What kind of applicants is JHU looking for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know 3 kids at hopkins. They are smart, recruited athletes that went to private school. All humanities majors. Hopkins talks about lot about research opportunities in their info sessions/guided tours. Strong humanities/social sciences but very stem oriented school and vibe. We looked at hopkins for int'l relations. Pretty campus and strong academics but school culture wasn't a good fit for my kid.

I know an athlete who is applying to transfer out. He is a very academic kid but is not happy with the lack of a social scene and would rather go to a bigger D1 school and not play his sport then do 3 more years at Hopkins.

[Anonymous]

URMs and athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. This board takes such strange pleasure in dumping on JHU. It’s a great school, lovely campus, smart students. They have top programs in multiple disciplines from medicine to humanities. The athletes are very smart b/c they have high standards to qualify as a recruit. The students work hard but they also have fun and my kid has lots of friends and is happy. I think its really peculiar that people, even though they don’t have a kid there, bother to click on this link to write nasty things about it instead of offering anything that could help OP. What is wrong with people?

lowering competition. bethesda magazine showed it had the highest number of applications and yield within dmv compared to other top schools. these clowns think they can lower competition when acceptance rate is 5%

Yes. And the many posters here from outside DMV think it is hilarious how much those in DMV over-rate Hopkins. Those within DMV think it is basically an Ivy. Those outside think it is for kids who just miss Ivies. And there is absolutely no shame in that. But that is the typical applicant from anywhere other than DMV. But people in DMV refuse to accept that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Took a look on JHU website: https://apply.jhu.edu/college-planning-guide/preparing-for-college/

Math: 4 years of math* (e.g. courses in data science, mathematical modeling, statistics, linear algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and other advanced mathematics classes)
The math requirement leans towards the rigorous side.

In terms of ECs, they recommend:
Extracurricular activities
Family responsibilities
Hobbies
Paid work, including part-time jobs
Summer camps or programs
Travel
Volunteering

Surprised to find summer camps on this list. Really plain-o activities, nothing like curing the cancer.

"The cohort includes the author of an award-winning children's book on immunology, the leader of a government-backed effort to reduce single-use plastics in Korean cafés, a violinist who performed at Carnegie Hall, and twin sisters who founded a program introducing neuroscience and psychology to middle and high schoolers around the globe. Members of this group of admitted students have also spoken at United Nations conferences, published collections of their poetry, supported family members and tutored their peers, presented their research, filed for patents, and launched businesses."

https://hub.jhu.edu/2024/02/16/johns-hopkins-welcomes-early-decision-ii-cohort-class-of-2028/#:~:text=Their%20high%20school%20teachers%20and,applicant%20pool%20on%20March%2020.

Class 2029: https://hub.jhu.edu/2025/03/21/johns-hopkins-class-of-2029-regular-decision/
Among them is the inventor of an affordable biosensor for cancer detection in response to rising healthcare costs, the developer of an app using AI to translate between American Sign Language and English in real time, the host of a podcast on youth voting and Gen Z activism, the author of a children's book on the importance of bees on the environment, the founder of a zero-waste club helping to redistribute more than $400,000 worth of food from local restaurants to homeless shelters, and a writer whose creative flash-fiction, poetry, and essays have earned national awards. They have also earned patents, held part-time jobs, published their research, launched businesses, and helped to take care of family members.

I think these are the very top admits. Sure they got some amazing ECs, but not every admit is like that.

And several are fake or done by mom or dad if you drill down: makes Hopkins seem shameless. I wonder why all these kids were rejected by HYPSM? Hmnn…

I can't tell if these are fake.

But JHU is pretty serious about research. There was a consultant ("Ivy League Roadmap") on social media, saying that JHU rejected a lot of his students who did "meta analysis" research. Basically it's the research package through pay for play company that hooked you up with a graduate student. They published their "research" on high school student journals.

He also mentioned long term (multi years) passion project works really well, giving his student a big boost.

The one about the sensor for cancer is probably fake (or taking credit for small contributions). Even the humble COVID test (which is essentially a filter paper with antibodies) requires one to identify the right antigen, design a panel of antibodies that would bind it, validate (even with alpha-fold it is a tall order) in silico, raise antibodies in rabbit/mouse etc etc etc. The stakes for false detection in cancer are pretty high. As for the zero waste food club, anyone remember "top of the muffin" episode from Seinfeld?

