John Hopkins Medical School Acceptance Rate

Below, you’ll find examples for each secondary essay prompt, as well as pointers for how to craft essays that make your application stand out. The examples are based on composites of students we’ve worked with in nearly 20 years of advising.

How to Get Into Johns Hopkins Medical School: Requirements and Strategies

Learn the Johns Hopkins Medical School acceptance rate, admissions strategies, and read sample Johns Hopkins secondary essays

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Johns Hopkins Medical School MD programs

Part 3: How hard is it to get into Johns Hopkins Medical School?

Part 4: Johns Hopkins secondary application essays (examples included)

Part 5: Johns Hopkins Medical School interview

Part 1: Introduction

When you think of top medical schools, Johns Hopkins Medical School is likely one of the first institutions to come to mind. As a bastion of unparalleled research and world-renowned physicians, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has always had a sterling reputation. It’s currently ranked #3 for research by U.S. News and World Report, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital was ranked #1 by U.S. News and World Report for 22 straight years and currently sits at #4.

Graduates from Johns Hopkins Medical School go on to serve as leaders in medicine. They develop cutting-edge treatments, conduct life-changing research, and win Nobel Prizes. It should come as no surprise then that JHU’s admissions process has high standards. If you’re a talented premed with excellent test scores and grades, Johns Hopkins might be a real possibility, but you’ll need something more than an impressive MCAT and GPA. You’ll also need a qualitative strategy for conveying who you are in order to stand out from the pack—something that can be accomplished in strong answers to the Johns Hopkins secondary essays.

Here, we’ll discuss how to get into Johns Hopkins Medical School, from writing strong essays to acing the Johns Hopkins Medical School interview.

Part 2: Johns Hopkins Medical School MD programs

There are several different paths you can take to earn an MD at Johns Hopkins:

• The traditional, four-year MD program
• The Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD)
• The MD/MBA
• The MD/MS in Health Care Management
• Other dual degree programs (MD/MPH, MD/MBE, and many more)

Johns Hopkins Medical School tuition and scholarships

In the 2023–2024 academic year, Johns Hopkins’ first-year tuition and fees costs $62,850. With the addition of room and board, books, travel expenses, and other indirect costs, they estimate a total first-year cost of attendance of $98,826.

While this is steep, Johns Hopkins has over 150 need-based scholarship and loan opportunities and gives 85 percent of its students some kind of financial aid package. $40 million of financial aid is administered to medical students each year.

Part 3: How hard is it to get into Johns Hopkins Medical School?

Johns Hopkins Medical School admissions statistics

The Johns Hopkins Medical School acceptance rate is just 6.3 percent, making admissions highly competitive. Let’s take a closer look at admissions statistics for the class of 2026:

• Applications: 4,548
• Interviews: 576
• Accepted: 287
• Matriculants: 118
• Average GPA: 3.94
• Average MCAT score: 521

Johns Hopkins Medical School admissions requirements

To apply to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, you will need to have completed the following coursework:

• Biology: One year with lab; a course in genetics is recommended
• Chemistry: One year of general chemistry with lab; one semester of organic chemistry with lab; 3 semester hours of biochemistry
• Humanities, social, and behavioral science: 24 semester hours including two writing-intensive courses
• Math: 6 semester hours in calculus and/or statistics
• Physics: One year with lab

In addition, applicants must have taken the MCAT within four years of expected matriculation and no later than September of the application year. So, if you are applying in the 2023–2024 application cycle, you must have taken the MCAT between 2020 and September 2023.

Applicants with degrees from foreign language institutions must pass a TOEFL examination.

Johns Hopkins Medical School application timeline

You’ll use the AMCAS application to apply to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Below is a timeline of relevant dates and deadlines you’ll need during the application process:

• May 2, 2023: AMCAS application opens
• May 30, 2023: AMCAS application can be submitted
• June 30, 2023: AMCAS applications transmitted to JHU
• Late June/early July 2023: JHU secondary application portal opens to verified applicants
• Mid-July 2023: Application review begins
• August 2023–February 2024: Interviews conducted
• October 15, 2023: AMCAS application deadline
• November 1, 2023: JHU secondary application deadline
• December 2023–April 2024: Admissions decisions sent in three rounds

While you can submit your AMCAS and secondary applications as late as October and November, submitting these materials as early as possible can only be to your advantage due to Johns Hopkins’ rolling admissions policy. If possible, you should have your medical school personal statement and supplemental essays ready by June or July in order to be competitive.

Part 4: Johns Hopkins Medical School secondary essays (examples included)

After submitting the AMCAS application, you’ll turn to the Johns Hopkins secondary essays. Though the prerequisites and requirements we outlined above are important, it’s often the less tangible qualifications and traits that often set candidates apart.

Top-tier medical schools want to know that you have a story and something to offer their institution beyond high test scores. They want to know you’ll be a future leader in healthcare, that you’ve faced and overcome challenges, and that you have a history of compassionate service. Furthermore, they want to know that you can articulate these qualitative aspects.

That’s what your Johns Hopkins secondary essays are for, and why they’re such an important part of your application.

Below, you’ll find examples for each secondary essay prompt, as well as pointers for how to craft essays that make your application stand out. The examples are based on composites of students we’ve worked with in nearly 20 years of advising.

