Featured Students: Azam Qureshi & Kimberly Hilson

0

Meet Azam Qureshi and Kimberly Hilson, freshmen at Johns Hopkins University.

Presented by Sherryl A. Fletcher, Senior Associate Director of Admissions

 When I reflect on my roles as both an admissions professional and a parent, I delight in the opportunities I have to watch children mature into exceptional young adults. I have hopes, along with their parents, that all students will find the college environments that support their unique gifts and terrific personalities. When these students are also classmates of my own child, the hopes are even more meaningful, and more personal. I would like to introduce two fabulously talented students from McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland: Kimmy Hilsen and Azam Qureshi. Kimmy and Azam are freshmen at Johns Hopkins University and classmates of my son, Cameron, also a 2010 graduate of McDonogh School. Kimmy and Azam have started their Johns Hopkins experience with energy, purpose, and unique talents, and I am super proud of each of them. As local Baltimore-area students, they will tell you about their first semesters on the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus. In just four months, they are already beginning to leave their footprints here.

Meet: Azam Qureshi

Why did you select Johns Hopkins as your college choice?

I chose Johns Hopkins primarily because of its close proximity to my home in Baltimore County, Maryland; my love of the campus; and its renowned reputation. I love being able to go home every few weeks or have my parents visit me. Also, the campus reminds me of the campus of my primary school and almost makes me forget about its urban location. Both of these factors contributed to making the transition to college smoother for me since I had gone to the same school for 13 years before arriving to Hopkins.

What Johns Hopkins experience has been the most exciting for you?

The most exciting part of my Hopkins experience so far was orientation. It was everyone’s first experience at college and I was able to meet so many people and bond with those inside and outside of my building through various orientation events like the trip to the Orioles game and the stand-up comedy show in Shriver auditorium. I only wish it could have been longer.

With friends at the Baltimore Washington Monument

What is your favorite on campus event so far?

My favorite on campus event so far was the Lupe Fiasco concert in the Rec Center.

Who is your favorite new friend or new teacher?

I have so many favorite new friends and I would not be able to name just one. Hopkins offers so many opportunities for new freshmen to branch out and meet all different types of undergraduates through dorm life and extracurricular activities. I have been fortunate enough to meet amazing people in my dorm and through my involvement on campus from working in the Recreation Center, being on the Residential Advisory Board and in the Muslim Students Association, and playing intramural flag-football and basketball.

Hanging out in the dorms!

What will you do during Intersession?

During intersession, I plan on taking advantage of the variety of free courses Hopkins offers to students during this time. Since I wanted the opportunity to take something I normally wouldn’t during the regular school year, I signed up for The Art of the Pitch and Energy 101 in order to earn two credits while learning about marketing and the business of energy in the United States. Additionally, because my classes span five days and two days respectively, I may shadow a doctor and just enjoy the relaxation of not having five or six classes to juggle.

Meet: Kimberly Hilson

Why did you select Johns Hopkins as your college choice?

Happy Birthday Katie! Kimmy met Katie, Eva and Taylor through Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

I didn’t visit Hopkins until the summer before my senior year in high school. I visited three times before applying. Every time I visited, I felt such a great sense of community, which I loved, and I immediately felt at home. After my third visit, I knew Hopkins was where I wanted to be, so I applied under the Early Decision plan.

When I was searching for colleges, I knew that I wanted to attend a college where I would receive a top-notch education, play Division III field hockey, and stay close to home. I found all three qualities in Hopkins. At Hopkins, I know I will receive a world-class education. At Hopkins, I have the opportunity and privilege to play Division 3 field hockey. Only at Hopkins, can I receive a world-class education, play field hockey and stay close to home all at the same time.

What Johns Hopkins experience has been the most exciting for you?

I have loved all of the experiences that I have had at Hopkins so far, so it is hard to pick one as my favorite. However, one of my favorite parts of being at Hopkins has been living on campus in Wolman Hall. Being in the dorms allows me to be independent and make decisions for myself, which is really exciting.

What is your favorite on campus event so far?

So far, I have two favorite events: the Convocation before the first day of classes and the Lighting of the Quads. At the Convocation, the entire freshman class gathered on the quad behind Mason Hall and we were addressed by various faculty members, deans, and even some of our classmates. It was really cool to see our whole class gathered together underneath the huge tent. After the ceremony, there was a nice reception where we were able to mingle with other members of our class and meet new people. That was really cool. The Lighting of the Quads was equally exciting because I LOVE the holidays and seeing the campus all lit up was beautiful! It reminded me of being at home with all of the holiday lights, so I really enjoyed this evening.

Visiting Santa at the Towson Mall with Laila and Ladora

Who is your favorite new friend or new teacher?

I have made so many friends since I’ve arrived on campus. From my friends on the hockey team to my friends from just meeting people along the way and in various clubs, it’s hard to pick a favorite new friend. However, I have to say that the friends that I have made through the BSU (Black Student Union) have become my best friends so far. I love having friends to go to breakfast, lunch, or dinner with. Or to go to the library and have study sessions with. Making friends at Hopkins was so easy because everybody was so nice and open to meeting new people.

The freshmen and sophomores on the field hockey team!

