Chances at JHU BME?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
1

Hi everyone, I’m a high school senior who’s done pretty well in school, but I’m no world class athlete or musician. Compared to others, my resume looks a little dull. Would y’all mind chancing me for this ultra competitive program?
Intended major: Biomedical engineering (gulp)

Stats and numbers: Texas resident (San Antonio area at an average 5A school)

Asian
SAT: 2290 (800M, 800R, 690 W)
SAT 2: 800 M-2, 800 Bio-M, 750 Physics
GPA: 3.85 UW, 5.3 W (out of 6)
Rank: Top 5%
National Merit Semifinalist, probably finalist

AP courses: Have taken 7 total with 5 planned for next year
5’s on:
calc ab and bc (+ ab subscore), bio, English, world history, us history,
3’s on:
physics 1, physics 2

Other things:
I can speak Vietnamese fluently, coming to the US when I was 2
I have a few important awards in state level STEM competitions, mainly in calculus
I have some school level awards (mostly BS for grades, don’t count for much)
TONS of community service, worked with a broad group of people from homeless to disabled, etc. (something like 600+ hours)
I have solid recommendations from teachers (like 9+/10), including Calculus, History, English, Bio, and counselor
I have some decent EC’s like a black belt in TKD, varsity track and tennis for 2 years, president of a couple of science/engineering based clubs.

Experience:
I worked a demanding summer job in the medical field and had a research internship under a biology professor at TAMU. Nothing groundbreaking but it’s something :stuck_out_tongue:

So based on this information, would I have a shot at JHU BME? Thanks for the help!

2

Ehh, you look about average for a Hopkins KSAS applicant. However, BME is a whole other ball game. Early decision would be your best bet.

3

Thanks for the response! Yeah that’s about where I figured I would fall…Too bad the early action deadline was a month and a half ago :stuck_out_tongue: all that’s left to do is write super dope essays and pray I guess

4

You look solid. For BME there’s a second admissions committee and they really consider STEM courses over everything and Hopkins recalculates your unweighted math + science GPA. Also, you had a research internship so that’ll be a big bonus. Your best shot is ED when they’ll fill almost half the BME class then.

5

(Current BME)

I’d say your internship is your best bet for Hopkins BME. From what I understand of the admissions process, they look favorably on previous research and medtech experience. If you know you really want to go to Hopkins and you can afford the tuition (run an NPC to figure out how much you(r parents) will have to pay), then you should apply ED to maximize your chances. Keep in mind though the while you are a competitive applicant, ED is by no means a guarantee - the BME acceptance rate is on par with Harvard, Stanford, etc (~5%).

If you aren’t as sure about Hopkins or don’t know if you can afford the tuition, don’t apply ED. There are several other (and many cheaper) schools where you can get a quality BME education and college experience.

6

@saif235 where did you get the 5% stat from?

7

Again, thanks for the responses, they’re very helpful. One thing that held me back from ED, like @saif235 mentioned, was the crazy cost. With my goal being med school after undergrad, I don’t know if paying 60k a year is the smartest move for me right now. Even more so considering I’m in the financial aid ‘donut hole’…in state schools like UT and TAMU offer a similar quality BME education for a quarter of the cost. Nonetheless, I’ll apply to JHU regular decision and see where that gets me. I’ll definitely remember to play up the internship bit in my app and essay. Thank you!

8

@SherWho the 5% thing is an internal statistic that’s thrown around a lot. They don’t actually publish the BME acceptance rate.

9

I wish they would. It would give applicants an idea of what their chances are and how competitive the applicant pool is. Right now there is lot of hype with no numbers to back it up.

10

Yeah the numbers they tell us internally are something like “we have appropriately 10,000 applicants and a class of 150 students”. From that we generally extrapolate a 5% or lower acceptance rate.

11

Oh wow! How is the BME program and what are prospects for students after graduating?

12

The undergrad BME program is an engineering program which focuses on applying engineering principles to solving biological problems. The core curriculum is focused on engineering foundations, systems biology, and engineering design. Since the field is very broad students concentrate in a specific area (cell and tissue engineering, computational biology, imaging, instrumentation, systems biology, or a custom focus). You can find more information here: http://www.bme.jhu.edu/undergraduate/prospective-students
Prospects for BME are as varied as the degree itself. A career in the biomedical industry typically requires a graduate degree and about 1/3 of graduates go on to get a graduate degree in BME or a related field. Many BME undergrads are premed and about 1/3 of graduates go to medical school either directly after graduation or after taking a gap year. The last 1/3 of graduates begin their careers after undergrad - most end up working in consulting though some land jobs at companies like Medtronic, Stryker, or Genentech. Those with Computer Science or Applied Math background also land jobs at more mainstream tech companies.