<p>Yes, it is torture. I did not mean to add to it either. I am just stating what is pretty clear, and you seem to know that the weakness in your profile are those grades. At Hopkins where they get many science types with strong research profiles, you may well have many kids competing for a spot with similar resumes to your without the weakness in the gpa. As I said before, your counselor would have the best feel for your chances, since your highschool is definitely an important factor in assessing your the strength of your transcript. There are a number of high schools in Westchester where the top quarter or so of the class spend a good deal of time on science research and many of those kids get some sort of award. I do not know how they all fare in admissions. </p>
<p>You may well get in. And if you are deferred with a request for a midterm report, in your case, it would not be as bad as a rejection as it would be very reason specific and not a courtesy waitlist. An excellent midterm report and a renewed show of interest at that point would make a big difference. Because you are truly some right on that brink of getting an acceptance. It's all going to depend on the early applicant pool at Hopkins as to how your app will be viewed, and only the adcoms there know that. Good luck, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!</p>
<p>Jamimom- thanks for the comments and the insight, its greatly appreciated. i keep hoping that it'll show through that my CV is not the ordinary westchester research students; ive met with the leaders in my field at universities across the country, been an active member of 3 labs as i said, am a member of 5 internationally known organizations and 2 NIH special interests groups, i've been on 5+ projects, have taught and lectured on the subject and started a semi-national outreach program to increase education in the field. I'm versed in a unique variety of techniques rare to the bounds of basically any single laboratory. AH i hope every kid doesn't have that stuff otherwise im definately not getting in, especially at a school like jhu.</p>
<p>Actually you bring up an interesting point about Westchester students. Obviously we have an unusually strong set of applicants coming from the county (along with Long Island and a few other regions), however it isnt my experience that many apply to the big name science schools (MIT, JHU, CMU, CalTech) as compared to the ivies or even the top LACs...interesting considering the perceived strength in science. From my experience, there are only a few high schools (Byram Hills for example) that have well funded science programs, i know at our school, science is the worst funded department by far (both the athletic and music depts get more academic influence, its a shame) although along with the faculty i have been trying to turn that around. Its really too bad because we do have great students, in fact im going to be presenting to the board of ed. a proposal to expand funding for research and bring on more faculty in the coming weeks. Any thoughts? (plus, is that good/bad for me?)</p>
<p>Everything sounds just great to me. And I want to reiterate that I do not want to fuel your anxiety. You sound like a wonderful candidate for Hopkins as research is their mainstay. You will find the opportunities there wonderful, and they would love to have someone like you. I spend several years working there while H did some grad work, so I am very familiar with the school and the programs there. I also know about a number of schools in Westchester, and the quality of the schools there and Long Island make our local highschool here look terrible. Even the private school where my boys currently go to highschool which makes many of the top prep school lists do not have the science research opportunities that I saw in districts like Byram Hills, Mamaroneck and Scarsdale, to a name a few places that I remember. An old friend of mine that I just met again lives in one of those districts and though her kids go to private schools, she was marveling over the opportunities her school districts give kids. I am also familiar with many of the science programs that the NYC magnet schools like Stuyvesant and Bronx Science offer. And I am sure Hopkins is very familiar with all of these schools, their programs, their grading policies, as many of their students come from these schools. </p>
<p>You are fortunate that you have a good counseling department that can give you advice, and if they feel you are a strong candidate, I would go with that. If you are deferred, as I said a few times, it is not the same as a general deferral,as you know well what the weakness of your profile is, and I would focus on getting those first term grade as high as possible. If Hopkins has accepted you, it is a done deal by now. Not much time left to real give a full court press for the semester, and you want this to be your best effort just in case you have to depend on these results. Too many kids, my son one of them have really goofed off this term, and they may well pay. Any kids who do well 1st term senior year are in good shape whether or not they get into their early schools, as they will have an extra kudo to report. </p>
<p>And I certainly do think that someone who is already getting experience in seeking funding for research is going to be much valued. The top guns at Hopkins are not just the best scientist but the ones who can make the best cases for getting funding. That is a very important part of their job.</p>
<p>I went to see my GC like you advised today. He said he thought I had a great chance and looked forward to putting the icing on his cake for the year on Wed. Doesn't that seem a little too optimistic? Im thinking hes saying that to make me feel better until then...wat do u think?</p>
<p>I think he would be in the position to know best. Don't get too cynical at age. He may already have some idea---Hopkins may well have called him for additional feedback, and he may have gotten a read on the situation. My experience with GCs has been that they try to be cautious, particularly in Westchester county when some of the most qualified kids get defered or turned down. Since your school has had a number of kids applying to schools like JHU every year, the college counseling dept should have be able to tell who is going to be a good bet at the schools.</p>
<p>well i know he called the admissions rep for NY because i was there the first time he called, so i dunno he might have a read, but sometimes i feel that he might be overly optimistic. Granted, so far we have done very well and he's been pretty accurate about his predictions, but i still think he may have just been saying it. AHH ok well im going to sit and sulk thanks for your help!</p>