Counselors and Educators

We want to make sure you have the information and tools you need as you guide your students in making one of the most important decisions in their academic career.

TIPS AND INSIGHTS RIGHT IN YOUR INBOX

Sign up for our mailing list to stay informed about upcoming deadlines, workshop offerings, application tips for your students, and admissions events they might be interested in.

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College Planning Guide

Is your student looking for a good place to start the college process? Send them this guide.

EXPLORE THE GUIDE

Hopkins at a Glance

Take a look at our undergraduate snapshot and incoming first-year class data to get a sense of who we are and who might be a good match for our community.

SEE OUR FAST FACTS

Partnership Opportunities 

We collaborate with schools and districts on educational programming for students, families, and school administrators. Our staff is trained to lead workshops on the following topics: 

• Counselor Letter of Recommendation Workshop (for high school counselors, teachers, and staff)
• Admissions 101 
• College Search and Application Workshop
• Telling Your Story 
• Personal Statement Workshop
• Supplemental Essay Workshop 

For more information or to request a session, email counselors@jhu.edu. While we may not be able to immediately accommodate all requests given staff availability, we are happy to work with you.

Join a Virtual Information Session

Hosted by a member of our admissions committee and a current student, we’ll provide an overview of everything you need to know about Hopkins, from academics and student life to the admissions process.

SEE DATES & REGISTER

Visit Us at Homewood

Join our admissions sessions and guided tours to learn more about Hopkins and the application process.

SEE DATES & REGISTER

Wednesday at Hopkins

Ahead of this year’s NACAC Conference in Baltimore, we invite you to attend a special day of counselor-specific programming where you can get an inside look at both the Hopkins student experience and admissions process.

LEARN MORE

Supporting Your Students in the Application Process 

Before the Application

• Encourage students to attend an event to learn more about Hopkins and determine if it’s a community they’d like to join.
  
  Parents, guardians, and other members of your student’s support system (including yourself) are welcome to attend our workshops and events.
  • Virtual events and workshops
  • In-person events

• Know the application deadlines. We officially announce them on August 1 of each year.
  • Early Decision I: November 1, 2023
  • Early Decision II: January 2, 2024
  • Regular Decision: January 2, 2024
• Get familiar with our application process and requirements.
• Help your student decide when to apply.
  • We offer three decision plans—Early Decision I, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision. If you work with students whose first-choice college is Hopkins, here’s what they’ll need to know about applying Early Decision I or II.

Submitting the Application

The application is your student’s chance to show us who they’ll be in our community. We want to know what motivates them, what they’re interested in inside and outside the classroom, and what kind of impact they’ve had within their own families and community. 

We offer multiple resources to help you and your students understand what we look for so they can submit their strongest application. 

Letter of Recommendation: Written by counselors and educators

• Letter of Recommendation workshops: Tips on how to maximize the effectiveness of the school profile and what admissions counselors expect to learn from the recommendation.
• Counselor Brag Sheet and Teacher Brag Sheet: What to ask students to provide you prior to writing them a letter.
• Tips and Takeaways: What our office looks for while reading letters of recommendation.

If you are sending application materials directly to us, such as the school profile and letter of recommendation, please email them to applyhelp@jhu.edu. Make sure you include the student’s name, high school, and application ID number.

Personal Statement and Supplemental Essay: Written by students

• Essays That Worked: a collection of essays from admitted Hopkins students and feedback from our admissions committee on why they were successful.
• Application workshops: 
  • Telling Your Story: Learn how to use your experiences and passions to tell an authentic and cohesive story of who you through the holistic admissions process.
  • Personal Statement: Analyzing and comparing example personal statement excerpts, admissions counselors will provide an inside view on the role of the essay within the college application and tips on how to start writing or improve on your first draft.
  • Supplemental Essay: Analyze and compare Hopkins supplemental essay excerpts to understand the role of the supplemental essay and how to strengthen your own writing in the college process.

After the Application

After your student submits their materials, we’ll send you an email if there are any missing documents. 

Students can view their application checklist on their applicant portal. They’ll also receive their admissions decision through the same portal on the following dates:

• Early Decision I: December 15, 2023
• Early Decision II: February 16, 2024
• Regular Decision: March 20, 2024

Their applicant portal will include information about financial aid and any merit scholarships. We are not able to release decisions over the phone.

INFORMATION FOR SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

We understand that each student has a different set of questions about the application process. We have resources and helpful answers to help them through the process.

– International Students
– First-Generation Students
– Students with DACA or Undocumented status
– Military Veterans
– Prospective Athletes

Frequently Asked Questions

What updates should I provide regarding the effect of COVID-19 on my school?

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We recommend focusing on school-wide or district-wide changes in scheduling, grading policies, class availability, other school policies, resource availability, and general challenges that your students have faced as a result of the pandemic. If you have student-specific COVID-19 related updates or information, those can also be shared. However, we understand that students may not have disclosed these, and they will have an opportunity to share any information about how COVID-19 has affected them elsewhere in the application.

Where should I place any COVID-19 related updates?

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In either the school profile or the counselor letter of recommendation. We recognize that schools will have different policies or preferences. If updates are placed in the school profile, make sure they are distinctly visible in an easily identifiable section of the profile. In a letter of recommendation, clearly note where the update is and where the traditional content of the letter is.

Is there a difference between the COVID-19 section of the Common Application or Coalition on Scoir and the updates I’d like to provide?

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There is a difference, but it’s okay if some information is repeated. We recognize the importance of this information, and it’s better that we hear any updates twice than not at all. In general, the COVID-19 section of the application is for students to personally share how the pandemic has affected them. The updates provided by counselors should, at the least, touch on school or district-wide changes, but they can also share individual students’ context if available. We understand that students may, for a variety of reasons, not include all the ways that COVID-19 has affected them. If you have some of that information, you are welcome to share it with us as well.

How do I write a letter for a student I’ve only worked with during remote learning?

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While we recognize the unique challenges of teaching and counseling students in a remote setting, what we look for in letters of recommendation hasn’t changed. Focus on the things you know about the student and share whatever context might be important for us to know (related to COVID-19 or otherwise). Please see the letters of recommendation section above to get a better sense of how we use the letters and what we look for in our application review process.