I’m looking for advice on what to improve my position to get into the Ivies. I’m planning on applying ED to Columbia and then if rejected, all other ivies, georgetown, and nyu.
GPA: 4.0 UW
ACT: haven’t taken, but every practice I’ve taken has been around 32, hoping w/ practice to get 33+
SAT II: US History + Literature - I’ll be studying all summer and am shooting for an 800 on both
Major: Political Science
Essays: I’m planning on taking the summer and writing a great essay. I’m a good writer, I’m just a perfectionist so it takes me some time.
EC:
Forensics
Junior High Class President
Students Against Destructive Decisions: President
National Honers Society
National Merit Finalist
Mock Trial Team: Captain
Member of the National Forensics League
Academic World Quest Team
Ski Club
Volunteer:
IB requires 90 hours of volunteer work
+I’m organizing a charity 5k event but I’m not sure how to incorporate that into the app; will probably raise $1k or more (hopefully :))
Courses: Full International Baccalaureate Courses
IB CHEM
IB SPANISH
IB MATH
IB COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
TOK
IB HISTORY
IB ENGLISH
+Diploma Candidate
I go to a small private school
Thanks
Hum…National Merit Finalist?
NMSF results won’t be released until the fall. What was your PSAT score and what is your state?
All of those schools are reach schools. You need some realistic matches and two safeties.
Also, do you know what your parents can pay? Do you know your EFC?
Took the PSAT in the fall and based on the score i put it down, i obviously wouldn’t be doing NMSF until Junior year but was trying to gauge it.
<$150,000
First, all the Ivies, Georgetown and NYU are crapshoots for everyone.
You need a safety. Somewhere you would be reasonably happy attending, that you can afford, and where your stats would be well above average. I got into Harvard (a while back, when it was easier) but I still applied to Providence College just in case. A good safety you are happy with is gold.
Second, consider not applying to every one of the Ivies. Not only is it a tryhard thing to do, but would you really be happy stuck out in Dartmouth or Cornell in the boondocks as an urban-happy would-be Columbia/NYU/GTown kid? I doubt it. But also, filling out all those reachy apps will tax valuable mental energy you need to find and apply to good matches and safeties.
Oh, and are you taking Math 2C for your SAT II’s?
Btw I don’t wanna seem like a jerk, its just always been my goal to get into an ivy league school.
You don’t seem like a jerk. But you are a sophomore I just realized. Study for the PSAT!
Don’t fret about Ivies.
It’s not that you appear like a jerk - let’s leave aside my suggestion not to apply to all 8 Ivies as there’s probably no point in trying to talk you out of it - it’s just that you do also need some matches and safeties. Reaches are easy. Everyone has the same ones. Matches and safeties are where it gets hard.
But txstella is right. Study for the PSAT!
I got a 220 when I took it as a sophmore.
That is an excellent score.
This is a good time to speak with your parents about finances and how much they can contribute to college. They could fall in the category where schools expect a huge parental contribution that is not really affordable. Ask them to run the NPC for Columbia and Georgetown. This will give you a good idea of how two meet-full-need schools consider your family.
Unfortunately, finances steer a lot of college decisions.