<p>"Johns Hopkins offers 50 majors across the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. On this application, we ask you to identify one or two that you might like to pursue here. Why did you choose the way you did? If you are undecided, why didn't you choose? (If any past courses or academic experiences influenced your decision, you may include them in your essay.)"</p>
<p>Do you think that I should mention anything about Johns Hopkins specifically in this essay, or should it be solely about my interests in my major?</p>
<p>I would recommend mentioning Johns Hopkins and researching the program at Johns Hopkins. The reason is that programs differ between schools both quantitatively and qualitatively. For example, the Computer Science program at U Maryland and the computer science program at JHU have different strengths and focuses. Maryland has more focus on systems, while JHU is smaller and more focused on language processing and computer integrated surgery.</p>
<p>I only mentioned JHU in about 3 lines. I don’t know if you chose engineering, but I noticed something strange about the JHU prompt. Most school’s have this for their engineering prompt: </p>
<p>If you selected one of the engineering majors, please write a brief third essay telling us what has led you to an interest in this field of study, what experiences (if any) you have had in engineering, and what it is about <em>insert college here</em> engineering program that appeals to you.</p>
<p>JHU seems more broad and wants to know more about your interests, maybe not so much about their school. Not sure</p>
<p>I didn’t mention anything about Hopkins and was accepted, so don’t worry. It’s a way for the admissions staff to get to know your academic interests. They know you’re applying to their school. So it’s really up to you, but don’t feel like you have to mention the school. So here’s how I would personally think about it: if the reason you want to major in the subject is something Hopkins related, mention it. if the reason is purely personal, don’t.</p>
<p>I do think it would be seen as a little odd if you apply BME but don’t mention it in your major essay. BME is the only selective-admission major at Hopkins and the admissions officer who is reviewing your application is looking at how well you would fit in to the program. In my opinion, the biggest factors there are your high school coursework, extracurriculars, awards and any research experience you may have, but I would think that in the major essay, the admissions officer is looking for how and why your experiences have shaped your desire to pursue BME.</p>
<p>Having a passion for math or chemistry is definitely going to help you as a BME applicant, but I would recommend that you make clear why you want to pursue that passion via the BME degree. When I entered the BME program, many of my classmates didn’t know exactly what BME was or exactly what part of BME they wanted to pursue but they did know that they wanted to pursue something that combined engineering and math with medicine and biology. If your essays makes that connection, then I think you’ll be fine; however, if you focus on how much you love pure math and don’t mention any interest in applying that background and interest to medicine, then you may evoke some concern as to why you’re applying BME</p>
<p>I recall from an info session, the presenter saying that when they look at application for BME students, they like to see the second choice as some sort of engineering major. I feel this applies to your question about the essay in that you have to write your essay in some form which relates, in this case, your love for math and chemistry to BME in some way. If not BME, then engineering in general. When I was in high school and attended an open house, Daniel said that most students see BME as BIOmedical Engineering and not Biomedical ENGINEERING. It’s an engineering field integrated into biology and medicine, true, but it’s an engineering field nonetheless and you have to be an engineer to be in it, not a biology nut. </p>
<p>To sum it up, feel free to write about your math and chemistry interests but if you’re serious about BME, you’ll have to relate it to that in some way also so the admissions board knows you’re serious about being an engineer and not a biologist.</p>