Getting into an Ivy League College

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a sophomore in high school so I still have a long way to go, I’m just going to list some info about my academic and extra curricular life. Feel free to let me know what you think and suggestions, constructive criticism i s always welcome. Also my goal is the get into an Ivy League and I want to become a surgeon.

Freshman Year: Honors English (98), Honors Biology(99), Honors Biomedical Science (95), Honors Algebra 1(100), Honors World History (96), AP Human Geography(101)

Notes: The numbers in the (parenthesis) is my final grade in that class.
I got a 3 on the AP Human Geography (which isn’t great, but it was my first AP and I passed)
I didn’t do any activities besides occasionally attending the Home EC and African American club

Sophomore Year (current): Honors U.S. History 1, Honors Chemistry, Honors English, Honors Algebra 2, Honors Human Body Systems, Honors Geometry

Notes: I took two math classes so that I could take AP Calculus my senior year
No APs this year, what do think about that it makes mt kind of anxious
I joined the Tennis team this year very fun and I plan to do it for the rest of high school, and maybe even play in college
Attended a few science teams meeting, but it is difficult for me to get home after so I’ve missed a few lately
I also went to orientation for volunteering at the local hospital, so that will be happening soon when it warms up

Junior Year (prediction): Ap Language English, AP Physics, APUSH, Pre-Calculus Honors, Honors Medical Intervention, French, AP Biology

Tennis, more clubs, and volunteering at the hospital

Senior Year (prediction): AP Literature English, AP Chemistry, AP World History,AP Calculus, French, Theater, and AP Psychology

Same activities from junior year

I am a Black Caribbean American, idk if that will help , with affirmative action and all.

Questions:
What do you think my chances of getting into ivies specifically?
Is there anyway I can spruce up my my extracurricular?
Is it bad I didn’t take any AP classes this year (Sophomore year)?

2

Your course load and grades are fine however you need to strengthen your extracurriculars. If you want to go in the medical field you should develop a spike in that. An example would be to start or join HOS at your school, maybe shadow a physician among other things. Also make sure to have good test scores.

3

In regards to extracurriculars, I highly recommend the book “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport. It might answer a lot of questions and clarify some misconceptions!

4

Kinda hard to tell without an SAT score. Right now, you are on track though!

5

GPA is fine and URM status will definitely help. Obviously, your test scores will come into play. A 3 on that AP coupled with a 101 average in the class might raise some eyebrows (grade inflation). You will need to build up some impressive EC’s - preferably in things related to health care. Finally - no foreign language in 9th and 10th grade but French in 11th and 12th? Seems strange. Generally, Ivy League schools expect four years of foreign language.

6

Your grades are super: well done!

If you are serious about medicine a few things to keep in mind:

*MCAT + GPA are where the application cuts are made for medical school; final decisions come down to interviews and relevant experience during college. The name of your undergraduate college is not a key factor (the 165 new students at Harvard Med came from 80+ different colleges).

*Your in-state med school is often your best bet for admissions AND affordability.

*Some med schools are more research-oriented, some more practice-oriented. You will have time to research this in college.

If your main interest is in a fancy-name school, you have a serious EC issue: your course rigor and marks are super, but most of your peers will also be doing a lot with their out of class time. Sometimes that’s school-based ECs (ie a team sport and a performance art and a student leadership position). Other times it’s a serious interest (volunteering in a serious and sustained way, for example). Other times it’s a part-time job, either in an area of interest or simply for the sake of the job/paycheck (including minding younger siblings while parents are working). The Dean of Admissions at Princeton said ‘we don’t mind WHAT you are doing’ (after school / over the summers) ‘we care that you are doing SOMETHING and we are interested in what you are doing with that experience’.

You also need to separate out the “Ivies”: they are not homogenous.

7

You asked if it’s bad you didn’t take any APs sophomore year. I think you should have. Is there a way you can add an AP or two to take online or summer school? You might want to research this.

8

I might disagree.

