questions about ED and johns hopkins

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
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hi guys!! sooo my top top choice right now (i think) is johns hopkins. i will be visiting the school at the end of july, so i will definitely find out if the school is for me after my visit, but as of right now, it has everything i want.

i’m pretty sure i will be applying as a neuroscience/premed major, and i think hopkins will prepare me very well for getting into med school. since i’m pretty sure about this school, i was wondering if it would be worth it to apply ED.

is it true that ED significantly raises your chances of getting in? i was at a cornell info session, and they handed out a pamphlet with stats, and i calculated that the ED round accepted around 26%, and the RD round accepted 10%!!! does the same apply for all other schools? i will be applying for financial aid, but i don’t think i’ll be getting much (my fam makes around 130-140k). my parents are willing to pay, but a lot of my money will have to come from outside scholarships/merit scholarships.

i’m interested in applying ED because i think i have a shot at the school (but obviously i’m still stressed out as heck lmaooo!!), but i would like to maximize my chances. also, it would alleviate a lot of pressure, and i can get through the rest of my senior year relatively stress free. i’ll post my stats below just for reference.

QUESTIONS ABOUT HOPKINS:

  1. how is the social life? obviously college is for academics, but since i will be going out of state, i want to have a good college experience. im kind of afraid that hopkins won’t be able to provide me with that.
  2. is it true that it ruins your GPA for med school. (heard rumors)
  3. is it actually going to prepare me for med school? i’m trying to find stats for the acceptance rate into med school but can’t find anything.
  4. am i a strong ED candidate?

STATS BELOW
ACT: 33C
SAT II: took them in june and haven’t received scores yet. probably didn’t do too hot, so im going to retake.
GPA: 3.9762 UW 5.0238 W
Rank: our school doesn’t rank, but my counselor told me im in the top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 APUSH, 3 AP CHEM (LOL idk if i’m going to report), 4 AP CALC.
Senior Year Course Load: ap bio, ap stats, ap human geo, ap lang, multivariable calculus (ap but no test), weight training, and mandarin IV.
Awards/recognition: National honors society, Mu Alpha Theta, National Chinese Honors Society, will probably be an illinois state scholar

EXTRACURRICULARS
Extracurriculars: i’m not really going to go into depth on here about my involvement in my extracurriculars, but i have definitely been committed.
Mu Alpha Theta (public relations director), RLC - rescuing leftover cuisine (director of community and partner outreach), TEDxYOUTH (executive producer), Chinese Honors Society (very heavily committed, will probably apply for a board position once the year starts), Red Cross, Key Club, Arabic class for 8ish years, Medical Club, Recycling Club, Girls in Engineering Math and Science (organized a STEM day for children at nearby elementary school), and I played lacrosse for 2 years (quit because I am not athletic at all, and I didn’t have a fun experience).

Job/Work Experience: i’ve been working at kumon (a math and reading center for kids) since the summer before my junior year. i plan on working there during my senior year too. i love my boss and have a great bond with the kids.

Volunteer/Community service: based on my most recent report card, i have 155 service hours, but i’ll definitely have way more service hours by the time i actually apply. i’ve been volunteering at a hospital, and have been volunteering there since summer going into junior year (because you had to be 16). this summer, i am actually doing a clinical there where i get to do hands on work in the pediatrics department. i’ve been working in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and i hold the babies, feed them, take care of them, interact with parents, etc. that is my major outside of school volunteer work. in school, i tutor monthly in math for mu alpha theta, volunteer at a chinese daycare with my chs (i love the kids there sooo much), recycle during my lunch periods, help out with blood drives and make letters for veterans through red cross, and do other really cool service projects for nhs but we don’t get service hours for them)!

Summer Activities: as mentioned above, volunteering has been a huge part of my summers. i took a precalculus class the summer going into junior year, and started my job at the kumon. this summer, i’ve been promoted to a clinical position at the hospital, am taking a psychology class at northwestern (had to apply through a selective program called college bridge), and am continuing to work at the kumon.

Intended Major: i plan to be a neuroscience and premed major

DEMOGRAPHIC
State: illinois
School Type: college prep, public, extremely selective
Ethnicity: asian
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 130-140k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): muslim female going into STEM?

SORRY THIS POST IS THE LENGTH OF A NOVEL!! <3 i’ll appreciate any feedback!

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  1. The ED myth Technically the ED acceptance rate at Hopkins, Cornell, and many other schools is significantly higher than that of the RD round. However this includes the athletic recruits. If you remove athletes from the pool, there's not a very significant difference between ED and RD statistically.
  2. Social life If you make an effort you can have a great social life at Hopkins (whatever that means to you). We have a reasonably sized greek population (large enough to be a presence on campus, but doesn't dominate the social sphere), lots of non-academic clubs and organizations, and generally lots of opportunities to meet other students and socialize.
  3. Med school Premed is hard wherever you go. You'll need at least a 3.5 to be competitive and a 3.8+ for the tippy top schools (Harvard, UCSF, Hopkins, etc). Those kinds of GPAs are achievable at Hopkins, but they don't come without hard work.
  4. Will you be prepared for med school? / Will Hopkins hel you get into med school? These are two very different questions. Hopkins offers you many opportunities to bolster your app. We have research, volunteering, clinical opportunities, ECs, etc that could help set you apart from the crowd. However, GPA and MCAT scores are king. If you can't get the scores you'll have a hard time getting into med school regardless of your ECs. As for acceptance rates, for Hopkins undergrads i want to say it's 70%-90% but that's off the top of my head. The pre professional advising office will know for sure. I personally think Hopkins prepares you reasonably well for the amount of work you'll see in med school. However that's anecdotal. In the end, med school is a completely different beast from undergrad.
  5. Chances You're a competitive applicant. Can't really say anything else. Good luck!
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@saif235 thanks for answering all of my questions!! it’s good to hear that hopkins students are the work hard play hard type.

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Not really an answer, but my tour guide at Hopkins was a pre-med turned neuroscience major, and she had so many research opportunities in neuro. :slight_smile: good luck! i just did ED. If it’s your top, do it. Hopkins HATES being second to ivys.

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@biologyhoe666 yay!! i hope everything works out with JHU for you :slight_smile: after visiting the campus and seeing baltimore with my own eyes, i decided that JHU is not for me. i actually applied to duke ed!