<p>Hi guys; I'm new to this forum, so I don't really know the ropes that well.....Buw what I do know is that I've been thinking about about colleges lately, namely the prestigious Ivies (Yes, sadly I've espoused to the nation's meritocracy, blah, blah, whatever).....I'm looking to do pre-med, specifically a neuroscience program at either Georgetown, Brandeis (Hopefully Matches), NYU or Stony Brook (Safeties), and finally Brown, Columbia, Yale or Dartmouth(All reaches). Btw, if anyone can recommend another school with a great neurology program, I'd be thrilled. I'm a pretty good student, not so involved as most of the Ivy league alumni or those who got accepted, but I'm getting there (still a freshie in HS). In my school the honors program (which are the most rigorous courses available) is exclusive, meaning all or none. You have to have a 3.7 GPA or higher, and basically 92's and higher in every single subject, with the exception of 3 which are at the principal's discretion to choose. It's a Jewish prep school in brooklyn (hosting an amalgam of literary subjects and sciences, along with Hebrew and Judaism-related subjects). This is my courseload for the first semester, which accentuates my bad performance (I was distracted by some other business the first half, so it's not as competitive).......I think I'm in the top 18%, not really sure, but I'm getting back to my usual performance this upcoming half. Every single course I will list will change on my transcript to honors classes, since I am switching back in a week (when we return from intersession): </p>
<p>Bible: 92
Living Environment Biology: 88
English/ Literature: 95
Social Studies: 95
Jewish law(Basic): 90
Hebrew Language: 93
Spanish :94
Jewish Prophets: 93
Int. Algebra: (final grade isn't out since I missed the final, so my teacher approximated a 91 average): 91
Jewish Oral Law (Advanced Level): 92</p>
<p>Again, this is not my best efforts in play. Hopefully I will bring everything back up to 99's.....
Please give me your feedback!</p>
<p>Emory University & the Univ. of Washington. UWash, however, has huge classes due to financial cutbacks. Consider Emory, WashUStL & the Univ. of Rochester. Rice University in Houston, Texas is also worth investigating.</p>
<p>The University of Rochester is an excellent school, as is Rice, Emory, and probably WUSTL (although I have to admit I am prejudiced against the latter because of their–IMHO–over the top marketing). The Ivies and Stanford and MIT are all great schools, but they are not the ONLY great schools. Consider the University of Chicago, JHU, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Cal Tech, Berkeley, U Mich, U VA, Carleton, Amherst, Swarthmore, Williams, Wellesley, Carnegie Mellon, just to name a few. </p>
<p>In other words, although I am not among those who insist that “the Ivy League is just a sports conference,” it is unwise to become TOO obsessed with the Ivies too soon.</p>
<p>Continue to do the best that you can, academically, and pursue your interests in ECs. Try to live your life NOW, as well as looking towards the future. In the next two year things should shake out for you, and you will have a better idea of what you may be looking at. When in doubt, keep your options open.</p>
<p>honestly i thought my freshman year that if I got into an ivy I would be the happiest kid on the face of this earth. I did get into my ivy (Dartmouth). And I’m still really happy and all, but it’s only temporary…</p>
<p>You’ve got way too much time ahead of you to be stressing. I don’t advocate slacking off, but it’s too early to be getting worked up over this. Wait at least till junior year to really narrow down choices and go over the minutiae of the process.</p>
<p>I totally agree with the post above. Seriously. Just calm down, and enjoy your first two years of high school, and THEN subject yourself to the hellish process that is college admissions junior and senior year. Plus what’s annoying is that you’ve started the exact same thread in all the Ivy League forums.</p>
<p>What’s even more annoying is that he has attempted to correct current students from some Ivy’s about their knowledge of the school they attend. I’ll restrain my criticism considering he is only a misguided freshman.</p>
<p>It’s way too early to start planning the specifics of which colleges to apply to and exactly what GPA you’ll need. Enjoy your high school experience, enjoy having to not manage your budget in college, enjoy prom, homecoming, sweethearts, etc. Just keep your grades high and get a head start on SAT prep. Live is impossible to plan correctly, so just enjoy the ride!</p>
<p>Thanks guys, bully me, votes appreciated. I may be a misguided ■■■■■; usually sites which require an account require one to be 18 or older, so I switched the year from 1995 to 1985…Hope it doesn’t bother you. Sorry for trying to get acquainted with the college hype and enthsiasm; It just seemed very interesting and I didn’t know how brutal it can get if I started a thread.</p>
<p>Jacobtess, I truly hope the main takeaway from your experience with these Ivy League threads is to enjoy and prosper in your high school life. Remember, just a few months ago you were in middle school. My Ivy League son never even thought about college until second semester of his junior year. Even now, he’s never visited this website. His goals as a freshman were to figure out his high school, make some new friends, play baseball and football, pursue his academic interests, learn how girls work, etc. The success he experienced over his four years was a byproduct of spending all of his time, on the margin, doing what he enjoyed. No SAT prep courses, no private college counselors, no multiple sittings for standardized exams, etc. Adding new potentially interesting activities. Dropping activities he lost interest in (sometimes to his parents’ chagrin–I hope someday he finds joy in his violin talent). Perhaps it’s because we live thousands of miles from Flatbush, but he was free to do all that. My advice would be to seek that freedom.</p>
<p>pbr, I’ve been hearing countless people giving me the same advice. I feel, however, if I stopped staying on top of myself and being my own “helicopter parent”, I would lose focus. We aren’t all as academically talented to have success merely be a byproduct of being well-rounded. It’s a reach regardless and , ultimately, college is not the eng goal by any means.</p>