The provenance and validity of many of these claims is somewhat dubious but it is not unique to JHU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. This board takes such strange pleasure in dumping on JHU. It’s a great school, lovely campus, smart students. They have top programs in multiple disciplines from medicine to humanities. The athletes are very smart b/c they have high standards to qualify as a recruit. The students work hard but they also have fun and my kid has lots of friends and is happy. I think its really peculiar that people, even though they don’t have a kid there, bother to click on this link to write nasty things about it instead of offering anything that could help OP. What is wrong with people?

lowering competition. bethesda magazine showed it had the highest number of applications and yield within dmv compared to other top schools. these clowns think they can lower competition when acceptance rate is 5%

Yes. And the many posters here from outside DMV think it is hilarious how much those in DMV over-rate Hopkins. Those within DMV think it is basically an Ivy. Those outside think it is for kids who just miss Ivies. And there is absolutely no shame in that. But that is the typical applicant from anywhere other than DMV. But people in DMV refuse to accept that.

you’re the clueless one on an island. im from the bay area and hopkins is as respected as the ivies with higher freshman profiles than many to boot.

[Anonymous]

Hairy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. This board takes such strange pleasure in dumping on JHU. It’s a great school, lovely campus, smart students. They have top programs in multiple disciplines from medicine to humanities. The athletes are very smart b/c they have high standards to qualify as a recruit. The students work hard but they also have fun and my kid has lots of friends and is happy. I think its really peculiar that people, even though they don’t have a kid there, bother to click on this link to write nasty things about it instead of offering anything that could help OP. What is wrong with people?

lowering competition. bethesda magazine showed it had the highest number of applications and yield within dmv compared to other top schools. these clowns think they can lower competition when acceptance rate is 5%

Yes. And the many posters here from outside DMV think it is hilarious how much those in DMV over-rate Hopkins. Those within DMV think it is basically an Ivy. Those outside think it is for kids who just miss Ivies. And there is absolutely no shame in that. But that is the typical applicant from anywhere other than DMV. But people in DMV refuse to accept that.

you’re the clueless one on an island. im from the bay area and hopkins is as respected as the ivies with higher freshman profiles than many to boot.

My kid goes to a top NYC private and I disagree. There might be kids who choose it over Ivies but they are very few and far between. No shame in that.

[Anonymous]

Tall

[Anonymous]

Ambidextrous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. This board takes such strange pleasure in dumping on JHU. It’s a great school, lovely campus, smart students. They have top programs in multiple disciplines from medicine to humanities. The athletes are very smart b/c they have high standards to qualify as a recruit. The students work hard but they also have fun and my kid has lots of friends and is happy. I think its really peculiar that people, even though they don’t have a kid there, bother to click on this link to write nasty things about it instead of offering anything that could help OP. What is wrong with people?

lowering competition. bethesda magazine showed it had the highest number of applications and yield within dmv compared to other top schools. these clowns think they can lower competition when acceptance rate is 5%

Yes. And the many posters here from outside DMV think it is hilarious how much those in DMV over-rate Hopkins. Those within DMV think it is basically an Ivy. Those outside think it is for kids who just miss Ivies. And there is absolutely no shame in that. But that is the typical applicant from anywhere other than DMV. But people in DMV refuse to accept that.

you’re the clueless one on an island. im from the bay area and hopkins is as respected as the ivies with higher freshman profiles than many to boot.

This makes sense considering bay area is high-tech dense. Particularly for premed bound kids, JHU seems an ideal college destination.
When we toured JHU, two tour guides on that day both came from CA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. This board takes such strange pleasure in dumping on JHU. It’s a great school, lovely campus, smart students. They have top programs in multiple disciplines from medicine to humanities. The athletes are very smart b/c they have high standards to qualify as a recruit. The students work hard but they also have fun and my kid has lots of friends and is happy. I think its really peculiar that people, even though they don’t have a kid there, bother to click on this link to write nasty things about it instead of offering anything that could help OP. What is wrong with people?

lowering competition. bethesda magazine showed it had the highest number of applications and yield within dmv compared to other top schools. these clowns think they can lower competition when acceptance rate is 5%

Yes. And the many posters here from outside DMV think it is hilarious how much those in DMV over-rate Hopkins. Those within DMV think it is basically an Ivy. Those outside think it is for kids who just miss Ivies. And there is absolutely no shame in that. But that is the typical applicant from anywhere other than DMV. But people in DMV refuse to accept that.

you’re the clueless one on an island. im from the bay area and hopkins is as respected as the ivies with higher freshman profiles than many to boot.

My kid goes to a top NYC private and I disagree. There might be kids who choose it over Ivies but they are very few and far between. No shame in that.

