How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
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How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
No responses
How did you prepare for the interview?
Looked over Hopkins website and viewbook (which are basically the same), my secondary and AMCAS applications, the SDN website, looked over my research notes, and thought of answers to commonly asked questions.
What impressed you positively?
The happiness of students--they seemed to genuinely believe that competition was not a problem at all. We were told that Hopkins switched from letter grades to Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail to remove the perception from applicants that Hopkins is a very competitive place--they said the change has not made any real difference since people were not competitive to begin with. They said 80% of students get pass, and those students get top residencies anyway, simply because they come from Hopkins. The students were so nice, and down to earth.
Facilities were nice, though not quite as nice as I had expected, but the educational program is obviously very strong.
Random fact: Hopkins anatomy exams do not include lab practicals. (Though I could see this being a negative also.)
What impressed you negatively?
Reed Hall is not great, but it's better than I expected. They put interviewers in singles, but most med students stay in 4-room suites, which are much nicer. Baltimore, especially the area surrounding the campus seems to be the biggest downside of Hopkins.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Transportation from BWI to Reed Hall: Go to the International Terminal of the airport, and walk outside to buy a Light Rail Ticket ($1.35-exact change is best). Take the Light Rail to the LEXINGTON MARKET stop. Walk half a block in the direction the Light Rail was taking you, turn left, then walk 3/4 block to the Lexington Market Metro Station (Look for the "M" signs). The Metro also costs $1.35--again, try to have exact chage. Take the Metro to the last stop--JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL stop. When you get out, the Hopkins "DOME" will be obvious. Reed Hall faces the Dome (look on the campus map they mail you to find it). The whole trip takes about 50 minutes, but it will save you lots of $$ as a cab will cost about $25-$30.
Also, if you stay at Reed Hall, you should know that even though the interview day starts at 11:30am, check out time is 10:00am.
What are your general comments?
Overall, the experience was much more relaxed than I had expected. The day starts at 11:30am with an introduction to Hopkins and how the interview day will work. Then, lunch at noon with students and faculty (seats are assigned to assure that each table has at least one student or faculty member). The tour of the campus at 1:00pm was pretty good, but did not include Reed Hall, so go to the greeters program at 8pm the night before, or the housing session at 10:30am if you want to see the housing. Next, at 2:00pm, all of the interviewees return to the waiting room area, and 4-5 fourth year students that are on the admissions committee (they tell you that they are) introduce themselves and spend time "mingling"/sitting with different groups of interviewees. They are supposed to be evaluating interviewees during this mingling time, but all they did was take questions--they were very nice, and did not make any effort to make us feel as if we were being judged. It was casual, and seemed like mingling at a dinner party. The students have a preliminary vote that determines the order in which files will be considered during admissions committee meetings, but they have no final vote. During the mingling, you are pulled out for a 30-minute, open-file faculty interview, and then a 15-minute, closed-file student interview. My faculty interview was about 45 minutes, and my students interview was about 35 minutes, so they are not strict on time. Both interviews were very relaxed and conversational, and both asked pretty standard questions. It was MUCH less stressful than I had anticipated. The day ends around 5pm when the fourth year students thank everyone for coming and say goodbye. Overall, a relaxed, informative day with LOTS of opportunities to ask questions--so come prepared with lots to ask!
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
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