I attend a small school in Virginia. While the school has rigorous academics, many of it’s students are attracted to schools in Virginia and the south.
I plan to apply to most of the Ivy League colleges this year, including Princeton (early action). In my schools history, only 3 girls have applied to Princeton, and none have been accepted (we did have one student attend on a swimming recruitment 5 years ago, but that was an athletic rather than academic matter). I will be the first from my school to apply early action, the only applicant to any ivy leagues this year, and have better stats than the past 3 applicants. Still, I am extremely concerned that since my school does not have much experience with high level universities in the north, my application will not be taken seriously. I have gone above and beyond in high school and pursued many things outside of my school (and have made “school history” for taking the most APs, being the first to self-study some, starting various traditions, and completing competitive internships), but I am afraid that I won’t hold up against some of the more prestigious high schools in the nation.
So based on this information, will my chances to get into an Ivy League (or comparable institution) be helped or hindered by my schools admissions history?
Your chances won’t be helped by your school’s admissions history. It is likely a neutral thing.
How many girls in your class? I do find it a bit strange that you would be the only one with an Ivy on your list if your high school is rigorous and highly regarded. Is that the case most years?
60 girls in my class - it is small. For whatever reason, my guidance counselor really pushes the Southern schools (if your interested in an Ivy, she will direct you to Vandy). Also, Im not really sure about past years at my school, but I do think that there is usually only about 3 people that shoot for the Ivies each year. This year, most of our top students are either really set of going to UVA or just don’t have the desire to continue to push themselves in college.
Does your school use Naviance? Definitely check out the details for the Ivies there.
Do you think your GC doesn’t push Ivies out of her bias or b/c she thinks the girls are not a match?
What are your stats? Are they a match?
It won’t help, but the truth is there is not one thing you can do about it now. It maybe should have been a consideration before your family chose that HS for you, but it is too late now. The Ivy and equivalent schools are pretty much a crapshoot for anyone so put in your application and see what happens. Apply wisely with a good mix of reach, target, and safety schools and see how things play out. And keep in mind that schools like Vandy, UVa, W&M are all tremendous schools.
Not necessarily. But it does mean that the students coming out of your school are generally “not good enough” for the Ivy League (this is the college’s opinion which is not necessarily true).
It means you really have to be outstanding in terms of not only your own class, but past classes as well. You’ll basically have to be the best student the school has seen in a while.
No, it doesn’t necessarily hurt. When they like your app, they can have the Aha! moment and know it’s time to take someone from your hs. But:
You have to be a great candidate especially, eg, from Northern Va, where there is so much academic competition. In order to be that, you have to know (and have) what it is the elites look for, in addition to stats. To know, you have to research what they say and show they like. That’s not just great in your one high school, but great in the whole pool adcoms are looking at from your area.
I don’t think it hurts your chances in a generic sense. It may mean that your recommenders (GC, teachers) aren’t used to writing the kind of recommendations that help you in Ivy admissions, though.
I am an interviewer for Penn. Our group is always excited/pleased when we have an applicant from a one off school. And from my experience the applicants from the one offs are evaluated in the same way as other applicants. Best of luck.
There is a reason why certain schools seem to feed into the Ivies. The colleges feel confident that those students can succeed there based on history with those high schools. Certain high schools are ranked higher and it can be difficult for students from lesser schools to crack the Ivy code. Not always fair but it can work that way
Thank you so much everyone for the advice and insight. I am from Southern central VA by the way!
My school does use naviance, and based on that data, no one has been accepted. I would say there has been a total of 5 students to ever apply to any of the Ivies.
@wisteria100 Based on my stats, I believe I am qualified to at least apply; I have a 35 ACT, should be valedictorian, and have numerous ECs and honors/awards that I won’t list for privacy reasons. My counselor told me that I am the most qualified applicant she has ever worked with (when considering the “whole package”), and my ACT score is the highest she has seen at my school. I am really hoping this gives me a chance.
@intparent I am definitely concerned about my GC’s rec. She is so kind, and absolutely loves me, but is not very knowledgeable on dealing with competitive, high caliber schools. Should I suggest anything about the rec, or just hope it turns out alright?
@amanivy Thank you so much! Your insight as an interviewer is much appreciated
@happy1 I absolutely acknowledge how amazing W&M, UVA, and Vandy are, and plan to apply to all of them (and would be very excited to go!). I just want to try our some of the Ivies that I feel I really connected with!
With a 35 and your transcript you are more than qualified! Don’t worry to much about your gc rec… If she is writing for girls going to Vandy she will know what to do. But gently remind her that Princeton is your 1st choice
Agree the GC will likely know what to say, if she getting kids into Vandy and, presumably, other southern privates. The idea is to avoid just running through your “brag sheet” and to offer some personalized comments, maybe get a little excited.
Yes, you are quailfied to apply, based on stats. But we don’t know the rest of your picture or how you present it in your app. It matters. Make sure you really know Princeton, what it looks for.
I think it’s harder coming from a small school that isn’t a known quantity but not impossible. It sounds like you overcame a potential lack of challenge by self-studying for some AP tests which was a great idea. We actually had tour guides at 2 ivies that came from small towns where no one had ever attended an ivy before. One was absolutely amazing and we were impressed that the school was able to realize what a great candidate they had. The other talked a lot about tutoring resources at her university leading us to believe she was not well prepared to attend an ivy and she felt lucky to have made it to the end of her senior year though she did switch out of a challenging major in the process. Having those AP tests gives you a leg up in letting those schools know you are ready for the academic challenge.
