There is really a simple answer to your question -- all extracurricular activities matter. You are correct in your description of the admissions process as putting together a puzzle. The comprehensive evaluation of everything in an application helps the Admissions Committee determine for each individual applicant whether or not their academic record, extracurricular achievemenet, and personal qualities fit the puzzle we are designing.

And absolutely there is always a place for musicians at Hopkins at all levels -- at the Peaboy level, at the academic minor level, or just at the extracurricular level. If you check out a number of the student profiles you will see the diversity of extracurricular experiences that even a small sample of current students can display -- and there are a number of musicians too.

There is no set definition to what extracurriculars a student should pursue. Simply put you should pursue your passions and enjoy what you get involve in. Show commitment, leadership, an interest in service, and become involved and engaged.

Thanks for the message Julian. The way you phrased your question is a bit vague so I am going to provide multiple answers:

1. If you want to know more about the swim team at JHU (Division III squad) and actually connect with the coach ... well then you need to send the coach an email. The Admissions Office can not make arrangements for students to connect with athletics coaches.  If you would like to contact a specific athletic coach, please refer to this Athletic Department Staff Contact directory: http://hopkinssports.cstv.com/school-bio/jhop-staff.html.
 
2. If your question though pertained more to completing your application and how to express your interest in swim ... well that is easy. In the application there is an entire section where you detail your extracurricular activities, and there you should not only express your interest in swimming but also your past accomplishments. Many applicants will actually submit an additional resume or list of the extracurricular accomplishments and go into some detail about their experiences. This is actually a very good idea.

Your last question refers to whether your chances increase because you swim, or because you are a musician ... and unfortunately there is no direct answer to that. As you will countless times on these message boards, there are no rules to who gets in and who doesn't get in ... the application review process is holistic and comprehensive and my colleagues and I factor everything in. We want involved students but we do not specify what kind of involvement is necessary as it varies from student to student.

Hope that helps.

1. Our policy is not to officially to select most of our recruited athletes through the ED program, but the majority of our strong student athletes choose to apply ED. As far as how good an athlete needs to be recruited, that is determined by each coach for each sport individually.

2. There are no restrictions against international students playing Division I or Division III sports at Hopkins.

3. Soccer is one of our top Division III sports at both the Men's and Women's level, and therefore they got a lot of support during the Fall season.

4. Not true. Our athletes are student athletes and they learn to manage their time so to succeed in the classroom and on the playing field.

5. You need to contact the Soccer Coach for more information. Contact information can be found here:
http://hopkinssports.cstv.com/school-bio/jhop-staff.html

Hi, I am international student in East Asia. I know that to get accepted to colleges like JH  it takes more than just good GPA and test scores.

I have participated in activities outside school with great deal of passion.
My ECs are not of typical activities( students council, captain of soccer,MUN,debate team.....) But I have great passion for few  activities representative of our country and doing well in them (some regional, national awards)which I would like to continue during college and afterwards.  I would like to introduce these activities.  But  I was wondering if colleges would value such activities.  I am afraid because many may not know or understand these activities and they might not appreciate or understand how difficult it is to be excellent in those areas.
For example I am really involved with Asian calligraphy since 1st gr.  I have few  nationally recognized awards.  Would anyone in the adm office understand the work if I sent in a portfolio? I mean even for art prof. they may not understand my artistic work.  Would you appreciate or care to see such different activity(something that many westerners would not understand)? Would you have some negative eye since I was not involved with typical activities.   thank you

How important is it to have a job during high school years when applying to Hopkins?  Do you heavily consider how much work experience we've had?

Hi,
I'm an international student from South Africa. My extracurricular activities are rather unbalanced. I've achieved many awards in art, music, maths and science. I'm the leader of the school orchestra and have been chosen to represent the country at an international science forum. But I'm not very active in other fields such as student councils, debate and sports. I would like to know if you rate leadership, community service and sports above the more "individual" activities such as science olympiads and music. Thanks.

Hi,
I'm an international student from South Africa. My extracurricular activities are rather unbalanced. I've achieved many awards in art, music, maths and science. I'm the leader of the school orchestra and have been chosen to represent the country at an international science forum. But I'm not very active in other fields such as student councils, debate and sports. I would like to know if you rate leadership, community service and sports above the more "individual" activities such as science olympiads and music. Thanks.

To add to what Mark stated, I am going to re-post something I often say ...

As I have said a number of times on this thread, the extracurricular activities section of the application is the place where each individual students presents information about their non-academic achievements to the Admissions committee. It is your choice what you want to present, how you want to present it, and in what detail. There are no rules to this section, and I will say that what a student chooses to list and how they present the information matters in many the same ways as the activities themselves.

Additionally, do not under-estimate the intelligence and experience of the Admissions Committee. Most of the staff have been reading applications for more than 5 years and a number of committee members have been reading for more than 10 years. We have seen everything, read about all activities, and know what to look for.

I'm a junior in high school and for my sweet sixteen I'm going to observe a surgery that's being done by my friends father, as well as shadow him all day. Would this qualify as an extracurricular activity or would it have to be a re-occurring event to count?

Extracurricular activities are open to interpretation. On one's college application there are no set "rules" to what one may list as an extracurricular activity. It is a space for each applicant to list the activities they are or were involved in that they want the admissions committee to review. It will be your choice if you want to list this job shadowing on your application. I can let you know that many students list job shadowing experiences on their applications.

Hello! I was wondering, is a more science/research based set of extracurricular activities more heavily weighed than a more broader set of after school activities?

As I have written previously, all extracurricular activities matter. There is no set definition to what extracurriculars a student should pursue and preference is not given over one set of experiences over another.

On the Common Application, it asks for number of hours per week of extracurricular activities; I have about eight hours per week. Is this enough?

I am unable to answer this question. As explained numerous times before on this discussion thread, there is no set number of hours one must participate in extracurricular activities and there is no specific activities one must pursue. Applications are reviewed comprehensively, holistically, and individually. Every cases is reviewed separately and the review of one's extracurricular achievements is placed in context of the entire application. We do not provide assessments of one's extracurricular choices nor provide advice on what to pursue and for how many hours. These are decisions that each individual student must make on their own.

I am a member of school symphony orchestra and I'm one of the principle players in it. I wonder if this kind of acativity can help me get advantage of applying for your school.

As I have written numerous times already on this discussion thread, there is no set definition to what extracurriculars a student should pursue and preference is not given over one set of experiences over another. All extracurricular will matter, however there is no set number of hours one must participate in extracurricular activities and there is no specific activities one must pursue. Applications are reviewed comprehensively, holistically, and individually. Every cases is reviewed separately and the review of one's extracurricular achievements is placed in context of the entire application. We do not provide assessments of one's extracurricular choices nor provide advice on what to pursue and for how many hours. These are decisions that each individual student must make on their own.