UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS GUIDE
Hopkins looks at how you pursue your academics, the impact you’ve had, and how your values and goals match what it offers. Start here to understand the education and prepare each part of your application.
Fall 2027 entry
GET TO KNOW THE EDUCATION
Your application covers two schools: the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering. You list an intended major when you apply, but you aren’t bound to it. Once you enroll, you can choose a major in either school, except biomedical engineering.
FIRST YEAR
Arts and Sciences students take a fall First-Year Seminar and a writing class, both with 12 students. Most engineering students choose a seminar of up to 12 students or a hands-on design course.
BY SECOND YEAR
Arts and Sciences students meet an advisor to declare in April of their first year, and must declare by April 15 of their second year to graduate on time. Undecided engineers choose by the end of their first year.
THROUGHOUT
Six Foundational Abilities, from writing to ethics, run through the degree. Their credits can overlap with your major or minor.
In Arts and Sciences they are Writing and Communication; Science and Data; Culture and Aesthetics; Citizens and Society; Ethics and Foundations; and Projects and Methods. You need at least 15 credits in each of the first five and 6 in the last. Engineering has its own six.
Biomedical engineering: List it as your first-choice major; there’s no separate application. Hopkins may admit you to the university but not to the major, and you can’t switch into it later.
A master’s degree from the start: Direct Matriculation Programs let you apply at the same time to one master’s program: International Health, International Relations, or the MBA.
Music at Peabody: The Peabody Institute has its own application requirements and deadlines.
UNDERSTAND WHAT HOPKINS LOOKS FOR
Hopkins names three areas it considers: Academic Character, Impact & Initiative, and Overall Match. It’s just as clear about what it doesn’t use: interviews, demonstrated interest, and legacy.
ACADEMIC CHARACTER
Hopkins looks at how you approach your studies, add to the learning around you, and follow your interests beyond class. It finds this in your transcript, activities, recommendations, and test scores.
Letrado’s adviceAsk teachers who have seen you question an idea or move a discussion forward. A top grade alone gives them little to describe.
IMPACT & INITIATIVE
Hopkins considers your roles and impact in clubs, organizations, jobs, and internships, or within your family and community. It looks for this in your activities list, recommendations, and essays.
Letrado’s adviceSay what you did, who relied on you, and for how long. Caring for a relative or working after school belongs on your list too.
OVERALL MATCH
Hopkins looks at your values and goals, and how they align with the opportunities at Hopkins, across your supplemental essay, personal statement, and whole application.
Letrado’s adviceThis year’s essay isn’t a “why Hopkins” question, so look up the courses and programs you’d use on your own. That research will also help you decide about Early Decision.
WHAT HOPKINS SAYS
Hopkins doesn’t offer admissions interviews and can’t grant meeting requests.
It doesn’t track demonstrated interest, so your level of engagement with admissions doesn’t influence its decisions.
Legacy has no bearing on admission, even if a family member graduated from Hopkins.
PLAN THE APPLICATION
Hopkins offers Early Decision I, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision. It says it has historically admitted most of its class through Early Decision, and your plan doesn’t change your financial aid offer.
Early Decision I Next deadline
Nov 1, 2026Early Decision II
Jan 2, 2027Regular Decision
Jan 2, 2027Both Early Decision plans are binding: if you’re admitted, you enroll at Hopkins and withdraw your other applications. You may apply Early Action to other colleges, but Early Decision to only one.
The Common App or Coalition on Scoir, with your personal statement and the 350-word Hopkins essay.
Required, with no minimum. Hopkins superscores and accepts self-reported scores; you send official reports only if you enroll. AP scores and the optional ACT sections aren’t required.
Your counselor sends your transcript, a counselor recommendation, and your school’s profile. A mid-year report with your first-semester senior grades follows in mid-February.
From teachers of two different academic subjects who can speak to you and your work.
Request a waiver in your application platform, or use the Hopkins form if the fee is a hardship. Current and former U.S. military members also qualify.
For Early Decision only: a binding agreement signed by you, a parent or guardian, and your counselor.
Testing: The SAT or ACT is required for you too. An English test (TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test, or Cambridge English) is recommended if English isn’t your primary language or you haven’t attended an English-language school for the last three years. Hopkins encourages one if you score below 690 in SAT reading and writing, or below 30 in both ACT Reading and English.
Proof of funding: Every international applicant submits the Certification of Finances form in the applicant portal.
Financial aid: If you might need aid at any point, say so on your application and send the CSS Profile, or a free Hopkins alternative form, by your plan’s aid deadline. You can’t apply for aid later.
School records: Send records for the equivalent of grades 9 to 11, with verified English translations where needed. If your school doesn’t use GPAs or class rank, you won’t be disadvantaged.
