Would I have a shot next year ?

Colleges & Universities Johns Hopkins University
1

<p>I am an international student applying for financial aid</p>

<p>Intended major: Biology (or Biochemistry), or Economics+Sociology</p>

<p>9th grade GPA: 8.0/10 </p>

<p>10th grade GPA: 9.2/10</p>

<p>Junior year GPA: 4.0 (unweighted, my school does not have weighted GPA)
No ranking but I think I am in top 5%</p>

<p>Repeated junior year to fulfill graduation requirement at a really rigorous private school (I changed school this year due to visa problem, long story)</p>

<p>Grarde Junior year:
AP Cal BC: B
AP Physics C:Mechanics: B,
Spanish 1: A+,
English 11: A,
Biology: A,
Choir: A,
Wind Ensemble: A.</p>

<p>Senior Schedule:
AP Lit: B
AP Physics C: E&M: B
AP Bio: A
Spanish IIe: A
China/Japan (fall) + Economics (spring): A-
Choir:A
Band: A-</p>

<p>AP Cal AB: 4
AP Cal BC: 5
AP Physics C Mech: 3</p>

<p>SAT: 2000 (CR:630, M:710, WR:660) Will study more over the summer then retake.
Bio M: 700
TOEFL: 109</p>

<p>Extra curricular:
Soccer team of class: 6,7,8,9,10
Soccer Varsity:grade 11, 12
AFCVN soccer club: grade 10 ( cannot continue due to moving to US to study)
News translator for Arsenal Fan Club In Vietnam: grade 8,9,10,11, 12
Tennis ( varsity is super competitive, ranked 7th in the country): grade 11 (JV), grade 12 (varsity)</p>

<p>Choir:grade 10, 11, 12 (All-County Choir, grade 12)
Piano class:8 years
French horn: 3 years</p>

<p>Young leader club:grade 10 ( cannot continue due to moving school)
FIRST Robotics: grade 11 (cannot continue due to moving school)
Community service club: grade 11, 12
Community service trip to Costa Rica: grade 11, grade 12
International Club: grade 12</p>

<p>Awards:
Silver Medalists of National Spanish Exam: Grade 11
Semi-finalist of Cornell Essay contest: Grade 11
Best GPA at school : Grade 10
Best final exams record: Grade 10
First Prize at School’s English Olympiad: Grade 10
Victoria scholarship: grade 10
High honor roll: grade 11
Best Physical project in Science Fair:grade 11
Highest honor in Chemistry:grade 11
High honor in Maths:grade 11</p>

<p>Leadership:
Chief Secretary, School’s Youth Union: Grade 10
Chief Secretary, Class’s Youth Union: Grade 10
Class’s Vice President specialized in academic: Grade 10</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Lab Assistant at a lab in the biology department at the University of Rochester: May 2010 to June 2010.</p>

2

<p>Any comments for me ?</p>

3

<p>The only way to find out for sure is to apply :)</p>

4

<p>Looks good on paper, but make sure you show some individuality in your essays.</p>

5

<p>Chance threads are for nubs.</p>

6

<p>I can totally answer this now! haha
I know how the admissions process works lol
Basically, there is one counselor assigned to each region of the US and I’m sure some for international students.
That counselor reads every application first and does automatic denies to ones that they know won’t be successful at Hopkins.
They look at your transcript, grades, and test scores first since those are the easiest. They really look at the rigor of your schedule and see if you’ve been taking hard things and how well you’ve done in them.
After that they look at extracurriculars and how much you’ve applied yourself to them and how involved you are in your school and community
Lastly is the essays…the essays really don’t mean as much as you would think!
The only time it means a lottt is if it’s a bad essay or you say something unappealing in them haha
so don’t completely stress out over the essay. Just say what you need to say, be scholarly about it, and you’ll be fine :smiley:
I think you’ve got a shot…any intelligent person who has applied their self in their community activities and in their school work who really hopes to pursue a career at Hopkins has a shot
Nobody is guaranteed however = P</p>

7

<p>@DillonJay: You’re mostly accurate but I have to disagree with you about the essay. A lot of courses at JHU, especially in areas other than science/engineering, are very writing-intensive. And since you’ll have to take some of these courses, they want to see whether you can write. Essays definitely matter. And I’m not quite sure you need to be scholarly about it, just write like you would normally write. My essay was humorous and conversational, and apparently it was good enough. Just let yourself shine through in the essay.</p>

