The Write Stuff: Essay Strategies That Work

2

I once had a parent ask me if I actually read all of the essays from each applicant. With a serious face, I said “No, I like to throw the application in the air and only read the page that lands on top.” Her mouth dropped. I told her I was kidding. OF COURSE WE READ YOUR ESSAYS!!

The reality is, not only do we read every word of your application essay and short answer responses, but chances are strong that it is something your wrote that is going to make your application memorable. When I think back about my favorite students from last year, I don’t remember them because they had a 3.8/1520, their recommenders called them “enthusiastic” saying they “always went above and beyond,” or they were the president of their club or organization. I remember them because of what they wrote.

What will be your inspiration when writing your college application essays?

In my opinion, the essay is the one piece of the application where we get to hear YOUR voice, and, in all honesty, the one thing you have control at the time you are applying. You can’t go back and change your grades or add activities to your list, there is no time to retake the SAT or ACT, and you can’t dictate your letters of recommendation to your counselor and teachers. So, how do you make your application your own? The answer is simple: Take advantage of the essays!

Here are 3 tips to think about as you begin your essay:

1. Be yourself. The point of this essay is for the reader to get at the heart of who you are. It’s important to be personal. Don’t be afraid to write how you speak…we want you to tell us your story. When reading your essay, I am asking myself questions like “would this student be a good roommate?” or “what type of friend would this person be?
2. Catch the reader’s attention with your introduction. We read thousands of essays each year, so make your first sentences count. You should not be opening with a line that is a direct repeat of the question prompt.
3. Tell us how you fit. While you do not need to directly state what you would do at a particular college or university, remember that we are looking for students who are going to give back both inside and outside the classroom. What are your interests and how would they impact our school?

Still stuck? Need a kick start? Take a look at our Essays that Worked page! Each year, we select essays from our currently enrolled freshman to share with you. Best of all, the admissions counselor who read the essay shares a brief comment on why the essay “worked.” Maybe one of these will inspire you to start writing.

Please spell check.

And, speaking of beginning the process, we recently released our Johns Hopkins Supplement. Our short answer question are the same as last year, but in case you want to get a start, here are the topics:

1. Johns Hopkins offers 50 majors across the schools of Arts & Sciences and Engineering. On this application, we ask you to identify one or two that you might like to pursue here. Why did you choose the way you did? If you are undecided, why didn’t you choose? (If any past courses or academic experiences influenced your decision, you may include them in your essay.

2. Tell us something about yourself or your interests that we wouldn’t learn by looking at the rest of your application materials. (While you should still pay attention to sentence structure and grammar, your response is meant as a way for us to get to know you, rather than a formal essay.)

So, remember, be personal, be creative, and be original. We can’t wait to read your essays and see what you’ve come up with!

March Admissions Madness

5

When the phrase “March Madness” is uttered these days it evokes thoughts of brackets, upsets, Cinderellas, and Dick Vitale. In the corridors of Mason Hall, home to the Johns Hopkins University’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions, this phrase represents a much different type of madness. The Admissions staff is currently focused on the committee rounds of decision-making and finalizing the regular decision selection process for the Class of 2016. Just as the next three weeks are considered madness for the world of college basketball, in the realm of college admissions a hectic and feverish demeanor is commonplace. But unlike the NCAA Division I College Basketball champions which will be decided on April 2 in New Orleans for the men and April 3 in Denver for the women, we cannot wait until after the calendar turns to April to finish our process. This Admissions madness must end in March.

Thankfully, the end approaches. Monday, March 5 was a significant day as all the Admissions counselors returned to the office and we shifted from the first read process to committee review. I like to describe this as the end of our winter reading hibernation. Basically, beginning right after the release of Early Decision notifications on December 15, the Admissions counseling team begins evaluating Regular Decision applications in earnest. Since to review applications you need to limit the distractions as much as possible, the majority of the team decides to work from home most days. Therefore throughout January and February we don’t get to see each other much and our days and nights are filled with a common routine of cycling through applications, supplements, transcripts, recommendations, essays, and the like.

Images of March Admissions Madness: Rosters, yard sticks, and lots of paper.

This winter has flown by though. Maybe because there have been so few days that actually felt like winter in Baltimore. If I am remembering correctly we have had just a few days with actual snowfall and the most accumulation ranged from a dusting to 2 inches maximum. (As a side-note, I know the reason for our mild winter. Back in early December I bought a brand new snow shovel at Target and so of course it wouldn’t snow and I wouldn’t get to enjoy me purchase. You are welcome mid-Atlantic residents.) The mild winter has continued as yesterday it was 81 degrees in Baltimore and the forecast is for near summer temperatures all week.  I know the students love it as they get to take a break from mid-terms and preparation for their spring break next week, by relaxing studying on the Beach.

