<p>dunno what to say... seeing so many of you fulfulling your dreams. </p>
<p>although there are two years away for me to apply for college, i can see my future is doomed.</p>
<p>so depressed. i just WANT to study in ivy league so much.
but then my sixth sense tells me,"you are dreaming."</p>
<p>what should i do?
i am so hopelessly depressed.</p>
<p>anyway congrats to all acceptees. you people deserve this joy and honour.
work hard for graduate colleges. strive for your dreams.</p>
<p>you should try to be happy and try not to think about studying in an ivy league because they are all different. If I were you, I'd find my true passion right now and then see which schools offer programs in that area. good luck with everything!</p>
<p>
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i just WANT to study in ivy league so much.
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</p>
<p>Sry to use you as an example but:</p>
<p>it's very saddening to see so many people on CC think their lives will be over if they don't attend an ivy league institution. There are, in fact, many excellent schools out there in addition to the ivies but people get so caught up in the prestige factor (and yes, if you say you just want to attend an "ivy league," it's because of prestige) that they miss the options available.</p>
<p>Rockers said it well: find out what you're interested in. You'd be AMAZED to learn that in many cases (such as Engineering, for example), an ivy league education is equal or even second-rate to schools like Stanford, Harvey Mudd, and (dare I say it) state schools like UT-Austin and UMichigan. It is certainly understandable that many people want to attend an ivy league school as there are numerous benefits. However, if the only reason you really have for attending an ivy league school is because it's an ivy league school, you may want to stop while you're ahead because there is little chance of you fooling the admissions officers.</p>
<p>You may have great reasons for wanting to attend a specific college that I am not aware of. However, saying that you must study at an ivy league (meaning any ivy league) - implies that you are hellbent on attending an ivy league school for the sake of the label, as the eight schools are actually quite different from one another.</p>
<p>I say this as someone who was once in your position. I formed my initial list and, lo and behold, it was primarily ivy league institutions. When I finally researched those schools, I became aware of what I actually wanted. Suddenly, new, less-selective but still prestigious schools were on my radar. I realized that many of the ivies only had name-power for me, and that other schools actually offered what I want. In the end, only two ivies stayed on my list but I had valid reasons for them. </p>
<p>If you are thinking you must attend an ivy, you are misguided. Look around some more and you'll find schools that are more plausible for you as well as a better fit.</p>
<p>brand-182: well said but if I am a Canadian who wants to major in econ, needs aid, which schools should I look into?
SAT I : 2190
IB student living in Asia for past 6 years</p>
<p>which ib school?
me going to take ib next year in uk too</p>
<p>Great chance if you apply to CALS or CAS depends on what your interests are. Well, from my IB school in Canada, already 2 people, me included, got into ED Cornell. So great chance if you keep pursuing your dream. Also, I think Cornell is definately not as hard to get in as say Harvard. So don't worryz too much and RELAX!</p>
<p>happyjane - </p>
<p>I think you should definitely check out Cornell as well as other ivies. It's not a bad thing to have ivies on your list, just make sure you want them for valid reasons. It's often very difficult to justify having 6 ivy league schools on your list, as they are so different. However, if your justification is that you need a lot of financial aid, you have a good reason for tryin your hand at as many top schools as you can afford to apply to.</p>
<p>If you need financial aid, you should primarily look at private schools. I would also start my list by finding the best econ programs available - Chicago, MIT, Northwestern, etc. There is a list on College Confidential that someone posted ranking undergrad Econ programs by "tier." I'd start with that and look into each school - make sure you really like it, not just the name and its aura. As you go down the list and examine each school, take into account your chance of acceptance as well and build your list. </p>
<p>I would also really consider LACs if you are interested in smaller colleges as well. </p>
<p>Finally, since you're an international needing aid, take into account exactly how much aid you'll need. If you're needing basically a full ride, you'll obviously want to have most schools on your list being a bit lower in prestige so that you will stand out and shine in the applicant pool. Certainly still apply to the top schools that you like, but having 3 or 4 schools with higher acceptance rates/lower average test scores will make you more apt to get a lot of $$$$. </p>
<p>And since you live in Canada, I'd definitley keep UToronto and McGill open and send an application their way just in case. I hear Toronto has an excellent Economics program that could be a good back up for you.</p>