<p>Can someone give me their honest input on my chances of getting into an ivy (any one)...and if so, which ones do I have a chance? I hope to major in business or economics. Here are my stats:</p>
<p>-incoming high school junior
-upper class white female
-GPA weighted: 4.75, GPA unweighted: 3.97
-class ranking: 5/528
-sophomore schedule: Chem Honors, World History AP (got a 4 on the AP and 780 on SAT II), Pre-Calc Honors, English 2 Honors, Spanish 3 Honors
-junior schedule: AP US history, Biology AP, Calc AB AP, English 3 Honors, Spanish 5 AP
-tentative senior schedule: Gov/Econ AP, English AP, Physics AP, Multivariable Calc Honors, Fine Arts
-I hope to get a 32 on the ACT</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
-4 years varsity swim team (league champion and will be captain senior year)
-2 years Academic Decathlon (team goes to State, hopefully captain senior year)
-3 years CSF
-Girl Scout Gold Award (teaching swim lessons to kids with Down Syndrome)
-Working since summer after freshman year at a kid's summer camp (lifeguarding, teaching swim and surf lessons)
-Summer after junior year, I'm going to volunteer abroad in South America</p>
<p>thanks for your input :)</p>
<p>i’m also joining Model UN this year</p>
<p>It’s really hard to say without test scores but with a 32 you definitely have a chance. You just need to work on a way to reeeeallly stand out from the other thousands of applications. Please chance back. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=1364861[/URL]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=1364861</a></p>
<p>get the 32 on act, actually get elected the positions you say, get good grades junior year, then repost. Plus decide what you want in a school and not just the prestige the ivies bring. Most of the ivies are completely different from each other, so giving a blanket statement of “any ivy” isn’t really a good idea</p>
<p>“Any one”? The Ivies are all different and unique. Prestige shouldn’t be the factor that decides where you apply/go. </p>
<p>UPenn’s Wharton is probably the best undergrad for business.</p>
<p>Since I’m only an incoming junior, I haven’t put strenuous thought into which ivy is my top pic. I believe all are extremely prestigious institutions that I would love to attend. However, at the moment, Harvard, Penn, and Cornell are my favs. Do I have a chance at any of those??</p>
<p>That’s interesting since only Penn has business major. Go to some homework and get the Ivy fairy dust out of your eyes.</p>
<p>Thanks for jerking it up Murphy600, if you actually read my post, you would realize that I’m deciding between business and ECON</p>
<p>Murphy has a completely valid point. The only reason you seem to want to attend an ivy is because of the prestige Prestige isn’t the reason to choose a school. Many of us on CC (myself included) are frankly a bit fed up with people wanting to get chanced “for the Ivies.” Go to a school that fits you, your academic pursuits, your finances etc. Not a school that’s “most prestigious.”</p>
<p>Although I agree with the fact that “the ivies” are not for everyone, there is no reason to condemn someone for wishing to go to any. Although each college provides a distinctly different atmosphere, I personally believe that galgal27 fits the build for someone who would excel at an ivy. If you have the means and wish to study business or econ, the ivies are the best place for it. There are few other places (but there are SOME) in the US that can provide the same education and connections that the ivies do.</p>
<p>On the contrary, only one Ivy (UPenn) offers a business major. There are many other non Ivies that offer an incredible business undergrad program. The Ivies are all different, and the broad generalization of “this person seems like they should be at an any/I want to go to an Ivy” is just not the way to go about approaching college. While Econ may be a different story, if OP is interested in business AT ALL then there are many other schools to consider.</p>
<p>If you are really interested in business, start here. As you can see, the only ivies in the top 25 best undergrad business programs are Upenn (Wharton) and Cornell (i’ll copy down top 25 b/c only members can see more</p>
<p>UPenn
MIT
Cal-Berkeley
Michigan
UVA-McIntire
NYU
UT Austin
UNC Chapel Hill
Carnegie Mellon
Cornell
USC (Cali)
Emory
Indiana U-Bloomington
OSU-Columbus
UIUC
U of Minnesota–Twin Cities
Notre Dame
Wisonconsin-Madison
WashU
Gtown
Penn State
Maryland-CP
U of Washington
Boston College
Michigan St.</p>
<p>link: <a href=“http://premium.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/business-overall/data[/url]”>http://premium.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/business-overall/data</a></p>
<p>galgal27, you seem to have been offended by several posts urging you to think more critically, thoughtfully about your college application strategy. What is being, wisely, advised is that you look into schools that have strong programs in your stated areas of interest, economics and business. There are many schools with strong programs that are NOT Ivies. Therefore, a smart application strategy is one that targets schools along the continuum of admissions difficulty, including so-called reach schools, match schools, and safeties (that are also financial aid safeties).</p>
<p>What you have been chided for is the “Ivies or bust” tone of your post, particularly because this kind of post reveals that you have yourself done NO research to determine WHICH of the eight Ivies might be most compelling personally, and appropriate academically. You offer yourself as just one of the numerous posters who just wants to get into an Ivy, because…it is an Ivy. It is my sense that this kind of shallow thinking, because it is shallow, does not always eventuate in the desired result.</p>
<p>Before you post again do the research on the individual schools and determine WHICH of these schools is most personally appealing and academically compelling. At the point at which you reveal some thoughtfulness in your post, the replies will be more targeted and helpful. When you give evidence that you are taking the process more seriously, posters will reply with more substantive responses to help you make decisions.</p>
<p>And also, projected stats and accomplishments are UTTERLY MEANINGLESS. Anyone can proclaim that they will get these scores or accomplish these incredible deeds. Get them. Do them. Then we can talk.</p>
<p>As for your current grades and stats? Are they Ivy level? At this point perhaps not, but you have time to work on boosting grades and stats. As for your ECs? How meaningfully involved are you? Will you ultimately be able to put together applications that show outstanding achievement at every level: academically (absolutely most important), personally, extra curricularly? Are you outstanding, and will you be able to communicate to schools that what is outstanding about you over a range of dimensions meets each school’s admissions needs? That is one reason why targeting admissions to particular schools is crucial, they are not all looking for the same thing during any given admissions cycle. The issue of “fit” is not just relevant to the applicant, it matters also to the schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your input. I guess I have a lot of thinking to do, not only about what I want in a college, but also what I need to do to get there. :)</p>
<p>OK, that’s what we want to hear! Do some research on your own, and some serious thinking, and then come back when you have more specific, school-targeted questions, and when you get your scores!!! It is a really tough process, but you’ll “get” it! You’ve got time!</p>
<p>Sometimes we need to sound tough to get applicants to think FOR THEMSELVES and ask the hard questions about what they want and need from their educations. Prestige is really NOT the most relevant factor in determining ultimate, best school choice. And, there are SO MANY really superb schools in this country that you do yourself a real disservice presuming that educational quality begins and ends with the Ivy League! It does not.</p>
<p>Loren Pope wrote a good book called “Beyond the Ivies” as well as the more famous “Colleges that Change Lives.”</p>
<p>No offense, but a premature focus on Ivies is often a symptom of someone who is not informed or sophisticated about college choices. Maybe pay a visit to the library or bookstore before you get fixed on schools.</p>
<p>“Business” as an undergrad major was not highly esteemed at top schools, with those exceptions, and despite the popularity of the major, many Ivies and other selective colleges do not offer it, I suppose because it is too blatantly vocational.</p>
<p>However, there are good business programs in the list another poster provided, as well an many other schools.</p>
<p>Economics is a more traditional academic major, which does seem to be a favorite among those headed for finance and banking etc.</p>
<p>You may change a lot in the next two years. Don’t overplan your life!</p>