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Approaching the Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay 2021-2022

Johns Hopkins University has consistently been ranked among the top 10 schools in the country, and with good reason. Boasting one of the best medical reputations, this Baltimore institution attracts talented STEM and pre-med students from all over the world. If you’re more of a humanities or arts person, Johns Hopkins also provides over 50 majors to choose from, and is also known for its strength in creative writing.As the college highly values collaboration, you should use the Johns Hopkins supplemental essay 2021-2022 to exemplify how you work with a team and would contribute meaningfully to the Johns Hopkins community.

Johns Hopkins asks only one supplemental essay question, but it’s a crucial one. Your essay is a valuable opportunity to convey that you’re a team player, and connect experiences highlighting your collaboration skills in relation to your academic interests and prospective Johns Hopkins major. To guide you through the essay question in detail, I’ve outlined the prompt, the dos and don’ts for answering it, and more tips to get you started on the Johns Hopkins supplemental essay 2021-2022. 

Prompt for the Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay 2021-2022

Founded in the spirit of exploration and discovery, Johns Hopkins University encourages students to share their perspectives, develop their interests, and pursue new experiences. Use this space to share something you’d like the admissions committee to know about you (your interests, your background, your identity, or your community), and how it has shaped what you want to get out of your college experience at Hopkins. (300-400 words)

If you’ve worked on other applications, you know that many schools throw multiple prompts at you. While this might be a welcome change from the number of essays you’ve had to write, having only one prompt also makes it more challenging to make a lasting impact. As your only school-specific question, it’s a chance to seal the deal on why you’ve chosen Hopkins and how you would be a valuable addition to the campus. Here, you have a relatively generous amount of space to elaborate on who you are and what makes you tick. 

Note that Hopkins refers to this part of you as “something” and “it.” They are looking for that one special aspect of you, so avoid sharing multiple sides of you. Think depth rather than breadth. Admissions officers want to know about what’s important to you. In writing your essay, make sure to answer the following questions: 

• What is the one thing that makes you most unique?
• How has this shaped your experiences and perspectives?
• How has this shaped your goals?
• What do you want to accomplish at Johns Hopkins and how will you do it?

Johns Hopkins wants “students who are eager to follow their interests at the college level and are enthusiastic about joining the campus community.” In order to have a personal, individualized response, think about an anecdote that ties your background or interest to your intellectual pursuits. Have you led any initiatives to help your school or local community? Have you started a club or organization within your field which engages others? Did a part of your family background heavily influence what you’ve decided to pursue academically? Admissions officers make it clear that it can be any side of you. As long as you haven’t already mentioned this aspect of your identity in your Common Application personal statement, you can write about anything.

The question asks how this side of you has impacted why you’ve chosen Hopkins. Admissions officers don’t just want to understand what makes you different from other applicants, they want to know what you’ll bring to their specific school . They want to know what you value in a community or classroom, and evaluate how you would get along with your peers at Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins highly values leadership and community, sure you choose an example that best showcases your collaborative nature, and use the space you’ve been given to transport the admissions officers to the scene of a particular anecdote. 

However, don’t spend too much time talking about what happened;  instead, portray how you have made an impact, show how the incident has shaped your perspective and goals, and articulate how Hopkins is the place to pursue your interests. Upon reading your essay, admissions officers should understand the impact you have made. They should also take away what your biggest interests are and be able to envision how you might contribute to the Johns Hopkins campus if accepted.

Additional Tips for the Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay 2021-2022

• Read the Website! - You may not have been asked the traditional “Why Hopkins” question for your Johns Hopkins supplemental essay 2021-2022, but it’s still crucial that you conduct thorough research on the school. In your search you might find that the Johns Hopkins website has a page on “Essays that Worked.” This page provides you with some useful examples that can help you get a clearer picture of what the admissions officers are looking for. Reading these responses might just end up being what inspires your own essay, so don’t underestimate the power of research.
• Dedicate Significant Time to Brainstorming - Since there’s only one prompt for the Johns Hopkins supplemental essay 2021-2022, a lot of students might take it lightly. However, Johns Hopkins states that the essay can be “one of the most important components of your application.” Don’t just come up with the exact same topic as your personal statement. At the same time, think about a part of you that really shaped you. Choose an instance that allows you to be as specific as possible. Ensuring that your essay topic has a cohesive connection to the rest of your application can go a long way toward convincing admissions officers that you’re a strong candidate who has spent time specializing in your field.
• Check Out Our Blog from a Former Admissions Officer - For further reading, you might be interested in the “How to Get into Johns Hopkins” blog by our Former Admissions Officer Zak Harris, who served as the Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Hopkins. In the article, he provides insights into how to frame your application, and what makes up the ideal candidate for the school. Regarding the supplemental essay component, Zak adds, “Some students take this essay for granted and don’t spend nearly as much time on it as they should. Or, they use an underdeveloped idea or a rather generic topic that doesn’t come across as very impressive. My advice is to spend significant time thinking about how you work with others and provide concrete anecdotes exemplifying your collaboration skills.” 

Since thousands of students apply to Johns Hopkins, you need to find ways to stand out from the rest of the pack. And framing your Johns Hopkins supplemental essay 2021-2022 as uniquely as possible is the perfect way to do so. This response can help the school understand the depth of your interest and intellectual engagement, as well as how you would contribute to the campus community. Use your essay to distinguish yourself from the competition and convince Johns Hopkins why you would be a perfect fit for this collaborative community.