8

<p>Thanks a lot. So I now understand that I have to pass the preliminary round first. Do you guys think I have the credentials to pass that round ? I mean my ability to succeed at a intense institution like JHU ?</p>

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<p>^^ Well I guess it depends on what you’re applying for…if you’re applying to BME or something like that, in which case you must apply separately, the yes they will look at it more
But I spoke firsthand with an admissions counselor about the WHOLE process and she told me that it was actually the part they look at the least, and most students don’t know that. I was pretty surprised to find that out as well.
And yes of course they DO look at it haha so it does have SOME weight in your application of course. But it doesn’t have as much as you think. :slight_smile:
And what I meant by be scholarly about it was just don’t make silly grammatical mistakes lol
so if you normally write like that…then don’t! hahaha
And by scholarly I also meant don’t tell them things they wouldn’t want to hear. She told me they only make a huge difference in an application if they are telling you something vulgar or whatever.
By “say what you need to say” is how I meant to say let them know who you are :P</p>

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<p>Yes, I think you do! haha
Just keep it up! Stay involved in everything that you are involved in currently. They like commitment to extracurriculars. They would rather see you involved in two or three things for all four years rather than 5 different things for one year each throughout high school.</p>

11

<p>Do you guys thinks that Johns Hopkins worths risking a $43000/year scholarship at another institution ? I just got off the waitlist from Union College in NY.</p>

12

<p>Do you guys think it worths the risk ?</p>

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<p>Any comment ? This is such a tough decision for me.</p>

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<p>wait…you got that much of a scholarship somewhere else???
oh man! well in that case…I’m thinking you should take the scholarship!</p>

15

<p>I just got taken the waitlist from Union College (NY) and received some scholarships.</p>

<p>The thing is that I also received a lab position at a very active and intense lab (national key lab) in my home country. I am thinking that this opportunity will help strengthen my profile for next year applications, including my application to JHU. Therefore, this is such a tough call for me.</p>

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<p>Oh wow!! That’s wonderful! Congratulations on all of that… but goodness that is a tough call
Lord I think you should go with the route that will cost the least and give you the best education and opportunities
Would you have to pay for ALL of JHU? or could you get some financial aid?</p>

17

<p>Thanks a lot. Yep, I think it is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, calls in my entire life.</p>

<p>I would still apply for Financial aid at JHU so I would not have to pay for all of JHU.</p>

<p>You mention that “you should go with the route that will cost the least and give you the best education and opportunities”. I think both ways will. I think Union is a good school (hopefully I am not wrong). Therefore, it will not cost that much and still give me opportunities. However, JHU will give me top notch education and connections in the field of Biology also or any other fields. I believe that working in a lab like the one that I will be working in will be add a lot of weight to my application. I can ask for rec letter from the director of the lab, who is a premier researcher in my country.</p>

18

<p>Well of course!
I was in a situation like that lol
I was actually deciding on a state school here in Texas and Hopkins…I loved both… they are both great schools…Hopkins a lot more prestigious of course…but cost was an issue! But we are pretty positive we can make it work so I picked Hopkins! lol</p>

<p>It’s insanely hard deciding what the heck you’re gonna do with the rest of your life just like that lol</p>

<p>and yes I understand that too! both of my schools were the same way haha
but I just picked the one I liked best…who would get me the job I wanted when I graduated better lol
and that was Hopkins for me :smiley:
but lord if you aren’t sure…LOOK INTO IT! hahaha know everything possible you can about each school
make a pros and cons list and rate each school on what matters to you :slight_smile:
That’s what I did…and the schools were like 3 or 4 points different haha Hopkins came out on top and I knew that I was right with my gut feeling lol
So that’s how I did it…hope that helps!</p>

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<p>If I were admitted to both Union and Hopkins, I would have definitely gone to Hopkins. The thing is my chance to get to Hopkins is still unclear if I apply next year.</p>

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<p>That is true…so just wait until then! lol
That’s how it went for me…where I got accepted obviously changed my college plans!</p>