Great but not Ivy

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm about to be a Junior in High School but I'm not sure what college to go to yet.</p>

<p>First of, I doubt anyway to get into a Ivy League. I do not know what I want to major in but I want it to be something I enjoy.
For Freshman Year, I hit a 3.5 GPA and for Sophomore year, I'll probably hit a 3.0. I know this isn't very good but I kinda got tired of high school and the work. Blah. For my PSAT, I hit in the 1500's but I plan on hitting a 2100 if I work hard and take the classes I need to. Looking on the side, I'm most likely to hit in the 1800's. I do track, I don't break records or anything but I am chosen to go run for the team on meets. </p>

<p>My question is this. With this application, I have no chance in going into a Ivy League. However, I'm looking for a great college but isn't an Ivy League. I'll be trying harder for my grades Jr/Sr. year and doing other stuff as well. And if you can, please give suggestion into how to improve my chance into getting into a great college.</p>

2

<p>Get the best grades and test scores you can. Do some significant extracurricular activities. Get to know a few teachers well so they will be in a position to write you good letters of recommendation. Search for the many really good colleges that aren’t terribly difficult to get into. Check out Miami U in Ohio, Case Western Reserve, Fordham, U of Kansas, U of Iowa, U of Wisconsin (Madison), U of Minnesota (Twin Cities), Clemson, Clark University (Massachusetts), Union College (NY), U of Colorado, Boston University, U of Vermont, U of Massachusetts, U of Arizona, Indiana University, Purdue University.</p>

3

<p>Any of the “public ivies” would probably be a good fit.</p>

4

<p>Look at top 10-20: Rice, Emory, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, etc, etc.</p>

5

<p>WeiWei, first thing first. Concentrate on your jr year. Do as well as you can to the best of your ability. Be nice and be good to your teachers – you’ll need two of them as recommenders. It’s almost no point to be obsessed with the top 20 schools. Keep them in mind, but don’t waist your energy day dreaming. My neighbor’s Harvard graduated kids… one is currently working at an animal shelter, the other teaching HS part time while figuring out what he wants to do. You’ll have time. Ivy or top schools are not the end all, be all. Good luck.</p>

6

<p>Have you looked at your state’s flagship university or some privates in your area?</p>

7

<p>Take a look at Clemson! Let me know if you have any questions.</p>

<p>Admissions Video: [YouTube</a> - ‪2010 Admissions Video‬‏](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>

<p>“The Clemson Experience”: [YouTube</a> - ‪The Clemson Experience‬‏](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>

8

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<p>I disagree with this. Those schools are out of reach for the GPA and current PSAT score. The OP should be looking at less selective but still strong schools, such as those in post #2.</p>

<p>The best way to improve your changes is to get significantly better grades during junior year and to try to get SAT scores higher than the PSAT scores.</p>

9

<p>look at:
[25</a> New Elite Ivies – 25 New Ivy Colleges | U.S. College Rankings](<a href=“http://www.uscollegeranking.org/ivy-league/25-new-elite-ivies-25-new-ivy-colleges.html]25”>http://www.uscollegeranking.org/ivy-league/25-new-elite-ivies-25-new-ivy-colleges.html)</p>

10

<p>I would agree with Sacchi, jvtdad and schmaltz. The schmaltz is a more realistic list than look at schools that are ranked 11-20 by UNSWR. The OP’s GPA suggests that schools ranked around 75-100 are better matches.</p>

<p>Concentrate on your junior year and try to bring up the GPA!</p>

11

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<p>After freshman year…?</p>