My favorite teacher…hmm…well, my favorite course this past semester was Introduction to Sociology, which was co-taught by Professor Andrew Cherlin and Professor Pamela Bennett. Both are extremely passionate about their fields and are always available to talk. I have talked to both Professor Cherlin and Professor Bennett outside of the classroom, which is really great.

What will you do during Intersession?

During Intersession this year, I will be taking two classes. The first class I am taking, The Practice of Law, lasts two weeks. I’m really excited about that class because I am considering attending law school after graduation. The second class I am taking is called B’More: Urban Schools Today, where we are going to study the state of urban schools, and we’ll even get to visit a local public school in Baltimore, which I’m really looking forward to.

So you want to be a college athlete?

1

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest author is Associate Director of Admissions John Birney. JB, as we call him around the office, has been with Hopkins for more than ten years and is the liaison to our Athletics Department. We asked him to write about this role and provide advice to prospective students who may want to play for one of Hopkins’ varsity teams.

#1 Fan

Although I firmly believe that most people enjoy the work they do, I also believe that there’s one aspect of their job they consider to be most enjoyable. For me, that would be working as the liaison to our Department of Athletics. Basically, this means that I work with each coach on recruitment strategies, roster size, team needs, and academic ability of players to be considered.

When teams win (and we win a lot), I feel a sense of pride knowing that I assisted the team in enrolling those student-athletes who would make the greatest contribution to both the classroom and playing field. When we lose, I don’t take it so well. 

Here’s a quick re-cap on our fall 2010 teams: 

Men’s Cross County—Finished 7^th at Mid-East Regional Championships
Women’s Cross Country—Finished 7^th at NCAA National Championships
Field Hockey—11-7 overall, 8-2 Conference, 3^rd in the Centennial Conference
Football—Winner of the ECAC South Atlantic Bowl Championship
Men’s Soccer—NCAA Sweet 16
Women’s Soccer—NCAA Elite 8
Water Polo—6^th at Easterns, #3 National ranking 

An amazing track record.

Most often, though, I’m asked what it takes to be a student-athlete. Here are some quick tips if you’re looking to play collegiate athletics:  

• Read, and learn, the NCAA rules on recruiting. Nobody wants a rules violation.
• Start a conversation with the coach, and start it early. Junior year isn’t too early. Coaches like students who take initiative.
• Be willing to change position/event. It’s too often that students are dropped from recruiting because they are unwilling to change.
• Always be in good physical condition when meeting a coach.
• Stay overnight with the team. This allows you to get a feel for the students in an informal setting.
• Attend home contests to see the team play, coaching philosophy, and team chemistry.
• Present the coach with an athletic resume and academic transcript.
• Always remember the “student-athlete” philosophy— You are a student first, an athlete second.
• Prepare a tape/CD/DVD/web content of your playing ability. Coaches cannot offer a try-out, so bring the evidence of your playing ability to the coach.
• Keep coaches informed about your schedule and level of competition.
• Ask the coach about team depth and where you might fit with the team’s future rosters.
• Customize your communications with the coaches and remember to always double check that the coach matches the correct school.
• Ask the coach his or her philosophy on topics of interest: study abroad, research, class conflicts, playing a second sport. Then ask yourself if your expectations match those of the coach.
• Don’t allow your parents to run this process. Coachs and the admissions staff prefers to work with the student athlete.
• Highly consider applying Early Decision.

School spirit at its finest.

Now that you’ve had a chance to learn more about how to be a Johns Hopkins student-athlete, it’s time to learn more about the teams. Check out www.hopkinssports.com for all the latest updates.

The Nest is the place to be.

When you make your visit to campus, come find me— I’m the one always wearing some type of athletic team apparel, sitting in the stands, or cheering from the sidelines—and we’ll talk sports.

Why I ♥ Baltimore

0

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest author is Senior Assistant Director of Admissions Sarah Godwin. When Sarah was asked what topic she wanted to write about she immediately said she would write about her love of Baltimore. So here is Sarah’s musings on her love of Charm City.

My guess is that you didn’t wake up this morning and say, “I want to go to college in Baltimore!” True, it is not a traditional ‘destination’ city for college the way Boston, New York, or San Francisco is. Like many of our students, Johns Hopkins is the reason I landed here. Now, two years later, I can hardly say enough good things about this charming, quirky, little, big, accessible, humble city. I love Baltimore, my adopted hometown, and  here are five reasons why (in no particular order):

1.) Fun stuff to do. This past weekend my good friend Susie (who also served as photographer, thanks Suse!) took the train from Washington, DC, to Baltimore (a 45-minute, $7 trip). Susie has been to visit me in Baltimore several times, so I was trying to think of something fun and different to do. Luckily there is always something fun and different to see in B’more. We ended up taking a self-guided tour of the Bromo Seltzer tower. Built in 1911 by Captain Isaac Emerson and located right in downtown Baltimore, it was home to the offices (and attached factory) that produced the Bromo Seltzer headache remedy. If it looks familiar, it might be because it was modeled after the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. Today artists rent studio space in the narrow tower. We started on the 17^th floor and wound our way down to the lobby, meeting artists and admiring their work along the way.

