Are you interested in attending Johns Hopkins University? Maybe you want to walk the same halls as Michael Bloomberg, Madeline Albright, Wolf Blitzer, or Woodrow Wilson. Maybe you want the opportunity to study in the heart of Maryland’s biggest city. Either way, it’s a great school – and we’re here to tell you everything you need to know about the Johns Hopkins AP® credits policy.

To get in, you need to prove that you can succeed there. There are a couple of different ways you can do this: achieve great scores on your ACT® or SAT®, excel in any extracurricular activities you participate in, and write a killer application essay. But, the best way to prove to a college, particularly Johns Hopkins, that you have what it takes to do the work there is to take AP® or honors classes throughout high school and do well in them.

But once the AP® scores come in, what are you supposed to do with them? Were they merely a tool to get you into the college of your dreams, or can they still help you once you’re an undergraduate? Wonder no more, because you’re about to find out.

This article will break down everything you need to know about the Johns Hopkins AP® credits policy. We’ll tell you what AP® classes will get you credit at the college and what you need to score on the exam for it to count. We’ll even throw in some information about what it’s like to live and study on campus.

Ready to get started?

Fast Facts about Johns Hopkins

•  Johns Hopkins is located in Baltimore, Maryland. The campus is also roughly 45 miles north of Washington D.C., so the opportunities for adventure are endless.

•  The school also has campuses in Italy, China, and Singapore and encourages its students to study abroad.

•  Johns Hopkins is a private research university and was founded in 1876.

•  The school has two sets of colors: old gold and sable are its academic colors, while its sports teams wear Columbia blue and black.

•  The sports teams are aptly named the Blue Jays.

The Numbers

According to the CollegeBoard as of 2015, Johns Hopkins has…

•  5,836 undergraduates

•  1,600 postgraduate students

•  1,299 first-time freshmen

Johns Hopkins also has a sizable $3.314 billion dollar endowment fund and highly competitive admissions rate of 11.5%.

In 2015, 24,716 students applied for 3,251 spots.

As you can see, securing a place in John Hopkins’ incoming class can be quite a feat. The school is nearly as competitive as the Ivy League.

To make yourself stand out from the crowd of other applicants, you will need to put your best foot forward. This means creating an application with a “hook” that entices the admissions committee. However, while you work on creating that hook, you need to maintain the standard elements of a highly selective school’s application: awesome test scores, leadership in extracurricular activities and most importantly, great grades. But great grades in academic classes won’t cut it for schools like Johns Hopkins. You will need to take a few AP® classes to make the cut.

But what exactly are you supposed to do with the results from your AP® classes once you get to Baltimore? Keep reading to find out.

Advanced Standing at Johns Hopkins

Before we cover the little details of the policy surrounding Johns Hopkins AP® credits, we need to make sure you understand how to apply these credits once you get to campus.

If you do well in your high school AP® courses, you are eligible for something called Advanced Standing. All recent high school graduates who enroll at Johns Hopkins do so as zero-credit freshmen, no matter their academic pasts. However, if they would like to graduate from college in fewer than the typical eight semesters, then they can “activate” their prior credits to do any of the following things:

•  Take a semester off and still graduate on time.

•  Graduate a semester or even an entire academic year early.

•  Skip lower-level classes to take more interesting ones.

The decision to graduate early is normally made no later than the end of a student’s third semester on campus. If you are interested, we recommend that you speak with your academic advisor, as well as the Dean of Students, well before then.

Keep reading to find out which AP® classes you can use for acceleration credit! If you’re reading this and thinking, “Hey wait a second, I want to stay in college for the full four years! Does taking AP® classes ruin my shot at that?” There is no need to worry. You can also use your AP® credits solely to take more interesting classes earlier in your college career.

John Hopkins’ AP® Credits Policy

There are a few ways you can qualify for Advanced Standing while you are attending Johns Hopkins. While a high score earning a 4 or a 5 on an Advanced Placement test is the most obvious, the school also considers the following alternatives:

•  International Baccalaureate (IB) higher level exams

•  British A-Level exams

•  Placement tests offered by some academic departments

So if you went to an international high school, or your school participated in the IB program and did not offer any AP® classes or exams, you are still in luck! As you can see, you still have a few options to choose from to opt out of lower level classes.

So, without further ado, here is what you can do with your AP® scores while at Johns Hopkins.

Language

Math

Science

Johns Hopkins does not offer credit for the following common AP® courses:

•  AP® Chinese Language and Culture

•  AP® Comparative Government and Politics

•  AP® English Language and Composition

•  AP® English Language and Literature

•  AP® European History

•  AP® Human Geography

•  AP® Japanese Language and Culture

•  AP® Physics 1 or 2

•  AP® Psychology

•  AP® Spanish Literature and Culture

•  AP® Studio Art: 2D, 2D, or Drawing

•  AP® United States Government and Politics

•  AP® United States History

•  AP® World History

This doesn’t mean that you should not take any of these courses if they are offered at your high school, as their completion will likely boost your application. It only means that if you end up going to Johns Hopkins, you can’t transfer them in for credit.

Undergraduate Academic Requirements at John Hopkins

Johns Hopkins is proud to have an open curriculum. This means that unlike at other schools, students at Johns Hopkins are encouraged to take charge of their own education and choose classes that are interesting and engaging to them.

Here is what the school has to say about the practice:

Joy of discovery. As active participants in their own education, students are constantly connecting ideas and pursuing answers to questions that haven’t been asked yet.

Collaboration and innovation. Our students take classes across schools and disciplines, working together to make great discoveries and stretch traditional academic boundaries.

Support and guidance. Advisers, faculty mentors, and peer groups create a supportive network to help students navigate their options.

If the idea of an open curriculum appeals to you, make sure to check out our article about Brown’s AP® credits – as it has a very similar system.

Johns Hopkins’ Campus Vibe

Students at Johns Hopkins are spoiled! The campus is like an oasis in the middle of Baltimore – giving you the best of both worlds. You have all the perks of living in a major urban area, but with all the comforts of being a part of a small, tight-knit community.

Professors at Johns Hopkins are also known for taking time to meet with students to ensure their success. The school’s TA’s also have a positive reputation, so you can be sure your questions will never go unanswered.

It’s quite easy to make friends on campus, and if Greek life is your thing there are 4 Panhellenic sororities, 11 fraternities, and 7 multicultural sororities/fraternities.

A Quick Review

Remember the following key things when reviewing the Johns Hopkins AP® credit policy:

•  The school accepts scores of 3,4, & 5 on the AP® exams for credit.

•  The score requirements vary by department.

•  You can use your AP® credits to “accelerate” your Johns Hopkins education.

•  Johns Hopkins has an open curriculum.

Remember, AP® classes are an essential part of your application to Johns Hopkins, even if it doesn’t accept the credits from the classes you took.

What are the next steps?

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of taking and acing a bunching of AP® courses, you shouldn’t be. Because all of us at Albert.io are here to help.

To start, you should start by reading our lists of the hardest AP® classes and tests here, and the easiest ones here.

Then, take a look at when to start studying for the AP® exams here. After you’ve done that, head on over to read all about the weighted GPA, so you can be sure to understand how AP® classes affect your class rank and grades.

We also have class-specific study guides, from AP® Biology to AP® United States History and everything in between.

Best of luck on your AP® journey – and remember to check in with us whenever you need help.

Looking for AP® practice?

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