Final Wait List 2010 Update

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Later today (Friday, June 25, 2010) we will be contacting all wait-listed applicants who selected to remain on the wait list with final decisions. During this week the Admissions Committee met for a final time to make decisions regarding the wait list for the Class of 2014.

If you have been keeping up with this wait list discussion thread you will know that in late May and early June we admitted a handful of students off the wait list. Since then the Admissions teams has been very methodical and carefully tracking the size of the enrolling class. Though we had anticipated more fluctuation this year then in years past due to the volume of wait list movement by our peers, in the end our class size has not dropped below our enrollment goals. Therefore the decision was made not to admit any more students off the wait list. In the end, we selected 32 students for admission from the wait list.

The vast majority of you who remained on our wait list will be receiving correspondence today that states we do not intend on admitting any additional students from the wait list this year and that we have now met our enrollment target for the fall. This is our wait list release message and though a disappointment, it does end the waiting process. We wish you the best in your college career and appreciate the interest you showed in Johns Hopkins.

A small handful of those students who remained on the wait list (~100) will receive a slightly different correspondence. This group of students was selected by the Admissions Committee to receive an offer to remain on an extended summer wait list. This message states that although we have met our enrollment targets, in the event that space might become available, we will consider the students on this extended wait list. For those selecting to remain on the extended summer wait list from this group, an official final decision will be rendered no later than July 31st. Further instructions about the extended summer wait list will be included in the e-mail message that this select group will receive later today.

Two important things to note about the extended summer wait list: (1) the chances for admission remain slim and only will occur in the rare cases that more spaces become available. And, (2) the Admissions Committee selects the students to be offered a spot on the extended summer wait list, it is not something a wait-listed student may request.

I hope all this makes sense. As always, if you have any questions please feel free to post them on the Wait List Discussion Thread on the Hopkins Forums. We understand that this process can be frustrating and at times the waiting seems as if we were “stringing you along.” We appreciate your patience, and assure you that the time line was necessitated by our need to be careful and methodical in our decisions. Every year these decisions are quite difficult to make, and I hope you understand how much we agonize over these decisions. Best of luck to each and every one of you.

Additional May Updates: Wait List, Transfer, and Vacation

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I was looking back over the past four plus years of this blog and specifically entries posted in the month of May and there are two common themes: (1) frequent updates on wait list and transfer; and (2) discussion of my first vacation of the summer. Well, since those entries have worked so well in the past I thought what better blog topic then updates on wait list, transfer, and my pending vacation.

Wait List Status Update
Earlier this week my Admissions colleagues initiated step two of our wait list process. In my previous wait list update, I explained that the staff had previously selected and contacted approximately 30 students for admission from the wait list. Those phone calls were made on May 14 and May 17 and we have received the responses we were waiting for. After reviewing the numbers, it was decided that an additional 20 or so students would be contacted this week by phone (step two) and be offered a place in the Class of 2014. As of this morning (Friday, May 21) all of our phone calls have been made and about 50 students have been offered admission from the wait list.

Now we move into another waiting phase. It is important to note that we have a certain number of spots to fill in our class but that number changes throughout the early summer as students are admitted from other wait lists and remove themselves from the JHU Class. We are able to predict that movement in general, but we also need to meet specific enrollment targets. It is our belief that the wait list decisions we have made the last two weeks will enable us to hit our target but there is still uncertainty in that. Therefore, at this time we do not have plans to release our wait list, nor are we stating that we will not admit any additional students from the wait list. We have made offers, now we wait for responses, and wait to see if any other students withdraw. In early June, we will re-evaluate everything and see what next steps are necessary.

As I stated previously, it is our expectation that if we need to admit any other students from the wait list it will only be a handful at best. It is fair to say that if you have not yet been contacted, the chances for your admissions from the wait list are slim. We have essentially met our enrollment targets now, and though we are not releasing the entire wait list at this time it does appear that will most likely be our next step. I do wish I could provide a more concrete and definitive timeline but unfortunately this is how the wait list selection process works. As always, keep an eye out on our Wait List Discussion Thread for further updates.

Transfer Update
It was just determined that the transfer decision mail date this year will be Wednesday, May 26. The Transfer Admissions Committee is using the next few days to finalize all decisions and then turn the process over to our Operations team to generate all the letters. As typical, decision letters will be mailed on May 26 and in the late afternoon e-mail decisions will be sent to all applicants who provided a working e-mail.

Please note that the Admissions Office will be closed on Thursday, May 27 for Commencement ceremonies, again on Monday, May 31 for Memorial Day, and once again on Tuesday, June 1 for an office retreat. There will be a skeletal staff in the office on Friday, May 28 so please understand that we will not be accepting phone calls about transfer decisions until Wednesday, June 2.

Best of luck to all the transfer applicants and thanks for your patience.