2.) Yummy places to eat! Have you ever seen “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” on the Food Network? If not, the title of the show is pretty self explanatory. One of my favorite restaurants in Baltimore, Woodberry Kitchen, was featured for a dessert, the C.M.P. The menu describes it as “malt ice cream, chocolate sauce, marshmallow fluff, wet peanuts.” But it is so much more! It is gooey yummy-ness topped with a burnt sugar top. I don’t know what wet peanuts are, but I know I love C.M.P. There are also tons of other yummy dishes in our fair city. Another favorite dessert? The Candy Bar at Gertrude’s. This restaurant is located in the Baltimore Museum of Art, just steps from the Johns Hopkins Undergraduate Admissions Office. If you come to visit us, convince your parents to take you to lunch there (or better yet, save some money and take THEM to lunch).

3.) The Inner Harbor. Typically, if there is one place in Baltimore out-of-towners know about, it’s this one. Located in downtown Baltimore and just a short (free) shuttle ride away from Hopkins’ Homewood campus, the Inner Harbor has a dizzying array of restaurants, shops, and museums. Need cool new shades at Urban Outfitters? Easy. What about a birthday dinner with your roommates? You’ll probably head here. That ship you see in the background behind me is an old World War II war ship that has been transformed into a floating museum. Come visit, you can take a tour.

4.) The Farmers’ Market. I grew up in Vermont, so I appreciate fresh produce from local growers. When I moved here, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Baltimore has a huge, bustling outdoor market nine months out of the year. I go to the one downtown on Sundays but on Saturdays there is one in Waverly, a short walk from Hopkins. In addition to local produce (I purchased apples and squash this week) there are lots of delicious food vendors who for a few dollars will sell you the best tasting banana-chocolate crepe you’ve ever tasted.

5.) Johns Hopkins. Like peanut butter with no jelly, it is hard to imagine Baltimore without our beloved university.  I could write a whole separate blog on why I love Hopkins. The number one reason is the people. From staff members (like me!) to faculty, librarians, residential advisers, security guards, and even the President,everyone here at Homewood is dedicated to making the Hopkins student experience a positive one. On any given evening, you can find professors playing poker with students in Charles Commons, Donny Deutsch (of CNBC’sThe Big Idea) giving a speech in Shriver as part of the MSE Symposium, or students rehearsing for a performance of Arsenic and Old Lace.  Peanut butter, jelly, and even a little fluff—just like the dessert from Woodberry—the combination is near perfection.

That’s my list, as you can see I really do love Baltimore. I hope you’ve learned a few things and that you come to Baltimore to visit us soon!

Home

1

Editor’s Note: For this guest author entry we asked Senior Assistant Director Zak Harris to return and let you all know about another area of his position; coordinating one of our signature outreach programs.  Still in the midst of a hectic fall travel season, here is Zak discussing the unique Baltimore Scholars program.

So, it’s been a few weeks since you last heard from me—but I’m back! In the meantime, I have traveled through the great state of Maryland and met the great people (and ate the great food) of southern Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. By the time you read this, I will be in Portland, OR, trying to stay dry from all of this rain!

Traveling across the country, while exciting, has definitely made me appreciate the idea of “home” a bit more. I put home in quotations because “home” can be anything. It can be your athletic team or band or it could be your tangible house or where your family resides. In any case, my blog this time around is going to be about “home” and Hopkins’ relationship with its home: Baltimore City. One of the many things that I love about Johns Hopkins, and the entire Johns Hopkins Institute, is our relationship with the city. Today, I want to introduce you to the special relationship that the Hopkins undergraduate campus has with the high school students of Baltimore City.

Baltimore: Home to amazing Scholars

We are not unique in being an urban institution that has wonderful students right in its backyard;  however, our commitment to the students and the work that we do with them, I think, is unparalleled. Under my role as Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment, I manage the Baltimore City area and the Baltimore Scholars program (our commitment to “home” and Baltimore City students.) The Baltimore Scholars program was started in 2005 as a way to reward Baltimore City public high school students for their dedication to academics, service, and leadership. The focal point of the program is a full tuition scholarship (renewable every year) for these students that apply and are accepted to Hopkins. These students are often considered the best and the brightest of their high school and go through the same exact application process that the rest of our applicants go through. They bring with them the ability to succeed academically, thrive socially, and all the while keeping their focus on giving back to their home. While they are at Hopkins they are expected to be leaders in the classroom and in the community. They will attend meetings together, learn more about each other, and teach the larger Hopkins community about the city of Baltimore. During our orientation week, the Baltimore Scholars organize a fair called “Welcome to My City.” This event, which regularly attracts hundreds of students, gives vendors from around the city an ability to talk directly with the freshman class. Also, during our intersession period (the time between first and second semesters) some of our Baltimore Scholars will help to teach a class about the History of Baltimore. This is a group of nearly 60 students that are extremely proud of their “home.”