Though the weather may be mild, the volume of work the Admissions staff still faces is like a monsoon. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) However, as I said, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. With just a few weeks left until we complete the application review process, I felt it was time to end the Hopkins Insider blog hibernation as well. We hope you enjoyed the “Meet the Admissions Staff” entries posted throughout January and February, but it is time to get back to new updates and content. There are a lot of common questions this time of year by Regular Decision applicants, and while I need to get back to committee and the “shaping of the class” with my colleagues, I felt it important to share answers to these frequently asked questions. I hope this information helps, and Shannon and I do plan to blog more frequently in the coming weeks.

Images of March Admissions Madness: Remnants of Committee - tons of caffeine

How many applications were received this year?
This is always a common question and for some reason our total is constantly speculated by news sources. The official count this year is 20,407. This is the first time we have ever broken the 20k mark and is a 5.2% increase from last year. Of this total, 1,459 were Early Decision applicants and we accepted 561 students from that group back in December.

How many applicants will be accepted in Regular Decision?
Don’t know yet. That is the work we are currently doing right now. The committee rounds are when we “shape our class” and use predictive modeling to determine how many students we need to admit to yield the class we want. To determine our class and the number of admits we use an in-depth statistical system to help guide our numbers, but in making decisions we never veer from our holistic approach of reviewing complete applications. We will release such data after decisions notifications have been sent out.

When will Regular Decisions notifications be released?
Unfortunately at this time I do have an official answer to that question. I can let you know that we are currently targeting Friday, March 30 as a tentative release date but that has not been officially confirmed. We might need to go later, and we are hoping we might be able to go a day earlier. I can confirm that decisions will not go out sooner than March 29 and we must release decisions by April 1. When an official date is determined, and that may not be until the last week in March, it will be announced on the Hopkins Insider blog.

We wholeheartedly understand the anxiety our applicants are feeling this time of year and that you all just want to know the exact date when you will hear the news. Please do not assume we are dragging our feet and attempting to prolong this process. We are working morning, day, and late night to complete our work, finalize our class, and move on to enjoyable April yield events. We want to release decisions as much as you want to receive them, but none of us are willing to rush through a very delicate process. We are perfectionists at this time of year, and we need to be, especially in a year with such strong quality and a record applicant pool. When we know, we will let you know.

Images of March Admissions Madness: Materials for decision release have arrived

How will Regular Decision notifications be released?
Most likely just how we released them last year, just on a different date. I encourage you to read through this blog entry I posted last year regarding how our decision release process works: Breaking News: RD Notification Release Explained.

Can I check my application status online?
No. We do not have a portal system for checking application status online like some other universities. Our Operations staff contacted students with incomplete applications already and those students were provided a chance to submit their missing items. At this time if you were not contacted about missing application items, you can safely assume your application is complete.

Can I still submit application updates?
Unfortunately no. Since the Admissions Committee is in the process of rendering final decisions it is too late for additional updates to be added to an applicant’s file.

Images of March Admissions Madness: Admit packets getting ready

Now that you are more informed about what is taking place in the Admissions Office, back to the madness for me. Stay patient and know that my colleagues and I are working hard to create the best Johns Hopkins Class of 2016 as possible. We all have a great respect for our process and for our applicants, and the work we do over the next few weeks may be meticulous but it insures that we are diligent, accurate, and principled.

P.S. Do you like the new look of the blog? Thanks to JHU_Tess and JHU_Nick for helping Shannon and I re-design the top banner of the blog. The new look is in line with changes to our other University blogs: the Academics Blog, the Guest Blog, and the Blue Jay Buffet. I think the new headers give the blogs more personality.

Our Approach to Application Review – Part Two

14

In my previous blog entry (Our Approach – Part One), I reflected on my seven-plus years as an admissions application evaluator under the mentorship of our outgoing Dean of Undergraduate Admissions John Latting. The purpose of that post was to dispel any myths about how application file review works as admissions application volume grows and admit rates drop. I hope it became clear that our approach to application review does not exist in a vacuum, and as competition increases year-after-year, we make sure to continue to discuss, research, define, redefine, and adjust our approach to application decision-making. Now, in Part Two of that entry, I’ll actually define the approach we take to reviewing applications for freshman admissions.

Questions about how your application will be reviewed and what factors are most important are legitimate questions, but unfortunately there is no clear-cut answer. Highly selective college admissions is not a science, it cannot easily be predicted, and there is no rule book. Every college and university reads and evaluates college applications differently, deciding which factors carry the most weight and what type of student best fits their school. As I explained in my previous post, every year before we begin our application review cycle, my colleagues and I gather for a reading retreat to reflect on how things worked in the previous year and to fine-tune our processes for the coming year. Under the leadership of Dean Latting, these retreats often focused on a much more philosophical approach to evaluating applications rather than on the individual task of progressing through an application. It is this approach to defining our review process that I personally consider to be Dean Latting’s greatest strength as a leader, and a crucial reason for the successes in admission and recruitment we have experienced over the last 10 years.

