1. Freshman applicants only
1.Johns Hopkins offers 50 majors across the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. On this application, we ask you to identify one or two that you might like to pursue here. Why did you choose the way you did? If you are undecided, why didn't you choose? (If any past courses or academic experiences influenced your decision, you may include them in your essay.)
【类别】选择原因型
【关键词】 identify majors, why did you choose, why didn’t you choose, past courses, academic experiences
【题目翻译】约翰·霍普金斯大学的文理工程学院提供50个专业。在这份申请里，请指明一或两个你想学的专业。你为什么会选择这些专业?如果还未决定，为什么不做出选择?(如果之前的任何课程或学术经历影响了你的决定，你可以在文章里写出来。)
【题目分析】这是一道经典的选择原因型问题。和所有同类问题一样，通过此题，申请人必须表达出对所选专业的热情和了解，以及自己在学业上的目标与规划。由于JHU将字数限制在250词以内，所以写作时尽量精简，重点在于真挚地表达出你对所选专业的兴趣和热爱，未来自己想要学到什么、做些什么，以及学校能为你的愿望提供什么样的资源与帮助。想要打动面对成千上万份申请的审查员，一定要在文中准确地表达出你的独到见解和迫切心情。如果还未决定选择哪个专业，也要写明犹豫的原因。不可以表现出自己的学习目的和未来规划一片模糊，因为那是审查员最不需要看到的。
【范文】
Love It Tender, Love It True
I used to feel proud of my home city. As one of the top tourist destinations in China, its clear sky, fascinating ocean views, tasteful street scenery and balmy weather has amazed countless visitors. People from all over the world lavished their praise on it, and it was even the host venue for the international Summer Davos Forum on several occasions.
However, it is no longer such a place. The incumbent municipal leaders are sacrificing high quality living environment for economic interests. Because of the environmental problems, our city is becoming less charming and more chaotic. What's worse, a ruptured pipeline contaminated the nearby ocean waterways by leaking crude oil directly into it. It is fortunate for us that we still have tourists here at all, but they do not give us as many compliments as their fellows had in the past. I no longer have pride in claiming it as my hometown. That’s sad.
Is there anything I can do to change the situation? I have a strong desire to make it a better home city, and thereby make Earth a better and cleaner home planet. I believe that by studying Global Environmental Change and Sustainability, I can understand the Earth, its natural environmental systems, and how humans interact with Earth and its natural phenomena. I will use that knowledge to show my love for my home through tireless action to fix these pressing issues.(284 words)
【范文解析】
作者选择申请的是一个叫做Global Environmental Change and Sustainability的本科专业，并简述了做此选择的缘由以及未来的希望。
首先，文题“Love It Tender, Love It True”借鉴了猫王的经典歌词，令人眼前一亮，并且激发了读者(审查员)的好奇心——it指代什么?为什么要love it?随后的正文第一段描述了自己家乡曾经是一个环境优美、游人皆赞的地方，字里行间透着一种自豪感和对家园的爱。然而第二段笔锋一转，提起家乡现在的境况——牺牲环境换取经济利益后，一切美好的环境都变差了，作者很伤感。不仅为家园不再宜居而痛心，更为人类伤害地球而担忧。因此引出最后一段，作者真心希望做些事情将家乡和地球变得更好，而学习GECS专业可以使作者了解地球系统和人类与地球的互动关系，从而利用所学知识改变现状，表达对家园和地球的爱。
作者从身边发生的变化入手，娓娓道出自己对所选学科产生兴趣的原因、想要学好它的热情以及未来学以致用的目标。其真挚的情感体现出JHU需要的对所处世界的关心和热爱的特质，也契合了JHU“knowledge for the world”的使命，相信有希望打动审查员的心。
2. Tell us something about yourself or your interests that we wouldn't learn by looking at the rest of your application materials. (While you should still pay attention to sentence structure and grammar, your response is meant as a way for us to get to know you, rather than a formal essay.)
