Getting into Ivy League

<p>At the moment, I'm a freshman in high school and I was wondering what the perfect schedule for getting accepted into an Ivy League school would be. It's most likely that someone may respond with,"take the most challenging courses your school provides", although I'm looking for specific classes in which I take to be accepted into a great school, such as an Ivy League. And, yes I do know that the courses I take and the grades I receive aren't the most crucial part of increasing my chance of acceptance.</p>

<p>What do you want to major in?</p>

<p>I would like to pursue law school or major in something physics- related. Oh, I also love to write. </p>

<p>If you want to major in physics, then definitely take the highest math course you can (AP Calc BC or above if possible) and AP Physics C.</p>

<p>Not sure about law. </p>

<p>There are no “magical courses” that will significantly boost your chances. Extracurricular activities are the most important - do something that demonstrates your interests in physics/law/writing.</p>

<p>However, as noted above, AP Physics C (if your school offers it) is probably considered the most difficult and rigorous and may slightly or even moderately help. In terms of writing/humanities, AP US History, AP Lang, and AP Lit are considered the most rigorous.</p>

<p>I’ll begin taking AP Calculus as a junior, then continue my second year of Calculus as a senior. Also, I plan on taking AP Physics 1 as a sophomore and take AP Physics 2 as a junior. Should I take the AP Physics 1 and 2 path, or take AP Physics B and C as junior and senior? </p>

<p>Sorry about the poor wording.</p>

<p>Since AP Physics B isn’t even an exam anymore, would it be possible to do 1, 2, and C sophomore through senior year? Also, biology & chemistry should probably be in there somewhere (if you’re not already in these classes). </p>

<p>I can take AP Physics 1, 2, and C from sophomore to senior year, and I’m currently taking Honors Biochemistry. Although, when would I take chemistry? Should I take normal chemistry or AP chem? </p>

<p>I would definitely take one year of the three major sciences (biology, chemistry, physics). Also, take an AP Calc class, preferably BC. Other than that, just do what your school requires at Honors and AP level.</p>

<p>Most colleges have “recommended academic preparation” pages on their admissions websites. For example, Princeton [url=<a href=“http://admission.princeton.edu/applyingforadmission/academic-preparation]wants[/url”>http://admission.princeton.edu/applyingforadmission/academic-preparation]wants[/url</a>] you to have the following:

Other colleges will have similar recommendations. Your goal is to meet these requirements (along with the “including” parts, even if you’re not interested in engineering) by taking the most challenging possible courses at your school. In many cases, though not all, this means taking AP classes.

Grades, course rigor, and test scores are the most important factors for almost all colleges (you can see this by looking at Common Data Sets). Selective colleges consider extracurriculars because they need a way to differentiate among their applicants with high grades and test scores.</p>

<p>Doesn’t matter what classes you take, per se, as long as it’s the best you can do. I go to a school with about 9 APs offered, where the Ivy League is an unknown. All I did was take everything I could, and do what I couldn’t on my own. I self studied what I wanted to learn, and am currently taking CC courses. I mean, you could do whatever schedule you want, as long as you do everything you can.</p>

<p>Where’s the page for Harvard’s and Stanford’s requirements? </p>

<p>[url=&lt;a href=“https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/preparing-college/choosing-courses]Harvard[/url”&gt;Guide to Preparing for College | Harvard]Harvard[/url</a>] and [url=&lt;a href=“Page Not Found : Stanford University”&gt;Academic Preparation : Stanford University]Stanford[/url</a>]. Stanford is not in the Ivy League.</p>

<p>So, why is Stanford so prestigious? I thought Stanford was one of the best universities in the country. </p>

<p>It is one of the best universities in the country. Being part of the “Ivy League” doesn’t make a university good, it is just a name. </p>

<p>Suddenly your obsession of getting into an “ivy league” makes sense… “So, why is Stanford so prestigious? I thought Stanford was one of the best universities in the country.”</p>

<p>Its Programs it offers?</p>

<p>No, I honestly don’t care where I go to school, because I know regardless of what university I attend, I’ll be successful if I want to be. Although, I’d prefer to attend an Ivy League school and I always thought the term “Ivy League” was given to the schools which are academically and socially elite. </p>

<p>Also, the financial support I would receive from an Ivy League is far more better than the support I would receive from a state school. </p>

<p>

I was trying to point out to you that “Ivy League” isn’t synonymous with “prestigious.” The Ivy League is an athletic conference consisting of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and the University of Pennsylvania. Schools like Stanford, MIT, Duke, Caltech, and the University of Chicago are equally prestigious and elite, but they’re not in the Ivy League. </p>

<p>There are many different aspects to universities. Many that students are oblivious to. The mission of most universities involves generating, and disseminating knowledge. Historically great scholars have gravitated to universities where there are resources (for research, writing) and where there are other scholarly people for collaborative purposes. Colleges are where people go to study and learn from scholars. College outside universities focus more on the teaching role whereas colleges in universities focus more on the research role. The 8 IVYs are well known because they are among the oldest in the country. They were modeled after English universities. As people mention ad nausium, yes the Ivy League refers to the fact that formally the 8 schools formed an athletic league. But that is a silly “dis”. The choice of those 8 schools for one league was not random. They were and are considered peer institutions. There were many other institutions that were not included. Scholars also view the schools as peer schools. If you look back at the early 1900s, you’ll see that scholars from one often gave talks at another. Initially they were where wealthy families sent their adolescents to be groomed to be adult aristocrats. Other purposes have become more important even to these colleges. They have remained great universities and great institutions. But there are others that are as great. As someone mentioned, Stanford is one of them. Because Stanford is located in California, it is less known to high school students from the Northeast. It is as prestigious and its students are very strong. Likewise for CalTech and MIT, whose students are often actually stronger than those of the Ivy League. And students at small colleges like Williams and Swarthmore are just as strong as the students in the colleges of the Ivy League schools. </p>