I’m currently a junior in high school, so far my accumulative GPA is a 2.6 or 2.7. So far this school year For every quarter besides the second I had a 3.2 for 1st & 3rd quarter and second quarter I received a 2.9 and now I’m in the 4th quarter and so far my end of the GPA is looking like I’m going to have between a 3.4-3.7. I wish to attend any Ivy League school (mainly Yale & Columbia) however I do not feel as though I’m going to have the GPA to get in. As far as my extracurriculars go I am the Captain of the Debate team, I started and am president of the Gay Straight Alliance at my school, and I’m was in photography club until it ended and with photography I helped publish a book so I am also a published author and curator. I recently took the SAT 2 weeks ago and won’t get my scores until middle of June. I also take the ACT June 11th. So what I want to know is what do I need to help boost my chances for acceptanc
[snark]That’s your first problem.[/snark]
@RaymondR: In case you were having trouble following @InxayBob, please google the Common Data Set for each Ivy League School and look at the C10 data points. For example, here’s Yale’s CDS: http://oir.yale.edu/sites/default/files/cds2014_2015_0.pdf.
Unless your high school has enormous grade deflation, the top 10% of a student’s graduating class usually means a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.75. At most US high school’s, the top 10% of a graduating class generally has a 3.9+ GPA.
With a cumulative GPA of 3.4 to 3.7 ALL ivy league schools are an ultra high reach for you (read 99.99% chance of rejection unless you are applying as a recruited athlete where a coach has said they will use one of their “admission slots” for you).
You really need to be focusing your energy on more appropriate schools for your GPA: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/a-plus
There is no pathway for you to be accepted at a top 20 school such as Yale or Columbia. Please meet with your guidance counselor once you have your SAT or ACT scores and have him/her help you craft a list of viable schools based upon successful applications from prior students with similar academic profiles. Good luck.
As stated by @gibby and @T26E4, unless you’ve omitted mentioning astonishing athletic ability or boldface celebrity status, you probably don’t have a path to the Ivy League.
Additionally, saying you want to attend “any Ivy League school” means that your goal is misdirected to the status and prestige of the Ivy League; the 8 member schools are very different, and I have difficulty imagining the person who would be equally happy in every one of them. That’s not a sin, but it means you haven’t thought deeply about what you’re looking for in a college that is a reach (a reasonable reach!), a match, and a safety. Your GC should be able to help.
Good luck on your standardized tests, recommendations, and essays.
@IxnayBob thanks for your comments. You kept me from typing my usual comment about FIT. But if the OP wants to see it in its entirety, they can search my archived responses.