Chance me please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
1

<p>Hey guys, I'm a rising senior right now, I'm really interested in international relations, and my goal is to become a foreign service officer one day. I know JHU's IR program is very strong, and I would love to go there, but I'm having some major doubts about my chances.
My GPA is a bit low because of freshman/sophomore slacking, but in junior year I really buckled down (straight A's, which I plan to continue), and now I have a HUGE upward trend if that helps. Let me know what you guys think!</p>

<p>Middle Eastern male, school doesn't rank, but top 10-15%, very competitive high school, in the top 30 in the nation, famous for grade deflation.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.7
WGPA: 4.2 hopefully 4.3 by the end of first semester (out of 5.0)</p>

<p>SAT: 2180 (retaking in October)
710 Math
670 CR
800 Writing</p>

<p>SAT IIs: taking World History, Biology, and Spanish in November
ACT: taking in September</p>

<p>APs:
Sophomore year - Gov/Politics, 4
Junior year - Environmental Science, Spanish Lang, 5's on both
Senior year - Psychology, Spanish Lit, Micro/Macro Econ (also taking honors English and honors Calculus)</p>

<p>ECs:
-Founder/President of the Global Students Association
-Officer of Spanish Honor Society
-Model UN
-National Honor Society
-FBLA
-Key Club
-German school on Saturdays</p>

<p>Honors:
-Maryland Commended Scholar
-NMS semi-finalist
-German language diploma (this would let me study at German universities)
-Black belt in Taekwondo (though I got this before high school so I don't know if it counts)</p>

<p>Internships:
-Internship at Global Media Trail, foreign media analysis company
-Internship at Radio Free Europe, contributed significantly to (name will also be published on it) a think-tank presentation/report for foreign policy makers regarding the threat of Islamist militancy in Central Asia
-Internship at the Office of Rep. Chris Van Hollen, MD</p>

<p>Recommendations:
One from my English teacher, one from my Spanish teacher. Both should be very good (I hope), as I am very close with both. Also getting one from my boss, the editor-in-chief of Radio Free Europe.</p>

<p>Language:
-Fluent in Farsi (Persian)
-Fluent in Spanish
-Fluent in German
-Fluent in Portuguese, completely self-taught
-Learning French/Italian
-Completed intensive German language course at Goethe Institute in St. Peter-Ording, Germany
-Presented the International Declaration of Human Rights in Spanish and Portuguese at the International Human Rights Day Rally in 2010</p>

<p>So yeah, as you can see, International Relations is and has been my dream field of study for quite a while. I'm very into politics, and very into foreign cultures/languages, so naturally, I was drawn to IR. If you guys could give me some feedback on what you think my chances are, that would be great.
Thanks to anyone who took the time to read all of this!</p>

<p>Wait, one more question. My dad taught MolBio at JHU for 2 years, does this help my chances at all?</p>

2

<p>any takers?</p>

3

<p>It sounds like you have an excellent shot if you apply and write good essays. You could also consider ED if you know JHU is your #1, but you certainly don’t have to and you would have to evaluate your situation for yourself. Just keep in mind there are no guarantees with anything. I got in with similar objective stats but different types of extracurriculars. They look at everything, and it’s hard to say what goes through the admissions officers’ heads. Good luck, and as to your last question, I’m fairly certain it will not help as the only consideration is with regards to legacy (parent, brother/sister, etc.), and even then it is a small boost.</p>

<p>Edit- I would also try to even out your scores. This can be done either by just doing well in all sections or the SAT, or I found if I took the SAT II’s or did well on the AP’s it showed proficiency where I might have had a lower SAT Math subscore for instance. But I would try for 700+ in all sections for sure.</p>

4

<p>thanks, blue. I am retaking the SATs in October, and I will definitely try to get my CR above 700 and Math above 750. Thanks for the advice!</p>

5

<p>any other opinions?
also, if it matters, I just got my ACT scores back, and I got a 33</p>

6

<p>Wow! Congrats on your internships and languages :slight_smile: Are you Iranian or Afghan? Definitely apply! I’ve seen 4.0s get rejected from MIT but 3.7s get admitted, so that encouraged me to apply (3.87–>3.9 rounded x]).</p>

<p>I think JHU is a match for you, 75%yes and 25%no. Good luck! </p>

<p>P.S. I wish I knew you! You sound like a cool person.</p>

7

<p>Yup, I’m Iranian! And thanks haha. Btw, my SAT is now at 2280, if that makes a difference. Any other opinions?</p>

8

<p>I think you have a pretty solid chance. Your languages, internships are pretty awesome for someone who wants to be an IR major. That will probably get some serious consideration. And a 3.7 isn’t a bad GPA.</p>

<p>If you can, it would be worth pulling up your CR on the SAT, but, I could say that to almost anyone.</p>

<p>There’s a degree of subjectivity to the whole admissions process, but I can certainly see reasons why people on the AdCom might be impressed with your application.</p>