chances for ivies?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Ok, so I am going to be a junior this year, but I've visited several Ivy League Colleges (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia) and read the stats of those admitted/rejected. Let's just say that I'm very intimidated and feel like I have no shot whatsoever at being admitted.</p>

<p>I am wondering if there is any way that I can change this and hopefully increase my chances. I have not taken the SAT yet but am studying hard!</p>

<p>School: College prep school (pretty competitive)</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.6 weighted</p>

<p>Course load: my school is smaller and its hard to fit in classes. I talked personally with the dean to get my schedule
AP Psych, AP Calc AB, AP US II, Honors Physics, Honors English, Latin III, Theology, Orchestra, Health</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: This is where I need help.</p>

<p>Play violin- school orchestra, pit orchestra, local college orchestra, regional orchestra, study privately</p>

<p>Swim- varsity all of high school, club swimming year round, likely to be captain</p>

<p>Various clubs:
Yearbook
Career Club
Book Club
SADD Club
Friends of Rachel Club</p>

<p>Volunteering:
hospital, kids camp
= ~300 hrs</p>

<p>Jobs: -does working weigh heavily with admissions officers? It takes up a lot of my time and I am wondering if they consider this.
Lifeguarding
Snack stand at local swim club
Camp counselor</p>

<p>Any help/advice you can give is greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Jobs can be highly valued (mostly if you’re low income). I think you have okay ECs but there’s no real focus. If you’re getting recruited for swim that’s another story.</p>

<p>Let me give an example or two.</p>

<p>Say you want to be a doctor and youre trying for a bio major at HYP… You probably…
-shadowed a doctor or better yet had an internship
-volunteered or worked in a hospital
-research if available to you
-taken all AP sciences you could or self studied/taken classes at a local CC
-place in some science Olympiad competitions
-started a young doctors club
(Not necessarily all of these but you get the idea)</p>

<p>It would be a similar pattern for other things. If it’s music, maybe you’ve played at Carnegie hall, won some competitions, have composed your own piece, etc</p>

3

<p>There is absolutely no formula that anyone can use to predict admission to an Ivy League school. It is all a random process. Obviously, having stellar grades, stellar test scores, and great extracurricular activities goes a long way as do strong essays and strong letters of recommendation. That being said, there are many other top schools that are not part of the Ivy League. It’s not about the name, it’s about the personal fit for you.</p>

4

<p>I’m thinking of going into STEM but I have no real idea where to start looking for internships, etc</p>

5

<p>Thank you! I’m still trying to figure everything out</p>

6

<p>Contact local university/community college professors and ask if you can shadow them. Maybe you could search “X university high school internship/volunteer” and that will get you something.</p>