The Johns Hopkins Undergraduate Admissions Team in 2009

During our reading retreat a few weeks ago, Dean Latting discussed with the entire Admissions Committee three core principles to the approach we take in file evaluation. First, application file review should focus on predicting the future of a student, not just a review of the past. Evaluation of past accomplishments academically and non-academically is important, but the central question is about whether we have confidence in a student’s future success and contribution while at Hopkins as an undergraduate. Evidence of future success is clearly linked to a student’s past achievements and experiences throughout their high school years, but it is important to note that the review of the past is supportive to the ultimate evaluation goal of attempting to predict the future. Simply put, our evaluation is about future potential more than a review of past performance.

Second, the data of an application file matters but is not the primary focus of decision-making. Instead we need to care about the deeper qualities of our applicants: engagement, talent, energy, and fit. Our reviews need to go beneath the data. Many assume that highly selective college admissions begins and ends with a review of the academic markers. However, it is our approach that reviews based solely on quantitative analysis limits the selection process. An approach focusing on the deeper qualities of applicants allows for variation in how we define fit and takes into account the context of each individual applicant’s educational opportunities and community. Such an approach values interpersonal qualities and actual experiences and engagement, over raw data.

Third, we must focus on what counts as good evidence of the deeper qualities of students and fit for our university. Our focus is on what a student does on a day-to-day basis rather than moment in time indicators. A recommendation tells much more about a student than a test score, and a recommendation is better evidence of future success, whereas a test score is simply an evaluation of performance. The purpose of our file review is to see the student in a day-to-day way: their role in the classroom, in their community, at home, and beyond. The ultimate question is not how good is the information in the application, but how good the individual student is and will be. This is a holistic approach to application review. It acknowledges each element of the application equally, it focuses on markers that accurately predict future success, it is tailored to the specific institution, and it reveals so much that is in between the lines of an application. Once again, it is an art and not a science.

As much as this approach to the reading cycle is important, it is also crucial to think on the micro-level as well. My personal approach to application file review is to think of each individual application read as a conversation. Once I start reviewing a file, I begin a conversation with the applicant that typically lasts 15 to 20 minutes and sometimes longer. For me, the obvious starting point is a discussion about academics. I examine the high school transcript, the standardized test scores, and any academic letters of recommendation. Evaluating the applicant’s comprehensive academic record, I look for strengths and weaknesses, trends (hopefully upward), course selection, and a myriad of other questions. When I evaluate a high school transcript, I am not just looking at grades and courses. I am seeing a four-year record of one student’s path through a well-rounded academic curriculum. I ask what decisions the applicant made and why, how the applicant performed, and ultimately if the applicant met or surpassed expectations.

My Set-up for Reading Applications in the Office

The academic conversation continues with a discussion of the standardized test scores and what they reveal about the applicant. Test scores are important, but the high school transcript holds much more importance in my analysis than do the test scores. I look at the test scores to see if they reflect what I expect a student’s standardized performance would be after reviewing the transcript. If they match, which they typically do, I move on. If they don’t, I ask why and then move on. Finally, I analyze the academic letters of recommendation to compile a final academic evaluation of the applicant. The final questions include whether the student measures up to what we expect of Hopkins students and whether the student will contribute in a positive manner to the Hopkins academic community.

Next, I conduct a similar evaluation but now I focus the conversation on non-academic factors. I discuss the more extracurricular and social aspects of the applicant. This is where the essays, the extracurricular résumé, and the letters of recommendation play a vital role. I will investigate leadership skills, commitment to community and service, and dedication to specific activities. Does the applicant have passions? What are they, and how does she pursue them? How has the applicant spent his time outside the classroom? What impact has he had on his school, community, society? In many ways, this is a social analysis of the individual, examining how the high school years were spent when not studying and what interesting qualities the applicant brings to the table. Once again I consider past accomplishments while also looking at future potential—what contribution will the applicant make to the Hopkins student body?

Where are the good "fits" in these piles of applications? That is the question.

Finally, I reflect on any miscellaneous qualities. Here is where the analysis of the academic and extracurricular merge with any number of intangibles to determine whether the individual applicant is a good fit for Hopkins. Will the applicant contribute and, more importantly, add to the fabric of the institution? Will she stand out and make a difference? It is a determination ultimately of which applicants in the overall pool best represent Johns Hopkins University. Here is where so many of our philosophies combine with the micro-evaluation.

After this thorough evaluation of the application file I render a decision suggestion: admit, wait list, or deny. Then it is on to the next file, and the next file, and the next one after that. Each day I review anywhere between 20-40 files and in an application review season I will review between 1,000 – 1,200 files as a first reader. The first reader of an application makes a decision suggestion, not a final decision. Application review will continue with an extensive committee process where multiple staff members will evaluate groups of files based on a range of factors including academic interests, diversity, or special interests such as athletics, legacy, etc. Applications may go through a number of rounds of committee before a final decision is rendered. The committee process is when the full admissions staff is shaping the final class with the concepts of fit and contribution being a central focus.