Meet Baltimore Scholar Sheyna

I wanted to highlight one particular Baltimore Scholar to give you all a sense of how proud we are of this entire group of students. Sheyna Mikeal graduated from Johns Hopkins this past spring and is a great example of how giving back to one’s “home” is so important. Sheyna went to Dunbar High School in Baltimore City and, believe it or not, she did not see Hopkins as one of her first choices for college. However, after learning more about the Baltimore Scholars program, she understood that she had a tremendous opportunity to stay close to home and give back to her community. She used that motivation throughout her entire time at Hopkins and continues to use that motivation today. While she was at Hopkins she was president of the Multicultural Student Volunteers (MSV) and president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Mu Psi Citywide Chapter. She had internships in the Admissions Office at Hopkins and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Currently, she is a graduate student at the Hopkins School of Education and recently found out that she will be interning at the counseling center at her alma mater, Dunbar High School!

So, whether are you from the area or not, we certainly hope that Hopkins can be a place that you can eventually call “home” as well.

Until next time…

Check out these resources to learn even more about the Baltimore Scholars program:

PDF – Program description: http://www.jhu.edu/admis/pdf/2006/baltimore_scholars_qanda.pdf
PDF – Program brochure: http://www.jhu.edu/admis/pdf/baltimore_scholars.pdf 
Spring 2009 artcile about the first Baltimore Scholars graduates: http://krieger.jhu.edu/magazine/sp09/f2.html 

Exploring the Peabody Institute

0

Walking around the Johns Hopkins University is like walking into a magnificent jewelry store. There are so many amazing hidden gems around this university; it’s really quite unbelievable that Johns Hopkins University has, over time, become one of the most highly concentrated areas of human capital. Humanists, engineers, physicians, researchers, artisits, performers, social scientists, among others make up this incredibly talented community. This entry is meant to highlight one of the jewels in the Hopkins crown: The Peabody Institute.

Peabody was founded in 1857, but didn’t actually open its doors until 1866. The delay was caused by the Civil War, a particularly hard time for the State of Maryland, which was located on the dividing line between the North and South. Some of the students appreciate the classic architecture of the campus, others hardly notice it. The advantage of being…well…old is that Peabody has been producing top quality musicians for a century and a half, and the music world has come to assume that anyone who graduates from Peabody is a good performer. It takes a long time for an assumption like that to spread worldwide.

The Peabody Institute

My own personal connection to the Peabody Institute is rather interesting. I played the oboe from sixth grade, through high school and through most of my university career for a total of about eight years. There wasn’t a concerted effort to play the oboe as an eleven year old—in fact I distinctly remember picking it off a page of pictures when we had to choose an instrument in sixth grade! Oboists are a rare breed —in fact most orchestras usually only have, at most, two oboists. During my four years of university there were no more than seven oboists (of 15,000 students) who played in the ensembles! Nonetheless, in ninth grade, I began taking private lessons with one of the few professional oboists in Ottawa, Angela Casagrande. Angela was a graduate of the Peabody Institute. Of course for me, this didn’t mean much as a thirteen-year-old. In fact, until I became the liaison to the Peabody Institute during my first year here at Hopkins, I didn’t even know the Peabody Institute was a division of Johns Hopkins University.

Peabody to Homewood

The Peabody campus is located about three miles away from the Homewood campus and is easily accessible by free shuttle for students, faculty and staff. Located in Mount Vernon which is the cultural district of Baltimore, it encompasses an entire city block bounded by West Moument and Centre Street from the North and South respectively and Saint Paul and North Charles Street.

The spectacular Peabody Library

There are limitless musical opportunities at the Peabody Insititute. The undergraduate degrees are offered in the following areas:

Composition
Computer Music (Emphasis on Performance or Composition)
Early Music Instruments (Baroque flute, Lute, Viola da Gamba, Harpsichord)
Guitar
Jazz
Keyboard Instruments (Piano, Orgran)
Orchestral Instruments (Brass, Harp, Percussion, Strings, Woodwinds)
Voice

The Double Degree program is a unique opportunity that is offered between Homewood and Peabody. Students can simultaneously pursue a degree in arts (BA), science (BS), or engineering (BSE) as well as a bachelor’s degree in music (BM) through Peabody. Naturally this is quite demanding but, of course, is a wonderful opportunity for those who want it. Students must audition for Peabody and apply separately to the Homewood campus at Johns Hopkins University. Students indicate on their supplement that they are interested in pursuing the “Double Degree” between Homewood and Peabody. Applicants are reviewed by both schools, independently of each other, and once a year the admissions committee at Peabody and Homewood get together to discuss those who should be admitted to the Double Degree program. On average, we offer 20to 30 students admission into the Double Degree program. Further details about the Double Degree program can be found here: http://apply.jhu.edu/pdf/peabody_brochure_2010.pdf

During my time here I have seen so many wonderful combinations of what students pursue at Peabody and Homewood. Often the students have areas of interest which are so disparate that Johns Hopkins University is one of the very few places that can accommodate their unique interests as such a high level. Sometimes, however, the areas of study are very closely related (Italian at Homewood and voice at Peabody). But I have seen combinations such as biomedical engineering and clarinet, history of art and harp, mathematics and jazz guitar! The freedom to combine areas of study which are often not related to one another is one of the signature pieces of the Johns Hopkins University experience. For students not interested in pursuing a Double Degree, there are many opportunities for Homewood students—information can be found here: http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/172

In fact, the Lighting of the Monument yearly tradition in Baltimore is held near the Peabody Institute and they host concerts, performers and food throughout the evening—that’s the perfect time to get down to Mount Vernon and Peabody!

