This question is not specific to Harvard, but how do know which Ivy League is a fit for me? I want to go to an Ivy not only because of the name and the status, but because I work very hard and I want my education to be the best it can be. I believe that the ivies are the best place to receive that.
The Ivies are all very different. Do you want city or rural? Big or small? What’s your intended major? The Ivies do not have a monopoly on excellent education. For some majors you would get a better education elsewhere.
Whichever one will accept you is probably the right one for you.
Have you visited any of the schools?
Edit: I want to be premed.
A few comments:
–It looks like you are a HS sophomore. You are doing well academically but your ECs need to be further developed and you have no standardized testing. It is too early to be targeting any specific colleges, especially the hyper-competitive ones.
–If you do want to start reading up on different colleges I suggest you get your hands on some good college guide books (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review, Insiders Guide) and start reading. You should be able to find these books in your guidance office or a library. Keep in mind that your view of the “perfect fit” college may change between now and your senior year.
–You are naive in thinking the Ivy schools are the only places where you can get the best possible education.
@STEM2017 beat me to it - that’s exactly what I was going to say.
The other thing - you’re a sophomore, so it’s too early to think about that. Have a goal, certainly. But your main focus should be on the now. Follow the suggestions given on your other thread.
@chercheur No, but I am a Sophomore so I will look into college tours around the summer/fall time.
Good luck, @Beaniegirljujuz !
@happy1 Thank you for the advice and book recommendations. I didn’t clarify that I am aware that the Ivies aren’t the ONLY schools where you can get the best education, but they are pretty up there. I am open to other schools as well it wouldn’t be wise to just depend on the Ivies.
If you want to be pre-med, the least expensive one and the one with the most grade inflation out of the ones that admit you are candidates to be the best one for you. However, some other non-Ivy school may be a better fit on these and other criteria.
In part for the status, and you think you deserve this? With one AP in HG and a 3 score, no standardized tests, no sense of your course rigor and not yet a load of APs? You haven’t looked deeply enough to tell the differences? On the other thread, very few activities.
You need to match what they want or it won’t matter what you want. Get the guide books, read everything on the colleges’ web sites, figure out their environments, values, what they want in admits. See the sorts of kids/accomplishments they show off. Look at the Common App and see the daunting task of doing it well.
Take the standardized tests, get top scores on your AP exams, find activities related to your posible major. Get revved up.
@lookingforward respectfully, I do not think I DESERVE to go to an Ivy, but it would be nice. I’m going big and if I don’t get it’s not the end of the world. Thank you for the advice on how to improve.
Do you realize that the “Ivy League” is a sports league? There is nothing inherent in any of those eight schools that makes it better than many, many others that are in different sports leagues. For example, the NESCAC schools (Williams, Amherst, Tufts, Wesleyan, etc.) offer excellent academics as well.
I do not think that Ivies are the only schools for a good education or the best. This question was just specific to the Ivy Leagues.
OP, sorry if that came off hard. But many kids have zero comprehension of just how tough the competition for a tippy top is. You choose where to apply, they need to choose you for their class. All those other applicants are working hard, filling their days and weeks with not only the academcs, but the engagements, the right sorts.
Then, there’s a difference between those who really get the colleges, what they are and how they do it, versus those who just know xyz are top ranked. You asked how to know these colleges and the best way is to do your due diligence, find what they say and how they say it.
Your own hs is just your own context. From all over, other top kids will be applying to tippy tops. So read up and fine tune your activities. Try to be strategic. Get to the point where you can self-assess. Holistic is more than the stats.
And some of your chances depends on where you live now, how much competition will come from your area.
Try it.