Should my son apply to the Ivy League Schools with a 3.65 GPA and 33 ACT?
His background includes:
-AP classes
-Student government
-Sports: lacrosse and golf
-DECA
-NHS
The ACT is good, but the GPA is a little low. It can never hurt to try. All you’ll be out is 75$ and you won’t have to ask yourself “what if”. Just FYI, none of the ivy leagues offer any merit aid so if you don’t qualify for financial aid, you’ll be paying 60-70k/year
He should apply.
But he should also be prepared to be rejected.
This applies regardless of the applicant’s stats.
I noticed you posted similar questions for Stanford, Dartmouth, and Vanderbilt. I think his are at the low end of the admissions stats.
The GPA is a bit low. What is he looking for in a school in terms of:
- Environment: urban, rural, or suburban; weather preference; regional preference.
- Social vibe: Greek & party scene? Political activism? Clubs? Sports scene?
- Academics: Major? Open, traditional or heavy(-ier) core curriculum? Is class size important?
- Does he have a preference for LAC, private U or public U? Does he care about the size of the school?
- Cost: How much can you afford to pay per year?
Thank you
He is interested to pursue the top rated large universities and small LACs.
If he attends a larger school, he would be interested to participate in the Greek system.
He loves sports and would pursue playing at a small LAC (golf and/or lax). Could he get the attention of an Ivy Golf Coach if he is shooting in the high 70s.
He will be active on campus and make a positive impact outside the classroom. He is very strong reader with a great aptitude for #s, Academically, he will likely pursue economics, finance, or business.
Thank you!
Where do you think he might be accepted.
Indeed, his GPA is low. He has improved his GPA each year.
For tippy tops an top colleges, stats and some hs clubs are just one element. It pays to what else they look for, so he can assess his real match and do the right job on his app and supps. This is about whether they find you compelling, not that you want a top college.
It matters what he got less than A in and the sub scores, how both relate to his possible major. Dig into what the college says and what you can glean. Otherwise, it’s just shot in the dark.
Thank you
He will tailor his app to integrate his academic interest, major intentions, career intentions, etc w/ each school’s niche, vision, issues, and holes. Lots of work ahead…
Do campus tours and onsite visits help? Which schools in particular?
Look at the college CDS/Common Data Set and see what they say about showing interest. But know that “interest” is more than touring or getting on a mailing list. It’s about how you dug in to learn about the college and why you think they fit you and you fit them. Not just generic answers. (And “show, not just tell.”) In general the tippy tops are looking at your possible four years there, whether you get their school and what you will likely contribute during the time on campus. Not how a top college will help you reach career goals.
And back up and see if you omitted any other ECs. Out of the hs context can matter very much. Not just the names of activities but the responsibilities and some impact. Get a Fiske Guide and let him consider the bullets prezbucky offered, then narrow the list. There’s a lot of diff between Columbia and Dartmouth or vs Brown.
There’s one very relevant thing that Columbia, Dartmouth, and Brown have in common – none of them has an undergraduate business major. Only two of the Ivy League schools do: Penn and Cornell. Both programs are extremely selective, with Penn (the Wharton School) being even harder to get into than Cornell.
So if your son is looking for a business major, he may want to apply to those two universities, but he will also need to have other colleges on his list where his (and everyone’s) chances of admission are more realistic.
I agree GPA seems low, but it depends very much on what sort of school he’s coming from. From our fairly decent suburban high school no one gets into the schools you mentioned without being in the top 5% of the class unless they have something else going for them. That translates into a GPA of at least 93 unweighted and 97 weighted out of 100 at our school which doesn’t report grades in the 4.0 format. The list of ECs is less important than what you’ve done with them. Do you have accomplishments where you made real change in the school via student government? Have you gotten any awards from any of the ECs? Are the sports good enough that a coach might put in a word for him?
Remember many business prefer to hire people without business degrees - especially undergrad business degrees (with exceptions for top schools like Wharton.)
The 3.65 is unweighted I presume? If so in addition to Penn and Cornell as reaches, IU would be a match and is becoming quite popular with east coasters and has a business school along with the things your son is interested in. He can try Michigan but the GPA is low so would also be in the reach category. There are others…best wishes going forward.