Decision day arrived on Friday for the 22,281 high school students who applied regular decision to Hopkins. Out of that large pool of applicants, 3,070 students were accepted into the Class of 2018.
The number of students who applied regular decision rose 16.2 percent from last year and broke the record for the largest applicant pool in the University’s history. The rise in applications was expected, given that the number of applicants has risen each year for the past 11 years.
“I think this [rise] in large part [is] due to the success of our current students. Hopkins students are pursuing interesting things in such a wide range of studies and I think that appeals to prospective students who are looking for an academic experience that allows them to connect things they are passionate about as well as help them discover new things that may interest them,” Director of Undergraduate Admissions Ellen Kim wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
The students who received the positive news last week will join the ranks of the 526 students who were accepted this past December; with the early applicants included, 23,875 students in total applied to Hopkins this year. The University estimates that about 1,300 will accept the offer of admission and form next year’s freshmen class.
A committee within the Office of Undergraduate Admissions reviewed the applications, looking out for students who, among other qualities, were able to make best use of the resources available to them in high school.
“We are looking for students who have made the most of the academic opportunities in front of them and demonstrate a high level of intellectual curiosity and academic ambition. We’re also looking to see if the students are able to take initiative and make an impact in their extracurricular time — regardless of what their passions are,” Kim wrote.
Furthermore, the committee also strongly considers personal qualities to gauge how the applicant will fit into the Hopkins community.
“We recognize that we’re admitting students, but we’re also considering future classmates, roommates, teammates, etc … so we look closely at recommendations and a student’s self-representation to get a sense of how a student will engage in our community beyond the academics and activities,” Kim wrote.
Accepted students are from 48 states. States with the highest number of accepted students include California, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Globally, students from 58 countries were admitted to the Class of 2018. Countries with the highest number of accepted students include Canada, the United Kingdom, Korea and China.
Of the accepted students’ SAT scores, the middle 50th percentile ranges from 2070 to 2340. Furthermore, 43 percent of the admitted students were offered institutional need-based grants, an increase from the 38 percent offered such grants last year.
The admitted Class of 2018 is 50.8 percent women, and 29 percent of those accepted are either black, Hispanic, Native American and/or Pacific Islander.
For the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, finishing the review stage of regular decision applications is just one annual milestone among many.
Kim noted that her office has already begun the review process of transfer applications, following a review process for freshmen applications that began in November as early decision contenders sent in their applications.
“While the increase in applications was significant this year, we were also fortunate enough to grow our staff last summer so we were well prepared,” Kim wrote.
Beyond reviewing applications, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions is also in charge of programming events in April for admitted students, as well as providing year-round services to students considering applying to Hopkins.
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