Experience Peabody

The Johns Hopkins On-Campus Interview

9

Editor’s Note: Today we asked one of the Admissions counselor, Mark Butt, to discuss the on-campus interview at Johns Hopkins University. Mark, along with another counselor, Amy Brokl, run our Admissions Representatives program, also known as our student interviewers. Here is some insight on what to expect if you come to the Homewood campus and Mason Hall to have a prospective student interview.  

Interview Chairs

The interview is a way for prospective applicants to really show their personality to the admissions committee.  Here at Johns Hopkins, we have on-campus interviews, which are an elective part of our admissions process.  Students may schedule on-campus interviews from February of their junior year until February of their senior year. A limited number of appointments is available each weekday at 11:00 a.m., noon, 2:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. and may be scheduled up to three days in advance, though two weeks advance notice is recommended.

The purpose of an admissions interview at Johns Hopkins is for us to get to know you a little bit, for you to let us know of any unique situations that may have occurred in your high school experience, and also for you to provide us with information that will not be captured within the papers of the application.  In that sense, our interviews are much more informational (for prospective students) than evaluative (for the admissions committee).  However, the admissions committee does receive a write-up about the interviewing student if he or she chooses to apply. 

The hallway to interviews on the second floor

Once the interview has been confirmed by the admissions office, the student and family arrives on campus to Mason Hall, where they are kindly greeted by our staff and the oversized Johns Hopkins signature, which is a cast-iron replica of his original signature.  Students then fill out an on-campus interview sheet.  This sheet lets us know the student has arrived and then it waits at the reception desk for an Admissions Representative to pick -up.  It asks you some general information which allows your interview write-up to be matched with your application.  You also have the opportunity to pick up materials on our wall—all of which can be helpful in determining if Hopkins is just right for you!

Admissions Representatives (ARs) are a group of current Johns Hopkins juniors and seniors. These students must apply and be selected to join our wonderful on-campus interview team.  The students also have the opportunity to obtain leadership roles in the Admissions Representative group, which is a great opportunity for students here on campus.  Our Admissions Representatives are completely volunteer and they do it because they love Hopkins and they want a say in the process—and this is their chance.  It’s a wonderful opportunity so if you are admitted to Hopkins and want to conduct interviews, you can apply at the end of your sophomore year! 

At the time of your interview, the AR will come down and introduce him/herself to the student and family.  They will then take you upstairs to one of our available interview rooms.  On the way up the stairs, be sure to take a look at the pictures along the wall as they give a great sense of history of Hopkins—I adore these pictures.  The interviews take anywhere from 20-40 minutes.  Afterwards, if you choose to apply, the AR’s written interview evaluation will be added to your application file and will be read by the admissions committee.

An interview info sheet

Here are some sample questions we could ask in your interview:

- Tell me about your high school.
- What’s your favorite class?
- How do you spend your free time?
- What are you looking for in your college experience?
-Do you have any book recommendations?

I think interviews are helpful for students to really get to know Hopkins and find out if this place is the place for them.  It’s often very challenging to find an opportunity to sit down and talk with a current student and this opportunity provides students with that.

Students, families, and guidance counselors often ask me if I have any tips.  If I could offer any tips to students who are anticipating a college interview, it would be the following:

1.  Do a little research about the school and find out what makes it unique.
2. Bring a list of questions with you to ask the student interviewer.  Get what you came for—make sure you know what you are looking for and ask questions to get the information you need to make the search process effective. 
3. No need for a shirt and tie; our interviews are casual—just don’t wear another college T-shirt!
4. Shake hands and say thank you at the end. 

Johns Hopkins University has so much to offer and can provide endless opportunities and the students here are the best resource we have, so come prepared to get your questions answered.  If you ask the right questions you’ll be able to find out what is here at Hopkins that is just for you—and may make the school the perfect fit for you.  I hope this has been helpful and that it provides a little bit of insight into our on-campus interview operation.  We look forward to seeing you on campus soon!

Mailboxes for the Admissions Representatives

Early Decision: the Pros and Cons

4

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest author is Dean of Undergraduate Admissions John Latting. Dean Latting expressed interest in writing an entry for those prospective applicants debating whether to apply through our early decision program. So read on to hear Dean Latting’s advice on the advantages and disadvantages to applying early decision to Johns Hopkins University.

As we near the deadline to apply “early” here at Johns Hopkins, we thought it might be helpful to explain the advantages and disadvantages of the process, at  least from where we see things.

Our early application program, as an “early decision” plan, does require that students commit to attending Johns Hopkins if admitted. That’s the big thing to keep in mind. There is also a November 1 application deadline, and a December 15 notification date.

Dean Latting in the midst of applications.

So what are the advantages? First, there’s the timeline itself: You’ll hear from us in December, before the general January 1 deadlines. This allows you to make adjustments to where, and to how many, colleges you’ll apply by that time. Students who are admitted early decision don’t have to apply anywhere else. They’re done, and they can focus on other things beside college admission for the rest of their senior year.

