Ivy League Bound?

Applying to College
1

<p>I want to study business and maybe minor in international business or communications</p>

<p>sex- female
ethnicity- hispanic moved to the U.S. when I was 10 without speaking any english
Location- Pahrump NV
School- public school with about 1500 students there are about 400 in my class
Grade- just completed sophomore yr will be entering 11th grade
Unweighted GPA- 4.0
Weighted GPA- 4.7
I have gotten all A's since I began high school except for one B my freshman year. (will that affect me?)
Class Rank- either 2 or 3: one of the top 5 GPA's in the entire school </p>

<p>PSAT- (just as pratice didnt study) total 174 higher than 84%of juniors
critical reading- 59 (higher than 92% of sophomres)
math- 57 (higher than 86% of sophomores)
writing- 58 (higher than 92% of sophomores)</p>

<p>SAT- will take them the fall of my junior yr so I have the chance to retake them if necessary</p>

<p>Activities:
Freshman class president
Josten's Renaissance member
National Junior Honor Society
National Honor Society vice president (next year)
Student Body Vice President (next year)
Interact Club vice president (next year)
Peer mediator (since middle school)
Soccer (got hurt so became manager)
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards attendee
Teen Leadership Camp attendee
Peer tutor</p>

<p><em>Will become president of the clubs I am currently vice for my senior year</em></p>

<p>Volunteer-
Hospice visitor
Even Start program
Translate for my school
Volunteer throughout the school and community with the different organisations I'm in </p>

<p>Classes-
Have taken every honors class offered except biology my freshman yr. Will take every honors class an AP class. My school doesnt offer that many and will only begin the AP program next yr. So AP's I'll take will be- U.S. History, U.S Gov, Biology, English, Calculus, and any other they might offer later on. </p>

<p>I am very fluent in Spanish since I lived in Guatemala for 10 yrs. (speak it and write it)
I took 2 yrs of Italian (just Italian I and II offered) Completed my 1st yr of French and will take it for the rest of high school until French III (I took 2 languages in 10th grade)
Also take college classes after school since no time during the day. </p>

<p>So could I get into an Ivy league? If so, which ones? If not, what can I do to help? and what other top universities could I apply to that will take me? </p>

<p>Thank you so much and I would appreciate your help a lot.</p>

2

<p>I think you should change your mind set of "can I get into the Ivy League?" Not because you're not capable, but because it's just a bad attitude. You need to do some research into what schools you would be happy at. There are plenty of institutions that will give you the same caliber of education without the "Ivy League" moniker that are worthy of your research. Think about what you want from a school and then go visit or (if that's not possible) read everything you can about the institution. The Ivy League schools are all very different and are looking for applicants who are serious about attending their school and not just those who send the same app to all 8.</p>

<p>As for your chances...if your PSAT scores are any indication of your future SAT scores, then you have a lot of work to do. While being a hispanic female who only recently learned English may give you some leeway, accepted students' scores at top universities are seldom in the 500s and are usually (especially for Ivies) in the 700s. That being said, there is no reason why, without hard work of course, that you could not compile a great application that would give you success at top universities and LACs.</p>

3

<p>Your grades sound great. But I agree, your SAT scores need to come up between 60-100 points per section in order to be in the middle 50% of just about any Ivy.</p>

<p>Becuase you're an immigrant, they'll be a little bit more lax. BUT know that odd are there is somewhere out in a similar situation with better scores, and you could be competing against them.</p>

4

<p>You have a very good chances at the lower Ivies. But I can't say much about the upper Ivies. They are so unpredictable. You are very talented. Just apply and wait.</p>

5

<p>Lower Ivies? <em>Bangs head against wall</em></p>

6

<p>Ya study for SAT's. Are those percentages correct ("critical reading- 59 higher than 92% of sophomres")? I'm curious cause I am a rising sophomore and I can score around 218 on practice PSAT's (and I haven't studied yet...although I have to start going to this SAT prep thing this summer). Just curious.</p>

7

<p>Yeah I definetly need to work on my SAT's. I took them in October of my sophomore year and I didnt study for it since I signed up 2 days before the test. NOw since then I've learned a lot more and I know that with hard work and a lot of studying I can do a much better job. About why I asked if I was Ivy League bound, I wanted to know if what I've done so far is leading me into the right direction. Actually, I've researched colleges since I was in middle school and y dream universities are Yale and Harvard of course :) and it's not just the name but the fact that they put a lot of emphasis on the two things that I'm the most passionate about: leadership and academics. I also like other schools that are very good but not Ivy's like Standford. </p>

<p>Thank you though, so other than the SAT's what else can I do to get into my top 2 choices?</p>

