2009-10 Application Essay Policy Explained, Ask your essay related questions here!

We have a new essay policy for the 2009-10 application cycle. Students applying as freshmen to Johns Hopkins using either the Common Application ( http://app.commonapp.org ) or the Universal College Application ( http://www.universalcollegeapp.com/ ) must also submit the Johns Hopkins Supplement and must submit two essays.

Your first essay will be your submission of either one of the Common Application essay prompts or your response to the Universal College Application personal statement prompt, depending on which application method you select.

Your second essay will be the following essay which is included as question #7 on the Johns Hopkins Supplement:

Read more about this new essay policy in the following Hopkins Insider blog post:
http://tinyurl.com/l8tggh

If you have any questions about this new policy or general questions about essays as they relate to the admissions process, ask them here.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS RE: APPLICATION ESSAYS

How long should our essays be?
As is our traditional policy we do not set word limits for the JHU essays. Additionally, we also do not set suggested lengths. There are no official word limits or word count suggestions.

I'd say that your first essay will traditionally be between 750 - 1000 words when written. The second academic essay is expected to be shorter and probably will run between 250-500 words. But with both essays, it is your choice how long / how short you want your essays to be.

Am I allowed to submit my essay(s) in another medium?
Yes it has always been the policy of Johns Hopkins University's Admissions Committee to allow applicants to present their essays in any format and using any medium they choose.

When submitting my essays online the formatting I used did not come out right. How can I fix this?
Don't worry about the essay formatting. In 99% of the time when the applications are downloaded by our Operations team all the formatting is there. For some odd reason the online system removes the formatting when you submit, but it reappears when we print them out.

As an aside, the Admissions team has no concern about the formatting of essays. We just care about the content.

I'm thinking of putting my essay in this one format, but I think it might cause a little bit of a hassle for the ad-coms to go through it

Should I still use it?

[I don't really want to release what it is exactly online]

As I stated in the FAQs above:

We do not place any restrictions on applicants submitting their essay in another medium.