Johns Hopkins University is one of the dream colleges for students of Science and Medicine as it is filled with the greatest intellect. The environment and the jobs offered by Johns Hopkins graduates are outstanding. For the students who want to get into Johns Hopkins, one of the challenges they face is when they are writing the Supplemental Essay in the admission procedure. Generally, they ask you for two submissions: the Common App personal statement and the other supplemental essay; in this blog, let’s unearth the unique ways of writing your supplemental essays to improve your chances of acceptance. Also, get a glimpse of what a good supplemental essay looks like with a couple of examples.
While Supplemental Essays are also asked in many other universities, the way Johns Hopkins gives the prompts is at a very different level of understanding. They don’t ask the typical question of Why Us? But they look for a more profound exploration and a more meaningful write-up on whether you think you are fit to join the institution. They intricately align your goals’ questions with your personal journey, and they expect you to be innovative, truthful, and delicate in balancing your emotional journey with your career. It is also a tremendous personal endeavor to reflect upon your journey and who you are, aim for what you are aspiring for, and put a beautiful narrative out more aptly.
They ask you questions about your interests, identity, and community and how they have shaped your aspirations to get into Johns Hopkins. You need to be clear in articulating your interests and value system and have a deep connection with your value system; why do you want to be part of Johns Hopkins, and why do you think you fit into this?
At a base level, it seems like a Statement of Purpose; however, it’s more than that, and if you can blend your values with your life experiences, then you are better than anyone else to get into Johns Hopkins.
Let’s jump into the detailed guidelines of prompt essays and examples.
What is the Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay Prompt?
Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay Prompt 1
This is the essay prompt for students who want to get into Johns Hopkins in the fall of 2025.
How has your life experience contributed to your personal story—your character, values, perspectives, or skills—and what you want to pursue at Hopkins? (350 word limit)
It delves into your personal story and the essential qualities that make you a shining star to be taken into Johns Hopkins at the higher level of reasoning and why you want to join Johns Hopkins at a base level of reasoning.
Here, they have also given the countries that you can explore, like your character, values, perspectives, or skills, which made you who you are and why you are choosing Johns Hopkins as your first choice.
Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay Prompt 2
This is one of the previous ones.
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)
This prompt initially emphasizes the aesthetic qualities that Johns Hopkins University offers to students, especially in terms of diversity. Along the same Diversity essay theme, the university is looking for students who can creatively weave different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, backgrounds, interests, and so on into their personal journeys and choices. The essay makes students brainstorm what sets them apart from many applicants, and admissions committees will be impressed with the variety of views and opinions that they bring to the campus to facilitate diversity in the campus, too.
Whatever stream you are getting into no, whether sciences, humanities, or law, the subject of self-reflection underlines all the disciplines, and even though you are a STEM aspirant or a medical prodigy, you need a profound understanding of your identity and how come your identity has shaped your choices in your life is what the question is seeking from you.
As you pen, ensure you don’t fall into these Normal Traps of what the university seeks.
- Mistake #1: Chronological events of your life- Sketching a longitudinal journey of your life in terms of events, like the school you attended and the size of the school, location or your rankings, is different from what the university seeks.
- Mistake #2: Emotional Language- Do not try to make it more emotional or pleasing; balance the emotions with your purpose of writing the supplemental essay.
- Mistake #3: Parroting the University websites- Reechoing the words of what the university has given out in terms of brochures or website language. Be Creative!
- Mistake #4: Boosting about the university- about the campus, the opportunities it offers, or the career prospects, you should mention those but do not fill your essay with the University facilities; instead, focus on the qualities that will set you apart.
- Mistake #5: Why Us? Thinking of the question Why us and? It should not run in every line of your narrative.
- Mistake #6: It is Johns Hopkins and not John Hopkins!
The essay is about YOU; hence, focus on what you are and put it persuasively. Add questions in between that intrigued you in your journey, like How I want to Chart my journey personally and professionally and link it with Johns Hopkins, which will be an aid to you in this endeavor. Focus on some specific events; however, don’t go into much detail about where or the location; focus on the thoughts that made you think about your identity as a man or a woman or a queer person, or a person belonging to a specific ethnicity.
How to Write the Johns Hopkins University Supplemental Essay Prompt?
Step 1- Dive into the school
Do a deep research about the JHU, starting from the campus, facilities, and courses they offer, both major and minor. Get in touch with a current student or alumni because their insights will help you craft your essay to a great extent about why JHU fascinates you and what about JHU fascinates you the most. Read student reviews, but limit yourself just to knowing about JHU. Don’t parrot or plagiarize the text.
Step 2- Set the frame of your essay and give a title for your story.
After getting a glimpse of the JHU, you would be ready to ask why JHU. This is not the end. Now, the actual task begins, where you have to underscore the importance of JHU and shed more light on what the prompt is about and Who you are. The title should reflect yourself as a whole, from your character to your values.
Step 3- Breakdown the prompt
Highlight the keywords in the essay that you need to focus upon, like a personal journey, your interests, values, and what you expect out of JHU to add value to your life professionally vis-a-vis personally.
Step 4- Articulate effectively
Put them in clear words about the themes you need to cover, and if you feel stuck, take a break, re-energize yourself, and sit on it; you will be available to get through this, and we will help you in your journey. Keep in mind this essay is not an exercise that requires you to “tell us everything you know about Hopkins.” While the admissions committee needs to see you’ve done your research and understand what Hopkins has to offer, simply listing what you hope to pursue on campus is only half the puzzle. Be sure to connect the dots by explaining why you wish to pursue those things and how they’ll help you remain connected to and grow in your identity.