Vacation Time
This will be the last update for the next few weeks. I have actually been out of the office since Friday of last week down in Florida with my family. Tomorrow I depart for a much need vacation in the Bahamas. Though my laptop will be making the trip with me, I plan to only use it to add music to my iPod and watch DVDs on the plane ride. I’ll be back in Baltimore in early June and will post a blog update when I am all caught up with the work I am ignoring while on vacation.

Wait List Update: Step One

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Over the last few days the Admissions Committee has met to discuss the Johns Hopkins wait list. Starting tomorrow afternoon (Friday, May 14), the Admissions Committee will be contacting via phone approximately 30 students to offer them admission to the JHU Class of 2014. Congratulations goes out to those students we will be contacting and we are all excited to welcome them to the class. The Class of 2014 is going to be the strongest incoming freshmen class in Hopkins history, and we feel that these newly selected students will make a great addition.

The Admissions Committee is also excited that we did not need to look at a student’s financial need in our wait list reviews, continuing our fully need-blind admissions cycle this year. This is the first time any of us can recollect that we were able to offer admission to wait-listed students who had applied for financial aid.

For those of you who are not contacted tomorrow, please understand that this is just step one in our process. Because you were not contacted today does not mean you will not be offered a spot in the class in the future. We are not at this point releasing our wait list and we reserve the possibility of needing to admit additional students later in the month. As always, we are deliberate in our wait list review process. Everything is tied to the number of students in the enrolling class, and at this time we have surpassed our 1,235 enrollment target. Despite being above our target class, the Admissions Committee decided to admit this group of students from the wait list to increase our enrollment slightly and to protect against the “summer melt.”

Over the next few weeks, the staff will continue to monitor the numbers and discuss wait list issues. We may decide to admit another round of students from the wait list, or we may determine that the class is sealed. We could also choose to select some students for an extended summer wait list and release all the others. There are a number of options available to us, and we will continue to discuss all of them in relation to our enrollment figures over the coming weeks. We hope to finalize all wait list decisions by mid-June. Once we have reached a decision, all students who selected to remain on the wait list will be notified by mail or e-mail.

With all that being said, I think it is fair to say that if you’re not contacted during this first wave of calls, the chances for your admission from the wait list are slim. Any additional selections from the wait list will be small, as we have essentially enrolled our target class.

What we ask of you all now is PATIENCE. We respect and understand the frustration that comes with being asked to wait, and we are placing as much urgency on these wait list questions as possible. However, this takes time. In addition to your patience, we request that you refrain from contacting us to ask about your individual status on the wait list. Please do not call our office or e-mail us to ask us if you were one of the students selected or what your chances of being selected will be. Your patience will be appreciated, and once another update is available it will be posted here and on our Wait List Discussion Thread.

Early May Updates

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I returned from my travels in New England last weekend and have spent the week in the office catching up on a lot of little tasks. March and April are such busy months for me that a number of smaller tasks are pushed to the back-burner and it is always this first week in May that I tackle those projects. At the same time that we are ramping up the recruitment phases of the next admissions cycle (the Class of 2015!); there are still tasks to complete regarding the wrapping up of the current admissions cycle. I am specifically referring to the Wait List and Transfers.

Many in the Admissions world point to May 1 every year as the close of the admissions cycle. Though May 1 – the National Response Deadline Day – is a very important day, it is not the end as there are always Wait List and Transfer decisions to render. Since I know that the students who selected to remain on the Johns Hopkins wait list have many questions, as do the Transfer applicants who applied by the March 15 deadline, I thought I would provide the most up-to-date information I can at this time in early May. This will be my first, but not last, blog entry dedicated to Wait List and Transfer updates.

Wait List Status Update
The theme of this update is pretty simple, NO NEWS YET. There has been a lot of speculation and curiosity about whether we will need to admit students from our wait list, but I can confirm that as of the morning of May 6 the Admissions staff has had absolutely no discussion on this topic. For us, it is simply too early to make such decisions. Our process is and has always been quite deliberate. Just because some of our peer institutions have decided to activate their wait list does not mean we will be doing the same, nor does it mean we need to be acting in haste. We work with our own time-line and right now we are still analyzing all the responses by the May 1 deadline.

I suspect (and this is just my speculation) that we will have some discussion early next week regarding next steps. At that time we could decided to still wait, or we could decide to admit some students. I have no idea what conclusions will be made because they will only be made after Dean Latting discusses the options with the Admissions Committee. So the conclusion to gain from this update is that you need to remain patient.

Also, I remind you all that you should continue to review our Wait List Discussion Thread as there is a ton of helpful information there. Included there is the following response to the question of when one might hear about their wait list status:

“Our decision of whether we will admit students off the wait list will not be made prior to May 1 and it is more likely we will make that determination closer to June 1. We strongly recommend that you submit your deposit to a school where you have been accepted. If you are later admitted to Hopkins from the wait list and choose to attend, you will withdraw your enrollment from the other school and forfeit the previous deposit.”

