Our Cracking Med School Admissions team has helped numerous students get accepted into Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. So we know what it takes to help you stand out from our own personal experience! In your Johns Hopkins secondary essays, you have to emphasize your desire to change and improve medicine. Submitting OUTSTANDING Johns Hopkins secondaries are vital to receiving an interview invite, which ultimately can lead to an acceptance. Johns Hopkins loves to recruit the best of the best , students from all backgrounds. Therefore, almost all med school applicants receive a Johns Hopkins secondary application. Contact us if you want our help with editing your Johns Hopkins secondary essays!
Johns Hopkins is not a time-sensitive medical school, so you do not need to rush to submit this secondary. Therefore, this is not a secondary we would immediately pre-write, but you can start working on some of the questions that don’t change year-over-year.
Johns Hopkins Secondary Pre-Writing Guidance: Most of Hopkins’ secondary questions stay the same each year. You can pre-write responses to questions that have stayed the same for the past 3 years. From our extensive experience, Hopkins is not a time-sensitive medical school, so you do not need to rush to submit this secondary. Therefore, t his is not a secondary we would immediately pre-write, but you can start working on some of the questions that don’t change year-over-year.
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essays Tip #1: A far majority of students at Johns Hopkins medical school take gap years. Now, there is ample space to discuss what you did in your gap years! The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine admissions committee is looking for medical students who spent their gap year(s) involving themselves with activities that tie to their visions in improving healthcare. For example, applicants may have conducted global health work abroad. Others worked for the NIH creating life-saving medications. In addition to your vision to change medicine, make sure that you talk about your clinical experience. If it applies to you, make sure to use up all the space for the Johns Hopkins secondaries questions: “If you have already received your bachelor’s degree, please describe what you have been doing since graduation, and your plans for the upcoming year” and “If you interrupted your college education for a semester or longer, please describe what you did during that time.”
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essays Tip #2: Johns Hopkins wants to recruit a student body compromising of students who are the best of the best. Therefore, students who matriculate often have many academic honors from their undergraduate education. Many premedical students don’t know that Phi Beta Kappa and departmental honors are worthy to mention. Please add!
JHUSOM also loves national-level and international-level awards / honors. If you receive an honor after you submit your secondary application, make sure to write an update letter.
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essays Tip #3: It is okay if you don’t know a specific specialty when answering “Are there any areas of medicine that are of particular interest to you?” Notice, though, that you have 2,500 characters to answer this question. If you have specific populations, such as pediatrics or cancer patients, who you want to work with, then you can use this space to talk about your experiences and why you want to work with those populations. You can even discuss broader goals; you can say that you want to be involved in primary care and community health.
In this essay, you should discuss how Johns Hopkins University and the academic program will help you become the physician you want to be. There is no straightforward “Why Johns Hopkins” essay, so as we say in the tip below, make sure to add it throughout the Johns Hopkins secondaries .. and this is a great essay to include Why Hopkins.
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essays Tip #4: Highlight your leadership, passion to change healthcare, and impact on society throughout your Johns Hopkins secondaries.
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essays Tip #5: Tell stories to convey your impact and leadership throughout your Johns Hopkins secondaries. For example, if you conducted research over a gap year, tell a story about a challenge you faced or a patient you met while conducting a clinical trial. Don’t forget to include patient care stories from your clinical experiences too!
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essays Tip #6: For the Johns Hopkins Wonder essay, you can write about any topic, including non-science related experiences. A great Johns Hopkins secondary essay answer for this prompt will convey: 1) your intellectual curiosity and excitement for the topic you choose and 2) the reader should learn something about the topic you are writing about.
Example topics we’ve read from excellent “wonder” answers include:
– Specific empires in history
– A specific leader or historical feature
– A book that made somebody think differently about life
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essay Tip #7: For the question, “Briefly describe a situation where you were not in the majority. What did you learn from the experience?” read sample essays in our Cracking Med School Admissions book! Some strong applicants talk about instances when their ideas or opinions went against the status quo.
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essays Tip #8: Don’t forget to incorporate a little bit about “Why Johns Hopkins” throughout your Johns Hopkins secondaries. Incorporate “why this medical school;” talk about projects and research you want to do at Hopkins. Many students take a gap year or more in medical school, pursuing research or an additional Dual Degree program. You can also convey your ambitions during your future medical school career. Read How to Get Into Johns Hopkins School of Medicine page to learn more about student culture and curriculum.
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essays Tip #9: Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us below. Need editing help on your secondary? We can help you through our secondary essay packages.
Johns Hopkins Secondary Essays Tip #10: Answer as many questions as possible. It is important that you answer the optional essay (the last Johns Hopkins secondary essay prompt). Our Cracking Med School Admissions team does not view this secondary questions as optional. Remember, you don’t have to discuss your ethnic diversity. You can talk about other experiences that really pushed you and reflect why you want to be a doctor. Read our HIGH-YIELD blog post: Medical School Diversity Essay Examples and Tips
We have found that the best diversity essays for top medical schools discuss – How You Will Lead The World To Change Medicine