Early Decision I or II: Early Decision II gives you more time, for example to gather materials or send first-semester grades. In Early Decision I you may be admitted, deferred to Regular Decision, or denied; in Early Decision II, admitted, waitlisted, or denied.
Test timing: Hopkins encourages you to finish testing by October of senior year for Early Decision, or December for Regular Decision. If you plan a later test, note it on your application.
Fee waivers: Hopkins must receive requests by November 15 for Early Decision I, or January 15 for the other plans.
QuestBridge: Hopkins is a QuestBridge College Partner, and that route has its own dates and requirements.
WRITE IN YOUR OWN VOICE
350 wordsFor the Hopkins supplemental essay. Your personal statement is the other essay Hopkins requires.
The 2026–27 prompt asks what you’ve learned about engaging across differences, and how it has shaped the way you think about building bridges, enhancing community, and working with others. Hopkins advises focusing on the process, not the outcome: you don’t need to be the hero, and your essay shouldn’t be about winning an argument.
Letrado’s adviceChoose a moment small enough to describe exactly: what was said, what you did next, and what you still aren’t sure about. Then show what you do differently now. You don’t need a final paragraph that sums up the lesson.
Hopkins mentions differences in problem-solving, communication styles, life experiences, culture, religion, and political or philosophical views. A single misunderstanding with a friend or a class discussion that challenged you can be enough.
Hopkins wants to see how you engaged, what surprised you, and what you understand now. It says growth can mean noticing your own assumptions or changing the way you ask questions.
The prompt ends by asking how the experience shapes the way you build community and work with others. Hopkins suggests asking how it affects the way you show up in groups, and what role you play in bringing people together.
Hopkins allows AI tools for brainstorming or refining ideas before you write, and for basic spelling and grammar checks. Everything you submit must be your own original work; submitting AI-generated content counts as application fraud under Common App policy.
MAKE ROOM FOR THE FINANCIAL QUESTION
Hopkins is need-blind for domestic applicants, including U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and students with DACA or undocumented status. It meets 100% of demonstrated need for every admitted student, with no loans in its aid offers.
FAMILY INCOME UP TO $100,000
Aid covers tuition, fees, housing, dining, and most personal expenses.
FAMILY INCOME $100,000 TO $200,000
Your costs are mainly housing, dining, and personal expenses, and many families qualify for more support. At $150,000 to $200,000, the typical parent cost is $22,000 a year.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS
Admission is need-aware if you apply for aid, and about 10% of international students receive it. Hopkins meets the full need of those it admits, without loans.
These tiers assume typical assets, generally less than three times annual income. Above $100,000, Hopkins lists a typical student contribution of $1,800 in the first year. Every applicant is also considered for merit scholarships.
The Johns Hopkins Tuition Promise (opens in a new tab)PUBLISHED 2026–27 COST · FIRST YEAR ON CAMPUS
$94,858This is the full price before aid. Tuition is $68,670, and the rest covers a double room, a meal plan, a one-time $500 matriculation fee, books, personal expenses, and travel.
For fall 2027 entry, use the 2027–28 figures when Hopkins publishes them. Health insurance, $3,624 in 2026–27, is added to your bill unless you waive it with other coverage; students on F-1 or J-1 visas can’t waive it.
Hopkins cost of attendance (opens in a new tab)Letrado’s adviceSit down with your family and the Hopkins net price calculator before you choose Early Decision. A binding plan works best when everyone has already seen the numbers.
The net price calculator asks questions like those on the CSS Profile, so keep your parents’ tax returns nearby.
Estimate your cost (opens in a new tab)ADMITTED TO JOHNS HOPKINS · C.M.
C.M.’s grades dipped while she helped care for a grandparent. We helped her explain the timing with care, then bring her academic recovery and her interest in health communication into view.
A short note explained the timing and academic effect of caregiving without naming a diagnosis. C.M. approved every sentence of it.
By senior year she had recovered academically. Her school had no specialized neuroscience course, so she explored the subject through her classes and reading.
At a health fair she saw visitors skip a confusing handout, and she worked on making it clearer. The essay told what she saw and did, without claiming a measurable result.
What Hopkins looks for (opens in a new tab) includes the roles you’ve had within your own family and community, alongside clubs, jobs, and internships.
HER JOHNS HOPKINS OUTCOME
Offered a place at Johns Hopkins University
HER CHOICE: JOHNS HOPKINSJohns Hopkins University · Photo: Chris Rycroft / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Cropped.
She reviewed a need-based financial-aid package alongside academic access and the fit between neuroscience and public health, then chose Johns Hopkins.
ALSO ADMITTED TO
WHEN YOU’D LIKE A HAND
Bring your questions to a free 45-minute introduction with your proposed mentor. Afterward, we’ll email a personalized plan with recommended next steps.