Flashback to an Admissions Committee Session in Mason Hall Conference Room

As I hope you can see, our process is comprehensive. It is holistic. And it is the best way for us to evaluate each and every individual applicant. The decisions we make do not blindly reflect average GPAs, SAT scores, and other data points, but rather mirror the Admissions Committee’s determination of which students will best fit and fulfill the promise of Johns Hopkins University. I look to my upcoming “conversations” with the Class of 2016 applicants, and I approach this task with confidence based on years of guidance and mentorship from a great leader. Though Dean Latting will depart, his imprint will be left for years to come on Johns Hopkins University and more significantly on the staff that got to work with him.

Our Approach to Application Review – Part One

4

A little over seven years ago, I joined the counseling team of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Johns Hopkins University. This would be my second university admissions team, as I had previously worked for six years at a university in D.C. As I moved up I-95 from Washington to Baltimore, I was filled with a lot of confidence that I would succeed at this new position without any major struggles. Boy was I mistaken. The early transition went smoothly as I learned all there was to know about this new university, had a successful fall travel season, and quickly got to know the students and my new colleagues. Then application file review season hit, and my rude awakening began.

As I said, I had a ton of confidence in this new position—so much so that I was constantly ignoring what my new colleagues and my new boss, Dean of Admissions Dr. John F. Latting, were telling me about the complicated nature of application file review for a highly selective university. As Early Decision application reading approached, I knew I was prepared for the volume of applications I was expected to read and even more I was pretty sure that reviewing the Johns Hopkins applications would not be much different than reviewing applications at my previous institution. As I write this I realize how naïve I was. Reviewing applications at every university is quite different, especially when you go from a university with a 60+% admit rate to a school with an admit rate in the low 30% range (what it was when I started at Hopkins).

Fall at Hopkins: The start of application reading season.

The realization of how naïve and over-confident I was hit me at our Early Decision reading retreat, when I joined my new colleagues and new boss to discuss our approach to application review for the year. As we progressed through three mock application reviews, I witnessed how steep of a learning curve this was going to be. The discussions were not about GPAs and test scores and how these applicants compared to our admit ranges; in fact, there was no admit grid or defined ranges. I was primarily focused on the academics of the three mock applicants and decided on admit decisions for all three. My colleagues focused a lot more on the other parts of the application (recommendations, essays, extracurricular accomplishments) and had much more in-depth analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of each applicant and a sense of their future fit at Hopkins. I realized I had a lot of catching up to do, and thankfully with the help of an amazing team I caught on quickly and have been learning ever since.

So what is the point of this reflection you wonder? Well, just a few weeks ago my colleagues and I joined Dean Latting for our 2011-12 Early Decision reading retreat where we discussed our approach to application review for the upcoming cycle. Just an hour before the start of the retreat, Dean Latting shared with the entire Admissions staff that he had accepted a position to lead the Admissions team at Emory University and would be departing at the end of our Early Decision review process. This news shocked us all and we all congratulated Dean Latting while simultaneously being saddened about his departure. For me, after the shock and dismay died down, one realization hit me: the last item Dean Latting would leave Johns Hopkins University would be his personal selection philosophy that had shaped the previous ten classes and would guide the selection of the Class of 2016.

A classic image of Dean of Admissions John Latting signing admit letters.

During Dean Latting’s tenure at Hopkins, the word “success” has been distinctly linked to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The total number of applicants has risen from just under 9,000 in 2002 to an expected 20,000+ in 2012. The admit rate has fallen from 35% in 2002 to 18% last year. Every academic measure of enrolling students has risen over the past ten years, and universally everyone remarks that each new class has been more engaged, more energetic, more skilled, and more socially active. Dean Latting is going to be greatly missed not only for all the successes we have achieved under his guidance, but more significantly because of the application selection philosophy he has engrained in the staff of Mason Hall.

As I begin this final application review cycle with Dean Latting at the helm, the greatest realization that I have come to is that, under his mentorship, my colleagues and I have learned and executed an extremely successful approach to application review that works specifically for Johns Hopkins University and compliments well an ever-growing and more selective applicant pool. Entering into this 8th application cycle, I have also realized that one crucial component of implementing a successful approach to application review is to start each cycle by reflecting on the strengths and struggles of the past year and setting forth an adjusted approach for the coming year. This is something Dean Latting is truly committed to, and every year before the counseling staff reviews any application, we gather at our retreat to listen to Dean Latting’s thoughts on improving application file review and to have a collective discussion on the values of each component part of our holistic application approach. Though at times I will joke with audiences that our decisions are made by using a dart board, in fact the truth is that our decisions are not only based on comprehensive, holistic reviews of each individual application but also involve extensive research and reflection on an overall philosophy on application review that fits the specific needs and wants of the undergraduate schools of Johns Hopkins University.

Winter at Hopkins: The first snowfall usually coincides with the time the Admissions counselors begin their application review hibernation.

The one final realization I will reveal is that I know that readers of this entry are now probably wondering, so what is this approach to reading all about? I know that I have now opened the Pandora’s Box of application review questions for current and prospective applicants to Johns Hopkins University. How will they review my application? Who reads my application and what are they looking for? What are the most important parts of the application review? What is the final basis for admissions decisions? Don’t worry—I plan to answer these questions. Just as the title says, this is just Part One of discussing “Our Approach to Application Review.” Check back at the end of the week when I post Part Two, which delves deeper into these questions.