Question 1: (Optional) If you have already received your bachelor’s degree, please describe what you have been doing since graduation and your plans for the upcoming year. (2000 characters)

This is a classic ‘gap year’ essay topic, frequently used by many medical schools. Essentially, they’re asking for a recounting of how you’ve maintained your interest in medicine and improved upon your qualifications for medical school in a non-academic sense outside of classes.

One way to begin answering this question is to start with the facts. What precisely, did you do? What is/was your reasoning behind taking a gap year? What did you achieve? How did your achievements prepare you to succeed in medical school? If you’ve just graduated and haven’t started your gap year yet, how will your plans prepare you for medical school?

Here’s an example:

After receiving my bachelor’s in science from Williams College in 2022, I moved to Costa Rica to volunteer my time as an educator for Global Health Volunteers (GHV). The pandemic forced the organization to shift gears in terms of health education, and our primary goal became vaccine education. Every day I helped administer COVID-19 tests and vaccinations to hundreds of patients. As a member of the local academic administration team, I also helped coordinate educational events to inform locals about the importance of COVID testing and inoculation. Although this work provided me with invaluable experience on a technical and administrative level, the personal connections I made with patients will stick with me for the rest of my life. One was Miguel, a 35 year old, former heavy smoker who was deeply conflicted about receiving the vaccination. He was terrified of contracting the virus, but his history of smoking made him reticent about the vaccination as well. I assured him that the vaccine, although it might make him feel sick for a day or two, would not put him in any danger, regardless of his co-morbidities. After extensive conversations, he agreed to the vaccine, and responded very well. Two weeks after becoming inoculated to COVID, Miguel returned to the GHV clinic, this time with a dozen friends and family members. He requested to see me specifically, and I provided vaccines and COVID tests for the entire party. Working with individuals like Miguel has taught me the importance of tailoring care to individuals, as opposed to merely their symptoms or concerns. It is only through developing a relationship with patients that a healthcare provider can truly begin to address their concerns at a deeper level, and thereby form an even more genuine connection with them. For the upcoming year, I will be returning to Costa Rica to continue assisting the local population in the battle against COVID, which is so much more pronounced in developing countries.

Why does this response work well?

• This student comes across as very intentional about how they planned to spend their gap year and specific about what they did. They were able to find a program where they could make an impact in an underserved community and they related the impact they had to the effect on their personal experience and outlook. The student’s relationship with Miguel was much more than merely giving a vaccine, it becomes a story where the student learns about the human side of delivering medicine. How to effectively interact with patients is a crucial skill for doctors and not often one taught in a classroom. This highlights to adcoms how the student will bring these lessons and qualities to Johns Hopkins.

Question 2: (Optional) If you interrupted your college education for a semester or longer, please describe what you did during that time. (2000 characters)

Question 3: Briefly describe your single, most rewarding experience. Feel free to refer to an experience previously described in your AMCAS application. (2500 characters)

Question 4: Are there any areas of medicine that are of particular interest to you? If so, please comment. (2500 characters)

Question 5: Briefly describe a situation where you had to overcome adversity; include lessons learned and how you think it will affect your career as a future physician. (2500 characters)

Question 6: Briefly describe a situation where you were not in the majority. What did you learn from the experience? (2500 characters)

Question 7: Wonder encapsulates a feeling of rapt attention … it draws the observer in. Tell us about a time in recent years that you experienced wonder in your everyday life. Although experiences related to your clinical or research work may be the first to come to mind, we encourage you to think of an experience that is unrelated to medicine or science. What did you learn from that experience? (2500 characters)

Question 8: (Optional)The Admissions Committee values hearing about each candidate for admission, including what qualities the candidate might bring to the School of Medicine if admitted. If you feel there is information not already addressed in the application that will enable the Committee to know more about you and this has influenced your desire to be a physician, feel free to write a brief statement in the space below. You may address any subject you wish, such as being a first generation college student, or being a part of a minority group (whether because of your sexual orientation, religion, economic status, gender identity, ethnicity) or being the child of undocumented immigrants or being undocumented yourself, etc. Please note that this question is optional and that you will not be penalized should you choose not to answer it. (2500 characters)

Acceptance to Medical School

Our students receive expert, ample guidance when it comes to preparing for and applying to medical school. From the very beginning of the program, we treat each student as an individual and provide personalized advising. We take into account each student’s immediate goals for medical school and long-term goals within the medical profession.

We counsel students through every step of the process, whether they have a specific school in mind, wish to pursue one of our many linkage opportunities or obtain glide year experience prior to applying and enrolling in medical school. This includes workshops and personal advising on topics, including:

• the details of the primary application
• secondary applications
• essays
• interviews
• the MCAT

Our guidance is complemented by presentations from an array of medical school admissions deans from across the country.

Through these measures, we help students decide which schools would be the best fit for them, and as of 2021, an extraordinary 99.7% of our graduates have been accepted to medical schools, 96.3% of which were accepted in their first application cycle following the program.

In the last six years, 98 medical schools nationwide offered admission to our students, and many also received significant merit scholarships.

Contact Us

If you have a question about the Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program, please email us at [email protected] or fill out the form.