From Failure to Ivy League

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Hello Guys! This is my first time posting on this website. Basically i’m looking to get into an Ivy League School such as Harvard University. I am currently a sophomore in high school. The problem is, things didn’t look so good my freshman year and I got a 3.1 GPA and it looks to me that things are going to look worse by the end of the 1st semester of my sophomore year. Truth is, I’ve lost a lot of motivation and will power to do anything. I can’t discipline myself at all and I feel like a failure. My brother, who is obviously the better one, excels extraordinary at academics and graduated high school last year with amazing grades and ACT scores. I recall him saying to me, “Out there in the world, there is always someone who is better than you”. Clearly he meant that there are plenty of other people competing to get into Harvard who are better than me and don’t get in. I don’t want to settle for a state school or anything mediocre, I want to make the most out of my life and become the best I can be. It’s sad that this feeling had to hit me hard late in my life. Right now I want to get my life back on track.

What i’m asking is: Is there still hope for me to even get into an Ivy League School with a 3.1 GPA? What are the tools and guidelines you use for success and achieving good grades? How do you keep yourself motivated especially around hard times? How do you discipline yourself? I know that grades aren’t everything in order to get into an Ivy league school, what other things should I do?

Let’s just say that I don’t get accept by the end of high school. Would it be realistic if I went to college and got much better grades like a 4.0 and re-apply to Harvard hoping to get accepted?

2

The quick short answer is: no.

The longer answer: Why an ivy league school? There are hundreds of colleges in the United States where you can get a great education. And your goal is to find a college that is appropriate for your GPA, a college where you will graduate at the TOP of your class, not at the bottom. A kid graduating from Harvard with a 3.1 GPA is NOT in a better, more hirable position than someone from Boston University who is granting at the top of their class with a 3.95 GPA!

True story: Three kids from New York City go to the same elementary school together. All three go to different middle schools, high schools, and colleges. One goes to UMich, one goes to Vanderbilt and one goes to Harvard. All three graduate and go to work for Bloomberg LP in the SAME department. Now, after a year of working at Bloomberg, which kid gets the promotion and the top job?

Answer: The kid from UMich got the promotion because she was more personable, friendly and clients liked dealing with her better. So, in the end, I think it matters LESS where you graduate from and MORE about your people skills and what your life experience (as a 22 year old) brings to a job.

3

I completely understand where you’re coming from with that statement. Other than just an Ivy League school, I would love to go to UChicago, Northwestern, Umich, and Purdue. Like I said, I have academic problems and i’m looking for advice to contemplate for these issues.

4

You need to look at less selective schools. Your academic problems will likely follow you to college unless you address their root cause.

If you have mediocre stats you will have to settle.

5

There is a huge middle ground, and many people become successful through that middle ground. I can’t get over the number of posters out here who think they MUST go to any Ivy League college to succeed. You don’t. Or any of the other schools you listed, either.

My advice - stop thinking about it. Focus on getting the best grades you can get in rigorous classes. No excuses – buckle down. Ask for help when you need it, and don’t stop until you understand it.

Study prior to taking standardized tests. Better scores are always good when applying to colleges.

Pick an EC or two that you enjoy and do your best at them.

Start looking at colleges after you get your PSAT scores back in junior year. Start with safeties – schools you know you can get into and afford, and would like to attend. Then find some matches. Then add 2-3 reaches to your list.

Stop dreaming and make a solid plan to get yourself a good college education. Then carry it out.

6

agree you need to look at less selective schools but many state schools are excellent, it is not necessarily settling!

7

^^ The advice you’re looking for is not specific to this forum, and can easily be found by using google or by posting in another section of College Confidential: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life. Here, I’ll get you started.

[quote]
Biegelson’s Theory of Small Pieces: A Study Guide for the Undisciplined
by Jay Biegelson, Guidance Department, Stuyvesant High School

If you have been unsuccessful so far in achieving the grades you feel you are capable of, this guide may help you structure your time and maximize results from efforts spent on your studies. Jay Biegelson’s Theory of Small Pieces was designed to make your daily approach to studying a more palatable experience and to encourage your involvement in the learning process.