And remember, if you have any questions about the Johns Hopkins wait list, post them there: Wait List Discussion Thread.

Transfer Update
The Transfer Admissions Committee (which I am part of for the first time in my career) is nearing completion of the first-read evaluations on the nearly 825 transfer applications we received this year. This total continues an increase of the number of transfer applications we receive each year, and based on feedback from my colleagues the quality of the applications is on par with the previous years (which means they are quite good). It has been an enjoyable for me to participate in the transfer review process as it is quite different than reviewing freshmen applications. Nearly each applicant has a unique story to tell, and has taken risks including going through the transfer admissions process. Participating in this process makes me reflect on my own experiences, which I discussed in a May 2007 Insider Blog entry entitled “An Ode to the Transfer Applicant.”

Over the next couple of weeks the Transfer Admissions Committee will be continuing the evaluation process and the plan is to release decisions by the end of May. No official date has been selected yet, as the official number of transfer students we can admit is tied to a number of issues revolving around the overall enrollment of the school. Expect transfer decisions to be released via e-mail and postal mail sometime during the third or fourth week of May.

At this stage in the transfer review process the discussion is as much about the quality of each individual applicant and the fit of each applicant to Hopkins, as it is about the overall number of admits we can offer. The enrolling freshmen class size, retention rates, housing spaces, academic distribution of programs, class sizes, and a number of other factors all tie into our decision making process. So there are a lot of numbers that will be figured out in the coming weeks — but rest assured the Transfer Review Committee is hard at work.

If you are a current transfer applicant and have any specific questions, please feel free to utilize the Transfer Exchange section of our Hopkins Forums.

LipDub Time Again
That is it for now. I’ll leave you all with something that constantly puts a smile on my face – the second production of a LipDub by the Hopkins Interactive students:

Hopkins Interactive presents: LipDub – Take 2 from Hopkins Interactive on Vimeo.

The second installment of our LipDub features the HI members having some fun in the Bufano Sculpture Garden on the Homewood Campus.

A Post For the Admits – Congratulations!!!

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Currently I am sitting at my desk in Mason Hall on Friday afternoon trying to catch my breath. For the last fifteen minutes I have just been sitting, relaxing, and staring out my window onto the Decker Quad. There are a ton of people outside enjoying the beautiful 80 degree weather; students sunbathing, students playing Frisbee, and droves of prospective students  and parents walking around. The need to catch my breath is both from the whirlwind of activity that has taken place since the release of decision on Wednesday, as well as the close to 1000 visitors we had on campus … JUST TODAY!

Mason Hall on a beautiful spring day.

I finally have a chance to contemplate all that has taken place in the short-term (decision release week) and the long-term (the complete Class of 2014 admissions cycle) and as usual the only phrase I can muster up is … WHEW! This is the first time I really have slowed down all week (all year?) and it is pretty amazing all that has transpired since the completion of the Early Decision class on December 15, 2009 and the release of RD notifications on March 31, 2010. There is a ton of April events on the horizon and a lot of correspondence to still go through, but right now all I can really think about is the approaching weekend full of beautiful weather, a Hopkins v. UNC Lacrosse game, and a very relaxing pace.  

Soze happy for the Class of 2014.

As promised, I will end the week with an entry dedicated to the students who on Wednesday evening opened their “Congratulations” e-mail and who will soon be in receipt of the coolest admit packet in the entire country (no bias here!). To each and every one of you let me echo I word you probably have heard a record amount of times in the last few days, yet are not getting tired of it … CONGRATULATIONS!!! |

You have been admitted to the strongest class in Johns Hopkins history. Each and every one of you should feel a great sense of accomplishment and honor. You should know that by offering you a spot in the Johns Hopkins community we are saying loud and clear we think you fit. We think you will make a difference at Johns Hopkins and that we can provide you with the challenge and excitement you are looking for. After months of getting to know you all through your applications, we eagerly wait until the time when you and the Early Decision admits arrive on campus this coming fall. Great things are going to be expected from the JHU Class of 2014.

Lilly and Cooper (my niece and nephew) excited for the JHU Class of 2014.

One of the great curiosities following the release of decisions is always about the admissions statistics. Well, Dean Latting shared them with the staff yesterday and let me know that I could share some of the data with the blogging world. So drum roll time …

• Record applicant pool = 18,455. Increase of 2,331, or 14%, over last year. This is the eigth straight record applicant pool for Johns Hopkins.
• The admit rate this year is 20.4%. This is down from 26.7% last year, and a record low for Johns Hopkins. The previous low was 24.3% in 2007.
• The admitted freshman class represents 49 U.S. States (sorry South Dakota). As well, admitted students reside in 58 nations around the world.
• All of our principle academic measures for the admitted class of 2014 are either higher or the same as last year.

