What makes a strong Johns Hopkins supplemental essay?

You’re on the right track thinking carefully about the Johns Hopkins supplemental essay—it's known for asking how collaboration shapes your ideas, often with a prompt like: “Collaboration and community are central to the Hopkins experience. Tell us about a time when you collaborated with others, and how it influenced your ideas or actions.”

A strong response doesn’t require a dramatic or dazzling story or being the team captain. What matters most is the depth of your reflection and the authenticity of your example. Admissions officers look for insight into your values, communication style, and your willingness to learn from others.

If your collaborative story comes from a “typical” group project or Science Olympiad, that’s fine! What will make it stand out is how you tell it—focus on specific moments of challenge or growth. For example, maybe during a Science Olympiad project, your team faced a disagreement about an experiment design. Instead of glossing over the conflict, dig into the process: Did you work through misunderstandings? Did someone propose a solution that changed your mind? Did you contribute a small but pivotal idea that helped the team? Admissions officers appreciate seeing you as a real person who listens, adapts, communicates clearly, or steps up in quiet ways.

A successful essay could center around a moment when you realized your original idea had a flaw and a teammate’s perspective helped you see things differently. Or maybe you helped mediate between strong-willed partners, or you found a creative way to divide roles based on strengths.

For example, a student once wrote about failing to solve a tough chemistry problem alone, only to later realize that inviting quieter team members to brainstorm led to their breakthrough. The story wasn’t about dramatic success, but about learning the value of drawing out everyone’s voice.

Try to include small, concrete details (snippets of dialogue, the feeling in the room, a quick flash of doubt or pride) to make your experience vivid and personal—this is how you avoid sounding generic, even if the scenario itself is common. Lastly, be sure to reflect on how the experience shaped how you’ll approach collaboration at Hopkins or in the future.

In short: Typical experiences can work if you dig beneath the surface and highlight your unique perspective or growth. Focus on specificity, authentic reflection, and lasting impact.