For students not admitted, they, too have feedback in December. They can then proceed with the applications they were considering for regular decision elsewhere, knowing that a place in a college freshman class still has to be found.

A second advantage has to do with chances of gaining admission. I don’t want you to make too much of this point, but when we’re reading applications during the early process, we don’t feel nearly as constrained as we do during regular decision to bring the size of the freshman class down to our target (which lately has been 1,235 students). At the early stage there is more freedom to respond to students who make a great case. During regular decision there are times when, frankly, capacity in the class just doesn’t allow us to admit all the students we think are great. Admit rates in early and regular decision here have been about 40% and 20%, respectively. The difference reflects how we breathe a little easier in December than we do in March.

But here’s where I need to remind you of the terms of the whole process—not so much the “disadvantage,” but just the reality of early decision. Despite more favorable admit rates at Johns Hopkins (and often at other universities, too) the process remains sensible only for students who have a clear first-choice school , students who have done the research to get to that point, and  students who would have no regrets about enrolling at their early decision school. If Johns Hopkins seems familiar to you, is something you believe you have prepared for (academically, in particular), meets your expectations for what a college should be, and is just where you really want to be next fall, then by all means apply early. You are the reason we have the option in the first place.

If there’s a disadvantage with applying early decision, it has to do with financial aid. No, you won’t get bigger grants from Johns Hopkins if you are admitted regular decision, rather than early decision. We use absolutely, precisely the same methods for calculating eligibility for financial aid no matter when you are admitted. And we admit students without regard to whether they apply for financial aid, and how much we think they might need. But what you can’t do is compare financial aid offers from more than one college or university. Each institution has its own way of determining how much a family can reasonably pay for college, and the outcome of that process is only revealed after you are offered admission. When you apply early decision, you just get that one offer of financial aid.

Mason Hall: Where your applications are processed.

Now, if you and your parents don’t like what you see there, or feel it isn’t reasonable, you can be released from any obligation to enroll (at least you can here at Johns Hopkins). Just let us know. It should be encouraging to hear that last year, out of 493 Early Decision admits here at Johns Hopkins, only six students felt that our financial aid offer wasn’t acceptable to them and their parents.

And this financial aid issue gets back to the point about the importance of whether you have a clear first-choice college or not. If you’re looking here, or somewhere else for early decision and wouldn’t be thrown off by a financial aid difference (which, by the way, you can estimate using a college’s net price calculator; here’s ours: http://www.jhu.edu/finaid/estimator.html), then, we say it again: It makes sense to apply early.

Good luck to all!

End Note: For additional perspectives on applying early decision to Johns Hopkins read these previous blog entries composed by Admissions_Daniel: October 2009 – Early Decision: Is It Right For You? and November 2006: To ED or Not to ED. As well, if you have questions feel free to post them on the Early Decision discussion thread on the Hopkins Forums.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Johns Hopkins University

2

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest author is Shelly Placek. Shelly joined the Admissions staff about two years ago and plays one of the most vital roles in our office – writer/editor. The Admissions counseling staff could not recruit without Shelly, and all forms of correspondence from our office would suffer without her expertise. She is talented, she is professional, she is hysterical at times, and she jumped at the chance to write a guest blog entry. Enjoy.

When I was in fourth grade, I wrote a novel about a kid whose parents abandoned him at a grocery store. All six pages of it were awful—and not autobiographical, I promise—but it started an appreciation of language, writing, and the magic of telling a story that has carried throughout my undergraduate years and my career. Happily, that career has led me to Johns Hopkins University, where my job is to write and edit all of the publications, invitations, web site content, and other communications. If you’ve gotten our spiral-bound Viewbook or invitations to one of our many fantastic events, then you’ve seen some of the pieces our office produces.

Click to Request a JHU Viewbook

I had a big task ahead of me when I started here nearly two years ago. As the new writer/editor for the Undergraduate Admissions Office, I needed to quickly learn about the school and its history, the students, the surrounding area, and a whole host of other things that would help me tell prospective students about this place. In a way, I was kind of like a prospective student—or  maybe more like a freshman—trying to find my way around the campus, looking for lunch spots, and hoping to make some new friends.

It wasn’t hard to be charmed from the first day. The campus is beautiful, the people are friendly, and there are more than enough lunch options within walking distance (never underestimate the power of lunch.) I attended information sessions and hopped on a tour to get oriented and by the end of my first week, I was convinced: I was ready to apply Early Decision to Hopkins! Oh, wait. I mean, I was ready to start sharing Johns Hopkins with our prospective students through our publications, Web site, and invitations. Soon enough, I was marveling at the recently renovated Gilman Hall, bundling up for an early season lacrosse game, and joining colleagues for Taco Tuesdays at PJ’s Pub. 

Collection of JHU Admissions Publications

All of those experiences helped me to better understand what Johns Hopkins was, and helped me communicate that to our prospective students. One of our publications, our annual Viewbook, is a big project in the winter/spring. It requires communicating with departments all across campus, as well as with my colleagues in the Admissions Office, and working closely with our amazing designers and photographers. It also allows me to meet more of our fabulous and ever-inspiring students. There are few things I enjoy as much as hearing what brought a student to Johns Hopkins and what kinds of activities he or she is getting into on campus.