Now many you have a very tough decision to make. Let me make it simple for you … CHOOSE HOPKINS. For some of you that is actually what you will do and it will be that simple. For many of you though you now have a month to weigh your options and determine which of your admitted schools will make the best fit for you.

This year the Admissions staff and more significantly the students of Hopkins Interactive have put together a ton of resources to help you determine WHY HOPKINS. So continue to, celebrate your amazing accomplishments and use the following resources to learn more about Hopkins and connect with our current students:

– Tons of information at our:
Admitted Student Web Site: http://apply.jhu.edu/admitted/main.html

– Check out our brand new site just for the Class of 2014:

– Don’t forget to register for a visit:
Spring Admitted Student Welcome Open Houses: http://apply.jhu.edu/admitted/visit/openhouses.html

– Follow all our new student blog posts – many directed at you all:
Hopkins Insider Twitter: http://twitter.com/HopkinsInsider

– Check out the new home page and amazing resource of:
Hopkins Interactive: http://www.hopkins-interactive.com

– Ask questions of current students and meet future classmates:
Admitted Students (Class of 2014) Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=355097536344

– Also ask questions and review numerous discussion about life at Hopkins:
Hopkins Forums – Admitted Student Thread: http://tinyurl.com/JHU2014forums

WE ARE HERE TO HELP!

As a sign-off, enjoy this student created video dedicated to the admitted Class of 2014:

Why Hopkins: current students’ perspectives from Hopkins Interactive on Vimeo.

A Post For the Wait-Listed Applicant

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College admissions wait lists have been compared by many as a state of purgatory — not yet admitted and not denied. I often feel that a wait list decision is harder to deal with than a deny decision because there is no closure yet, no definitive answer. The college admissions process is defined by waiting, and now some students must wait for another month or two for their final decision. I have written previously that this wait list process is one of the most discussed topics in my field. Just do a quick Google search and you will find countless articles about the subject and also “supposed” services or advice columns on how a wait list works. Personally, since I find the media so far off base when they report on college admissions, and I have an overwhelming fear of students buying into “how to get off college wait list” schemes, I sit down and compose this post for those on the Johns Hopkins wait list every year.

Wait list decisions exist because of the sheer competition to get into college these days, and they work as a form of protection for schools to make sure they yield their class each year. It would be wonderful to exist in a world with definitive decisions and no wait lists, but unfortunately that ideal just doesn’t exist.

So what to do? Well first it is important to know that being placed on the Johns Hopkins wait list is NOT a rejection of you and your abilities. It is a statement about the exceptional quality of our applicant pool and the limited number of spots we can offer to make our class. We respect the frustration and apprehension that exists with being placed in a state of limbo, so to assist we try to provide as much information as we can along the way.

Over the years, I have composed an extensive list of frequently asked questions and answers about how the Johns Hopkins wait list works. I have posted the complete list to the Hopkins Forums in an attempt to assist you along the way:

WAIT LIST DISCUSSION THREAD (2010)

A selection of the questions posted on the discussion thread: 

How does the wait list work?
Our enrollment target is 1,235 new freshmen. Based on our estimates we have admitted a percentage of our applicant pool that we expect will yield a class that size. However, it is quite hard to exactly predict the number of students who will accept our offer of admission, hence the existence of the wait list. If we miss our target, then we will admit students off of our wait list to assure that we enroll a complete class.

I still really want to go to Hopkins. What should I do if I want to remain on the wait list?
Instructions on how to remain on the wait list are included in the decision notification e-mail you received. Follow the personalized link in your e-mail to make the decision to remain (or be removed from) the Johns Hopkins wait list. You need to respond by May 1 at the latest.

Should I do anything else besides selecting to remain on the wait list? I heard we can update our applications. Is that true, and what kind of updates can we submit?
You may certainly send updates that you would like added to your application. Such information can assist the Admissions committee if we do review wait list candidates for admission. We suggest the following if updating your application:

– A Letter of Interest – A one or two page letter to the Admissions Committee that states why you are interested in Hopkins, why you feel it is the right school for you, and why you should be admitted from the wait list.
– Updated resume – Let us know what you have gotten involved with during your senior year. This should include updated information not in your original application.
– Recommendations - One or two additional or updated letters.
– Updated transcript – Your most recent grades, even beyond the mid-year report, can be helpful. Ask your guidance counselor to submit them if possible. In addition, a final transcript when it becomes available is requested. (If you are admitted from the wait list, a final transcript will be required.)

Please DO NOT send the following:
(1) additional writing samples
(2) supplemental materials such as CDs, slides, portfolios, etc.
(3) research or term papers.
Just stick to the list above.

