Have I any chances for ANY top uni in the USA or England?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Ok I'm in 11th grade and doing the International Baccalaureate.
I am planning to go to either one of the following: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, any Ivy-league university, Oxford, Cambridge.</p>

<p>I am a White (a bit tanned though.. lol) male</p>

<p>Half-Russian, half-French (does that help at all?)</p>

<p>I am fluent in Russian, French, and English.</p>

<p>My grades for the past two years have been average-high, but before 10th grade I used to not do anything in class, never did homework etc, and basically I didn't care. I've changed my attitude around last year though.</p>

<p>I just had my mock GCSE results in:
A* in English literature (best grade in school)
B in English language (best in class)
A in Georgraphy
B in French Biology
A* in Information Technology.</p>

<p>So basically if I work I know I can be in the top 5% of my school, academically.</p>

<p>No extracurricular activities, will join school Rugby team this summer though.
Thinking about joining Debate club.</p>

<p>Oh, and I live in Switzerland.</p>

<p>So, what do you think my chances are? I don't know what the heck a GPA is by the way. Could you explain that?
And, if my chances don't look that good, could you give me some feedback on how I can improve them?</p>

<p>Cheers.</p>

2

<p>yeah you might face a bit of a problem in getting into any Ivy league schools, but its hard to tell at all we need more information. your extra curricular activities, well you have none as of now, so you might want to work on that.</p>

3

<p>GPA is your grade point average based on a scale of 4.0-0.0 on a non weighted scale basically an A is a 4, B is a 3, C is a 2, D is a 1, and F will get you a zero. so basically you stick a number to ur corresponding grades and u find your average.
for example...
lets say you got 5 A's and one B...thats a 3.83 GPA, for Ivy league schools you might wanna shot for a 4.0</p>

4

<p>cheers for the replies, however I'd like to know something:</p>

<p>As of now if all my grades were brought up to As and A* (which I hope to achieve next year as I will be able to do only the subjects I want.. and none will be imposed on me, like chemistry for example, which I do not like at all and most likely will fail my GCSE in)
So yeah if as of now or next year practically none of my grades went below A, and I played for the school Rugby team, and maybe did something else like another sport for example, would I be eligible for entry in an Ivy-League school?
You also must know that I am decidedly lopsided in my academic strengths, a in I am in the top 5 in my grade in humanities and languages, but definitely on the bottom-average when it comes to sciences.</p>

<p>I also think it's worth mentioning I plan to pursue a career in law, and a top law school and undergrad school is definitely on my agenda.. I really don't want to go any lower than a top university.</p>

<p>So, in conclusion after this long rant, can you give me tips on what to do to be eligible for an Ivy-League school.. Any of them?</p>

<p>by the way I've noticed most people on this site have amazingly high grades in almost every subject.. how do you do it? my big problem is laziness, basically, in that I never study unless there's a test coming, etc. You get the picture. anyway how do you do it while still maintaining a good social life and doing sports etc?
I want to get into Yale but I don't want to spend all day with my nose in a book if you know what I mean.</p>

5

<p>"yeah you might face a bit of a problem in getting into any Ivy league schools, but its hard to tell at all we need more information. your extra curricular activities, well you have none as of now, so you might want to work on that." Dave Borrego</p>

<p>Dave do you think I can still have a good shot at an Ivy-league school if I bring my grades up dramatically by the end of this year?</p>

<p>Is my case hopeless??</p>

6

<p>help please! I need help. And guidance. And help. Lots of help.</p>

7

<p>I have had unremarkable to downright horrible grades my whole life.
Basically what I want to know is this: Is it too late to steer my grades in an A-direction, and get into an Ivy-league school?
Will they automatically refuse me because my 9th-11th grade marks weren't stellar?</p>

8

<p>I think it would be very hard for you to get into any top US universities such as Ivies without having any ECs or extraordinary talents. There would be nothing remarkable about your application in the admission pools of such colleges. They also get lots of international applicants so your international status also wouldn't help. Getting on the school rugby or debate team this summer probably wouldn't boost your chances. It's too little too late.</p>