Meet Some Freshmen Who Fit

3

This past weekend at our second fall Open House one of the questions I was asked was how I know if an applicant is a good fit for Johns Hopkins University. Since I was sitting at the Ask-a-Student table surrounded by the members of the Student Admissions Advisory Board (SAAB) (the students who run and operate Hopkins Interactive), I decided to take my favorite approach to answer this question about fit.

Our Open House Ask-a-Student-Table

I responded that in my eight-plus years working in Undergraduate Admissions at Johns Hopkins University, I have gotten to work with an amazing and memorable group of students through SAAB and our other admissions volunteer groups. My colleagues can attest to the fact that in many of my application reviews of students I want to admit I will include write-ups about how the applicant reminds me of a past or current member of SAAB. Phrases like “this applicant reminds me of Esther in her passion for …” or “this applicant will be our next Mandy …” or “this applicant shares so many of the same (positive) hipster qualities of Josh …” are commonplace for me. Knowing these students has provided me with a great sense of what types of students succeed at Johns Hopkins and make a difference here, as well as the traits and characteristics to look for in predicting the impact a student will have in and outside the classroom. So one of the ways I determine fit is to see if the applicant matches any number of the successful students I have known in the past … and don’t worry—that group is a large one because Johns Hopkins attracts such a diverse type of student.

Pranking some sleepy SAABers at Open House

After answering this question, I sat back and watched as the members of SAAB responded to a variety of questions of prospective students and parents who had braved an early winter storm to visit the Homewood campus and determine whether Johns Hopkins was a good fit for them. I enjoy watching my students interact with those who want to know more about the “real” Hopkins, whether it is at a campus visit program or through all of our social media platforms. I often call the members of SAAB “my kids” as they mean so much to me and are the primary reason I love my job. One of the great perks of managing SAAB is that every year at the start of the academic season I get to adopt some more “kids.” Each September, with the help of returning members of SAAB, I get to select a group of freshmen to SAAB who will become our next generation of bloggers and the next group of students who I get to know well and refer to in application write-ups.

This year the nine members of the Johns Hopkins Class of 2015 we have added to the Board and to the Hopkins Interactive website are pretty impressive. Back in mid-September we launched their shared blog — Class of 2015: Freshman Blog — and already they have each posted at minimum three blog entries. Check out their blog and get to know them for two reasons: (1) I am probably going to be writing about them for the next four years and they are the new stewards of Hopkins Interactive and (2) I may refer to you in an application review as the next Kevin, Zoe, Joseph, Kaitlyn, Ruthie, Purna, Ian, Erica, or Jacqueline.

Meet the SAAB CLASS OF 2015

Purna Chandrasekhar – Biology/Classics, New Jersey (Flemington)
Purna is an amazing artist with a strong passion for digital photography. She plans on taking art classes here at Homewood and Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and is involved with the Student Art League. Read her blog entries.

Meet JHU_Purna

Ruthie Chen – English/Writing Seminars/Spanish, Virginia (Mechanicsville)
As a Wilson Fellow, Ruthie came to Hopkins with a strong interest in undergraduate research in the humanities. At Hopkins, she’s found a welcoming community and is looking forward to sharing about it on her blog. Read her blog entries.

Meet JHU_Ruthie

Kaitlyn Coleman – Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Texas (The Woodlands)
A true southerner and devoted Hopkins Interactive follower, Kaitlyn is also a member of the women’s varsity tennis team. She loves her “Home in Homewood”—read more about her adventures on her blog. Read her blog entries.

Meet JHU_Kaitlyn

Kevin Cryan – Political Science/French Cultural Studies, Connecticut (Southport)
Kevin was one of our summer blog contest winners and one of the most creative freshmen. On campus he’s involved with Chinese Lion Dancing, Tutorial Project, and Mock Trial. Read his blog entries.

Meet JHU_Kevin

Ian Hooley – Biology/Chemistry, Italy (Milan)
Ian, who hails from Milan, Italy, was attracted to Hopkins because of the wide range of academic opportunities it offers, and has been enjoying these in addition to the opportunities for social life he’s found since he arrived. He’s also involved with a variety of extracurricular activities, including HERO and JHUMUNC. Read his blog entries.

Meet JHU_Ian

Zoë Jack – Biophysics/Economics, Maryland (Parkton)
Hailing from only 25 minutes away, Zoë is a local who is extremely passionate about the school and has an unparalleled knowledge of the city and area. She describes herself as “impetuous, energetic, and always ready for a little fun-loving competition,” and can run a marathon four minutes faster than the average man! Read her blog entries.

Meet JHU_Zoe

Jacqueline Morea – Political Science and History, Nevada (Las Vegas)
Another summer blog contest winner, Jacqueline wrote some of the funniest and most interesting blogs of all freshman SAAB applicants, and is a dedicated Hopkins Interactive follower. She works as a videographer in the Admissions Office, and also participates on the Mock Trial team. Read her blog entries.