Do note that you are not required to submit any additional materials, only to respond online using the personalized link in your e-mail. Also, if you choose to submit updates to your file, it is important that you make sure that they will contribute in a substantive way or provide new information. All updates should be sent to the Admissions Office either via postal mail or fax (410-516-6025). We can not process application updates submitted through e-mail. When mailing or faxing, include your full name, birth date, school name, and a note that the materials are to be used as a wait list update.

Why was I wait-listed? Was this just a way to break the bad news more gently?
Admissions decisions are comprehensive decisions that take into account many factors included in each individual application within the context of the overall applicant pool. In every application we are searching for the ideal fit with the university based on the information in the applicant files. The Admissions Committee is unable to discuss with applicants why we were not able to offer admission, but it is important to know that offering a student a spot on our wait list is not done out of a courtesy or to lessen the impact of our decision. Any student on the wait list who chooses to remain on the wait list will have a chance for admission if spaces in the class become available.

When will I hear if I’ve been accepted off the wait list? The other schools I was admitted to require a deposit by May 1 – should I wait until I hear from Hopkins?
Once again, this all depends on the response from our admitted students. Our decision of whether we will admit students off the wait list will not be made prior to May 1 and it is more likely we will make that determination closer to June 1. We strongly recommend that you submit your deposit to a school where you have been accepted. If you are later admitted to Hopkins from the wait list and choose to attend, you will withdraw your enrollment from the other school and forfeit the previous deposit.

Do you have any historical data of how many students were admitted from the wait list in previous years?
Though every year is different and the numbers vary, here is what happened the past few years:

2009 – No offers of admission from the wait list.
2008 – Approximately 40 students were admitted from the wait list.
2007 – Approximately 80 students were admitted from the wait list.
2006 – No offers.
2005 – No offers.
2004 – Approximately 150 students were admitted from the wait list.
2003 – Approximately 100 offers.
2002 – No offers.
2001 – Approximately 50 offers.
2000 – No offers.

As I said, there is much more information over at the Hopkins Forums. Do make sure to visit the Wait List Discussion Thread (2010) for the complete list of questions and answers. As well, when updates become available they will be posted to that thread first. It may be a good idea for you to bookmark the page.

If you have any questions about the Johns Hopkins Wait List, do post them to the discussion thread as I am sure others are wondering the same thing. I will be as prompt as can be with responses and provide as much detail as possible. I do hope this helps.

A Post for the Denied Applicant

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Last year was the first time I ever posted a specific entry for denied applicants. I hesitated in posting such an entry in the past, as I always assumed that after a student received a deny decision from Johns Hopkins that they would not return to the blog. I also felt that my comments would not be received well by a student who had received such negative news. Lastly, I feared that my words would fail me in expressing the heartfelt compassion I feel for a non-admitted student.

However, I was surprised to find out last year that many who read the post appreciated it. So, after the most difficult year in rendering admissions decisions in Johns Hopkins history and in my professional career, I once again felt compelled to share my thoughts. No matter what you may think at this time, admissions counselors loathe the process of denying applicants. We all universally agree this is the hardest part of our jobs.

Every year my colleagues and I are faced with the daunting task of selecting very few students from a truly outstanding pool of applicants. As I have written many times before, each applicant is considered thoroughly and holistically by a team of highly committed professionals. Unfortunately, the number of applicants (nearly 18,500 this year) far exceeds the number of positions we can offer (our freshman class is just over 1200 students). It is never an easy process selecting students and I know my colleagues join me in saying that we sincerely understand your frustration and anger and respect your disappointment when hearing the unfavorable news.

Many deal with rejection by trying to determine where they fell short. They ask questions about what were they missing or what they did wrong. As I complete a decade in college admissions, I can attest to the fact that there is never just one reason that leads to our decisions. When reviewing a student’s application, we take into consideration a vast array of factors including academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, leadership, commitment to community, and promise of future contribution.

It is said often, and it is quite true, the college admission review process is about fit. Our applicant pool is filled with extremely qualified applicants, but unfortunately being qualified is not the only consideration. Our freshman class is quite small and we are unable to admit everyone that is capable of doing the work. Please do not receive this news as a judgment of your value and your ability, but rather understand the competitive nature of applying to a highly selective institution like Johns Hopkins.

Others will deal with rejection by expressing much anger, and levying accusations based on tons of speculation. The days after the release of decision are some of the hardest for me as I tend to take the brunt of many of the attacks, being that my online “Admissions_Daniel” presence is an easy and accessible target. I understand where these accusations of unfairness stem from, but I am also aware of how much time, effort, and passion my colleagues put in the admissions selection process. I could defend vigorously and respond back aggressively at every negative comment but there is no value in that. Venting is pretty much human nature when receiving unfavorable news, and though some will take it too far, I choose to remain above the fray and allow people to deal with the news as they deem appropriate.