Your success can be achieved through small efforts made on a daily basis throughout the term. People do not fail because they can not do, they fail because they fall behind and then spend the marking period playing “catch up”.

Daily Review
A daily review of class notes is essential for success in high school. Five minutes of review in each of your subjects done in the following manner is all that’s needed: (small pieces)

1 Set up a study folder for each class, independent of your notebook and your homework.

  1. Look through your class notes each day and ask yourself, "What are the four or five important ideas from this lesson?" They may consist of a set of formulas, equations, definitions, translations, dates and events, etc.
  2. Write them down on a separate sheet of paper, and date it. (Do not just highlight them in your notes.)
  3. Then ask yourself the really important question. "Do I understand this material?"
  4. Imagine another student was absent, and called you for the work, could you teach them these five things? If you feel that you can explain all the issues to someone else, you're done.
  5. Place the sheet in your folder.
  6. If you're not sure about any one of the items, make a note to yourself in your notebook heading.
  7. Ask your teacher, the following day, for further clarification on the subject.

Form a Study Group

Do not feel embarrassed to seek help.

  1. If you are not clear on an issue, I guarantee you that there are five or six others in your class who are equally lost.
  2. If you continue to have difficulty in a subject or if you want to excel in a subject, announce to your class that you are forming a study group, and set a meeting time for after class.
  3. You don't need to meet everyday, maybe just once or twice a week.
  4. Four people observing the same lesson will get four different interpretations of what was taught.
  5. There will be things that you can teach others, and subjects that they can help you with.
  6. Work as a team, and share your knowledge.

Note-taking Ideas

If you feel that your note taking ability leaves something to be desired, you might try giving a sheet of carbon paper to another student in the class, and incorporate both sets of notes when drawing up your study guide each night.

When given a reading assignment skim through the book looking for a summary at the beginning or the end of the chapter and/or any italicized words, bold print or chapter sub-headings the author may have included.

Read these first, then read the chapter. It will give your mind a framework for processing the information. The material will make more sense to you if you know what is to come in the chapter.

When finished, write your own summary.

Ask yourself, “What are the ten or fifteen important facts in this chapter? What would you quiz your students on if you were the teacher?”

Place this summary in your folder.

8

3.1 is not a failure. You won’t be going to an Ivy or any of the others you’ve mentioned but so what. You’ll have your own achievements and success different from your brother- just do what you enjoy. You’ll be fine.

9

Remember, the college doesn’t make the student, the students make the college. Success can be won no matter what college you attend. Don’t focus so much on the name or “status” of a college.

10

All good thoughts.
Mine? Get through this year as best you can. Then assess.
The college choices you will have will be based on realities, not youthful “dreams.”

11

No offense, but often fixating on Harvard is just a sign that you don’t have enough information about college options. So if you insist on thinking about college this early , I encourage you to learn more about schools available to you (and if finances are a factor, take that into consideration and check the net price calcululators on websites). I like the “Colleges that Change Lives” website and book by Loren Pope (who also wrote “Looking Beyond the Ivy League.”) Check it out. Please acquire a little more knowledge and sophistication on the college choices you could have, and avoid focusing too much on any one school, especially Harvard (where your chances are almost nil).

I have huge admiration for our state college and university systems. Unlike lectures at Harvard and other prestigious schools, our state U. nearby has teachers in every classroom, with small classes, and no TA’s. Quality will vary of course. But you can get a great education no matter where you go and the faculty at state U’s can be fabulous.

Most of all, just try not to think about college too much right now. Doing work for that goal is a false motivator. Try to find things that genuinely interest you. Work at academics to learn. Learn to be a good friend, and how to relax. Explore yourself during high school and enjoy as much as you can without doing everything with admissions in mind.

Good luck and come back in a couple of years!!

12

Thanks to everyone who commented and gave me the best of advice! I might include updates periodically.