Meet JHU_Jacqueline

Joseph Shaikewitz – Art History/Museum Studies, Missouri (St. Louis)
Known as “Mr. Art History” on his floor, Joseph displays a passion for the arts and has already obtained a job at the BMA. The strength of the art history program, along with the opportunity to study at MICA sold Joseph on Hopkins. Read his blog entries.

Meet JHU_Joseph

Erica Zehnder – International Studies/Political Science, California (Elk Grove)
Erica comes to SAAB from California with strong blogs and a “hella” great personality. In between all of her classes she’s also finding time to explore Baltimore, taking tons of pictures along the way. Read her blog entries.

Meet JHU_Erica

These nine freshmen join 17 upperclassmen in making up the 2011-12 membership of SAAB, a group that will make sure that Johns Hopkins University remains the #1 social media college in America. (Oh yeah, it is a big deal and CNN.com recently reported on it: How Colleges Use, Misuse Social Media to Reach Students.)

Meet SAAB, the 2011-12 version (well 25 of 28 of them)

Essays and Short Answer Questions

7

Throughout the summer, but especially since posting the Here We Go Again blog about the August 1 launch of the Common Application and Universal College Application, we have received an abundance of phone calls and emails regarding the same question. The question is simply:

When will the Johns Hopkins Supplement to the Common Application / Universal College Application be available online?

Once we answer this question it typically leads to a second question:

What are the essay / short answer question topics posted on the Johns Hopkins Supplement?

So to stem the tide of these questions, I thought a quick blog update answering both questions was in order.

First, we do not have an exact date for when the Johns Hopkins Supplement will be available via the Common Application and/or the Universal College Application websites. We have finished our process of providing both companies with the structure and questions for our supplements and passed along that information earlier in the month. We wait along with you all for the supplement to be uploaded and become accessible. We hope this will be any day now but are pretty confident that by the end of August everything will be available. Once the supplement “goes live” we will also post a copy to our Applications page: http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/application.html?main.

What will inspire you when writing your Johns Hopkins application essays and short answer questions?

I think the main reason why so many people are searching for the Johns Hopkins Supplement is not because they want to complete it and apply right now, but rather they are searching for the topics of any supplemental essays / short answer questions. Many of you, smartly, want to get a head start on your applications before your senior year picks-up full steam, so to help out here is the information you are looking for:

Johns Hopkins Supplement Essay and Short Answer Questions Policy
Students applying as freshmen to Johns Hopkins using the Common Application / Universal College Application plus the Johns Hopkins Supplement must submit both the Common Application / Universal College Application essay and both of the short answer questions below (250 word maximum each).

1. Johns Hopkins offers 50 majors across the schools of Arts & Sciences and Engineering. On this application, we ask you to identify one or two that you might like to pursue here. Why did you choose the way you did? If you are undecided, why didn’t you choose? (If any past courses or academic experiences influenced your decision, you may include them in your essay.

2. Tell us something about yourself or your interests that we wouldn’t learn by looking at the rest of your application materials. (While you should still pay attention to sentence structure and grammar, your response is meant as a way for us to get to know you, rather than a formal essay.)

Make sure you proofread.

So there you go. Get to work on your short answer responses and check back at the end of the month for the Johns Hopkins Supplement. In the meantime, here are some resources I suggest you check out for help in responding to the essay and short answer prompts:

1) Essay Strategies That Work
Last fall I participated in an essay workshop and compiled a blog listing seven essay strategies that I believe work.

2) The Essay: Advice from an Evaluator
My colleague Amy Brokl composed this guest blog entry a couple of years ago where she shared her advice on tackling the essay / short answer portion of the application.

3) Getting to Knew the Admissions Committee: What is the most unique college essay you’ve ever read?
Each member of the Admissions Committee responded to this question last winter, providing a vast array of some of the most interesting essay topics we have ever received.

4) Essays That Worked
Over the last three years we have presented a handful of the best essays from the previous admissions cycle on our main Admissions website. You can check out examples for the Class of 2014 and Class of 2013, and in the early fall we will update with five essays from the incoming Class of 2015.

Happy writing.

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.

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/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html

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

Essay Strategies That Work

2

A few weeks ago Dean of Admissions John Latting asked if I would attend an essay workshop at the Friends School in Baltimore since he would be on vacation. I immediately jumped at the chance for two reasons: I love Quaker schools and I love essay workshops. I know that they are both strange things to be so affectionate about, but after twelve years working in college admissions, I know what I like and I know what I don’t like. While preparing for the workshop I jotted down a list of points about the purpose and value of the admissions essay in the application review process and also a number of tips to best tackle the task. The workshop went extremely well and as I was getting ready to store my notes I realized that they would make a great blog topic.

You Don't Need This!

So as many of you begin to take on the task of writing your college essays and short answer questions, I will present my advice on essay strategies that I believe work. This is in no way the gospel about college admissions essays, but rather a list of tips I have compiled over my years. After nearly 20,000 essays read in my career (and that is a low estimate I think), I hope you all will find my tips helpful.

