Johns Hopkins Entry into Nursing (MSN) Spring 2021

Christina121979 · May 9, 2020

Not yet. Mixed emotions: excited but nervous at the same time. If I remember correctly from the 1st application, Post-Bac GPA is its own separate category because it's the work you did after you got your bachelor's. I wouldn't sweat the GPA stuff too much. I think they look at the whole application.

Guest1148094 · May 14, 2020

Hey guys! I am also applying to Johns Hopkins, but for the Fall 2021 term, I was just curious if you guys had access to the application essays prior to the application opening. I cannot find the topics anywhere on the program site.

Christina121979 · May 14, 2020

Hey Kas212- below are the questions directly from the johns hopkins nursingcas application section under program materials and then under "questions tab." you should have access to it once you log into nursingcas and then look for the program and then open up the app. Good Luck. Christina

Essay Questions

Below you will find the essay questions for the degree program to which you are applying. The general purpose of your statement is for you to provide information about yourself as well as to demonstrate your disposition for a career in nursing, your ability to express ideas clearly and logically and in a grammatically correct format. Each of your responses should be approximately 300 words in length. *You must complete 2 essay responses. You are required to answer Question 1 but may choose to respond to either Question 2 or 3 for your final essay response.

1. Answer the question, why do you want to be a nurse? Include your academic, professional and life experiences and how they are relevant to the nursing profession. Include your professional goals in nursing.

2. Critical thinking skills are an essential aspect of leadership in nursing. Give a specific example of a conflict or challenge you have experienced in which you utilized critical thinking skills to resolve the issue. Why do you see this as an effective use of critical thinking?

3. Diversity is one of the core values of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. The School of Nursing community agrees to "embrace our differences in experience, culture and other aspects as a way to enhance all our activities. One of the values in professional nursing practice is the "respect for the inherent worth, dignity, and human rights of all individuals. Your patients may not share the same ethnicity, culture or set of values as you. Describe a scenario that challenged your core values and explain how you responded.

Guest1148094 · May 15, 2020

Thank you kindly!(: I now see where they are located. The Fall 2021 application is not even available, I got way to excited and clicked Spring 2021):

JenLFutureMSN · May 15, 2020

KAS- Good luck with your fall application!! Hopefully see you on campus someday (I hope we both get in) ? - Jen

JenLFutureMSN · May 15, 2020

Who else is taking pre-reqs right now? I started Anatomy and Lifespan Dev. this week with JHU online, and then I'm also finishing up some Northwestern work for my other masters...so I'm drowning over here haha. Trying really hard though! I'm considering doing EMT Basic this fall alongside the rest of my pre-reqs, but I dont know if thats a really bad idea or not, because it'd be a crazy schedule.. On the flip side, it would probably help me a lot with getting various body terminology down and medical terminology..and maybe could be useful once I start the MSN and clinicals. So many big changes! Exciting but terrifying. Is anyone else considering doing something short term like that to help them with the transition into nursing? ?

botmann · May 16, 2020

Hello everyone. I got accepted in and committed to the Fall 2020 cohort.

I do not have any real "tips" for you. I will tell you JHU SON feels inclusion is very important; at least that was a big theme at the Accepted Student's Day in January that was in person; the one in March went virtual.

I would also suggest going to one of the information sessions they do. Right now they're virtual via Zoom or something. I went to one in person that was local to me. It allowed me to talk to one of the admissions counselors about an issue I was having with the professional letter of recommendation and if I should include some non-typical things I had done and how to include it.

What I can tell you, JHU is one of the schools that does the more holistic approach to their application evaluation process. They are not hardline on the GPA. They are hardline about the B- minimum on those core science classes. Thus, the essays and letters of recommendation are very important. It's part of how they can try to determine if you "fit" the candidate they want.

I would also suggest trying to get your application by the early decision pool. Not sure if it increases your chances or not, but it's nice so you get the decision and can figure out how to proceed. I got waitlisted at one school which put me in limbo, so I had to proceed like I did not get in and apply to more schools. On a side note, I got accepted into that program. I got accepted into JHU about two weeks after attending that program's orientation.

botmann · May 16, 2020

On 5/14/2020 at 11:03 PM, MSNHopefulJan2021 said:
... I'm considering doing EMT Basic .... Is anyone else considering doing something short term like that to help them ...

Anything you do or take will be helpful. On the same token, do try to do more than you think you can reasonably handle. Although helpful, do not hurt your prerequisite classes grades. I assume you'll be applying to more than one school. And all nursing programs--ADN, BSN, direct entry--are very competitive to get into. Some will literally base it on grades, GPA, TEAS/HESI scores, and some other stuff. Others are lottery systems.

I ended up taking a CNA course because some of the local nursing programs required it for their applicants. I ended up getting a part-time job as one. I found it useful because it's a lot of hands-on with residents/patients. I've already gotten to watch someone die right in front of me while on the job. Seen several more on the way out; they died a few hours after my shift.

botmann · May 16, 2020

On 5/14/2020 at 4:48 PM, Christina121979 said:
... Essay Questions ...

There is actually one more question. It's buried towards the end of the application asking why you're choosing JHU SON. It very short answer of one or two sentences.

It should be noted for those who have not seen NursingCAS, there is a character limit for all questions and the NursingCAS is very strict on it. I think JHU says to keep the essays around three hundred words. I remember the character limit being around three thousand, which gives around four hundred fifty to five hundred words.

JenLFutureMSN · May 16, 2020

Hi Bottman,

Thanks for your thoughts. You said you’re assuming I am applying to more programs- I am not. If I don’t get into JHU I’m sticking with my existing policy work in global health. This is the only program I’d consider for a second masters degree. I’ve looked at it for years so I’m giving it a shot but I also don’t want to be in school beyond 35 so this is the only program I’d like to attend. Yes, of course I wouldn’t put myself in a position to make my 4.0 pre-req GPA go down, that’s most important, but I also am used to being very busy :)

Thanks again for your thoughts and best of luck to you in starting this fall!

Jen

Christina121979 · May 17, 2020

Hi Jen-

Good luck to you in your prerequisites and your other masters degree. It sounds like you already have what you need to be a good contender for the program. Drowning yourself with too much stuff is risky because then you might not be able to get your head above water. The only things I am considering doing to help transition into nursing is working on my A/P coloring book which helps a lot. I love coloring. I am also tweaking my application a bit by adding extra addendums to documents section. The last time I spoke with school, I was told "whatever is in your application, make sure it shows you in a good/positive light." I just don't like talking about myself too much. Christina.

botmann · May 17, 2020

I used an application addendum as well, per SON suggestion.