually a 3.7?

 

[Verloren]

I'm confused: even at places that don't do grade deflation, isn't an A- average usually a 3.7?

Oh...My school is the only I school I know that is like this. All the other schools I've heard about count the A- as a 4.0. And then there are the grade-inflating schools that give you a 4.3 for an A or A+. So I always imagined my school to be a gpa kicker.

 

[Ilovewater]

Oh...My school is the only I school I know that is like this. All the other schools I've heard about count the A- as a 4.0. And then there are the grade-inflating schools that give you a 4.3 for an A or A+. So I always imagined my school to be a gpa kicker.

Interesting! I just assume schools that use the plus/minus system gives an A- a 3.7. At least that's how it works at mine.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

Oh...My school is the only I school I know that is like this. All the other schools I've heard about count the A- as a 4.0. And then there are the grade-inflating schools that give you a 4.3 for an A or A+. So I always imagined my school to be a gpa kicker.

Interesting! I just assume schools that use the plus/minus system gives an A- a 3.7. At least that's how it works at mine.

I don't think I have actually seen a school where an A- is still a 4.0, although I guess they do exist. Mine actually counts them as 3.67. Then again, why does it matter when AMCAS will recalculate them anyway?

 

[wolfiemd]

Yeah, you're right, it absolutely doesn't matter what the school counts an A- as, because AMCAS standardizes it as a 3.7 or something thereabouts. For the record, I'd never heard of a school that counted an A- as a 4.0 either. Perhaps the OP is talking about schools that do not offer +/- grades.

Also, I may be getting myself into hot water here, but why do students from Hopkins bemoan their grade deflation so? I can understand grade deflation at a large competitive state school, e.g. Cal or UCLA -- huge class, presumably brutal curve -- but isn't Hopkins the same as any other middle-sized research school?

not all of us bemoan grade deflation...we don't particularly enjoy it (who would?), but few would write a post on sdn complaining about it..especially when said person is probably just a freshmen or sophomore (assumption based on the fact that he/she hasn't taken organic chemistry or biochemistry)

bleh.

 

[AyCaramba]

Also, I may be getting myself into hot water here, but why do students from Hopkins bemoan their grade deflation so? I can understand grade deflation at a large competitive state school, e.g. Cal or UCLA -- huge class, presumably brutal curve -- but isn't Hopkins the same as any other middle-sized research school?

Yeah I agree with you. I don't think "grade deflation" exists at Hopkins or Duke or Stanford or the Ivy League schools, etc. Any attempts to keep grades reasonable are actually designed to keep rampant grade INFLATION in check as much as possible. I think the argument might go that kids at these schools try harder on average, so the curve is by nature harsher than at a less-competitive school, and I think that could very well be true to some degree, but that's not "grade deflation." That's called going to a selective university that has tons of premeds. Grade deflation is when grades are artificially low because everybody is moved down (not because of a curve that is altered by having smarter people in the class), whether that be the preference of the university or the professor. If you're asking whether or not medical schools will account for the fact that you went to a school that is more competitive, the answer is yes (though to what degree is variable)

 

[Spiker]

If you school count A+ as 4.3 then the AMCAS will automatically deflate that to a 4 lol..

 

[ruiner]

still pondering how A- being 3.7 is grade deflation...

 

[Verloren]

OK clearly I have been misled by a few other threads I read through a while ago and am now venturing into dangerous territory...Woops, sorry I asked!

And yes I am a lowly sophomore, but I am taking biochem and o-chem I. It's not going well. Looking at a considerably ugly grade in o-chem.

 

[CarlATHF]

Take it from a senior Hopkins premed: No, Hopkins med does not give two s**** if you went to JHU vs. another school.

This is not coming from personal experience, but I know a couple of BME's who applied with 3.3 or 3.4 sGPAs and didn't get an interview invite.

 

[Verloren]

Take it from a senior Hopkins premed: No, Hopkins med does not give two s**** if you went to JHU vs. another school.

Thanks for your reply! At this point, I'm thinking more along the lines of 3.8-3.6 but yeah I can see Hopkins SOM being pretty strict. Congrats on being a senior, btw. My sophomore year is pretty awful.