- Don’t think of it as an essay assignment, but rather a personal statement.
I always start off any discussion of college essay writings with this re-imagining. The task of writing your college essay, I mean college personal statement, is not an assignment for your English class. Do not consider this a standard essay where you must have a thesis statement, supportive body paragraphs, and a conclusion that just re-hashes your original introduction. Your college statement needs to be personal and it needs to be thought of in a more creative and original fashion. In many ways we review these personal statements less for a true assessment of your writing ability (we have your English course grades for that) but more in terms of what you reveal about yourself.

- Essays do matter; in fact, they matter a lot more than you probably think.
For highly selective universities that practice a holistic approach to the admissions review process like Johns Hopkins, the personal statement and any short answer questions carry a lot of weight. In admissions committee discussions the most popular section that is referred to in making an argument for or against a candidate is the essay and other personal writings. This part of the application is the chance for students to share their own voice in their application, and that matters greatly when determining whether a student is a strong fit for your institution. You have little control over the rest of their application: your grades are your grades, your activities you have already chosen, your test scores are complete, and your recommendations are not written by you. Your essays are the area that you still have control over.

- Don’t gloss over short answer questions—they also matter a lot.
As I have been writing I have been directing my advice not just at college essays, I mean college statements, but also short answer questions. Most colleges nowadays have a supplement to the Common Application or Universal College Application, and the main part of these supplements are additional required writing statements. Hopkins is no different and this year we added a second short answer question that all of our applicants must answer. These are short answer questions with 250 word limits, but don’t assume because we are requesting a short length that we do not care about the answers you compose. We don’t just add questions to our application requirements to require you to do more work. If we are asking you for information there is a reason behind our inquiry and your responses will matter in the review process. One piece of advice—short answer does not mean one to two sentences. It stuns me every year how many applicants either ignore these questions or spend a grand total of two minutes compiling their responses.

- We want to hear (read) your personal voice.
I know I already mentioned this, but it is such an important concept that I thought it was imperative to repeat. Many admissions counselors think of the admissions review as a conversation with an applicant. As we move from section to section of your application we learn more and more about what makes you an individual and what is important to you. Your writings are your chance to share what is important to you directly with the evaluator. Your topic, the content, the tone, and the flow of your responses encompass the personalvoice we want to hear when looking through your application.

- Essays are about the all important concept of fit.
When evaluating applications of so many highly qualified students, the question of fit becomes paramount. So many of the applicants we evaluate have what we are looking for: they have the grades, have the test scores, have the leadership abilities, have the commitment to community, and have challenged themselves. Because of that, admissions readers have to delve deep into each application, and especially the personal statements, to determine which select students are the best fits for the university. This means that, while reading your essays, the evaluators are thinking about such fit questions as will this student contribute to Hopkins, will they benefit from attending a distinct school like Hopkins, will they make the most of their Hopkins experience, and will Hopkins benefit from having such a student. Though your essays should not address these questions directly, when choosing your topics and composing your content you should have these questions in the back of your mind.

Are you a fit?

- Present your true self.
I always say that one should present self-awareness and confidence in their writings, but most significantly one must present their true personality. Do not create a new persona in your essays as such a strategy will back-fire. In fact, don’t have a strategy but rather be yourself. If you are funny, then be funny. If you are not funny, then obviously don’t try to be funny. We read thousands of essays each year and have become experts in telling when a student is not being true to themselves. Also, remember we have the rest of your application to match up to your essays. It can be confusing, and detrimental, when reviewing an application and the portrait of a student painted in the recommendations, activities sheet, and transcript is completely different than what is presented in the essays.

- Do not over-think the essay prompts.
These are not trick questions to start. They are open-ended allowing you to create personal statements and have the flexibility to go in a multitude of directions with your responses. I have a folder on my desk with the most impressive essays I have read in my career. There are about 25 essays in that folder and what they all have in common … the topics of the essays are pretty mundane. There are essays about the big game, about the death of a grandparent, about friends, about family, about performing in the school musical—pretty much my favorite essays of all time tend to tackle the most basic of responses. It seems to me that students spend so much time stressing about the right topic that they don’t have the energy when ultimately compiling the content of their essay. Also, note there are no wrong topics to write about. Nothing is too mundane, nothing is too common, nothing is too political to not be attempted. Choose a topic that means something to you, but know in the end it is not the topic that makes an impressive essay, it is the content.

In addition to these suggestions, I also have a few additional bullet point thoughts that I often share:

• Attempt to have a killer introduction and compelling conclusion. It is best to grab your audience right away and leave them with a powerful note at the end.
• Be creative, be original, be yourself. Write these words down on a post-it note and stare at that often when composing your essays.
• Take risks, but make sure they are calculated risks.
• Avoid spelling mistakes. Obviously!
• Avoid incorrect word choices. Not so obvious. Read your essays aloud and make sure you are using the correct their, there, they’re.
• Avoid vulgarity, inappropriate language, and anything offensive.

