Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
1

Another chance thread… oops

Hi, I’m only a junior, but I can’t stop stressing myself out about this. I don’t know if what I’m doing is enough or if I’m doing something wrong. I know my GPA can probably improve, but I don’t know what else.

Freshmen Year:
Honors English
Honors Geometry
Honors Biology
AP Human Geography
French 1
Marching Band (first semester)/Concert Band (second semester)
P.E.

Sophomore Year:
Honors English
Honors Algebra 2
Chemistry (honors chem isn’t a thing at my school)
Anatomy and Physiology (honors isn’t a thing at my school)
French 2
AP Euro
Health and Wellness (required, first semester)/Accounting (second semester)

Junior Year (present):
AP Lang
AP Physics 1
Accelerated Pre-Calc BC
AP Chem
Psych (first semester)/AP Psych (second semester)
APUSH
Gifted (first semester)/AP Macro (second semester)
Currently self-studying French 3 because it didn’t work with my schedule

Senior Year (next year):
Honors French 4
AP Calc BC
AP Stats
AP Lit
AP Bio
Software Development and Game Design 1 (first semester)/AP Govt (second semester)
AP Physics 2

UW GPA: 3.78

Test Scores:
ACT - 27. Not going to send this. I will probably take the SAT instead because that’s what I’ve been studying for
PSAT 10 - 1450. Probably going to be a national merit semifinalist if I do as well as I did last year

ECs:
Gender-Sexuality Alliance - Treasurer (9-11), President (12)
NHS - Member (11), not sure if I’ll be any more than a member next year
Science Knowledge Bowl (10-12) - Member (there aren’t any officer positions)
French NHS - Member (10-11), not sure what I’ll be next year
Mu Alpha Theta - Member (11), will probably be an officer next year
Trivia Club/Competition - Member (11-12)
English NHS - Member (11), possibly an officer next year (the club was made this year)
Relay For Life - Participant (9-12)

Outside of School:
Kumon - Assistant/Tutor (September 2015 - Present)
Teacher of a religious class for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade (Started in August 2016)
Volunteer at public library (September 2015 - Present) I think I have ~50 hours
Assistant at a clinic (August 2016 - Present)
In a religious class (Pre-K - Present)
Will be starting to shadow a doctor at a hospital very soon
Will hopefully be helping with research at the community college near my house soon
Hopefully will be on the youth advisory council for the Trevor Project in the spring
I might have two jobs pretty soon (Kumon and maybe something in retail because my social skills suck and I want to improve)

Teacher Recommendations:
Probably going to ask my APUSH teacher. I feel the most comfortable around her and I’ve talked to her about a lot. She’s a new teacher, so I’m not sure how well her recommendation will be…
I honestly have no idea who else to ask. I guess I can ask my math teacher next year? I love math and science, so math teachers usually like me. Hopefully she’ll be willing to write a nice recommendation

I’m not sure if I need another recommendation from my counselor or another person or whatever. If I do, my counselor knows way too much about me. Sometimes she even talks to me about her problems…
I could also get my boss to write one if I need an additional rec for my application.

Essays:
I can definitely write. The only reason I got recommended for honors english in 9th and 10th grade was because of my writing. Same thing for ap lang

Additional Comments:
I was born an Ismaili Muslim. I was born in Chicago, but have a Pakistani background. I have had my mind set on pursuing something in the medical field since 6th grade. I learned about Johns Hopkins in 7th grade. Since then, I haven’t stopped pushing myself to get in. So even though I’m already up till 3 every day doing homework because the daytime is filled with other stuff, I’m still willing to add more to my schedule. If any of you have suggestions for things that’ll make my application the best it can be, please say it. I don’t think anyone gets how much I want to go to this school. I know everyone says the students at the school only care about academics, but I’m pretty much the same way. Putting my GPA aside, I literally don’t stop talking about school. School is my life. Wow I sound like a nerd, but it’s true. My sisters get annoyed of me talking about this so much. If any of you think Johns Hopkins isn’t going to be in my future, you can always suggest other schools. And if JHU is really not an option, I have plenty of other schools to apply to. I just REALLY want this. Okay I said a lot

I’m not sure if you all need to know anymore. If you do, feel free to ask. Otherwise, have fun evaluating me. I’m sorry if there are grammatical errors or something. I’m extremely tired. Anyways, thanks so much. I look forward to reading those HARSH but USEFUL critiques

2

Your classes are rather impressive. Having a lot of AP classes will look competitive to colleges, assuming you did well on the AP exams. I’d say you have a pretty decent chance of getting accepted if you get your gpa up to at least a 3.8. I also recommend retaking the ACT and landing 31+, and getting at least a 1500 on the SAT. Also, staying up till 3 in the morning is not healthy. YOU have enough EC’s I say drop one or too that aren’t too important to you. Shadowing a physician this early is quite admirable, however you’ll probably be doing a lot of that in college. In my opinion, you wouldn’t quite grab all the information this early on and probably wouldn’t know about a lot of the things you see/hear, but you should definitely go for it. I wouldn’t try out for the swimming team again unless you are really passionate about it and are going to do it in college. What are your other options? If you would like some recommendations on pre-med powerhouse schools, here are some options:

WashU
Vandy
Rice
Baylor
Tulane
Northwestern
UCBerkeley
UCLA
Duke (reach but id still apply)
Brown (same as duke)

I recommend applying to at least 15 (at most; around low 20s) because you are a competitive applicant. Good luck!

3

You definitely want to have at least 2-3 leadership positions. Also, at least a 3.8 GPA like BrainFreak said. Check your Naviance to see the average acceptance GPA for your school (ask your guidance counselor if it’s junior or senior year GPA, it matters). ACT needs to be at least a 31 or around 1450+ for SAT. Take a few subject tests; you could send them if they are above 750. Having research will also help.

4

(Current student)

My take:

  • Your ACT should be at least 33 to be truly competitive for Hopkins (or a SAT of 1500+).
  • As others have said, a 3.8+ GPA would also be nice.
  • Having a meaningful research experience or internship would definitely help - though not necessary.