<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>