And finally, my best piece of advice for when you think you have your final draft: make three copies and distribute them to (1) a parent / relative; (2) a teacher or guidance counselor; and (3) a close friend. Ask each person to read your essay and instead of providing suggested content edits ask them to answer the following questions, “Does this essay represent me? Is this me?” If a related person, an educator, and friend all answer yes to these questions, then you have written a wonderful college essay, I mean college personal statement.

I would be remiss if I didn’t finish this blog entry by promoting our wonderful “Essays That Worked” Web page on the Admissions Web site. Each year my colleagues and I select four impressive essays from the past admissions cycle and post them on the site for future applicants to review. In addition to posting the essay, one of the admissions counselor comments about why that particular essay “worked.” Check out the site and I hope you will gain some inspiration: http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/essays.html.

The College Admissions Interview

0

Note on this entry: Last month I was contacted by the Editor of Imagine magazine through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. She is a fan of the Hopkins Insider blog and was inquiring if I wanted to write an article for the September edition of the magazine, specifically for their “Planning Ahead for College” section. I jumped at the chance and we decided I would tackle the issue of college admissions interview. I enjoyed writing the article and thought I would re-publish it here for all that read the blog. You can see the article in print here as well: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/imagine/20100910QTVS1/index.php#/41. While you visit the site to read my article, I encourage you to stay there and read through the entire magazine as there are other great articles written for middle and high school students.

The College Admissions Interview
by Daniel G. Creasy, Associate Director of Admissions, Johns Hopkins University

One of my most vivid memories from my college search is a bizarre interview experience that took place at the home of an 80-year-old Ivy League alumnus, retired physician, and noted British literature expert. Let’s just say his beliefs and interview style did not mesh well with mine since at that time I was a nervous 17-year-old high school student interested in politics and grunge music.

Throughout my 12 years as a college admissions professional, I often reflect on the awkwardness of that experience when discussing the role of interviews with prospective applicants. The interview ranks right up there with the application essay as causing the most anxiety for high school seniors each year. Much of that stress stems from an uncertainty about the role of the interview in the admissions review process and how a student should prepare. Even with full preparation, there would have been a disconnect between me and my interviewer. But I think if I had known the things I’m about to share with you, it might not have been so awkward.

The College Admissions Interview

The first thing to do is read the interview policies for the colleges you are applying to. Every school has a different policy: a handful require them, some do not offer them, and most recommend but do not require them. For those that recommend or require interviews, note whether the interviews are primarily evaluative, informational, or a mixture. Note also who will conduct the interview; this can vary from admissions counselors to trained current students to alumni.

Once you have compiled all of this information, you will need to decide whether an interview is in your best interest. My advice is simple: If you have the chance to schedule an interview, then you should pursue it, even if just the thought of an interview makes you nervous. If nothing else, interviews can provide you with more details about a specific school you are considering. More often, though, interviews provide you with the opportunity to present your individual personality and match that to your application.

The next step is to prepare for your interview. It is important that you research the schools where you are interviewing. There is no need to know everything about a school—you won’t be asked trivia—but a working knowledge of a school’s defining characteristics will aid you significantly. During your research, compile a list of questions that you want to ask your interviewer and try to anticipate questions they might ask. You should also consider in advance what you will wear. For most interviews, you should toe the line between formal (a suit is not necessary) and casual (no sweats or flip fl ops). I usually suggest a semicasual outfit that will make you comfortable and also represent you well. This preparation of knowing about the school, compiling questions, and making conscious clothing decisions will display to your interviewer sincere interest and an organized presentation, qualities that certainly will be noted. But avoid being too strategic with your decisions. The interviewer wants to speak with the real you, not some fabrication of you that you think will best suit your application.

The best piece of advice I can offer is to not think of it as an interview at all. The college interview is a conversation. Your interviewer will create a casual environment for you to have a friendly discussion. Rather than a back-and-forth Q&A session, what will transpire is a chat about who you are, who you want to be, and how you see that college helping you along the way.

There may be some strange questions, like what kind of tree best represents you, but the goal is to make you feel comfortable in revealing your personality, your strengths, and any struggles. A successful interview is one where you are most true to who you are, present genuine responses, display sincere interest in the conversation, and overcome any nerves by showing confidence in your answers.

One final note I feel is crucial and is one of my cardinal rules: Always send a thank-you note to your interviewer. Even after my strange interview experience years ago, I heeded my mom’s advice and sent a thank-you card. I ultimately got into that school, and to this day I think that card sealed the deal. But even if it didn’t, I know it didn’t hurt.

If you are interested in learning more about interview options for undergraduate applicants to Johns Hopkins University click on the links below. Do note that interviews are an optional part of the admissions process and are treated much more as casual conversations with representatives of the University rather than evaluative discussions.

On-Campus Interviews: http://apply.jhu.edu/visit/interviews.html
Off-Campus Alumni Interviews: http://apply.jhu.edu/visit/aluminterviews.html