Ivy League Admission with low freshman year marks and low class rank

Hi everyone! I am a grade 11 high school student in Canada. I have a passion for wanting to attend Ivy League institutes for university. I am really concerned right now because my freshman year marks are bringing my GPA down significantly to a 3.57 and my class rank to 30th.

I have received serveral 80s, some of them low 80s, in my grade 9 year because I slacked off during those years and I never had a passion for wanting to attend high-end institutions until second semester grade 10. By the second semester of grade 10, I started to get serious and I earned all of my marks over 90%. I have continued this trend, so I have top marks in grade 11 as well.

I talked to my guidance counsellor today and after hearing my GPA and class rank (mentioned above), I instantly became demoralized and felt shattered. He told me that I would be able to raise my GPA and class rank if I continue this upward grade 10, but I still feel extremely concerned.

Do you think I could still have a chance at these big schools if I continue this trend, or is it too late for my GPA to increase significantly? Please let me know if you could help, I would highly appreciate it.

P.S - just a reminder that I attend a Canadian School

As you likely now GPA is only one aspect of Ivy admission. Without an SAT/ACT score, a list of your EC’s and your ability to write an essay that shows how you have used your high school years to develop yourself as a successful candidate no one can really chance you. But the fact that you essentially wasted a year and a half in high school is not a good sign.

You might be able to raise the gpa but it depends on what classes you can take, how many, and if any of them will receive extra points for being AP or honors. Your counselor would know.

However, even if your gpa was a perfect 4.0 wouldn’t mean you’d have a good chance of going to an Ivy. No one does. International students have less of a chance of getting into an Ivy. All you can do is your best in the gpa department, get top scores on the tests, and have outstanding ECs.

Can you play hockey?

It sounds like you are midway through the equivalent of Junior year with a 3.57 GPA through 4 semesters. With only three semesters of grades left for regular admission, this can only improve to around a 3.75 (depending on course loads).

Unless there is some data missing/incorrect, this would make it very challenging for an international student at an Ivy. An upward trend is beneficial, but with tens of thousands of 3.9+ applicants, there’s just not much leeway to remain competitive.

How many students in your class? If that GPA is 30th of a very large class, that would indicate an abnormally low grading scale, which could help.

WHY do you want to attend an Ivy? Each one is different, you know. Each one may have as much (or more) in common with a particular non-Ivy school as with another Ivy.

Thousands upon thousands apply for very few openings. Many of those thousands (more than the schools can accept) have perfect grades and test scores. What would distinguish you apart from your grades? What do you have to offer ?

Look for schools that want YOU as a student, where YOU can thrive, learn and be happy. Chances are, that is not a school with acceptance rates in the single digits.

Thank you for your answers.

There are 208 students in my class and no AP classes are offered in my school. Also, I am a U.S citizen, but I study in Canada (complicated story). Will I be considered as an international student or domestic? Is there any way I would be able to substitute my low GPA? Would self studying for AP tests help?

For my extra-curriculars, I will be launching a business soon. I also have other extracurriculars which match my passion for business: DECA and Incubation Hubs. Additionally, since I wasn’t focused much on school in grade 9, I was, however, very focused on track and field. I have won national and provincial titles.

My new question is will I be able to substitute my GPA by having great ECs, great SAT score and subject test scores? Or will they just see my GPA and click the reject button.

Please let me know.

Highly unlikely even with perfect grades, for everyone. Yes, your grades probably make it a bit less likely for you. Not much you can do at this point except get the best grades you can, study for the ACT or SAT, continue to explore your interests with ECs, and investigate a wide range of schools to include those where admission is likely. Canada has great universities at bargain prices.

If you’re truly a nationally competitive athlete, getting recruited by an Ivy would improve your chances. Check performance lists on tfrrs.org and look at press releases about incoming track and field classes to see the types of marks needed. Some teams also list rough standards on their web sites. If you’re close, fill out the recruiting forms and email the coaches.

The eight IVY schools collectively receive something over a quarter of a million applications every year for somewhere around 15,000 spots.

Not good odds for anyone, and not a place where you can realistically substitute even great ECs and standardized tests for less that stellar GPA, when the schools have more than enough applicants with great everything.

As noted above, If you’re truly outstanding in track and field at a level possibly recruitable at the IVY schools, that could make a difference.

There are many more colleges in the US beyond the IVY league, and there are also great schools in Canada like McGIll.

Do the best you can in your classes, get great standardized test scores, then when it is time to apply, look at the Common Data Sets of the schools you are interested in to see what the stat ranges are for admitted students to get a better idea what your chances might be.

Keep in mind that everyone’s chances at schools with single digit (or close to single digit) acceptance rates are very poor.

What is your status in Canada? Do you have either permanent residence or citizenship in Canada?

“WHY do you want to attend an Ivy?”

This is the first thing that I wondered also. There are a very large number of students who want to attend Ivy League schools. It is not always clear why.

“Each one is different, you know.”

I think that your chances of attending an Ivy League university is better if you know what the strengths and weaknesses are of each school, and you know which one or ones are a good fit for you.

Of course there are multiple other highly ranked universities in the US that do not play sports in the Ivy League.

The many very good universities in Canada will not care about your freshman year grades. I do know a few people who did their undergrad in Canada and then did graduate school in the US.

If you have a “passion” for attending an Ivy, you should know tippy top holistics look at your entire app. Every piece needs to be tops. No substitutions. They see the transcript, not just gpa. They look for rigor in cores, see grades, see filler, and more. Top ECs are expected, including going beyond just what the hs offers.

Starting a business is no tip. Nor is really, really wanting an Ivy, this “passion.” It’s about performance.

Top 10% would mean up to 20th, in a class of 208.

And most Ivies don’t have a traditional sort of business major.

So I wonder what you’re really thinking here, how much you’ve explored or how serious this is.

Here is your main problem: there will be literally thousands of applicants who have prefect GPAs and still won’t get in. There will be kids who didn’t slack off and they won’t get in.

I’m going to be blunt and say you have no chance, unless you have some hook you haven’t made us aware of. Focus on schools where your grades and test scores put you in at least the 50th percentile and above.

The Ivies are not looking for students with a passion for the Ivies, they are looking for students that have a passsion for something that would qulaify them for admission.