 

[kappa09]

Crash.

A. A- = 3.7 at a majority of schools. Sorry, no excuse.

B. My friend is an undergrad at Hopkins right now and has received interviews from a fair number of "prestigious" medical schools. No love from Hopkins.

 

[Verloren]

Ok, thanks! Yeah...I have no idea where I read that A- = 3.7 is grade deflation. But it was certainly somewhere on SDN. And clearly that was incorrect.

Thanks for clearing things up!



Now...back to original question, pretty please? I've heard lots of different things like Hopkins SOM wheedles out Hopkins undergrads compared to other undergrads, to things like Hopkins undergrad is the biggest feeder into Hopkins SOM, etc. So is it more difficult or is it easier? Or...does it really not matter?

 

[Verloren]

Ok Y'all (I'm talking to the 1000+ views to this thread) a former admissions dean to JHU SOM visited Hopkins today, and someone asked if Hopkins undergrad kids have a greater chance of getting into Hopkins.

The former dean said YES, Hopkins undergrad is usually the most or the second-most represented at Hopkins SOM.


But duh you still have to be an incredibly amazing applicant haha. I guess what this means is that since the average gpa of admitted students is 3.8, if you're a Hopkins undergrad, you don't have to worry too much with a 3.7 gpa. A 3.6 might be borderline. Then again, this is a GUESS, don't go quote me or anything.

 

[Tara with socks]

I know a Hopkins BME with > 3.75 gpa and >3.9 sgpa. Top 10% of their class. Plus a publication. No interview from Hopkins. Don't know mcat. What do you suppose is lowest mcat score possible for Hopkins?

 

[Verloren]

I'm pretty sure the average MCAT score out of Hopkins undergrad is higher than 30. I want to say 31.

If it wasn't the MCAT score, maybe it was the clinical experience/volunteering, or the LORs and PS? This kinda scares me.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

Oh...My school is the only I school I know that is like this. All the other schools I've heard about count the A- as a 4.0. And then there are the grade-inflating schools that give you a 4.3 for an A or A+. So I always imagined my school to be a gpa kicker.

I've taken courses at several universities and all of them counted an A- as a 3.7, and an A or A+ as a 4.0

Hopkins sounds the same as most schools.

 

[JasonE]

dont worry so much about getting into hopkins med. it isnt the end all be all. if you get it, great, if you dont, great go somewhere else. no point in over analyzing how they look at their own undergrad.

 

[redlight]

i cant prove this, but ive been told (by a person on the committee, with legit credentials) they evaluate the ugrad students in a diff pool than everyone else. it is slightly easier to get accepted in terms of gpa/mcat, but definitely not in terms of anything else. besides, i know a few hopkins ugrad-->som people. most of them had great stats (pbk or ~3.8/35+), some didnt (~3.6-3.7 or lower/<34).

there's no sense in worrying about it either way. apply with your best foot forward and let things play out naturally.

P.S. hopkins is a tough school, but there's no grade deflation. im sure some classes are hard, but you earn your grades regardless of course difficulty. no prof is going to give you a "B" for "A" work and live to tell the tale.

 

[JasonE]

i cant prove this, but ive been told (by a person on the committee, with legit credentials) they evaluate the ugrad students in a diff pool than everyone else. it is slightly easier to get accepted in terms of gpa/mcat, but definitely not in terms of anything else. besides, i know a few hopkins ugrad-->som people. most of them had great stats (pbk or ~3.8/35+), some didnt (~3.6-3.7 or lower/<34).

there's no sense in worrying about it either way. apply with your best foot forward and let things play out naturally.

P.S. hopkins is a tough school, but there's no grade deflation. im sure some classes are hard, but you earn your grades regardless of course difficulty. no prof is going to give you a "B" for "A" work and live to tell the tale.

i love the comment on the bottom of your posts. great stuff

 

[redlight]

i love the comment on the bottom of your posts. great stuff

i dont make stuff up on purpose but i occasionally misinterpret things i hear on sdn or irl.