Why Hopkins: College Admission Essay Sample

My greatest interests and passions are immunology, allergy, and epidemiology. These areas have evolved throughout the years. My fascination with pathology started in the first grade with a basic science fair project on environments conducive to mold growth on bread. Eventually, this interest shifted into a passion for epidemiology with a third-grade essay on the cause and factors of the Black Death. That same year, I was diagnosed with food allergies and became fascinated with allergies and immunology, and how and why our body reacted so strongly to these harmless substances; consequently, allergy has been a passion of mine ever since. I shadowed my local allergist a few times and these experiences serve to fuel my interest because they allowed me to experience patient interaction and afforded a view into the workings of clinical allergy. I hope to utilize Johns Hopkins' vast resources to explore additional methods for food allergy relief, such as the known oral tolerance induction. I also hope to shadow or research at the Johns Hopkins’ Asthma and Allergy Center, particularly with the Allergy and Clinical Immunology Division to gain experience in both clinical allergy and allergy research.

Aside from allergy, I find economics to be a particularly interesting field, and I hope to research at least a little bit at Johns Hopkins during my time there on Nash equilibrium and its application to different economic systems. Furthermore, I would be remiss if I weren’t to devote some time to examining education reform, another area of fascination that has arose quite recently. Outside of school, my extracurricular activities focus mostly on service and academics, and I strive to facilitate growth in others and myself through leadership and encouraging participation and activism. At the time of writing, I am testing to become an EMT and would like to run with a Baltimore rescue squad at JHU. In addition, I would like to continue volunteering and join a service-based club or fraternity, perhaps the Red Cross Corps to build on a passion for public health. Additionally, as a jazz saxophonist, I am particularly excited by the jazz programs at the Johns Hopkins Club, and am intrigued by the Peabody double degree option. Furthermore, as a year-round swimmer, I would like to be a member of JHU's swim team, and dabble in intramural sports like tennis and soccer, not only as an athletic endeavor but a social opportunity as well. Overall, the environment of Johns Hopkins would be one conducive to my growth, both academically and personally.