Where is Shelly? (Image from JHU Admissions Web site)

I know that once you start getting mail from colleges, it seems like a never-ending stream of brochures plastered with smiling faces and tree-lined campuses. But take the time to look through each one and really get a feel for the place that is sending it. Here at Johns Hopkins, we don’t just look for smiling faces, although we find plenty of them; we’re hoping to bring you a sense of what living and learning at Johns Hopkins is really like, and give you stories told through our students, our professors, our campus, and our community.

Upcoming Travel Season by Mark Butt

0

Editor’s Note: For this entry, Admissions_Daniel and Admissions_Shannon have asked their Admissions colleague Mark Butt to discuss his upcoming (and quite hectic) fall travel schedule. If you are in New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, Germany, or Southern France you may get the chance to meet Mark.

Travel season is always an exciting time of year. It takes a lot of preparation and time to create a new schedule that is conducive to as many university goals and initiatives as possible. Of course, this is not a free-for-all, as there are two serious constraints placed on us admissions officers – time and money. In fact, I would assume for almost any industry, those are the most popular constraints placed on people.

Each admissions officer has a region that he or she manages and nurtures. For me, I have New Jersey and Delaware domestically and I am one of three admissions officers who have an international region as well. Traditionally, I spend a full week in New Jersey and I conduct a combination of high school visits and evening programs. Many of our Hopkins alumni attend local college fairs in my region throughout the year. Our alumni serve as an incredible resource for meeting and speaking with prospective students and families. They attend college fairs nationally and internationally for us.

Johns Hopkins University

My travel season this year is a little different than in the past but still has some consistency with previous years. I will be conducting 10 Explore Hopkins programs nation-wide. These programs are regional presentations open to students, families and guidance counselors and can serve as a great introduction for the university. I speak for about an hour on Johns Hopkins University, who we are as an institution, and then about the admissions process and financial aid. This year, I have five in the state of New Jersey, and all are happening the week of September 19. I also have one in Delaware the following week in New Castle County. These programs can attract anywhere from 80 to 200 people (including parents). I try to plan them at convenient times (avoiding PSAT dates, Giants games in NJ on Monday nights) so that people can attend at a time that works best for their families.

During travel season my days are very long; I get up early in the morning and often have four or five high school visits a day and often an Explore Hopkins program from 7-9 p.m. Email is usually on triage mode and emergency only situations during my travel seasons. My school visits are are planned in advance so that I can be at the school at a convenient time for the students to meet with me. I also try to plan the visits such that they make sense geographically – meaning that I “don’t drive in circles”. I try to make sure that I can follow a route that makes sense and is the most efficient time-wise for me. I remember when I first started in admissions, I had literally driven by one high school FOUR times and never had it on my visit schedule for some reason – total n00b move! I kept passing the school over and over and in fact it was taunting me! I did a visit the next year.

Florida Travel

New this year are a few things. I have a guidance counselor breakfast in Delaware which is where I do a mini-presentation for guidance counselors over breakfast. I talk about updates about the university and our most recent facts and figures and answer questions from the guidance counselors. I have never done one of these before but some other members of our admissions officers do these programs. I can meet many guidance counselors in a short amount of time and I think that’s great – it’s important that they stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Hopkins so that they can properly advise their students. This is a great venue to do so. Secondly, I will be conducting the travel in Florida this year. I have four Explore Hopkins programs happening there in Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami/Dade County. These will all be happening the week of October 10. I will also be doing some college fairs there and also school visits. I will spend about eight days total in Florida, seven days in New Jersey and three days in Delaware. I’m very excited about my travel to Florida, as there are some amazing students. I also have friends that work in Florida that I haven’t seen in a long time so I am looking forward to reconnecting with them.

International Travel

So, it’s going to be a very busy fall but man I am excited. When people say “I don’t ever want a desk job,” I know exactly how they feel. I love the excitement of going new places and trying new things – learning cultures, languages, foods, schooling systems, etc. I love being a life-long learner and I feel the admissions profession is very conducive to those with inquisitive minds. I love representing Hopkins and, more than ever, I love meeting prospective high school students who are eager to pursue higher education. Hopefully, I will see some of you on the road if you’re in Germany, New Jersey, Delaware or Florida. Wish me luck!

A Hopkins Interactive Face-lift (version 5.0)

3

A note of introduction from Admissions_Daniel:
The Hopkins Insider blog welcomes another guest author and diverts from the main topic of discussion over the last few weeks — the release of regular decision notifications. Don’t worry if you are looking for that information then go read my RD Notification Release Explained entry from last week, and check back on Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday. However, now I turn the blog over to a freshman member of the Student Admissions Advisory Board who is going to detail you all about a wonderful new development in the history of Hopkins Interactive. Enjoy and we hope you love the new site as much as we do.
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Hey everyone! For those of you who don’t know me I am Joe N. and I am one of the 8 freshmen bloggers. When I joined the Student Admissions Advisory Board (the students behind the Hopkins Interactive Web site) one of the biggest things that I was pushing for was a re-design of Hopkins Interactive, not because the site wasn’t amazing but just because it looked out-of-date. I couldn’t be happier to tell you that today we have gone live with the new face of Hopkins Interactive, a completely new homepage that has everything the old homepage did and much more. I have been working on this project for just about 5 months, and now everything is complete. This is the second major web project that we’ve released recently, the first was our new blogging system. If you haven’t already, I’d suggest you check out my post about the new system. In this post I am going to describe all the changes that we have made in detail, but don’t worry  I’m not going to get too technical.