<p>There are plenty of other less competitive US universities, however, that would likely welcome you with open arms.</p>

9

<p>Too little too late, eh?
Well if that's the case, then I might as well give up, shouldn't I. It's a shame that universities place such importance on peoples' younger years, when children should be enjoying their lives instead of working day to night worrying about their GPAs and whatnot.</p>

<p>I personally am more than willing to make the commitment to bring my grades up to the max (straight As), which I know I can do al through this year into my last year of school. However, if even that isn't enough for Yale, then I think I'd rather not go there anyway.</p>

<p>If the only people who get accepted are those who have missed out on childhood because their noses were buried in books from age 7, and are the kind of people who have no social life, then a top university is likely to be quite a dull place.</p>

<p>Frankly I think it's not a problem with me (well, it is.. But that's not the point), but with the whole system.
If even extremely bright people with vast potential are refused admission in favour of bookworms (average intelligence but all they do is study) or whatever you want to call them, then there is definitely a problem with our education system, and it urgently needs re-evaluating. What Yale and Princeton ask, is simply inhuman.</p>

<p>It's a shame. I bet if I worked hard I'd get in. But I guess I've screwed myself over years ago, and now there's nothing I can do about it.</p>

10

<p>By the way I'm doing an International Baccalaureate course. It is very challenging and hard work, and is highly regarded throughout the world, especially America.
I'm saying that basically it's a lot more challenging than your standard A Level course or High School Certificate (not saying anything bad about any of the latter- I studied A levels previously myself, but had to move to Sw this year and start the IB instead).
So does that (me doing the IB) make it any better??? God I hope so.</p>

11

<p>There are thousands of students in IB programs in the US, and who also are applying to places like the colleges you mentioned. These include applicants with very strong ECs including being top athletes or getting state or national recognition for their research, musical accomplishments, academic achievements, etc.</p>

<p>I also would imagine that many foreign applicants come from IB programs.</p>

<p>In general, it's a given that applicants to places like Ivies have very strong academic curricula.</p>

<p>Your background, however, would probably be a big plus at less highly ranked, but still good US universities. Perhaps places such as Notre Dame, U Michigan, U Wisconsin and Case Western Reserve would be delighted to have an applicant with your background.</p>

12

<p>I agree with the previous posters. One thing to take into consideration is that each of the Ivies is unique. You are basing your search on prestige, which is the wrong way to go about it. There is no harm in applying to a few Ivies, but make sure that you apply because you feel that you would be happy, not because of prestige. Remember to find some great matches and safeties.</p>

13

<p>hey nick, im the EXACT same as you. Bad grades my whole life until 11th when i started caring. im a pretty bad candidate for an ivy league school, or any top school for that matter but that didnt stop me from applying. i think u better get a big hook, and get one fast! Good luck man</p>

14

<p>Cheers eibrahim!
Anyway something I wanna say to everyone: my schoolings not over yet, and theres plenty I can do to improve, and ace, every subject, be the top of the class, and I still have 2 years to find loads of extracurriculars and "hooks".</p>

<p>If I work hard, I know I can do it, and theres no way I'm aiming any lower than a top university. That may sound too ambitious perhaps, or even crazy, but this is something I want to do, and I'm not giving up on it.</p>

<p>So, regardless of what anyone says, I know I can do this. My past failures and childhood has no bearing on what I am about to do, which is work my butt off to get into an Ivie.</p>

<p>I am going to work. And I am going to get in. Wish me luck.
One day I'll post here and say I've been accepted. You'll see.</p>

15

<p>Well, even if you don't get in somewhere you really want to go, if you work HARD at wherever you end up at you can have your pick of law schools. </p>

<p>good luck to you.</p>

<p>
[quote]
If the only people who get accepted are those who have missed out on childhood because their noses were buried in books from age 7, and are the kind of people who have no social life, then a top university is likely to be quite a dull place.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>haha yes. or they did extracurriculars out of the passion for going somewhere ivy, not actually out of passion for the activity itself.</p>

