<p>I have decent SATs (760v/730m/700w) and equally decent extracurriculars (community service at a library, founding member/president of an extracurricular, a few academic awards, part of a band that performs quite often locally, etc). I took a reasonable amount of AP courses throughout high school, but my schedule would probably not be called grueling. However, my high school cumulative GPA is an exact 3.00. Is it even worth my time to apply to any Ivy League schools? </p>
<p>If it’s worth anything, my junior year was my best statistically, as I sat at about a 2.8 before it. Also, there are some mitigating issues regarding my family situation, which I simply don’t know if colleges will take into account. I’m pretty new to the college admissions game.</p>
<p>if u have $65 (or $75) to spare, then go do it.
Colleges do look at trends, but it usually has to be a significant jump that stands out (atleast if you were sitting at a 2.8).
I would recommend that your counselor explain your situation in the rec.
Good luck though.</p>
<p>Ivy league's tend to accept students with G.P.A.'s 3.8 or above. Also, these students happen to have a very rigorous curriculum with many AP classes. At the same time, these students have very high SAT scores. I knew this one women who applied to Dartmouth with a 3.99 GPA and 10 AP classes and got rejected because her SAT was a 1280 back then (the old SAT). She's going to Smith now but couldn't go IVY (actually Smith was her first choice anyway so she could care less about her rejection to Dartmouth).</p>
<p>The point is that you've got to be a well rounded student. A 3.0 is not going to cut it. Why you don't transfer to a decent school and then apply to places like Cornell after 2 years? Make sure your GPA at your transfer schools very high though. This is a much more realistic situation.</p>
<p>there are so many factors to consider. Are you a urm? Do you play any sports? There are a million hooks out there that you might be able to use to your advantage. Do a lot of research. if you're family situation was a hardship for you then talk about that in your essay. Don't rule yourself out. I got into Brown and I was ranked number 84 out of 335, which is obviously a horrible ranking if you want acceptance to an ivy league. GPA is one of very many factors, as is class rank, sat, essay, teacher recs, awards, etc. I say you should go for it.</p>
<p>If you can do it can admission into IVY, I'll be very happy for you. If you don't, take my advice regarding transfer: go to a good, well-known state school and do well for 2 years after which you should be able to transfer into Cornell with relative ease. Certain schools in Cornell actually accept a higher amount of transfer applicants than high school seniors, and they care mostly about your new grades and essay(not your SAT's and not your extracurriculars). This is what makes it a little easier to transfer in than going in from high school. I know of quite a few people who did this.</p>
<p>The "Ivy League" term really bothers me because it is used synonymously with the term "great school" when there are many schools that aren't Ivy League which are just as good. </p>
<p>Anyway, back to the original question... very few people get into Brown or schools of similar caliber with a 3.0 gpa. That's the honest truth. Most Brown-like schools look for gpas of 3.7 and above. (They tend to avoid listing a gpa because courses and such vary so widely from high school to high school, but at Vassar College, which is very selective but not quite as selective as Brown, the typical grade-point average is an "A-," which translates to a 3.7.) My classmates who got into highly selective schools tended to have mostly As and some Bs with tough courseloads. I know many kids who got great SATs and had top gpas (all As) and were rejected from Brown. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, there is no formula for getting into a school like Brown. There are many factors that work in the process. Did you know that 10% of the students who applied to Brown and got a 500-540 on their SAT Verbal were admitted? </p>
<p>So, while a 3.0 gpa is much lower than the typical gpa for Brown, anything is possible, and there's really nothing to lose. </p>
<p>You might want to ask your guidance counselor what schools would be reasonable for you given your gpa.</p>
<p>When I say, Ivy league, I'm talking about these schools: Columbia, Harvard, Yale, U Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Princeton. Of course there are schools that are just as good (Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, Cal-tech,....)</p>
<p>When I said Ivy league, I meant the group of 8 schools in the East Coast; don't assume that I'm using it as a synonym.</p>
<p>
[quote]
When I say, Ivy league, I'm talking about these schools: Columbia, Harvard, Yale, U Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Princeton. Of course there are schools that are just as good (Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, Cal-tech,....)</p>
<p>When I said Ivy league, I meant the group of 8 schools in the East Coast; don't assume that I'm using it as a synonym.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Why does it matter that the schools are in the Ivy league?</p>
<p>Every school in the ivy league is really different -- not one person would like every single school.</p>
<p>I really can't stand it when people are just desperate to get in to a school because it carries the "Ivy" name.</p>
<p>And besides, you forgot the most fabulous school in the entire ivy league: BROWN! You know...the board of the school that you're posting on right now...</p>
<p>To echo Pete... all the Ivy League schools are so different that it would seem really strange to want to go to all of them. Some are huge, some are smaller, some are urban, some are rural, some are more liberal, some are more conservative, some are experimental, some are traditional.... I only applied to two Ivy League schools (Yale and Brown) because those were the only two that appealed to me. </p>
<p>When I scanned the lists of Ivy League schools, I don't think I saw anyone who was accepted with anything under a 3.6. Most of the accepted students had 3.8s or 3.9s.</p>