The very first thing I moved to change when I started to make my modifications was the color scheme. While I love the color scheme from the old site, in my opinion the colors seemed too faded. I wanted to brighten up the color scheme without making it so bright that you had to strain your eyes when you’re looking at it. I worked with Lauren C. another one of the SAAB Members/Bloggers to make a new color scheme that used the same primary colors that the old site had, but brighter and more saturated. Once we finished with it we took it to the rest of the re-design committee and they approved of it! I couldn’t be happier with how everything came out, it looks amazing and its surprising what you can do by moving around color dials. This was a big deal for me because I’m not usually good with colors and I just changed things around until I saw what I liked.

I was lucky to have a target look for the homepage when I came into SAAB. Over the summer Admissions_Daniel made a drawing of what he wanted the new homepage to look like based upon what a previous orientation site looked like. Daniel was nice enough to get me into contact with the student who designed that site, and he explained everything that he did so I could get an idea of how I was going to make our new homepage work. I took that drawing Daniel gave me and over the next few months I did everything I possibly could. It involved me learning a LOT more about web design/programming than I did, just so I could make this page look like what he gave me. I actually spent about 20 hours over winter break making a large portion of the code that generates the page you see now. The site that you now see is almost exactly the same as the drawing that Daniel gave me nearly 7 months ago. I improvised with a bunch of things but I made sure that the entire time the whole layout and organization of information was preserved.

For now here's a picture of what the new homepage looks like, if I can on Monday when I'm in the office I'm going to try and scan the document that Daniel gave me and line it up right after this so you can see how hard we worked to make them agree with each other.

Here it is - the original drawing that Daniel gave me in the beginning of the year which was essentially what he wanted to see as the new homepage. What you may notice is that for this to work we had to change blogging systems, we didn't do that just because we wanted to! It was necessary for this to happen!

One of the things that I absolutely love about the new site is the interactivity (if that’s a real word) of it. Hopkins Interactive is all about interacting with students, but I felt the need to make the actual site more interactive. Now when you go to our new homepage you see a scrolling photo album giving you images and an excerpt of the 10 most recent posts, and just in case you don’t want to try and follow those you can see the 6 most recent posts below it. We preserved some of the things that were on the old Hopkins Interactive homepage such as the featured student section and the “did you know” section. We all believe that these were a vital part of the site and we couldn’t just get rid of them. We also wanted to make sure that we kept some major aspects of the old homepage so everything doesn’t look entirely different yet. Aside from the scrolling photo album that you can go through yourself any time I added animated drop down menus for the student profiles, blogs, and forum sections. This allows our visitors to access certain parts of the site without having to look as hard, and it just looks really really awesome!

Here's what the dropdown menus look like when you expand them and what the image box looks like as it shuffles through the images.

One of my biggest goals when I set out to redesign our homepage was to make an all-in-one search bar, that is one that is completely comprehensive. So in my mind it would search the forums, the blogs, and all of the Hopkins Interactive pages. This is currently a work in progress but right now you can search through all of the Hopkins Interactive content, hopefully the blogs within the next few days, and eventually the forums. This would make it infinitely easier for our visitors to find information, as they would only have to use 1 search bar instead of trying to figure out which search on which site to use. Another thing that we added to our new homepage is a link to our academics blog, since its one of the biggest projects we’ve ever done and its something that prospective/admitted students need to know about.

For those of you who like numbers this site was the product of about 50-60 hours of me doing web design stuff, and most of the time I was working on things that you can’t actually see, for example the script that gets the 10 most recent blog posts and displays them properly. Lauren also put in a good 20-30 hours helping me with all of the changes, and Admissions_Daniel, Admissions IT Team Leader Chris, and Admissions Marketing Editor Shelly helped us all along the way with pretty much everything. Without every single one of them this outstanding new homepage wouldn’t be possible.

When I took on this project I knew that it would be one of the largest projects I’ve ever worked one, and it most definitely was. Combined with the release of our new blogging system I believe that in my first year here at Hopkins I’ve definitely done more than I ever thought, and I think I’ve done more than all of my previous web design projects combined. But this was also more fun than I ever imagined it being, and I’ve learned more than I ever could have imagined. Thank you so much for reading my rant about the new release, and thank you for being the most important part of Hopkins Interactive – the visitor(s). Without you none of what we do would be possible.

Please don’t hesitate to contact use, if you have any questions, comments, or if you’ve found issues with something @ webmaster@hopkins-interactive.com. While we spent hours making sure that our site was compatible in many different browsers and operating systems, we couldn’t check them all. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you all enjoy the new homepage!