High School Freshman looking to Ivy League

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>Hi, thanks for reading my post. I am a guy, a High School Freshman in Texas. I am looking forward to college and need some advice on what to do. I would go to Texas or Texas A&M as I live nearby and they are fine schools, but am really enticed by the Ivy Leagues and the world-class education I would garner by attending them. My favorites of these are Brown and Harvard, but I really would attend any of them besides Dartmouth (too cold!) </p>

<p>-Which of the Ivy Leagues is your favorite? Or where did you go?</p>

<p>-Are the Ivy League schools really that much better than the state schools?</p>

<p>Through my research, I have come upon a few conclusions. 1) Its better to do a few things you really like in high school rather than do a lot of different things and clubs you want to be in just so they show up on you resume. 2) Being passionate about what you do is one of the best things you can do for yourself. 3) Grades matter, but they aren't that important.</p>

<p>-Do you agree with these points? </p>

<p>-What else could you add that is important?</p>

<p>Let me describe myself. I'll try to be humble. I'm 15, 6', white, mature for my age and grade (9). I am a Boy Scout and am hoping to achieve my Eagle in the coming year. I help out with many a service project through this program. I play piano and have played for 10 years: it is one of my great pleasures and I participate in many contests. I have played piano at church before, and also have helped out around church doing other things (running the sound booth during service). I attend Youth Group one to two times a week and stay active as a Christian. At school, I play basketball and am on the Freshman A Team. Basketball is my big sport, really the only one I play besides Track and Field. I am in the Varsity Choir and recently made Region Choir. I take Spanish II and enjoy learning a new language. I take all Honors Classes and have mostly As with one or two Bs. My grades are usually good but have slightly slipped due to my busy schedule. I am considering going for Valedictorian as my school is not very competitive academically. I think with everything I do, I could put up a big argument for attending an Ivy League School.</p>

<p>-What are my strongest points on my 'resume'? What about my weakest?</p>

<p>-As high school progresses, what should I focus on? What would be a waste of time?</p>

<p>-Do I have a good chance to get in to an Ivy League School?</p>

<p>-What school do you think is best for me?</p>

<p>-What attitude should I have looking forward?</p>

<p>Thanks again for reading my thread. Feel free to not only answer my questions but leave advice of your own. Have a great day!</p>

<p>-Shelby</p>

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<p>Why the Ivy League specifically? I mean, why not Stanford, MIT, Duke, Caltech, etc.? They’re just as prestigious as Ivy League schools (if not more so, in some cases).</p>

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<p>Most of the people on this forum are in high school. </p>

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<p>Do you think all state schools are the same in terms of academic quality? Because they definitely aren’t.</p>

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<p>Good grades will not get you in, but bad grades will keep you out in almost all cases. If you don’t have high grades they probably won’t have a reason to consider the rest of your application. High grades (probably 3.7/3.8+ unweighted GPA at most high schools) are almost always necessary, but they are not sufficient.</p>

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<p>No. With a few notable exceptions, no one does.</p>

<p>It’s also very important that you figure out what your family’s financial situation is like because that will help direct your college search.</p>

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<p>Halcyonheather, </p>

<p>You are absolutely right that there are other great schools other than Ivy League schools. Maybe you can view me saying Ivy League as more of a metaphor for higher class institutions. Rice is also a school I really like. </p>

<p>I was only asking if paying the extra money for private over state schools is worth it.</p>

<p>I know that bad grades will keep you out, I have a near 4.0 GPA and hope to sustain it. But there are many students who get in to great schools without the grades because of other things that stand out on their r</p>

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<p>A lot of state schools are better than a lot of private schools. Most private schools in the grand scheme of things are not prestigious. In terms of prestige alone (and probably also academic quality), I would rather go to UC Berkeley or Michigan or UCLA than most private colleges. </p>

<p>It’s also not necessarily true that you’ll pay less going to a state school, especially if “state school” includes out-of-state public schools. Prestigious private colleges usually give very good financial aid to people with need.</p>

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<p>Yes, there are many public schools that are better than private, but many ivy leagues and Stanford type school would be better than even the best public schools. Also, I come from a wealthy family, so not sure how much financial aid I would receive if I went to a private. Do you think they would give it to me anyways?</p>

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<p>That’s true, but it seems like a lot of people are under the impression that private schools are inherently better academically or more prestigious than public schools (that is, any given private school will be better than any given state school) and that’s definitely not the case.</p>

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<p>Depends on what you mean by “very wealthy.” I don’t know enough about financial aid to be specific about that, but I’d definitely suggest using the Net Price Calculators on college websites.</p>

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<p>God forbid if you were 5’11". Your chances would just plummet.</p>

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<p>If you’re rich, why do you need financial aid?</p>

<p>Also, if you’re making B’s in regular freshman classes, chances are that your grades won’t hold up when you’re taking APs later. You’re way ahead of yourself. Don’t even start thinking about college until you take the PSAT your sophomore year.</p>

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<p>Well, for one thing…he’s not rich. His parents are, and they might not want to pay for college.</p>

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<p>Well, if his parents are rich and don’t want to pay for college, he still won’t get FA.</p>

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<p>Merit aid at lesser schools would be the only option.
(I mean, in all likelihood they’re going to pay, but I found out late in my junior year that my parents weren’t going to pay all that they could pay, and it limited the colleges I was able to consider. So people need to figure out what their parents are going to pay for before they worry about admissions.)</p>