<p>But, again, everyone is unique and not everyone is you.</p>
<p>This is ridiculous. The only reason I mentioned Ivy league was because the OP was interested in getting into an "Ivy" league school. He specifically asked if he should even bother to apply to an "ivy" league school. This is why I mentioned "ivy league" in my answer because I was talking specifically about the type of school that he wanted to get into.</p>
<p>You don't need to lecture me about the fact that there are schools just as good as the ivy league. I already know this.</p>
<p>You also don't need to lecture me that every school in the ivy league is different. I already know this. The purpose of this thread was not to discuss the differences between schools; the OP specifically wanted to know if should bother applying to "ivy league" schools. I was just answering his question and in my answer, I wasn't required to say that ivy league schools are each different.</p>
<p>Quote: "I really can't stand it when people are just desperate to get in to a school because it carries the "Ivy" name." </p>
<p>If your going to blame someone and criticize someone, I'm not the person who needs to listen to your insults. The OP is simply asking about his chances of admission into the ivy leagues and I was simply answering it. </p>
<p>The only mistake I seem to have done here is that I sincerely forgot to mention Brown as an Ivy League school while naming the rest.</p>
<p>So please try and spare me the side-comments and lectures. Many others and I on this thread don't need to here them.</p>
<p>Maize, I'm very glad that you posted on this site. I have to say that people like you are the role models for high school students who didn't unlock their full potential in high school and didn't do as well as they could have.</p>
<p>Your progress confirms what I tell many people:</p>
<p>You can always go to a decent college and excel for two years, after which you can transfer to a great school such as Brown (or other highly selective colleges). There is always a second chance in your college where you can prove yourself and grow in terms of intelligence, maturity, knowledge, and most importantly: self-esteem.</p>
<p>Quick question Maize...how'd you initially get into UMich with a 2.3?</p>
<p>That could kill your chances. I have a personal example. An acquaintance of mine by the name of Laura applied to Dartmouth with a 3.99 GPA and many AP classes included in her rigorous schedule. She was also involved in many community service activities. </p>
<p>She had an SAT score of 1280 (the old SAT's) and was promptly rejected from Dartmouth and waitlisted at Wesleyan. </p>
<p>On another note, I've heard of someone having only a 3.5 GPA and getting accepted to Johns Hopkins because they had a 1500 (the old SAT's).</p>
<p>Yeah, not having a good SAT score can kill your chances at top schools. I personally hate standardized tests so I wish this weren't true; but it is. </p>
<p>Now if your transferring; they don't care about your SAT that much. If you had a great GPA from a good college, they could care less about the SAT.</p>
<p>But from high schools; there are so many of them and certain high schools are much, much more challenging then others. It is much harder to get a 3.4 GPA at certain elite high schools then it is to get a 4.0 at weak, poor high schools. Because of this, colleges want to base all kinds of students on a standard level and they use the SAT to do this.</p>
<p>Transfer colleges on the other hand; don't matter as long as your from a decent, somewhat reputable school. Let's say you went to University of CO, Boulder or Michigan State or even Ohio State - colleges know that any one of these schools have a rigorous cirriculum and getting a 4.0 from these colleges is very impressive.</p>
<p>However, if your from a community college; colleges will look down on you because community colleges are MUCH easier than state schools.</p>
<p>I have always heard that colleges place a much greater emphasis on grades/overall academics than on scores. Anecdotally, the people I know who have great grades and worse scores tend to do better in the admissions process than the people who have great scores and worse grades.</p>
<p>Brown seems to stress grades a bit more and scores a bit lesser, and it also has a wider score range than some other schools. I shall explain:</p>
<p>School SAT Range % of students in top 10% of hs classes
Brown 1290-1500 87%
Cornell 1280-1470 87%
Pomona 1390-1520 84%
Columbia 1310-1510 81%
Dartmouth 1330-1530 84%
Swarthmore1340-1530 92%
Amherst 1320-1540 86%
Chicago 1300-1510 78% </p>
<p>Columbia has a higher SAT range than Brown, but Brown has a higher % of students in the top 10%, suggesting that Columbia cares a bit more about scores and Brown a bit more about grades. The same is true for Brown and Dartmouth. Chicago has a higher SAT range than Brown but a significantly lower % of students in the top 10% of their hs classes, suggesting that someone with great scores and less impressive grades would have a better chance. Swarthmore seems to assign a particularly high value to grades (its SAT range is almost identical to Dartmouths but its top 10% value is significantly higher). Swarthmore and Pomona seem to take students with more narrow SAT ranges and seem less sympathetic towards low scorers. For instance, in comparison to Amherst, Swarthmores 25% is 20 points higher, but its 75% is ten points lower. Pomonas 25% is a whopping 100 points higher than Browns, but its 75% is only 20 points higher.
Conclusions? Brown, Cornell, and Swarthmore seem to value grades more, while Columbia, Dartmouth, Pomona, and Chicago seem more score-driven. </p>
<p>Some very fine schools (Bowdoin College, Bates College, Bard College, Connecticut College, Mount Holyoke College, Sarah Lawrence College) make standardized test score submission optional, so you might want to check them out.</p>
<p>This note is to anyone who want to apply to the Ivies. Guys, if you are determined to get into the Ivies, you definately will find a way. Even after you are rejected, keep trying. If you thirst for glory, you will die for glory. IF THERE IS A WILL THERE IS WAY !! NOTHING CAN COME IN THE WAY OF YOUR WILL ! Come on guys, YOU CAN DO IT.</p>