<p>I am a high school sophomore who just moved to the US this August. I have lived in the US previously, but my family left when I was in 7th grade. Now, we're back. I haven't taken any APs this year since I would have needed teacher recommendations to take the course. I can't help feel that I'm not Ivy- material seeing that some of the people in my class are taking two APs this year. I also have to fill in arts requirements which are filling up my schedule, hindering me from taking many APs in junior and senior year as well. Will the Ivies see me as a slacker for not taking the "most rigorous" schedule compared to the other students?</p>
<p>I'm sort of tired of wondering. If someone could tell me how it is without sugarcoating I would greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>bump…
c’mon guys any opinions would be nice honestly</p>
<p>Depends on how many APs you take by the end of you HS education, but you’ll probably be docked a little for rigor. Still, explaining your situation would help. More importantly though, taking few APs while others are taking many will hinder your class rank.</p>
<p>People with superb SAT scores and 12 AP courses get rejected regularly at the ivies.
It’s great to set your goals high but the Ivies might be too high for you, given your situation. At the end of the day, the colleges known as the “ivies” are just a collection of schools in a sports conference are reallllly tough to get into. There are plenty of great schools around the country- expand your horizons!</p>
<p>alright then. thanks for replying :)</p>
<p>Lemme see . . you are asking how schools that admit just less than 1% of the 1.5 million people who take the SATs will view your hgih school record?</p>
<p>short answer: the HYPed shcools are a reach for almost everyone: they deny acceptance to ~80% of Valedictorians, ~80% of those with an 800 Math SAT, ~70% of those with a 36 ACT, and ~75% fo those who scored an 800 in SAT Critical Readiing.</p>
<p>so back at you: which of the Ivies intererst you more, a smaller one that concentrates more on undergraduate learning like Dartmouth, one with a more structured curriculum like Columbia, one that let’s you pick your own curriculum like Brown, or one that’s in a smaller city like Cornell? </p>
<p>Then use those reflections to start developing a set of schools that are similar to the HYPed ones that appeal to you to start building a list of schools that are interesting to you</p>
<p>thats’ a way you can become LESS stressed out :-)</p>
<p>And . . . Love Thy Safeties</p>
<p>haha you have no idea how much that means to me. thanks :)</p>
<p>stressedoutt -</p>
<p>You also need to have a conversation with your parents about how they expect you to pay for your education. Are you a US citizen, or an international student? There are big differences in the kinds of financial aid available depending on your status.</p>
<p>If you are a citizen (or fall into one of the non-citizen categories that are eligible as well) you can file the FAFSA to determine if you qualify for certain kinds of federal aid. There are nice calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) that will give your parents an idea of what that might come to. If you are international, your most economical option may well be to return to your home country for university-level studies, so you need to contact your own consulate and ask about it.</p>
<p>Stressoutt,</p>
<p>Ivies are a reach for almost everyone, including people with great stats, as Kei-o-lei described above, but you can beef up your application by taking classes at a community college in the summer or even evenings during school year. If you take a class like beginning Chemistry, for example, it will count as AP Chem from high school, if not by some Ivies, but at least by many other great colleges. Even classes that do not have HS AP equivalent will boost your college application. My daughter took Anthropology and Life Drawing classes, for example, and a couple others. If you’re concerned about HS class schedule being too light, that will help a lot. Since you’re a sophomore, you can easily pick up 4-5 classes by your senior year. They’re not easy, but remember that one semester of a community college class is the equivalent of a full year of HS AP class. Full semester classes (as opposed to summer) usually meet only 3-4 hours per week (like one evening). Lots of homework, but it’s not a bad deal.</p>
<p>@happymomof1: LEAST of my problems. my parents can definitely pay for college. no doubt about it.
@ConcernedDad101: nice suggestion. I’ll see what I can do :)</p>