8

<p>To medicalmania17: </p>

<p>Yes those are the scores and my standings against other sophomores according to the PSAT Score Report Plus. Now I dont know about your scores because mines are on a 20-80 point scale so if you convert them then you can see and if you have higher than me then that means that you are better prepared than the class of 09.</p>

9

<p>Just a note: you say you want to study business but neither Harvard nor Yale offers business for undergraduates. In fact, the only Ivies that offer business at the undergrad level are Penn and Cornell.</p>

10

<p>Well I want to get my masters in business so I will probably major in economy and get a minor in sociology. Going to either Yale or Harvard will hopefully give me a better chance of getting into their business schools and getting my masters in it.</p>

11

<p>If you go to undergrad Harvard/Yale you might want to go somewhere else for your MBA, just for variety's sake. Also, keep in mind that if you go for an MBA you will have to pay for a few extra years of grad school as well, whereas if you get an undergrad business degree from somewhere like Wharton then you can pretty much get a high-paying job straight out of college.</p>

12

<p>I don't know about H but Y doesn't have minors, Maria. That's fine though. Also the MBA programs have separate admissions so it's just a new ballgame. Excellent undergrad performance and excellent work history will only improve your chances at the top BSchools. Wharton, Kellogg, Ross, etc. are other names to consider besides H & Y, btw.</p>

<p>Good luck to you.</p>

13

<p>Yeah I just figured that out that! lol :) Still sociology and economics are majors that I am very interested in. Grad school is definetely something I want to do but is not something I feel I have to do. I also looked at Fordham University in NYC and their business program and you can start it right away during your undergrad yrs. Is Fordham a good school? I love NYC and I'm catholic and from what I've seen from their website and info they send me, it looks very nice and they offer very good interships, but is it good academically and prestigious?</p>

14

<p>^why so caught up in prestige? there are much more important things that go into school such as being a good fit for you</p>

15

<p>well I've researched them and they are schools where I feel I would fit in because they put emphasis on things that I care about where people are eager to learn and get a better, if not the best, education but the prestige that comes with them doesnt hurt either as it opens many doors for you once you graduate.</p>

16

<p>Only reason people know Fordham for biz is because it's in NY--Wall Street. Otherwise, it would be a regular school.</p>

<p>Also, Cornell AEM is a different approach to the typical business major, no?</p>

17

<p>You do have a shot at it, though it is a roll of the dice with most top schools.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Actually, I've researched colleges since I was in middle school and y dream universities are Yale and Harvard of course and it's not just the name but the fact that they put a lot of emphasis on the two things that I'm the most passionate about: leadership and academics.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Hmm... I truly doubt you would find a single school in the Ivy League or outside of it that would claim they don't put emphasis on those two things.</p>

<p>Prestige, while a less admirably thing to be shooting after, is understandable because at the level of Harvard and Yale, it does open doors in a hurry for you (fair and right or not).</p>

<p>However, for both your own personal happiness and also for the sake of your essays, research more into what you're looking for. As said, leadership and academics don't distinguish Harvard and Yale at all from their peer institutions.</p>

<p>If you're looking so strongly towards business, why not Cornell and its business major, Applied Economics and Management (AEM), program? For that matter, why not aim for the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania?</p>

<p>Try to identify key traits that draw you to certain college. "Leadership and academics" are too vague, general, and vanilla to have much impact.
As much pride as admissions counselors at Harvard and Yale (and the other schools) have in their own institution, they aren't going to believe they are the only institutions that can offer those things (or even that they are, by any large margin, the best at offering them). Worse, they might think that you don't actually have a great reason or real passion for the school--which is why you're just writing something that doesn't get too much into specifics.</p>

<p>You are correct in your thoughts about getting back into Harvard for business school if you do go though--unsurprisingly, the institution is quite incestuous between its college and its business school.</p>

<p>Yale isn't a terrible program, but there are better business schools out there that you can choose from.</p>

<p>However, you should probably focus on getting into college at the moment. There's plenty of other schools that will allow you to get to the top business schools later on. The most important thing at the moment, however, is to figure out what you want out of a college--for both idealistic reasons and practical.</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
Actually, I've researched colleges since I was in middle school and y dream universities are Yale and Harvard of course and it's not just the name but the fact that they put a lot of emphasis on the two things that I'm the most passionate about: leadership and academics.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Um, what college doesn't emphasize academics?</p>

19

<p>
[quote]
Hmm... I truly doubt you would find a single school in the Ivy League or outside of it that would claim they don't put emphasis on those two things.

[/quote]

lol, the OP just got PWNED</p>

20

<p>I hate it when people call all the top schools "Ivy Leagues".. just look at my location and you'll see why, :p</p>

<p>I'd say that you definitely have a shot of getting into Cornell though.</p>