I was rejected from my first and second choice schools when I applied to college. I was angry, I vented, and I felt that all my hard work was wasted. But then with the support of my friends and family, I realized I had wonderful other options to choose from. And once I made my selection from the schools that admitted me I forgot all about my “love” for the other schools. I committed myself completely to my new college and never looked back. Even today, after realizing I made the wrong choice in the college I attended (no I am not a JHU alum), I do not look back and wonder “what if.” I made the best of every day of my collegiate experience and still cherish all the memories, even though I did not attend my first choice school.

My advice is to forget about Johns Hopkins now. Know that there is a college that is going to be uniquely enriched by your presence on their campus and that you will have an amazing undergraduate experience. If there is one thing I have learned over the years, the right college for you is the one that you select to attend and the one you commit yourself to fully.

It is with the deepest sincerity that I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Answers to a few frequently asked questions:

Can I appeal my decision?
Johns Hopkins University does not accept appeals of our decisions nor will we re-evaluate applications with new information. Our decisions are final and are based on the information provided to the Admissions Committee at the time of decision.

Can I find out why I was denied?
While we as a committee do not address specific components of a student’s admission decision, we always note that each year we have an outstanding pool of applicants and there are more qualified applicants than we can admit. It is our practice though not to discuss the factors that go into our final decisions nor provide students with a detailed analysis of their specific application evaluation.

Can I apply again and when?
Yes you may apply again, but must wait for our next admissions cycle which will be the fall 2011 term. We would strongly encourage you to enroll at another university, and if after two semesters you still feel that Hopkins is the right place for you, you may apply for transfer admission. Transfer admissions information can be found here: http://apply.jhu.edu/faqs/transfer.html.

Live Blogging on RD Notification Day (2010)

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A long-standing tradition of the Hopkins Insider blog is that on a decision release day I attempt the task of live blogging all the events of the day. Despite an always packed “to do” list on these days, I do try to update the blog as frequently as possible and provide a running tour through the day. For those just visiting the blog for the first time ever or for the first time in a few weeks, I strongly encourage you to check out a few past entries that discuss how everything will work today:  

March 18, 2010 – Status Update: What We Know Now
March 25, 2010 – Breaking News: RD Notification Release Explained
March 30, 2010 – The Light Approaches and it is Bright  

In addition to checking for updates throughout the day here on the Hopkins Insider blog, you can also follow me on my Twitter account: @AdmissionDaniel. (That is really for the people who are looking for updates in 140 characters or less.)  

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5:41 a.m. – Good morning. My mental alarm clock went off about 15 minutes ago, just about five ahead of my physical alarm clock. Despite only about six hours of sleep and a messed up sleep schedule for the last few weeks, I feel good and feel quite excited to tackle another decision release day. This will be my tenth regular decision notification day and twentieth overall if you count early decision days separately. I am also excited because it appears that the rainy, cold, and gloomy weather that has overtaken Baltimore the last few days has lifted, and some beautiful spring weather is upon us. I am off to start my day with the traditional shaving of the beard, a refreshing shower, and then the quick drive into the office.  

As the day begins, I thought I would share one of my favorite new photos of the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus. It was taken by one of the freshman members of the Student Admissions Advisory Board (the students behind Hopkins Interactive), JHU_Greco. Greco takes simply amazing pictures which he shares on his blog and often in our Facebook groups too. This is just such a stunning picture and every time I look at it, it reminds me how much I love working at Homewood and the beautiful surroundings I and the students get to enjoy each and every day.  

Sun rises over Homewood

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7:03 a.m. – In the office early and everything is so peaceful. The weather outside is beautiful and inside everything is well organized. We will now just wait for Dean Latting to inform the staff that all decisions are final and sealed. Then one final check that all the decisions match the correct letters. Before all that begins though I need to start with my daily morning routine.
  

A peaceful dawn ascends upon Homewood

An organized Operations room awaits the madness to come.

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7:55 a.m. – My morning routine of responding to e-mails and checking all the Web sites connected to Hopkins Interactive is complete. I also did my daily Mensa Puzzle and I got it right. Can you?

Daily Mensa Question: Can you get it right?

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8:45 a.m. – Over the last couple of days as we prepared the decision packets I snapped a collection of photos. Enjoy this slideshow as I go check in with my colleagues to see how everything is progressing.

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9:46 a.m. – Nothing really to update right now. We are just waiting to hear from Dean Latting that the class is set. I am sitting at my desk listening to some Phoenix songs (a new favorite for me) and working on some Web projects.

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10:34 a.m. – Just got the news from Dean Latting that the class is set so now the heavy work begins. First the checks … then the double checks … and then it is off to the post office. There will be radio silence for the next few hours as I will busy with my colleagues getting all the decision packets and letters out with today’s mail.
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2:25 p.m. – All the decisions are now at the main Baltimore city postal depot and are out of our hands. I just returned to Mason Hall after dropping off all the admit packets and deny and wait list letters. The trip downtown in two SVUs is one of the best parts of the day. I shared the drive with my colleagues John, Shannon, and Sarah and then enjoyed (?) a healthy McDonald’s lunch. Now I have a ton of work to do before the release of e-mail notifications at 7:00 p.m. I will have another photo slideshow up soon. *************************************************************************************************************************
4:16 p.m. – As promised here is slideshow number two featuring the final phases of our decision release process.

