<p>I've been browsing through this forum for a couple months, reading all of the transcripts of many ivy applicants. I've always wanted to attend an ivy league school, but I'm a bit discouraged because I don't have the 100+ community service hours and I'm not the president of a school club. What are important aspects of an application that I need to improve on? I am going to be a junior this year, and I'm taking AP Chem, AP Stats, and IB Mathematics SL. I have a 4.0 unweighted GPA, with honors math and science my freshman and sophomore years.I've done mock trial grades 9-11, spanish club 9-11, cross country 10-11, and track 10-11. I plan on joining NHS and chemistry club next year. What should I do to improve my chances of getting accepted? I don't feel that I've joined a sufficient amount of clubs or done enough extra-curriculars. Should I take another AP or study for the SAT and ACT? I haven't taken the SAT or ACT yet, but I did get a 180 on the PSAT.</p>
<p>Don’t worry; you’re still a junior so you still have time. But you have a lot of stuff coming up for you:</p>
<p>-PSAT, be sure to score high – many Ivy applicants are semifinalists. Check the cutoff scores for your state.
-SAT/ACT: get started ASAP and ideally get the score you want before senior year, otherwise you’ll be rushing.</p>
<p>Keep up the 4.0 GPA throughout junior years and first semester senior year. Does your school offer more AP/IB classes that you’re not taking? If so, consider self-studying some AP courses. See this thread for more details: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ap-tests-preparation/369861-self-studying-aps-improving-your-app.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ap-tests-preparation/369861-self-studying-aps-improving-your-app.html</a></p>
<p>As for extracurriculars, find something you’re passionate about and pursue them. Get leadership positions. Work your way up.</p>
<p>Too late for ivies? The real answer is “maybe”. The applicant pool to UPenn and other selective schools is filled with people with demonstrated academic and social maturity – people who have shown potential to affect others around them. There are plenty of academically high achieving kids in high schools across the nation that dutifully do their work, mind their own business – but affect few around them. Often they are destined for exceedingly successful collegiate careers. But most often these kids blend in together in the top schools’ applicant pools. Given the few slots available, blending in is catastrophic in terms of being accepted.</p>
<p>The question for you is: what type of student/person are you? </p>
<p>Whatever the answer, best of luck to you in your college endeavors and YES, study for that ACT or SAT!!!</p>
<p>I think it’s completely normal to feel intimidated when applying to Ivy league schools. I had a horrible picture of in my mind of going online to see rejection after rejection in the spring. However, that did not happen and I am now going to be a sophomore after being accepted early at Penn. While it is necessary to keep in mind that apply to these schools is a complete crapshoot, I do think it will make it a little easier to have an accurate amount of confidence and to be able to believe in yourself through the process, even if it is not a successful one. </p>
<p>I was definitely not like this, I was a nervous wreck. I kept telling myself that I would not get in to my top choices because my freshman year was not as good as my sophomore and junior years and that I had no unique extracurriculars. Looking back, while I did focus mostly on my studies, I had more achievements than I was aware of. Although I only really did 2-3 extracurriculars, I devoted a lot of time and passion to them and continued pursuing these interests in college.</p>
<p>So I think you should just try to keep doing well academically and especially focus on extracurriculars you are passionate about instead of going all over the place. You don’t need to have a “leadership position”, you can be a leader without having any title which is something that kids on this forum really shortchange. These schools are not only looking for kids who are really involved, they also want to see true passion. It doesn’t matter to them if you do something in high school that you have no intention of continuing in college. For this reason, essays are also really important as they are one one of the two places (other being recommendations) where you fully represent yourself as a person.</p>