There are actually a ton of resources that we have already presented that discuss the selection process at Johns Hopkins:

Admissions Selection Philosophy
http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/faq.html

Admissions Selection Process Forums Thread
http://www.hopkins-interactive.com/forums/ask-admissions/admissions-selection-process/

Reviewing the Application Category of Hopkins Insider blog
http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/blog/...he-application/

Hopkins Insider Blog post that discusses selection process
http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/blog/...trained-vision/

As a sophomore I got a C in Spanish4 first semester and a B second semester. I know there are no set standards for admission, but would that negatively affect my application?

The Admissions Committee reviews all grades (including semester grades) and all courses that students take throughout high school. The grades in your Spanish 4 class will impact the review of your application but there is no way to determine what effect it will have on the comprehensive evaluation of your transcript. All grades matter but there has never been in a case where just one grade has impacted a final decision. There is nothing you can do to go back and change that grade, so simply put ... you can't worry about it anymore.

I'm enrolled in a medical and health specialties program at my high school. This program required freshmen to take bio-med, sophomores to take chem-med and all juniors take anatomy and a second science. As a junior i'm taking anatomy and I have access to the gross anatomy lab at EVMS. Would this help me get into JHU?

Once again, the review of an applicant's high school transcript and academic experience is comprehensive and looks at a multitude of factors. There is no way that we can answer your question. Everything factors in our admissions review. We review the academic choices an applicant makes in the context of their entire application and the opportunities available to them. In advance of the full review of a student's record, there is no way to pre-determine what impact certain academic choices (just like certain grades) will have on the final outcome of one's admissions review.

Before answering your questions I need to inform you of three important things. First, many of the questions you ask could have been simply found if you searched the main Admissions Web site: http://apply.jhu.edu. We don't mind answering questions on the forums but we prefer that we are just not repeating information that is already present on our site.

Second, in the future when posting on the forums please do not post unrelated questions in one continuous message. We prefer that questions be posted in related discussion topics so others can review the information. This thread is for questions about high school course selection. Questions about financial aid should be posted elsewhere.

And finally. one of the guidelines of these forums is the following:
http://www.hopkins-interactive.com/forums/forum-guidelines/

Chances for Admission:
Questions regarding an individual’s chances for admission, while important, cannot be answered here. Admission to Johns Hopkins is a complex process, and there are no set “formulas.” The Admissions Committee employs a holistic approach to application review, meaning that there is no way to determine an applicant’s chances for admission outside of a full review of the application. Please keep that in mind. Additionally please be aware that the Admissions counselors and current students posting on these forums will not provide individual advice to potential applicants.

Some of your questions break this guidelines and therefore will not be answered.

1.Since I'm already planning my senior year, I was wondering whether or not to take dual enrollment at Hillsborough Community College next year. Would it be better to take AP classes or college courses? The previous 4 APs I've taken (plus the 4 I'm taking right now) have been pretty challenging but I've been able to do good on all of them.

We do not provide advice on what courses a student should pursue in high school or assist in determining whether a student should pursue AP or dual enrollment classes. These are decisions you need to make on your own or in consultation with your guidance counselor. The Admissions Committee evaluates all the decisions a student makes about their academics and therefore does not provide advice on such matters.

2. As of right now I am number 2 in my class rank. Would being valedictorian improve my chances of being admitted compared to that of a saluditorian?

We do not respond to questions that refer to one's chances for admission or how some status will be removed by the Admissions Committee. Clearly being ranked #1 in one's class is better than being ranked #2.

3. I was planning on taking only two years of a foreign language, French. However you recommend (yes i know you don't require) to take four years. However, I moved to the US four years ago and I had an education in Spanish for seven years of my life. Is that taken into account? Would it be better if I take online courses in French?

Yes, whether a student is a non-native English speaker is taken into account when one's application is reviewed that is why it is a question on page 1 of the application. As far as advice on what courses to take, once again it is recommended not required a student pursue foreign language throughout each year in high school.

4. How much are the average living expenses of a college student living in campus? Off campus?

All freshmen and sophomores must live on-campus. Total costs can be found here:
http://apply.jhu.edu/finaid/costs.html

5. How can I improve my chances of being admitted (disregarding academics, clubs, and sports)?

Once again, we do not answer such questions.

6. Is financial aid available to legal residents, non-U.S. citizens?

As our financial aid web site explains ( http://apply.jhu.edu/finaid/finaid.html ) financial aid is available to U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents who complete all official financial aid application materials by the deadline.

