If you are reading this discussion thread then you are most likely one of the students who was disappointed when you received your Early Decision notification on December 15. Let me start by saying you should not lose hope. A number of ED deferred applicants are admitted every year, and are provided the same chance of admission as the applicants who apply Regular Decision. At Johns Hopkins we do not defer all applicants who are not admitted ED; we do deny some of ED applicants who we determine do not have a chance for admission in the Regular Decision review process. Deferred applicants do have a second chance.

Here is a list of suggestions and advice that I feel will be helpful in better understanding the process and the decision. I hope this post and subsequent discussion will assist you as you move forward over the next few weeks and months.

(1) Apply to other schools. Though obvious, your chance for admission to Johns Hopkins is not guaranteed and you want to make sure you have options.

(2) Make sure you update the academic portion of your application. This would include mid-year grades (which will play a MAJOR role in your re-review), additional standardized test scores if available, and even an updated letter of recommendation from your guidance counselor.

(3) Consider updating the non-academic portion of your application. Though not required, an updated resume and an additional letter of recommendation (especially from a senior year teacher) can always help. Just make sure anything you add contributes to your application. Do not be redundant.

(4) Write a letter to the admissions committee. Though not something all deferred applicants need to do or even should do, some of you may consider writing a personal letter to the Admissions Committee stressing your interest in Hopkins and why you feel you are an appropriate candidate for admissions. Consider this a cover letter to your overall application.

(5) What not to do:
*Do not request an interview—they are not available for deferred applicants.

*Do not repeatedly contact the Admissions staff. Update your application, ask questions if you need to, but do not stalk. You will get your final decision at the end of March along with the other RD applicants.

*Do not ask to meet one-on-one with a staff member. We need to focus on reviewing Regular Decision applications and, unfortunately, we do not have the time to meet with each deferred applicant.

*And do not ask why you were deferred. We do not discuss individual applicant's cases nor the reasons behind our decisions.

(6) Most importantly, have a stellar senior year academically. The most important part of the review of an early decision deferred applicant is their academic progress throughout senior year.

We know you have additional questions, so feel free to post them below.

Hi, my name is Alex.
Approximately what percentage of the Early Decision applicant pool is deferred? So if there is "a small number of cases that the Admissions Committee wants to review again with the entire applicant pool," exactly how small is this number percentage wise? And does the fact that an applicant has been deferred rather than rejected confirm that he/she will be slightly more competitive than the majority of the regular decision applicants?

Hello

From the FAQ's on the admissions website it says that if we are deferred we can submit an "additional written statement." (http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/faq_early.html)
I was wondering what the guidelines for this statement are. How long can it be? Is it a personal statement and if so are we limited to only one and is it a topic of our choice? or is it just a statement of our interest in JHU?

melnikalex0

Approximately what percentage of the Early Decision applicant pool is deferred? So if there is "a small number of cases that the Admissions Committee wants to review again with the entire applicant pool," exactly how small is this number percentage wise? And does the fact that an applicant has been deferred rather than rejected confirm that he/she will be slightly more competitive than the majority of the regular decision applicants?

We do not provide such statistics as they vary greatly year from year and are based on the applicant pool for the given year. In cases like ED deferrment, there is no consistency year from year in the quality of applicants and therefore decisions will greatly vary, and for these reasons we consider it misleading to provide any such statistical information. As I stated above, there is no clear answer to how many ED deferred applicants will be admitted in RD nor how competitive each ED applicant will be in the RD applicant pool. There is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage for deferred students ... just a second chance.

sarahann_y

Since supplementary materials are not due until February 15, can deferred students take the January SAT Subject tests to be reviewed during their re-evaluation?

Trevor94

I do have a question regarding the SATs. Are we 'deferers' allowed to take the SAT in January and send the scores from that one for regular decision?

Same question, same answer. As stated on our standardized test requirements web site (http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/testreqs.html), we do not guarantee that January scores will arrive before the Admissions Committee evaluation. This policy holds true for RD applicants as well as ED deferred applicants. Past experience does suggest that exams taken in January usually arrive in time. Applicants may submit January, and if the scores arrive before the evaluation then they will be considered with one's application. We do not guarantee that scores sent after our application deadline will be processed in time to be reviewed with one’s application and we do not delay the review of an application to wait for scores sent after the application deadline.

gago94

From the FAQ's on the admissions website it says that if we are deferred we can submit an "additional written statement." I was wondering what the guidelines for this statement are. How long can it be? Is it a personal statement and if so are we limited to only one and is it a topic of our choice? or is it just a statement of our interest in JHU?

As I stated in the first post on this discussion thread:
(4) Write a letter to the admissions committee. Though not something all deferred applicants need to do or even should do, some of you may consider writing a personal letter to the Admissions Committee stressing your interest in Hopkins and why you feel you are an appropriate candidate for admissions. Consider this a cover letter to your overall application.
There is no word count related to this statement, but please be reasonable in length.

Should all supplementary materals be subbmitted in one package, or should updated transcripts and additional letters of recommendation be sent separately as with RD? If so, should the cover letter be the same for all supplements?

You can send everything together or in separate mailings, we do not have a preference. Do note that any school documentation such as transcripts or recommendations need to be sent directly by the school to be considered official. All materials should include your name, birth date, high school, and a note that the materials are being submitted as an update to an ED deferred application.

I applied ED and was deferred. I already submitted 3 teacher recommendation letters and 1 guidance recommendation letter. I see that you said we can send another letter of recommendation. However, I know JHU prefers not to get over 4. Because I was deferred (and already submitted 4 letters), can I submit one more?

If you have already submitted 3 teacher recommendations, the Admissions Committee would not prefer to receive additional recommendations. As stated in the first post, you may request that your guidance counselor submit an updated letter of recommendation.

Is it possible for early decision defers to change their choice of major for the regular decision review process?

Since applicants to Johns Hopkins University do not apply to specific majors, and intended major does not factor in the decision-making process, there is no need to make such a change. If you are admitted, you will be able to switch your major at the time of enrollment. (The exception is BME, and deferred applicants who did not apply for BME initially are not able to make that change at a later date.)