This also makes sense. NYC is heavily ivy oriented, including Cornell. SWAP as well. Many many aspiring future fin bros.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. This board takes such strange pleasure in dumping on JHU. It’s a great school, lovely campus, smart students. They have top programs in multiple disciplines from medicine to humanities. The athletes are very smart b/c they have high standards to qualify as a recruit. The students work hard but they also have fun and my kid has lots of friends and is happy. I think its really peculiar that people, even though they don’t have a kid there, bother to click on this link to write nasty things about it instead of offering anything that could help OP. What is wrong with people?

lowering competition. bethesda magazine showed it had the highest number of applications and yield within dmv compared to other top schools. these clowns think they can lower competition when acceptance rate is 5%

Yes. And the many posters here from outside DMV think it is hilarious how much those in DMV over-rate Hopkins. Those within DMV think it is basically an Ivy. Those outside think it is for kids who just miss Ivies. And there is absolutely no shame in that. But that is the typical applicant from anywhere other than DMV. But people in DMV refuse to accept that.

you’re the clueless one on an island. im from the bay area and hopkins is as respected as the ivies with higher freshman profiles than many to boot.

My kid goes to a top NYC private and I disagree. There might be kids who choose it over Ivies but they are very few and far between. No shame in that.

That’s great. I went to Stanford and have friends from Hopkins that went there over ivies particularly for stem where the lower ivies are lackluster. Your
opinion is not representative of all outside of DMV. Maybe if Hopkins had legacy admissions and lower freshman stats than the ivies but that is not the case. I would refrain from expressing your opinion as all of that from beyond dmv

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Took a look on JHU website: https://apply.jhu.edu/college-planning-guide/preparing-for-college/

Math: 4 years of math* (e.g. courses in data science, mathematical modeling, statistics, linear algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and other advanced mathematics classes)
The math requirement leans towards the rigorous side.

In terms of ECs, they recommend:
Extracurricular activities
Family responsibilities
Hobbies
Paid work, including part-time jobs
Summer camps or programs
Travel
Volunteering

Surprised to find summer camps on this list. Really plain-o activities, nothing like curing the cancer.

"The cohort includes the author of an award-winning children's book on immunology, the leader of a government-backed effort to reduce single-use plastics in Korean cafés, a violinist who performed at Carnegie Hall, and twin sisters who founded a program introducing neuroscience and psychology to middle and high schoolers around the globe. Members of this group of admitted students have also spoken at United Nations conferences, published collections of their poetry, supported family members and tutored their peers, presented their research, filed for patents, and launched businesses."

https://hub.jhu.edu/2024/02/16/johns-hopkins-welcomes-early-decision-ii-cohort-class-of-2028/#:~:text=Their%20high%20school%20teachers%20and,applicant%20pool%20on%20March%2020.

Class 2029: https://hub.jhu.edu/2025/03/21/johns-hopkins-class-of-2029-regular-decision/
Among them is the inventor of an affordable biosensor for cancer detection in response to rising healthcare costs, the developer of an app using AI to translate between American Sign Language and English in real time, the host of a podcast on youth voting and Gen Z activism, the author of a children's book on the importance of bees on the environment, the founder of a zero-waste club helping to redistribute more than $400,000 worth of food from local restaurants to homeless shelters, and a writer whose creative flash-fiction, poetry, and essays have earned national awards. They have also earned patents, held part-time jobs, published their research, launched businesses, and helped to take care of family members.

I think these are the very top admits. Sure they got some amazing ECs, but not every admit is like that.

And several are fake or done by mom or dad if you drill down: makes Hopkins seem shameless. I wonder why all these kids were rejected by HYPSM? Hmnn…

I can't tell if these are fake.

But JHU is pretty serious about research. There was a consultant ("Ivy League Roadmap") on social media, saying that JHU rejected a lot of his students who did "meta analysis" research. Basically it's the research package through pay for play company that hooked you up with a graduate student. They published their "research" on high school student journals.

He also mentioned long term (multi years) passion project works really well, giving his student a big boost.

The one about the sensor for cancer is probably fake (or taking credit for small contributions). Even the humble COVID test (which is essentially a filter paper with antibodies) requires one to identify the right antigen, design a panel of antibodies that would bind it, validate (even with alpha-fold it is a tall order) in silico, raise antibodies in rabbit/mouse etc etc etc. The stakes for false detection in cancer are pretty high. As for the zero waste food club, anyone remember "top of the muffin" episode from Seinfeld?

The provenance and validity of many of these claims is somewhat dubious but it is not unique to JHU.

Possibly a simpler sensor that detects volatile organic compoound from a cancer patient. Or an optical snesor for skin cancer. Antibody-based sensor development needs a wet lab, I can imagine some nepo is needed. Optical/chemical is possible for a garage inventor.

[Anonymous]

^compound^
^sensor^

[Anonymous]

Lax is D1