Chance me for BME!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
1

<p>Heyy so I'm a rising senior and I'm freaking out about the college process...I would really appreciate any and all recommendations as to how I can strengthen my resume to be as powerful an applicant as I can...Thanks! I WILL CHANCE BACK IF YOU POST A LINK</p>

<p>Demographics:</p>

<p>Gender: Male
Race: Asian-Indian
State: NC
School Type: Very Competitive Public (Top 300), 7-point scale. We usually have 5-6 kids get into Ivies and Duke.
Financial Aid: Yes to privates, No to publics
College Major: BME (Aspiring to become a neurologist)
GPA (Projected for end of this year): 4.91 W, 3.91 UW
Class Rank as of 1st Semester Junior Year: 5/445
Essays and Recommendations (AP Biology and AP English teachers along with supplementary rec from the doctor I interned for and counselor) will all be stellar</p>

<p>Standardized Tests:</p>

<p>SAT 1: 2000 (CR: 650, M: 680, W: 670, E: 10) WILL RETAKE
ACT: 30 (E: 30, M: 30, R: 33, S: 27, E: 8) WILL RETAKE
PSAT: 186 ugh… (CR: 63, M: 58, W: 65)
Subject Tests: Math II-760, Biology-680, Spanish w/ Listening-Not Taken
AP Tests (P=Projected):</p>

<p>APES: 4
AP Biology: P5
AP Psychology: P5
AP Calculus BC: P4, AB subscore P5
AP English L/C: P5</p>

<p>Sophomore Writing Test: 4, 20/20</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Honors English 1: A
Honors Geometry: A
Honors Biology: A
Honors World History: A
Sports Medicine/Athletic Training 1: A
Spanish 2: A
Debate 1: A
PE/Health: A</p>

<p>GPA UW: 4.0
GPA W: 4.5
PSAT: 167</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Honors English II: A
Honors Algebra II: A
Honors Chemistry: A
Honors Spanish III: A
Honors Civics/Economics: A
Honors Pre-Calculus: A
AP Environmental Science: A
Debate II: A</p>

<p>GPA UW: 4.0
GPA W: 5.0
PSAT: 178</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Calculus AB: B (Final)
AP Calculus BC: B, but a good chance I can bump up to an A
AP Biology II: A (Final)
AP Psychology: A (Final)
AP English Language/Composition: B, but a good chance i can bump up to an A
Honors Spanish IV: 90/B, very little chance I could bump up to an A
Physical Conditioning I: A (Should have taken Honors Debate III but because of budget cuts Debate was no longer a class)</p>

<p>Projected UW GPA (considering I get As in BC Calculus and English): 3.71
Projected W GPA (considering I get As in BC Calculus and English): 5.29</p>

<p>Senior Year:
AP Chemistry II
AP Literature
AP Spanish V
AP U.S. History
AP Human Geography
AP Statistics
Honors Debate IV</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars:</p>

<p>Part of our school’s community service program (requires 25 hours per year of community service each year)
Freshman Year: 25 hours at the YMCA
Sophomore Year: 25 hours at the YMCA
Junior Year: 25 hours in the E.D. at Carolina’s Medical Center</p>

<p>Debate(9-12):
Co-Captain of Debate Team and Public Forum Debate Head Junior Year, Will be All-Team Captain Senior Year
Only active junior to compete in tournaments in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades</p>

<p>HOSA(10-12):Not an officer, but I partake in the officer meetings and help plan trips to regional and state competitions; hoping to be President senior year</p>

<p>Internship:
70-hour academic medical internship at a private neurology practice last summer where I shadowed the head doctor and assisted in the research department. Also, I wrote a paper on the effects of Parkinson’s disease on the body.
Will complete another 70-hour internship at the same practice where I will complete a case study and hope to get a paper published in a medical journal.</p>

<p>Spanish Club(11-12):
President (12), Vice-President (11)
Help in organizing community service events for Spanish club members (over 100)</p>