16

<p>I'm glad that your so determined, but just getting straight A's and getting some EC's for your last years won't guarantee admissions into the top universities. The fact is many/most of the ivy admits have had this determination since the beginning of high school, maybe even before this. Nonetheless, I agree that you should work really hard to boost your chances, but don't get your hopes up. Good luck!</p>

17

<p>well hey i have a question when you state that you are in an IB school are u getting the diploma or certificate, because there is many IB school which dont offer IB testing rather they just give IB classes.....the IB testing as far as i understand i think its graded out of 10 with while AP examination is graded out of 5, they both serve the same purpose and are equally rigorous examination, i was just curious as to if u have done any IB examination. also hey man i know your shooting for the top ivy league school but right now your foundation isn't the greatest. however dont give up man there is other ways to get into those schools just depends on what u wanna do, like hey man if u have the time and wanna go the distance why not just get ur doctorates at ivy league schools. in other words transfer in for a doctorates rather than apply after highschool just to get a degree</p>

18

<p>To be blunt, currently I think your chances of getting into an ivy are pretty slim. You have no ECs and you said yourself your 9-11 grades were pretty average. My best advice for you is to just work extremely hard this last portion of highschool, however, focus more on a single EC(one that you REALLY excel at), but make sure you keep straight A's in school as well. You need a MAJOR hook/EC and a good deal of luck to get you into an ivy.</p>

<p>By the way... sounds like you have some major dislike for ivy students :p, you really can't blame anyone but yourself for this situation, and many ivy students do live normal productive lives - gone are the days when a bookworm that studied 24/7 could get in based purely on academics (well... almost heh). I can vouch that many of my friends who went to ivies lived normal lives - friends, movies, the sort.</p>

<p>
[quote]

Too little too late, eh?
Well if that's the case, then I might as well give up, shouldn't I. It's a shame that universities place such importance on peoples' younger years, when children should be enjoying their lives instead of working day to night worrying about their GPAs and whatnot.</p>

<p>I personally am more than willing to make the commitment to bring my grades up to the max (straight As), which I know I can do al through this year into my last year of school. However, if even that isn't enough for Yale, then I think I'd rather not go there anyway.</p>

<p>If the only people who get accepted are those who have missed out on childhood because their noses were buried in books from age 7, and are the kind of people who have no social life, then a top university is likely to be quite a dull place.</p>

<p>Frankly I think it's not a problem with me (well, it is.. But that's not the point), but with the whole system.
If even extremely bright people with vast potential are refused admission in favour of bookworms (average intelligence but all they do is study) or whatever you want to call them, then there is definitely a problem with our education system, and it urgently needs re-evaluating. What Yale and Princeton ask, is simply inhuman.</p>

<p>It's a shame. I bet if I worked hard I'd get in. But I guess I've screwed myself over years ago, and now there's nothing I can do about it.

[/quote]
</p>

19

<p>Sorry for not being helpful with the question, but I can't help pointing out the charming way your English writing incorporates French idioms-- "before 10th grade I used to not do anything, "I've changed my attitude around last year" etc. It's quite interesting. What is your native language?</p>

20

<p>
[QUOTE]
Ijust had my mock GCSE results in:
A* in English literature (best grade in school)
B in English language (best in class)
A in Georgraphy
B in French Biology
A* in Information Technology.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>I'm at Oxford. Realistically I think you have a very slim chance of getting in here. First of all, since mock exams are marked by your school and not independantly, usually students' real grades are worse than the mocks. Also, most students have 10 or more GCSEs. Unless you have a really good reason, such as being hospitalised, it is unlikely that you have studied enough subjects. </p>

<p>I went to a British school and I have 8A<em>, 2A and 1B in my GCSEs. I'd say that most people here have at least 5A</em> grades and in medicine and law significantly higher. </p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
my big problem is laziness, basically, in that I never study unless there's a test coming, etc.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>I don't see why you are so proud of this? You main problem is that you are competing against many thousands of highly motivated students who don't know the meaning of the wrod lazy. Why should the colleges choose you over them? Will you still be lazy in college and fail to graduate? You seem very bitter towards other talented students so why would you want to be in college with them?</p>