【类别】自我介绍型
【关键词】 something about yourself, interests, wouldn’t learn by the rest of application materials
【题目翻译】 谈谈未在你其他申请材料中体现出来的关于你自己的事情或你的兴趣爱好。(在注意句法和语法的同时，你的回答其实是让我们了解你的一种途径，而不是一篇正式的论文。)
【题目分析】如同原题所说，你的回答其实是让审查员了解你的一种途径。兴趣爱好能反映出一个人的性格和生活态度。因此，在已经清楚JHU录取个性的情况下，看看你自身有哪些特质是与之相符合的，选择一到两个作为集中表现的亮点，并用相关的故事或者你的兴趣爱好经历具体说明。要看清题目要求，已经说过的故事不要重复出现，一定会有一些你很想跟学校分享，但是在统一的申请程序中无法说出来的事情，现在就是你发挥的时候了。一定注意，在描述你选定的关于自己的事情或兴趣爱好时，空泛地堆砌形容词并不足以说服审查员，一定要写出具体的事例来体现你的性格、能力、价值观或者兴趣爱好等。
【范文】
Go, Air Band!
The New Year was approaching. Not that I don't like it — I actually love it. I was just feeling anxious and stressed because each class in our school had to prepare a performance for the yearly school-wide New Year Party. As the monitor in my class, I needed to formulate a plan.
“If only someone could play musical instrument...” I thought. But none of my classmates could play an instrument well enough to appear on stage. “Wait! Why don't we form an ‘Air Band’?” I realized. In that case, we only had to pretend we were playing instruments, so it would be possible for everyone to be part of the band.
I persuaded four other classmates to commit to being a part of our crazy “Air Band” plan: we had a vocalist, a keyboardist, a drummer, and a bassist. I was the lead guitarist. Some of my band members temporarily refused to participate because they thought a bunch of adolescents bouncing around on stage with nothing in their hands looked too embarrassing. So I showed them a bunch of videos of people who had done it before, telling them it was going to be fun. Then we chose a song and spent lots of time practicing.
On the day of the performance, we went on stage and played our air instruments as if we were rock stars. The school loved it and gave us huge applause! We were so happy with our successful New Year performance!(304 words)
【范文解析】
本题看似要求很简单——介绍你自己的事情或你的兴趣——可以说的好像很多，但其实也要精心挑选后再下笔。JHU并不单纯想知道你做过什么或喜欢什么，而是要通过你的描述了解你具有什么特质，是否与JHU个性符合。换句话说，他们借此考查你是否有潜力在JHU学习及生活。
作者挑选了作为班长的她在学校里为新年联欢会准备节目的事例。表达了想不出好节目的焦躁之后，作者讲述她突发奇想准备组建一个“空气乐队”，即乐队成员不拿任何乐器、只是配合现成的歌曲很high地对着空气做出正在演奏和唱歌的样子，让观众觉得新鲜有趣。这个新颖的想法表现出作者是个很有创意的人，与JHU要求的独特创新意识是相符的。
接着作者提到虽然有几名成员最开始觉得很荒谬，但最终还是被说服加入表演的事情;并在最后告诉我们，通过不断练习，他们的表演最终取得成功。这些过程体现了作者对自己选定的组建空气乐队进行表演的事很积极且热情，哪怕遇到成员不愿加入这种困难，也努力地克服，用视频说服他们空气乐队是一件有趣的事，最终成功让他们加入。
JHU需要未来的学生有热情、能创新，相信作者在文中体现的这些特质，能够给审查员留下正面的印象。
2. Transfer applicants
Students applying as transfers to Johns Hopkins are required to answer both the Common Application personal essay and the question below. Include your name, birth date, and the last four digits of your Social Security number on these and all other additional sheets.
In your personal statement on the Common Application, you explained why you are seeking to transfer. Please explain in detail why you wish to transfer to Johns Hopkins University specifically (500 words maximum).
