I am quite nervous about my application. I am currently a highschool junior entering senior year. I have always wanted to go to Johns Hopkins(if thats not part of the discussion than just any selective college in general) and am a double legacy for JHU(sister and mother), have a 35 act, 3.53 unweighted gpa, good extracurricular activities: cofounder of a large club and the organization that it revolves around, captain of lacrosse team, rank 15-20% of my class, and interned at a world renowned site(construction management). However I got 4 c’s all in math: each semester of precalc(regular(my only regular class)) and IBSL math. What are my chances of getting into Johns Hopkins? Will this severely damage my chances into JHU?
I also plan to apply early decision and apply for poly sci. I
Also, my weighted gpa is a 4.2 and I am of asian ethnicity. If any further info is needed about my highschool background please ask, I am very confused/scared and need guidance.
JHU doesn’t do legacy, so I wouldn’t waste ED. You need to cast a wide net (some matches) as for sure your GPA is not helping, you need a factual rank position though, 15-20%? Are you sure? Clarify that with your GC. Are you in a private school? What guidance counselling are you getting?
What is your home state school?
What is your budget?
You interned as a 16 yr old in something unrelated to your application, was this just for fun? Do you have any related ECs?
Give John Hopkins your best shot, but it sounds like you are already a bit too emotionally invested in what is a reach school (at around 11% acceptance, it is a reach for everyone, even legacies). Make sure you have match schools and likely schools that you can afford and would be happy to attend.
@Sybylla I am rank 119/667 which is 17%. I am at a public school in California - Valencia High School. I am in the IB Program and am getting gudiance counseling from our IB counselor as well as my parents: mom went to jhu dad went to uc berkely. My home state school I think are the UC’s and Cal states: I am applying for all of the UC’s( additional question: will my application even be good enough for a uc?). My budget is up to 75K per year. I interned for a program at my school called val tech but also because the construction company is involved with a lot of law and after I finish my major in poly sci I plan to go into law. I have other (related?) ECs like NHS, I think but not really anything related to poly sci.
@Groundwork2022 Thank you for the info! What do you think could be good match schools for me? I live in california and it my only goal is to be prepared for law school as I want to be a lawyer (construction lawyer).
Look for a college where you will shine! the single biggest variables on getting into law school are GPA and LSAT (start studying & doing logic problems a year out- not kidding). If your parents will pay for both college & law school no matter what- great. But if they expect you to pay for law school, see if you can negotiate a deal: you go instate for $35/$40K/year, and they put the extra $35K into a fund to pay for law school (or, if they can pay for law school, into a first house down payment fund!).
Seriously: look for a school where you will be your best self- getting top marks yet still being challenged, and happy.
re: JHU. As @Sybylla pointed out, there is no more legacy bump at JHU. Also, they explicitly say they value GPA > test scores. So, yes, it’s enough of a reach that I would treat it as a lottery ticket and not focus on it. If you want to be in the DC area, Georgetown, GW, American, and James Madison are worth a look.
@collegemom3717 I feel as if I definitely stand out as a leader and I am very flexible I will be challenged and happy in virtually any environment other than a non-selective environment where everyone is accepted(50+% acceptance rate) where the level of students are slightly less high quality academically(not saying its a bad thing). I have really improved and had a great time in the highly rigourous ib program I feel I am adequately challenged and have learned many life lessons. I think I can definitely overlook JHU but in general I have absolutely no idea where I stand in the sense of match schools even. Like where can I even get in like what should I even aim for given my major, stats, and interest in law + polysci.
Also I have been considering GW but do you have any info regarding my chances of being accepted there(not acceptance rate but connecting back to me)
Also thanks so much for the response and sorry if I sound needy I’m extremely nervous rn.
GW also rates GPA > Scores, but it’s a more realistic option.
PoliSci is more likely to be good than bad at any moderately selective college. Consider what else is important to you- and important enough to pay more than UCB, UCSD, or UCLA, all of which have super PoliSci programs! (have you done your UC GPA calculations yet?). Not sure why you would choose any of the other strong state programs (such as UMi, UNC-CH, UT-A, UWi-M) over those three.
Imo GW has the best internship possibilities for polisci- if you hustle, you can do an internship most terms, partly b/c they are all literally right there and partly b/c GW class scheduling can be managed to accommodate it. GWU is an urban campus, and housing isn’t great- how much does that matter to you? Georgetown is just across town, with more of a campus ‘feel’, fabulous speakers, but harder for in-term internships (also rather more of a stretch for admissions). NYU is also an urban campus, with a strong polisci program, and of course all of NYC. Maybe BU or BC if you want more of an LAC?
@collegemom3717 Thank you! I have done my UC GPA calculations for UCSD they are relatively high but for UCB and UCLA they are low. I think this response has me thinking about what to really consider as GW’s housing doesnt really matter to me since our family has relatives that live right next to that area. NYU might actually be a great choice now that I have researched it and I have heard BU and BC are both fantastic colleges but I have also heard BU is more of a commuter school while Boston college has a lot of heritage(not 100% sure if that info is correct tho).
I think I am going to shoot my shot at the UC’s (with more priority on UCS) as well as the colleges you mentioned.
If you are planning to go to law school, even if your parents will pay 100% of it, I think it would be smart to reduce the costs by going to community college for two years, then transferring to a UC (or another school).
If you are worried about community college not being selective enough, know that many students are there because they want to save money for law school/medical school/etc, not just because community college is not selective. Also, one of my professors for a dual enrollment class taught at UCI in addition to my community college, so you’d be getting a great education either way. California community colleges are amazing compared to other states.
Otherwise, if money is really no issue, then just apply anywhere you feel like you would want to go. There’s definitely no harm in trying 
So your rank is based on IB and weighted GPA? Is that right? Do you know what your projected IB score looks like as a matter of interest? You don’t have any AP scores? At my kids IB+ the whole enchilada school with no weighting, that kind of GPA would not have put you anywhere near 20%, so I am not sure if the weighting helps or hinders you, you should ask your GC but probably not your IB counselor (as they are so optimistic about IB LOL). Maybe your school profile helps with that kind of GPA. Have a look at your school profile (you should find on the school website).
Sit down with our parents, what they might pay for JHU is not what they might pay for a more realistic option. Get some numbers. Full pay is going be a real advantage next year at the schools that want money.
@Sybylla Yes,rank is based on weighted gpa. I have gotten scores 3 AP tests and gotten 4’s on all:euro, comp sci principles, and comp sci a. I am currently waiting for 3 scores in AP Lang, Micro, and macro econs. Thank you for the advice.
@nomood Yeah money is no issue as long as it doesn’t go past 75k a year(this is including everything(food,tuition,books,ect)). Thank you for the advice.
It doesn’t look like Hopkins level, particularly for Asian. If your family aren’t big donors, the legacy may help some, but won’t make up for academics. Give it a shot. You should get into a good college regardless. It also sounds like you are too concerned about making your parents happy.
unless you can be recruited for lax (D1), Hopkins is an extremely low chance even with ED. Ditto top UC’s (RD), where GPA is weighted much more heavily than test scores.
If you ultimately want to go into construction law, it might benefit you to actually work in construction. Also you would want to look for a college that would let you take some elective classes in architecture and that sort of thing. Is that the plan?
GW is a reasonable match school and a fantastic place to study politics. But it doesn’t seem like it would be a match for the construction side of your interests. I guess it depends on how you plan to spend your summers.
That program and school are very competitive, so the GPA isn’t as bad as it looks, but it still isn’t in the ballpark for Hopkins and similar level schools.