As we have stated numerous times on this discussion thread, we are unable to provide individual course selection advice to prospective students. Many students contact our office to ask about course selection throughout their high school years. Though we provide prospective applicants with general recommendations on what courses will be considered competitive in our application review process, we cannot offer specific advice about what courses nor programs an individual student should select. Every prospective student has an individual record from their specific high school, therefore it is not possible for us to suggest specific enrollment options.

In general, recommended preparation for all students includes four years of each of the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Science with laboratory, and History/Social Science. It is recommended that students take 5 core academic courses each year throughout high school, focusing on academic core classes over elective classes. It is also recommended that students pursue the most advanced level courses offered at their school. Johns Hopkins University considers AP and IB programs to be the most rigorous available to students, but does not have a stated preference of one program over another. These are only recommendations and not requirements. Every individual student's own personal educational history will be taken into account when reviewing one's course selection.

We evaluate the decisions students make about their academics, and the decision of which courses you select will say much about what type of academic student you will be at Hopkins.

I'm wondering if admissions considers certain AP classes of the same general subject to be more rigorous than others. For example, is AP Gov considered less rigorous than AP Euro, or are all full year AP history classes viewed equally?

All AP courses are reviewed as the same level of rigor. We do not rank one AP courses as "more rigorous" over another AP courses.

I know you recommend taking 4 years of Foreign Language, but would it not be favorable to have 3 years of one language and 1 year of another language, or do you recommend 4 years of the same language out of consistency?

As we have stated before, Johns Hopkins University does not have an official language requirement. In general, recommended preparation for all students includes four years of each of the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Science with laboratory, a History and Social Science. It is recommended that students take 5 core academic courses each year throughout high school, focusing on academic core classes over elective classes. If you choose to discontinue the study of an academic core course, it is strongly recommended that you supplement that course with an additional course in one of the other core academic areas. Please note that these are only recommendations and not requirements. Every individual student's own personal educational history will be taken into account when reviewing one's course selection.

As far as foreign language, we do recommend students pursue at least 3 years of a language and then are able to either continue with a 4th high school year of the same language or switch to a new language for their 4th high school year. There is no stated preference regarding whether a student should do 4 or more years of the same language or 3 years and then switch to a new language.

Hello, I just have a question regarding foreign language. On the College Board website it has a High School Preparation chart. On that chart it states that people wanting to go to JHU require 4 units of foreign language. Can you please tell me if this is true or not. This is the link to the chart http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=808&profileId=1

Please see the post above where your question is already answered:
http://www.hopkins-interactive.com/forums/ask-admissions/high-school-course-selection/msg5102/#msg5102

Please only refer to requirements, deadlines, and application information posted on the Undergraduate Admissions site for Johns Hopkins University (http://apply.jhu.edu), and not any third-party sites such as the College Board.

I know you've already stated that it's reccommended to have 3 or 4 years of a foreign language. I took 2 years of Latin, and then pursued learning Italian on my own at home since it wasn't offered at my school. Will having only 2 years of a language taken in school hurt my chances?

As I have stated previously, every individual student's own personal educational history will be taken into account when reviewing one's course selection -- this why our policies are recommendations and not requirements.

Only taking 2 years of high school language courses will be questioned by the Admissions Committee, but if there is an explantaion (like home schooled learning) that will also be taken into account. There is no way to predict whether such choices will help or hurt your chances.

Greetings, I am a sophomore in a medical-academy high school, and John Hopkins has been my dream college since 6th grade.  One of my classes this year is AP World History.  I am currently trying to decided wether i should take the AP exam or not.  Do you accept the AP World History Exam credit or no?  I do not want to spend the $80 on the exam if i know that you don't accept it.  Either way, do you think that it would look good if I took the test over another applicant who did not?

First, please note the correct spelling of our University's name is Johns Hopkins University. In your post you incorrectly spelled our name as John Hopkins, leaving off the "s" in Johns.

Johns Hopkins does not award academic credit for any AP history exams including World History. A full chart of which AP exams we award academic credit for can be found here: http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/apib.html?main

The choice of whether to take an AP exam or not is one each individual applicant must choose on their own as the Admissions Committee does not provide such advice. Not taking an AP exam will not be detrimental to the review of a student's application. Do note that other universities do award credit for AP exams, so your decision whether or not to take the exam should not be solely based on Johns Hopkins' credit policies.

Should I wait until my junior year at JHU to study genetics to be sure I get accepted or do you think my interest in science supersedes the need for rigor?

As we have stated multiple times on this discussion thread, we are unable to provide individual advice on course selection. We provide the general recommendations you mentioned but beyond that we are unable to instruct students on what courses to take or how specific course selections will be reviewed by the Admissions committee. The role of the Admissions committee is to review the choices a student makes about their academics over four years, and the choices you make about course selection says a lot about what kind of a student you will be. We recommend you discuss these options with your guidance counselor.