Step 5- Editing and review
We at Rostrum Education provide qualitative service of enriching your essay with valuable insights that will set your application apart from others and give cutting-edge feedback. Once you get connected with us, our team of experienced reviewers will thoroughly analyze your essay, provide constructive feedback, and guide you on how to improve it. You can then glimpse how we have navigated many bright students’ lives with our guidance to get them to the right place and improve their essays.
Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay 2024-2025
This is the essay prompt for students who want to get into Johns Hopkins in the fall of 2025.
How has your life experience contributed to your personal story—your character, values, perspectives, or skills—and what you want to pursue at Hopkins? (350 word limit)
Breakdown of the Prompt
- Lived Experiences-
You need to focus on the aspects of your life experiences, which are not just mere collections of events but your lived experiences which have a profound impact on you and made you question yourself and your belief system at some point and something very core to your existence has come through those lived experiences only. Hence, sit in a place you like, outdoors in a park or somewhere near nature, to bring out an artist inside you.
Tips- Use some interesting subheadings to add color to your life events
- Mosaic of my journey
- Seed of curiosity
- Lessons of resilience
- A future rooted in purpose
You don’t have to go back to your early childhood; it is better to mention events that have happened when you have grown a bit and somewhere in the middle of your schooling, as these events seem more genuine and if you put out an emotional story, the admission committee can easily catch you. So stick to your life!
Examples: What event or events made you pursue the specific discipline of science or medicine? Does it come to you naturally, or what pushed you forward? Intricate your hobbies with your discipline and use persuasive and creative language like a person who likes quilling, weaves the thread into beautiful motifs, and how it can be related to medicine. Do those threads resemble the veins or nerves of a medical student? Do they know if you are a medical student aspiring to JHU?
For a techie prodigy, the other world of machines, algorithms, and coding languages helps them understand the world.
- Your Journey- Character, Values, Perspectives or Skills
The admission committee will look at other aspects of your essay, such as how those experiences have shaped who you are, your values, perspectives about random or mundane things, your core social and political issues and how you identify yourself.
How have the above jotted-down experiences shaped your views about a puzzling question in your exam or a challenging situation in your life? Have those experiences made you any more resilient in your life? What do you value, and how have you started valuing certain aspects of your life? Like friends and family, normative values of equality, acceptance of criticisms, tolerance, and diversity in your life. What is your perspective on body and soul if you are a typical medical student? You need to draw a connection between your innate hobbies, which are close to you, and how they have helped you build an interest in a particular discipline and value in your life. And especially how these values will make you a better person.
Writing a journey story of yourself is better and a good exercise for self-reflection. You never know when the next time you will be asked to write about yourself once you start racing up in your career.
- Why Hopkins? What does it offer to you professionally and personally?
And finally, what are you expecting out of JHU? What do you think is driving you to get into JHU, and how do you see possible impacts of JHU in your life personally as a human being and professionally in your career?
Examples of topics covered in good JHU supplemental essays include:
- Value that comes with joining JHU- Diversity and lived experiences of more than 3,000 foreign students from 121 countries on campus.
- Expanding your networking and social groups- Small class sizes; almost three-quarters of sections have fewer than 20 students.
- Culture of organizing- There are 450 student organizations on campus, and 80% of freshmen are active members.
- Prospects in Abroad- JHU offers a variety of fascinating study abroad alternatives.
- If you are interested in research, you can always aim to publish your work in the reputed Hopkins Undergraduate Research Journal (HURJ) of JHU. This journal, run by undergraduate students, provides a platform for students to showcase their research and contribute to their academic community. You can highlight your potential contribution to this journal in your essay. Engagement with professors- student-to-faculty ratio enables meaningful engagement with lecturers.
- Variety and quality of the courses- More than 260 courses are available, and the in-depth curriculum and how it helps you.
H2: Where to Get Your Johns Hopkins Essay Edited?
Need assistance with where to go or whom to refer for editing or reviewing your Johns Hopkins essay? Don’t worry. We are here to help you.
At Rostrum Education, we understand your uniqueness and the importance of showcasing it effectively. That’s why we provide personalized assistance for essay writing to our students. Our highly experienced college counselors are here to guide you at every stage of the essay writing process, ensuring that your voice and experiences shine through. We will help you make a compelling case for yourself before the admissions committee. Whether it’s brainstorming, structuring, or perfecting your essay, we’re committed to helping you make a compelling case for yourself before the admissions committee. With our guidance, you’ll create a standout essay that truly reflects your potential and individuality. Contact Us Now!
FAQs on how to write John Hopkins supplemental essays 2024-25
1. Does Johns Hopkins require supplemental essays?
Yes, it requires one to submit a supplemental essay to understand who you are and your goals, what drives your passion, and why you want to join Johns Hopkins University.
2. Is there a foreign language requirement?
Johns Hopkins looks for English proficiency in students, and TOFEL or IELTS is a prerequisite for joining them.
3. How can I withdraw my application?
If a student chooses to withdraw from a course at Johns Hopkins University, they should fill out the withdrawal form and upload it to Student Enrollment and Account Management (SEAM). Also, check the Academic Calendar for important dates if one wants to withdraw.
4. How many supplemental essays are required?
Only one supplemental essay and the Common App personal statement are required to get into JHU.
