question about choosing major

Colleges & Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
1

<p>I have descent SAT scores and pretty good GPA with great ECs.</p>

<p>However, if i choose random Major such as Astronomy, is there higher chance </p>

<p>than choosing pre-med getting into JHU?</p>

2

<p>I don’t think it would matter. While it is true that many applicants indicate pre-med intentions on the application–Hopkins also trains a lot of pre-meds and can accomodate quite a few. Astronomy would not be a random major–it is a very strong program at Hopkins with very talented students. It is as competitive as biological sciences. </p>

<p>I’m sure the admissions people look at what people check off as potential majors but I don’t think a lot of weight is put on it (except for BME–which is a different process).</p>

<p>On the other hand, although I suspect the Admissions Office would deny it, I do suspect that people who check off less popular majors in the humanities (say Classics or German) may have an easier time getting admitted because relatively few people are expressing that interest. Of course, those programs are small compared to Biology–so I am not suggesting that one attempt to game the system by pretending to be interested in something you are not. I believe that a good admissions officer can detect that type of gaming and it wouldn’t be helpful to your chances of admission.</p>

3

<p>Just to note, Hopkins doesn’t offer an “Astronomy” major. However, our physics program is top-notch.</p>

4

<p>Thank you bonanza and yanksdolphin.</p>

<p>it was really helpful : )</p>

5

<p>Well–it is the Department of Physics and Astronomy–but you are correct–the major would be physics.</p>

6

<p>I’ve answered related questions in the past:</p>

<p>(1) <a href=“Bme - Johns Hopkins University - College Confidential Forums”>Bme - Johns Hopkins University - College Confidential Forums;
(2) <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/johns-hopkins-university/452093-majors-admission.html?highlight=chances[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/johns-hopkins-university/452093-majors-admission.html?highlight=chances&lt;/a&gt;
(3) <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/johns-hopkins-university/419166-majors.html?highlight=chances[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/johns-hopkins-university/419166-majors.html?highlight=chances&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;