What we don’t know is what AP were offered to sophomores? Many/most HS’s limit which AP, if any, freshman and sophomores can take. Additionally, AOs will look at the aggregate number of APs taken.The OP is projecting 10, which is more than enough. While there might be reasons to take more, for admissions purposes, the law of diminishing returns kicks in after 6-8; additional ones won’t strengthen an application much, if at all.

9

“AOs will look at the aggregate number of APs taken.The OP is projecting 10, which is more than enough.”

And since GPA for college apps is generally calculated at the end of junior year, and college apps are sent in first semester senior year, I respectfully disagree that those senior year APs are going to be enough to put this student ahead of other students who have taken APs in sophomore year, junior year, and/or who have taken AP classes independently.

There are approximately 26,400 public high schools and 10,500+ private high schools in the United States. Let’s round that out to 37,000 high schools. Which means 37,000 valedictorians, and another 37,000 salutatorians. Let’s include the 37,000 class presidents who are also stellar students. That puts us at 111,000 students who are all that and a bag of chips. I’m not saying that every one of those students are going to apply to “the Ivies”, but surely someone is encouraging them, to do so. That’s a lot of competition.

So, yes. If I were a sophomore with an eye of the tiger and wanted to best position myself for “an IVY” I would reconsider my AP timeline. I’d also be a specialist with my ECs vs being “well rounded”. For example, if you are into soccer and coding, then those two things would be the focus 365 days a year. You can play club or HS soccer, coach elementary kids soccer as volunteer hours, and ref games as a paid job. Same for coding. You can be an officer for your HS Coding Club, and volunteer at the middle and elementary school teaching coding to girls. It’s being passionate about a few things, vs dabbling in 30.

Of course, I only have 150 posts and have never stepped foot inside an Ivy, so feel free to dismiss every word I say.

10

^^^Many top high schools limit APs to junior and senior years, as ski noted…this is for any number of reasons, including ratcheting back the academic pressure. Said schools often have honors/high honors courses that are weighted the same as APs, which students can take frosh/soph years (as well as jr/sr years). Most colleges, especially the more selective, are facile at navigating thru the various curriculums and class levels which they encounter in their applicant pools.

Also, some rigorous high schools are getting out of offering APs altogether, such as several private DC schools this past summer. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/06/19/eight-private-high-schools-washington-area-are-dropping-out-ap-program I expect the students at these schools are not going to have worse college admissions outcomes because they can’t take AP classes.

11

AP courses add rigor. AOs will look at rigor across 4 years. RD applications will have 1st semester grades considered. Not all schools weight AP classes, and those that do weight follow no standard weighting metric, so the weight advantage for admissions is not as great as you might think. Also the impact of one AP class on a 3.5 year GPA is akin to a pimple on an elephants butt. Again, we don’t know what APs the OP was even eligible for as a soph’ you can’t take what the school does not allow. And no college expects a student to go outside their school curriculum if they have not exhausted the HS offerings in a subject.

Not all high schools have vals/sals. Some might have multiples. So while I understand the need to stand out, taking one more AP as a sophomore is not the answer. And taking it over the summer at the expense of something non-academic risks the applicant being too one-dimensional. Finally, I tend to stay away from effectively telling people that they’ve erred if they ask whether they should have done something differently in the past. What’s done is done; focus on the future and, if needed, a recovery plan. To be clear, from an schedule standpoint, I see no need of a recovery plan. What the OP does need are strong SAT/ACT scores. So a plan to achieve those is needed.

But, I’m done presenting my opinion, and won’t debate it. So we can just agree to disagree.

12

Re APs and sophomore year: AP World History would be one AP test I would consider studying for and taking. That’s commonly a course taken sophomore year. It’s worth looking into.

You asked if there is any way to spruce up your ECs: I have heard that colleges in general are looking for more “specialists” who show passion, vs a candidate who was a “joiner” of many things. Therefore, if tennis is your passion, seriously, you should live it between now and senior year. In addition to playing tennis for your HS, you could teach tennis to kids at the boys and girls club or the YMCA. I would volunteer at the senior center playing ping pong, or play with seniors at the local tennis club. Since you want to become a surgeon, your volunteerism at the hospital sounds like a great idea.

Good luck.