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4:29 p.m. – My day at the office is done. I am heading home to get ready for the release of the decision e-mails starting at 7:00 p.m. EDT. So happy that I will be able to drive home with the windows down, the sunroof open, sunglasses on, and The Killers rocking on the radio.
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5:43 p.m. – Made it home, unwound for a few minutes, and now I am all set-up to make sure everything goes smooth tonight with the release of e-mail notifications. As I headed out of the office and made one last jaunt up to the third floor – our Operations center – and snapped one last picture. Enjoy. I’ll be back around 6:30 p.m. with some reminders about how the release of e-mail notifications will work.

Our Operations center is empty = we are done!

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6:15 p.m. — So with less than an hour left before the release of the e-mail notifications I want to post a few reminders and also a piece of advice. Reminders first:

- E-mails will start going out AROUND 7:00 p.m. EDT. This does not mean you will get your e-mail exactly at 7:00 p.m. It can take up to 3 hours for all the e-mails to be sent.
- We DO NOT have an online system where you log-in to get your decision.
- DO NOT share your decision e-mail with others nor post the message on any public form or Web site. The e-mails contain personalized information.
- If you do not receive an e-mail tonight, please refer to the suggestions I provided in my previous blog post. Scroll down to the picture of two people in a large mail bin and you will see my comments.
- BME decisions will be sent as a separate e-mail tonight. Only students who selected BME as their first choice major on the JHU supplement will receive a BME decision e-mail.
- If you applied for financial aid, the Office of Student Financial Services will open up access to view financial aid awards on ISIS at 8pm this evening. You will see in your ISIS account the following message about financial aid awards:

Once again, all information about how the release of decision is explained in my March 25 blog post.

Now some advice … 
I wish each and everyone of you the best as you receive your decisions tonight. My strong suggestion is that after you read your decision, log-off of your computer and go spend some time with your family. No matter what the decision is!!!

This is a major moment in your young life, and family is who you should share your initial thoughts and emotions with. Your family has been there since the first moment of your life, and they will be there FOREVER. Your family is not some online community. Afterwards you can log-on and share with others. Let the news sink in first. React in the real world before entering the cyber world. OK, that is just my two cents … but I do hope you all heed it.

That’s all for now. I’ll probably update once of twice more tonight. Best wishes to all of you and it has been a wonderful ride this year.
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6: 29 p.m. — Oops, forgot one thing. Tomorrow I will be posting three entries to the blog – a Post for Admits, a Post for Wait-Listed Students, and a Post for the Denied. Do check back tomorrow and read through the entries as I hope they will assist all of you.
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10:33 p.m. — Whew. Three and a half hours of behind-the-scenes work. All decisions have now been released. There will be a lot of work the next couple of days, but it is bed time for me now. Make sure to check back tomorrow for specific posts dedicated to the admits, wait-listed, and denies. I wish I had something more poignant to say at the end of this long day of blogging, but unfortunately all I have left is just to say Good Night.

Breaking News: RD Notification Release Explained

15

Earlier today I posted a quick blog stating that Regular Decision notifications will be released to all freshman applicants to the Johns Hopkins Class of 2014 on Wednesday, March 31. I also promised that when I had a free moment I would provide full details about how the release of decisions will work this year. Well it is 3:00am now on Thursday, March 25 and I finally found that free moment.

Mason Hall Celebration

Today (wait … yesterday) was a very long and tough day of committee work. In fact, the work over the last two weeks can easily be described as a struggle both due to the numbers of hours devoted to committee work and the in-depth discussions my colleagues and I have been having about the shape of this year’s class. Though the work is difficult and the time commitment is extreme, it is completely worth it. We all know that the light at the end of the tunnel is near and when decisions are released in just under a week, we will be admitting the strongest class in Johns Hopkins history. There is still work to be done, and since I would like to get a few hours of sleep before heading back into the office tomorrow for even more committee work, let me get to explaining how the decision release process will work next Wednesday.

JHU CLASS OF 2014 -- REGULAR DECISION NOTIFICATION DAY = Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Here is how everything will work next Wednesday:
(Make sure to review this thoroughly as there have been some changes from previous years.)

How will decisions be released?
By mail: On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 31 all decision letters (admits, wait lists, and denies) will be taken to the main Baltimore postal center or the Hopkins postal center in Mt. Washington. All decisions will enter the postal system by the close of business on Wednesday. Admit packets are sent priority mail, whereas deny and wait list letters are sent first-class mail. We hope that admit packets sent within the U.S. will arrive within three days, and other decision letters can take 4-7 days to arrive. International mail is sent a variety of ways depending on the country and will take longer to arrive.

