<p>I am starting as a freshman I just finished my first month in highschool. Going to an ivy league school has been my dream for the past 5 years of my life. It is all I can think about I need someone to tell me what they look for in a student I have perfect grades and I can be very involved in Extra curricular activities if that is what is demanded. I am so scared of rejection I feel like I'm not making progress please anybody if you have any tips or ideas on what I should do. Should I take online courses as well as in my school? What do colleges look for besides grades? Questions like these I need answered. Any help is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Stop thinking about it so much. Unless your parents are billionaire graduates of your school of choice, admission to top colleges is always a crapshoot; every year, people who have done everything right get rejected in droves. If you’re scared of rejection after being in high school for a month, you’re attaching way too much importance to this.</p>
<p>You definitely to relax and realize that the odds are that you won’t get in. Stop worrying about what colleges are looking for and start figuring out what you want to accomplish.
[Study</a> Hacks Blog Archive How to Get Into Stanford with B’s on Your Transcript: Failed Simulations & the Surprising Psychology of Impressiveness](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/03/26/how-to-get-into-stanford-with-bs-on-your-transcript-failed-simulations-the-surprising-psychology-of-impressiveness/]Study”>How to Get Into Stanford with B's on Your Transcript: Failed Simulations & the Surprising Psychology of Impressiveness - Cal Newport)</p>
<p>Please, I didn’t even think about college until my junior year of high school.</p>
<p>Live life.</p>
<p>Just kidding, but you seriously need to lighten up. Yes, good grades are important, but so is being a well-rounded individual. Join a variety of clubs and try to take leadership in them. Try to be active during the summers, either in your community or in academia.</p>
<p>Getting in an ivy league is part effort part luck. You must take care of the ‘effort’ part during the next 3 years. Take the most challenging classes offered in your school and do well in them. Find your passion and get involved with that extra curricular activity. Start preparing for standardized tests next year. And above all, enjoy doing all of the above. Having said that, don’t forget to ask yourself … that why is it that you want to get into an ivy league school? What is it that they offer that no other non-ivy school offers? Train yourself for an ivy league, but also be prepared mentally to go to another school so you don’t get disappointed. You can make all the effort and do all the right things and still not get in. As other responders noted, it is a crapshoot. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you all of you who replied I am taking all of it into consideration.</p>