extremefob

how important is the mid year report for admission decisions? will a drop in GPA keep you out?

the varsity sport i played this year caused me to have a hard time in ib physics, as i would constantly miss that class for games and such. also, the season ended in november and our semester ended in mid december, so i didnt have much time to raise my grade. will this be frowned upon?

AdmissionsDaniel

The mid-year report matters and is one of the documents we look at extensively when make a ruling of your academic abilities and academic promise. Since we focus on trends, the mid-year report provides us with a record of your most recent performance in high school and the best estimation on whether you will succeed once you arrive as a freshman. As always we factor in grades along with the rigor of the curriculum and a student's extracurricular commitments.

Many say that junior year performance is most important -- I actually feel that junior year and mid-year senior year should be weighed equally.

Cheers!

8ball22

Hello admissions daniels,

My midyear report will be excellent (for me at least). I have my toughest courseload ever (6AP's) have 90% or above on all of them. However, now in my senior year I have received these great grades. I think it is because now I am challenged more and have been motivated to do much better. I have also had to study for SAT's and have been doing sports very well (all county/all conference honors). I plan on participating in varsity athletics at JHU (the coach is aware of my interest)! My grades have had an upward trend since freshman year of harder courseload and better grades. Is it too late for me to be getting my better grades so late in my high school career?? How will they be factored?

AdmissionsDaniel

8ball22, you ask some good questions, but as I have said before I will not comment on an individual's chances for admission. Making a judgment on a student's chances based on a paragraph of information is just not something I will ever do. you ask some interesting questions and I am glad you are starting the college search as a junior. I do suggest you check out the Hopkins Insider blog in the next few days.(http://hopkins.typepad.com/). I will post my next entry and it will focus primarily on how we read applications at Hopkins and what we look for. Check back and I think the information I provide will really shed some light on what we really do with your application.

And I will also say, that clearly an upward trend in performance in rigor is much better than a stagnant or downward trend.

Cheers!

CityKnight06

I got really sick, and I think my midyear report will not be an accurate representation of my ability to succeed in school. My gc mentioned it in her letter, but I've missed a month of school, and I'm not sure when I'm gonna get back.

Would Hopkins like a doctors note or anything? I'd walk over and explain myself if I could stop coughing!

I'm a Baltimore City Public school student too, free ride baby!

AdmissionsDaniel

No need for a Doctors note. We would suggest that your counselor write about it (which it seems you have already done) and you might want to add a letter to your Admissions file as well.

Hope you feel better.

Samian Quazi

I received my new class rank, and I couldn't feel worse. My rank dropped from 14 to 22 / 731. Even though my grades for my first semester senior year are better than my junior year, in our district we are also required to take certain unweighted courses such as PE and Health in order to graduate. I was wondering, does a rank drop (despite the fact that better grades and harder courses taken) automatically disqualify a candidate?

AdmissionsDaniel

First of all, there is nothing in an application that will "automatically disqualify a candidate." I get similar questions asked all the time, and I always repeat that the application review takes into account a multitude of factors and no one factor is most important nor will only one factor lead to a specific decision.

As far as class rank, it does matter but it is a minor consideration when the Admissions Counselor reviews a student's high school transcript. It provides context, but class ranks are always reviewed with relation to the specific school. What matters more are grades and program strength.

Don't worry.

Samian Quazi

Thank you very much. It really helps lighten the stress over here.

DBSchwim

To AdmissionsDaniel,

I have a question regarding class rank. Let us assume, just for "hypothetical" purposes, that I go to a competitive, small private high school with about 100 kids in each grade. The school does not report exact rank, but does provide rank to the nearest 5%. Would I, being in the top 15% and having taken the most difficult courses, be at a disadvantage when compared to students who go to large public schools where the 15th ranked student is in the top 5%? I should probably note that nearly 30 students in my graduating class have, "hypothetically," 1400+ SAT scores or the ACT equivalent.

Thank you so much.

AdmissionsDaniel

Well should I provide a "hypothetical" answer...

No seriously, class rank is such an arbitrary academic measure these days that all Admissions counselors look at the specifics behind a given rank and factor in the specifics of each individual school. We are much much much more concerned with your overall performance, your academic trends, and the rigor of your courses, then your class rank.

There are specifics about your "hypothetical" situation that would make reviewing class rank differently and therefore possibly irrelevant.

Hope that helps.

DBSchwim

I know that if by some slim chance I were in that "hypothetical" situation, the information you provided would appease me immensely. lol.

Thank you very much.

BanKai

wow 8ball
how do u think those factors will be weighed in? negatively? i think not.

cvasoontara

does Hopkins have a deadline for ED acceptees to send in their mid-year report?

AdmissionsDaniel

As it states on the application, the deadline for mid-year reports for ED and RD applicants is February 15.