<p>Spanish Honor Society (10-12):
President Junior year and will remain President Senior year
Have tutored Spanish I and II students 2-3 times/week since sophomore year</p>

<p>Student Humanitarian Organization (10-11):
Co-founder
Secretary 10th grade, President 11th grade
Raised money for countries in need of aid who have been affected by natural disasters
PROBLEM: THIS CLUB HAS BEEN CUT THIS YEAR. Should I still mention this club on my application?</p>

<p>Awards:
Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society): 11-12
Spanish Honor Society: 10-12
National Honor Society: 11-12
Junior Marshall
HOSA (10): Placed 9th in Kaiser Permanente Health Care Exam and 10th in Nutritional Knowledge Test at State Competition
HOSA (11): Placed 9th in Job-Seeking Skills (Regionals) and 3rd in Nutritional Knowledge Test at State Competition (Qualified for Nationals)</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

2

<p>I think your chances are the same as everyone else’s - really small. I would work on getting that SAT up to 2300+ for a serious shot at BME.</p>

<p>Are you applying Early Decision?</p>

3

<p>I’m not 100% sure yet. My parents are really set on me going to Duke, since it’s only a few hours away, so I’m planning on applying ED there. Does JHU offer EA (non-binding)?</p>

4

<p>Oh btw, I’m attending Summer Ventures in Science in Math, which is a state-funded month-long science and math program over the summer where I stay in a dorm at a college (not gonna say which for privacy reasons lol) and study science and math, basically haha. It’s pretty prestigious considering roughly 1500 kids applied and only 300 got in (this is what a rep told me).</p>

<p>So yeah, anymore feedback? :smiley:
I’ll chance you if you post a link!</p>

5

<p>You are taking AP Calc AB & BC o.O </p>

<p>JHU doesn’t use the A = 4 B = 3 C = 2 etc… unless that is how your school records it. They use (to the best of my knowledge)
A (94-100): 4
A- (90-93): 3.7
B: 3.33 etc…</p>

6

<p>Getting into BME in RD is impossible. Slim chance. But if you apply ED to Duke then no matter, you’ll never apply to JHU. Hopkins only has ED, binding.</p>

7

<p>@feareman: Really? Our school doesn’t send number grades, just the letter; as a matter of fact, I don’t think there’s even a record of my number considering the system shuts down over the summer for maintenance and restarts with the letter…and we’re on the 7-point scale, so it’s even harder to pull off an A.</p>

<p>@WealthOfInformation: Thanks for the reply, I wasn’t aware of that. I guess if I do apply it’ll be for a different major (as long as I fulfill those med school credits)!</p>

8

<p>I tend not to comment on “chances” threads, but I just wanted to clarify what (I think) WealthofInformation was saying. Getting into BME RD is difficult - the admissions rate, though unpublished, is quite low - but it’s not technically impossible. If you’re interested in BME, then you should apply BME. You’ll be considered in the same “pool” as every other applicant to the university and then of those accepted, they’ll look at the people who indicated interest in BME and decide who to admit to the program. So, it’s possible to apply BME and get admitted to the University and not the BME program. If BME is your real interest, then don’t hesitate to apply to the program - it’s not going to lower your chances of getting into the University.</p>

<p>Just a word of warning - make sure that you know what the BME program is before you apply (and write the “why BME” essay). It’s an intense engineering program, not just a “pre-med” program. If you’re interested in mixing engineering and medicine, then it’s an absolutely amazing program and it’s very possible to go into med school from the program if that’s what you decide you want to do, but if you’re looking for an easy pre-med track, then BME is definitely not the right choice for you. It’s looks like you have a pretty strong math background (and presumably, an interest in math), so if BME is what you’re interested in pursing, go for it!</p>

<p>And if you have any questions on Duke vs Hopkins, feel free to send them my way - I’m a Hopkins BME alum who worked in the Duke BME dept last summer and is now at med school at Duke</p>