Hearing about all of the deferrals and flat out rejections for high stat students for top schools. I applied to all of the Ivys RD and other T20 schools (and have a few safety schools). Wondering what else sets a kid apart?
Intended Major: Political Science
SAT: 1530 (790M/740E)
GPA 4.1w, competitive public HS, doesn’t rank
Coursework: 10 Honors, 11 APs
National Merit commended scholar
AP Scholar with Distinction
National Honor Society
National Chinese Honor Society
Congressional Letter of Commendation
3 other state and local proclamations from lawmakers for leadership
took summer college courses for HS students in politics/international relations/law at 3 T20 schools
Student Government President
Model United Nations President
Internships with state and local lawmakers
Founded club at school that advocates and promotes social justice and equality
Founded nonprofit organization to benefit the homeless (featured in news)
Member of our community’s youth council
HOBY Ambassador
Founding member of neighborhood teen philanthropy group
Was featured on national news, and in local newspapers
COVID-19 Student Ambassador
Erase Racism Student Advocate
LORs strong (state senator, local lawmaker, chair of dept at HS). Essays - hard for me to judge, I hope they are good.
Congrats on your achievements. I can’t chance you, but what’s your unweighted GPA on a 4 point scale, core courses only (many highly selective schools will recalculate GPA)? What were your AP scores?
Please tell me you also had LoRs from two teachers who had you in class.
Do you already have at least one affordable acceptance in hand? Have you been deferred/denied anywhere?
I wish you luck and congratulations on your achievements.
Did your essays reflect how unique and different these schools are from one another? The AOs will be looking for authenticity.
Likely hard for you to be equally interested and well suited for all of these. I think a lot will come down to how you presented yourself in the essays.
In most cases, it is showing AOs how you will contribute to their community. Applying to all of them doesn’t really show that you understand the differences. The student who loves the open curriculum at Brown will likely feel constrained by the Core at Columbia and the student who will thrive in NYC may find bucolic Hanover, NH too small and sleepy.
Thank you! I would have to recalculate core classes unweighted…and yes, two LORs from core teachers that had me in class. I have one deferral (non Ivy) from the school I applied REA, waiting on all others…so far four 5s and two 3s on the AP exams I took.
What is your unweighted GPA. Is your school a +.5 Honors and +1 AP - because a 4.1 weighted with all those APs would mean mostly Bs.
No matter what - your odds are limited by the fact that acceptance rates are really low. For example, a Columbia and Princeton are 4%, etc.
However, need to understand the grading system to know if you’ve got a better shot or not. And as others have pointed out - how have you shown you can add value to a specific school or that the specific school is right for you.
Also, Princeton, for example, on their admission page, notes you need a counselor and two teacher recommendations. It does not say they want others although on Common App perhaps it’s allowed to submit an optional additional as many schools allow that. Assuming their website is accurate, it’s a definite no if you submitted politicians instead of teachers. . So maybe you can clarify that because if you can’t follow basic instructions, you will be eliminated without a true read.
Glad you have safeties - well I hope they’re truly safeties -meaning you are 100% assured of admittance, can afford to attend, and will be excited to attend. Anything short of those three mean you’ve chosen the wrong safety.
Poli Sci can be studied legitimately most any place.
As @Mwfan1921 is correctly hinting at, weighted GPA is computed very differently at different high schools. An unweighted GPA (with a scale of A=4, B=3, C=2, …) would be helpful to us. Do you have all A’s throughout high school?
I will admit that I am concerned whenever I hear that someone applied to all 8 of the Ivy League universities. The problem is that they are not all the same. Do you want to spend four years at a big university in New York City, or at a small college in a small town in the middle of rural New Hampshire? I think that your chances of acceptance is better if you can accurately and thoughtfully explain why one particular university is a good fit for you.
Are you Chinese? Unfortunately this will make a difference in terms of your chances of being accepted to an Ivy League university.
“Top 20” universities are a reach for nearly everyone. I think that they are a reach for you also. You clearly are a very strong student and I expect that you are going to do very well wherever you end up, even if you end up at one of your safeties.
And congratulations on your excellent work to date.
Congratulations on your achievements !
I agree with others that more details are needed:
-how many Bs have you had in High School (semester vs yearly depending on how your school counts) and what year(s) did they occur?
-what AP classes have you completed and What AP classes are you taking now?
-What AP classes does your school offer that you did NOT take?
-How many kids get in to ivies/T20s each year from your school?
I am trying to assess your school and your rigor.
Are your sure things really sure things…for admission and affordability?
Please tell us you have hat least two colleges on your application list where you are pretty much guaranteed acceptance….and where you can pay the net cost to attend.
I just calculated all of my core classes over the last 4 years (most recent grades included and its a 3.8 GPA unweighted. All A’s throughout HS. Im caucasian, but took Chinese all 4 years in HS. I applied all Ivys because I want to go into public service after law school, and run for office in the future. While I did not say that in my essays, for political science all of the Ivy’s are the top schools and I felt I wanted to be in the best position I can be to give back to the world at large when I step into it. My essays for each reflected why each school could help me be be a better citizen and affect change.
No Bs - all As throughout HS. Our school doesnt let kids take APs before 10th grade, so the 11 APs I took/am taking are in the last 2 years. One of the Ivys took 11 kids last year from our senior class. That being said, Princeton has never taken anyone, and aside from valedictorians, Harvard and Yale dont take many either. This year already we have a 6 kids going to other Ivys ED.
UW 3.8 for core classes. As far as recs, I sent what each school asked for…nothing more…the common app automatically takes the teachers recs and populates them, and the optionals I can only ulpoad what’s allowed…
Ok, great! Do you think you are in the top group with similar grades and rigor to previous ivy admits? If so I think you have above average chance at a top 20 school/ivy.
Did you also apply to Georgetown? It’s where the political action actually is taking place on a national level.
Again I ask…are your safety schools true safety schools?
Take the time to read this WHOLE thread. It’s an old one…but the message is the same. This very well qualified student didn’t get accepted anywhere when he applied as a high school senior. He had outstanding GPA and standardized test scores and was a NMF.
You need a true safety school…or a plan for a gap year.
sorry yes - regular early action, didnt mean restricted. I am also awaiting two other early action decisions to come back from two OOS public universities. already sent my LOCA to Georgetown and an additional rec.
