I’m going to apply to all the Ivies before senior year, but I want to go to Harvard. It’s in my top three along with Yale and Princeton.
I just finished my Sophomore year and got my grades. We have five main courses at my school. For me, four of those courses are honours, and the final is a regular, that being History. In all the honours classes I received final grades of B+s, and ended History with an A-. This brings my GPA to a 4.04 on a mix of the 4.0/5.0 scale (my GPA also includes the grade in my music class). Freshmen year I did not end so well and my GPA was a 3.78 by the end of it.
Can I still get into Harvard with these grades? Can I get into any of the Ivies with these grades? What if I don’t get all A’s in my Junior year? I plan to definitely take 2 AP courses, and maybe a third. What if I get A’s and B’s in my Junior year? How can I be sure I’m still mostly eligible to get into Harvard if I don’t have straight A’s but my GPA is still somewhat higher than a 4.0? Answers and advice would be great, thanks!
Sure! However, let’s do some math. Harvard Admissions is on record as saying that 80% of applicants can do the work on their campus, and fully 40% of them are top students with exemplarily credentials.
Now last year almost 40,000 students applied to Harvard. If 40% of them are tippy-top students, that means 16,000 students are the best-of-the-best from across the country and around the world – truly stellar students with top grades, test scores, recommendations and essays – just like you!
However, Harvard only has room for 1660 students in their freshman class, which means over 14,000 terrifically qualified students are rejected every year – and everyone one of those students had a chance. So, might you have a chance? Sure! But are the odds in your favor? No! Are the odds in anyone’s favor? No!
So, I would suggest you stop obsessing over whether you have a chance at Harvard (or any of the other ivies) and just do the best you can for the next two years in high school.
Like @gibby put it, you should stop worrying about planning your high school career around acceptance into a school which rejects about 93% of people who apply to their school, and about 90% of qualified applicants. Do your best in all of your classes and standardized tests, as well as in your ECs, and you can revisit the topic of the realism of you getting into an Ivy. You have pretty good grades, and sometimes, that’s enough for Ivies to consider you, but don’t forget there is a whole other aspect to the application - your essays, LoRs, activities and test scores. Getting some B+’s in the end won’t be the one thing that gets you rejected from Ivies. Realistically, even if you were a perfect A student in all honors and APs, I still wouldn’t give you a chance at admission into an Ivy based on the numbers. You should realize that there is more to the college process than just the Ivies, and other top or slightly lower tiered schools outside the Ivies that could suit you better. GL!
Yes. But alternatively, you can also get rejected with those grades (or any other grades). @gibby’s advice is absolutely correct.
1660 students. One half is taken by the opposite gender. 830 spots. 40% are taken before the first application is read. Deans and directors lists. Legacies. Professors and faculty admits. That leaves 498 spots. Subtract athletes, urm and international students my best guess as there is some overlap I believe there are 300 or so non urm non connected no athlete spots for the rest of the world.
It’s just really hard to get in but not impossible. You can’t just rely on grades. You must separate yourself through your experiences and ability to communicate them in a manner that they believe you will be a big star in your chosen profession or path. How to best do that is beyond my abilities tbh.
Congratulations on your hard work and look at the other 200 world class schools in the USA. Some of which would most likely pay you to attend I.e. tuition free or full scholarships worth two hundred thousand dollars in many cases.
As many are just beginning to realize, the number of spaces available for unhooked applicants is a small fraction of the class size at most top schools.
This is one of the more realistic assessments on the Internet :
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58dcd3bfe4b04ba4a5e250f2/amp
Why on earth are you applying to all the Ivies. They are very different. And why are you so fixed on Harvard (Yale, Princeton)?
Try to get educated about the many wonderful schools out there.
You are headed to a miserable high school experience worrying needlessly about whether or not a grade or a class or an award will get you in or keep you out. Forget about college admissions for awhile and just be yourself, and see where you land.
Are you getting pressure from your parents to get into these schools?
If you are super anxious about college admissions, please see a counselor, because where you get into college does not define who you are (but gearing your whole life to it may very well define you in negative ways).
I mean this sincerely and believe it or not am trying to be kind. Go ahead and apply but don’t live for the results.
I agree 100% with @compmom. Don’t bother about applying to Harvard. Or Yale and Princeton. Waste of time and money.