【类别】选择原因型
【关键词】 why, transfer to Johns Hopkins University, specifically
【题目翻译】在你Common Application的个人陈述中，你解释了为什么会想转学。请你具体说说为什么会想转到约翰·霍普金斯大学。
【题目分析】很显然学校不可能满足于泛泛的转学原因，而是要知道为什么是约翰·霍普金斯而不是另外的任何一所大学。因此，要对JHU及所选专业的异于他校之处有自己的理解，并且说明JHU如何能使你获益，你又能为JHU做出哪些贡献。和上面给freshman applicants的第一题一样，真挚地表达出你对JHU和所选专业的兴趣和热爱，以及对未来的明确规划。
【范文】
Knowledge for the World
“Knowledge for the world.” This is a simple but powerful statement by Daniel Coit Gilman, the first president of Johns Hopkins University. The words have characterized the mission of JHU for over 130 years, and still inspires many people, including me.
Academic responsibility is a guiding and eternal theme for the institution. As a renowned research university, JHU embodies the importance of academic research. In his inaugural address, Daniel Coit Gilman asserted that "the encouragement of research ... and the advancement of individual scholars, who by their excellence will advance the sciences they pursue, and the society where they dwell" are what JHU students are focused on. Driven students from the JHU community have been following this aim from generation to generation, and they have achieved much, including handing down an important legacy of excellence. Many of JHU’s programs are ranked among the top by the U.S. News and World Report university ranking report. Of particular note is the Bloomberg School of Public Health, which has consistently ranked number one in the nation among its peer programs. Also, thirty-seven Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. About 80% of undergraduates in JHU perform independent research, often alongside top researchers, which research has become some of the most cited in the world. There are innumerable similar evidences that continue to assert that JHU is a focused academic research institution.
As a hardworking and ambitious public health student, I aspire to be a student in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. This has been a dream for me since I decided to devote myself to Public Health Studies. In your program, I will study with the most talented students from all over the world and obtain guidance and mentorship from the most influential scholars in the public health field, and acquire state-of-the-art knowledge and skills. I can access the opportunities and resources that are only provided on the excellent JHU campus. My academic performance and records have demonstrated that I have the potential to excel in public health research, and hope that I can reach that potential alongside the students and faculty of JHU, my dream university.
I am not only attracted by JHU’s academic superiority, but also because it encourages its excellent scholars to advance the society in which they dwell. That is one of the other reasons—possibly the most crucial one—that drives me to transfer to JHU. As stated in JHU’s mission, advancing society through academic research and application and developing “knowledge for the world” should be the ultimate function of JHU’s community. Public Health students in particular play an important role in the real world, because what we are studying applies directly to human well-being. I would seize every opportunity available at JHU to advance my knowledge, and put it into practice so that I can do my part for my community, society and the world.(505 words)
【范文解析】
本文是用于转学申请的essay，和高中生申请入学有一些差别。题目分析中已经提到要求申请人讲述为什么是JHU而不是别的任何一所大学，因此，必须突出在作者心中，JHU有多特别，与作者的现状和未来规划有多相符。
作者选择了JHU的使命作为切入点，用此文解释了自己对“knowledge for the world”这个使命的理解。第一段总述这句历史悠久的mission简单有力却启发人心;第二段表达了knowledge的重要性，以及自己对JHU学术研究传统与研究成果的钦佩，随后列出一系列JHU的强项表示自己被吸引;第三段描述了作者想要加入JHU的愿望与决心，并且具体到自己所在的专业——Public Health Studies，表明自己对JHU已有了解，并在此段也表现了自己是一名努力上进且学习成绩不错的有潜力的学生;最后一段是对JHU使命的进一步阐述，更精进的knowledge固然重要，但终极目标还是为了服务社会，尤其作为PHS专业的学生，所学更与人类福祉紧密相连。由此作者许诺，将会在PHS排名全美第一的地方学习最高精尖的知识，今后用以造福社会。全文充分诠释了作者对JHU “knowledge for the world” 的独特理解与自己的规划。选择转学JHU的理由不言而喻。