<p>..thats it's truly extremely difficult to be accepted into them? Is it as hard as people make it out to be? I don't know anyone who attended a prestigious college (except UCSD if that's good) so I'm wondering.</p>
<p>They are among the most selective schools. Some people may exaggerate, but it's pretty darn hard - it's still possible, obviously, but it takes hard work and talent. UCSD just doesn't compare in its difficulty or prestige.</p>
<p>Well...they accept less than 10% of applicants. </p>
<p>Yeah I agree, UCSD doesn't compare in it's difficulty or prestige because Ivy Leagues need recommendations. UC's don't.</p>
<p>Is GPA really import for the Ivy Leagues? Is it true that is you don't have straight A's they automatically reject your app?</p>
<p>The ivy leagues aren't all the same school, some are more selective than others.</p>
<p>Nah, the cool thing about the Ivy League is that they have a more holistic approach than some other schools. That is, they take into account your ECs and Recs more. Having a mediocre will obviously hurt, but it won't be a sure nail on an application coffin... it just means you need to be more outstanding in other areas.</p>
<p>Hey, this is a new member. What if you have solid academics but so-so ECs? I have a 4.0, take the toughest classes (so far taken 3 AP courses and gotten 4s and a 5, and am taking 4 courses this year), and am ranked 3 out of 500. My ECs are thin, I'm in National Honors Society, Beta Club, Math Team, and a prestigious Leadership organization in my school, along with a few smaller things. What are my chances for the Ivies? By the way I'm a junior.</p>
<p>First of all, welcome to CC. As a welcome and baptism by fire, I'll take it upon myself to inform you that most people on these boards are exactly like you in terms of stats, though we'll vary a bit on those and will drastically vary in terms of ECs. No one could really tell you for sure what your chances were, even less so without SATs.</p>
<p>Ivy leagues are hard to get into, but its not impossible - just improbable with mediocre statistics.</p>
<p>Whats Wenec?</p>
<p>"mediocre statistics" </p>
<p>Meaning that you're not a "no-life" nerd.</p>
<p>MonoTombo, that was just rude. Some people can get 4.0s without trying, and their ECs are actually fun (Sports, debate, running a company).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Is it true that is you don't have straight A's they automatically reject your app?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Lol, what do you think?</p>
<p>Fellow- Probably not but it should be something along those lines..right?</p>
<p>I mean, someone with a half A's and half B's wouldn't easily be accepted, right?</p>
<p>Lol that's pretty much my situation...Half A-s, Half B+s...curse Spanish and curse biased English teachers...</p>
<p>enderkin, that's exactly my situation this quarter! I'm worried because I'll be getting 2 B's this quarter, one in Spanish 5 AP and the other in English 12 AP. Those are possibly my hardest classes right now because the teachers are so subjective and hard on the point system. Ugh.... =</p>
<p>You pretty much have to be god-like to get into ivies... no flaws</p>
<p>Here's a serious answer: It is extremely difficult to get into Ivy League schools, as well as a number of other top selective schools. They receive many applications from top students with excellent grades, high scores on standardized tests, and extremely impressive extracurricular achievements, and they can't even take all of those people. That being said, they do look at other factors, such as geographical location, minority status, athletic ability, etc., in putting together a diverse, interesting class. What they don't do, unfortunately, is randomly take a few lower-achieving students for no particular reason. So, honestly, a person with half A's and half B's will need to have something else significant on his or her resume to have a reasonable chance at one of these schools--high SATs alone will probably not be enough.</p>
<p>Quick rundown:</p>
<p>Getting into any Ivy is a matter of probability. The first thing to look at is stats for each school. You'll find that the students at Cornell, for instance, while having stellar statistics, are not quite as stellar as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. You might think of stats as sort of the price of entry. If you aren't at or near the top of your class, and if you don't have standardized test scores that compare favorably to those at a particular school, then your chances of admission are very slim.</p>
<p>IF you have the stats to compete, then you have a better chance of being selected for admission than if you don't, but your odds are still pretty long. The people you're competing against will have stats just like yours or even better. And most of the Ivies will choose a "class" that has the blend of skills, geographic diversity, ethnic diversity, etc. that they want.</p>
<p>Think of this as if you're competing in a different silo from the vast majority of applicants or, rather, like you're being considered in a number of different silos. If you're in the rural Wyoming silo, a first generation college student, grew up as a wrangler, etc., those are pretty empty silos in which you're competing. If you also happen to have done extremely well in national debate (for instance), that will be a larger silo, but will add to your desirability.</p>
<p>I suggest you buy one or more of the very excellent books on admissions to the Ivy League and/or very selective schools. They go a lot more in-depth on this stuff.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Quick rundown:</p>
<p>Getting into any Ivy is a matter of probability. The first thing to look at is stats for each school. You'll find that the students at Cornell, for instance, while having stellar statistics, are not quite as stellar as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. You might think of stats as sort of the price of entry. If you aren't at or near the top of your class, and if you don't have standardized test scores that compare favorably to those at a particular school, then your chances of admission are very slim.</p>
<p>IF you have the stats to compete, then you have a better chance of being selected for admission than if you don't, but your odds are still pretty long. The people you're competing against will have stats just like yours or even better. And most of the Ivies will choose a "class" that has the blend of skills, geographic diversity, ethnic diversity, etc. that they want.</p>
<p>Think of this as if you're competing in a different silo from the vast majority of applicants or, rather, like you're being considered in a number of different silos. If you're in the rural Wyoming silo, a first generation college student, grew up as a wrangler, etc., those are pretty empty silos in which you're competing. If you also happen to have done extremely well in national debate (for instance), that will be a larger silo, but will add to your desirability.</p>
<p>I suggest you buy one or more of the very excellent books on admissions to the Ivy League and/or very selective schools. They go a lot more in-depth on this stuff.
[/quote]
TITCR. Read this twice and put it in your pocket.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Nah, the cool thing about the Ivy League is that they have a more holistic approach than some other schools. That is, they take into account your ECs and Recs more. Having a mediocre will obviously hurt, but it won't be a sure nail on an application coffin... it just means you need to be more outstanding in other areas.
[/quote]
This is not very true. Top schools get tons upon tons of applications from students with excellent GPAs and test scores. Unless you have some serious mitigating factor (URM status, a hook, developmental status, first-generation college student, low-income household, cured cancer) you will not get in if you don't have the numbers. ECs and essays are excellent for distinguishing between students that have met the "numbers requirement", but if you don't have the numbers, all the ECs in the world won't get you in.</p>
<p>This is what I believe to be a rule of thumb to be competitive (not necessarily a surety) at an Ivy or Ivy equivalent including top 10 LACs:</p>
<p>2100+ on SATs with a pretty even distribution across M, CR and Writing.
700+ on each of two SATIIs
A very high GPA in a rigorous academic program </p>
<p>Consistency over time and demonstrated excellence in an EC or two
Accomplishment/Talent in a Performing Art and/or in a Sport
Natural leadership skills emerging from the ECs above</p>
<p>Passion and Drive (demonstrated by perservance amidst difficulties in academics/ECs)</p>
<p>Evidence (through rec's, essays, etc.) of HARD WORK</p>
<p>I think it's a rather straightforward formula:</p>
<p>Academic Accomplishment + Talent + Passion + Hard Work</p>
<p>I think if you can ring the bell on all four elements of the equation then you have an excellent chance of getting into one of the countries top schools. Academic accomplishments alone will most often not suffice.</p>