By e-mail: In the evening of March 31, we will also be releasing decision notifications via e-mail. E-mails will start going out our AROUND 7:00 p.m. ET. Please see that I have emphasized the word AROUND. It can take up to 3 hours for all decision e-mails to be sent. E-mails are sent in batches and will take time to arrive. They are also sent in random order so there is no way to deduce the order that decisions will be released. I can guarantee that you all will not get your decision e-mail exactly at 7:00 p.m. Have some patience … in fact I suggest finding something to distract you for an hour, then check your e-mail account.

Can I check my decision online?
No, Johns Hopkins University does not have an online system for the release of admissions decisions. We do not post our decisions online or through a portal.

Last Year: The Night Before Mail Drop

Can I call the Admissions Office to receive my decision over the phone?
We prefer not to release decisions over the phone. Decisions will only be released over the phone after Monday, April 5. At that time, if you have not received your admissions notification you may call the Admissions Office (410-516-8171). Please be aware, when we do begin to release decisions over the phone, we will only release the decision to the applicant or a parent or guardian of the applicant. Decisions will be released only if the identity of the caller can be reasonably assured. As well, please do not call asking why a certain decision was rendered as Admissions Committee decisions are confidential and we are unable to discuss the factors behind our decisions.

Regarding the e-mailed decisions, what will be the subject line?
We do not release the “subject lines” of our e-mail decisions in advance. The content of these e-mails change year-to-year.

Five Years Ago: Fun with Mail

Do not share your decision e-mail!
Each decision e-mail is personalized. Acceptance e-mails have a personalized URL in the message and therefore should not be shared, especially on any public forum or web site. To protect your privacy and the accuracy of information, do not share or post your decision e-mail.  

What happens if I do not receive an e-mail decision on Wednesday?
If an applicant does not receive an e-mail there a few things he or she can do: 

1. Check SPAM folders.
2. Check ANY and all e-mail accounts you have ever used during the college search process. We send the e-mail to the account you listed on your application. However, our database system does track all e-mail accounts that have ever been matched to your record, so on occasion the notification e-mail may be sent to old e-mail address. (So check e-mails that you may have used when registering for the SAT/ACT for example.)
3. Have your parents check their e-mail accounts too. Not sure how that happens, but it has happened in the past.

If none of those methods work, then unfortunately the student will need to wait to receive the decision in the postal mail, or can call after April 5. Every year some e-mail notifications just don’t work. The reasons for an applicant not receiving an e-mail notification include that there was no e-mail provided on the student’s application, the e-mail provided on the application is no longer active, there was a SPAM filter blocking the message, or some error occurred that caused a bounce-back. WE ARE UNABLE TO RE-SEND E-MAIL NOTIFICATIONS. Once again, in such situations the applicant must wait. We understand how frustrating that can be, but unfortunately mistakes can happen when processing over 18,000 applications.

Four Years Ago: A final push from Dean Latting

I applied to the biomedical engineering program; will I receive that decision via e-mail as well?
BME decision e-mails will come as a second e-mail to all admitted students who selected BME as their first-choice major. Those e-mail notifications will also be sent Wednesday evening, following the release of all other decision notification e-mails. Further details about one’s BME decision will be included in one’s admit packet.

How do I learn about my financial aid package?
Financial aid awards for those who completed their financial aid application will be included in the acceptance packet. You will also be able to check your award by logging into your ISIS account (www.jhu.edu/finaid/self_service.html). If you have any questions or need access to ISIS, please contact the Office of Student Financial Services (fin_aid@jhu.edu).

I applied to the Hopkins and also the Peabody Double Degree program. How will I be notified of my decisions?
Homewood / Peabody Double Degree applicants will receive their admissions decision notification about their Hopkins (Homewood) application in the same fashion as been discussed above. Decisions about admission to Peabody and the Double Degree program are released by the Peabody Institute directly. You should check with Peabody to determine when they will release their decisions this year.

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So I think that covers everything for right now. If you have further questions, please feel free to post a comment and I will try to respond when I have the chance.

A note about the pictures: I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures from previous decision release dates. There will be new pictures next week.

Continuing a tradition: Over the last couple of years I have shared a favorite YouTube video at the end of these decision release explanation entries. I have found a new collection of favorites – the PS22 Chorus videos. Enjoy.

Breaking News: RD Notification Release Date

5

Greetings Readers,

Just got out of a staff meeting and Dean Latting has confirmed that we will release regular decision notifications on Wednesday, March 31. I need to head off to BME Selection committee for the rest of the day, but I will update the blog tonight with full details on how the release of decisions will work. Just one more week to wait.

Cheers,
AdmissionsDaniel

Mail Day is Coming