<p>Steve,it was not my intention to deepen any misery. It’s not worth your time.</p>
<p>JHU now is likely to be even more selective than before, and part of it is likely because of the economy, parents and students are looking for a school with more of a job orientation. JHU’s apps rose almost as much as U Chicago’s, but JHU didn’t have to run the kind of intensive email / PR campaign that UC did…I digress…</p>
<p>JHU alum/students always have a sore spot when it comes to being compared unfavorably with the ivies. The "I was rejected from HYP " mentality was more pervasive in my day, but it still exists. My D is a student there, and I, hear it from her too. It makes me happy to know that we’re finally shedding some of that mindset. So , please forgive me if I show the same hypersensitivity. </p>
<p>There are a ton of platitiudes ( read the Hopkins insider blog ) for rejected students. But I’d like to be more specific … get your “revenge”…get a high GPA at your college…if you’re a premed, a 3.8 from a place like, say,McGill, puts you well in the range for getting into Hopkins Med. Work on that. I’m sure undergrad won’t be the end of the line for someone like you.</p>
<p>Prepare yourself for the freshman courseload, * now *…don’t wait for August. You’d be surprised how hard it is to get an A in college, no matter how high your SATs/qualifications were. It’s better to learn that lesson here and now, before you take that first exam. I don’t have to tell you that there are no “makeup” exams, even if the students all failed. That actually happened, my first year at the Hop, Intro Chem, the average was a 43/100, which is what my grade was too. And in college, there are only perhaps 3-4 exams per course, unlike high school where you get a test a week. There’s a much, much smaller margin for error. And it all counts…the grade appeal process is usually unsuccessful.</p>
<p>By now, it’s no longer about how intelligent you are. You obviously are, congratulations, I mean it… But there will probably be a ton of equally intelligent people in your classes. It’ll be like you’re competing against yourself. At this point, it’s all about hard work, 24/7…I’m not exaggerating. If you’re taking intro chem, don’t just go to lecture and do the questions, do every question in the book… Record all lectures and transcribe them yourself, word-for-word. Get all the old exams floating around. Develop a network of “nerd” friends, no matter how uncool they may seem to be. This is what worked for me.Don’t assume that being intelligent is enough.</p>
<p>I think most HS students don’t really realize that when they apply to the elites, they are asking for more of a chance at failure. It’s like, OK, now you got into HYP, what next?…a recent very stuck up valedictorian from my D’s school got into Yale, as a premed. With that attitude,She got her head handed to her on a platter. There’s a NY saying that rings true here…Be careful what you ask for, you might actually get it.</p>
<p>Long and short of it, work super hard in college. The HS episode of your life is coming to a close. Look forward, constructively. </p>
<p>Good luck !</p>