Hello!
I’ve read a lot about how applying to all the ivies is a mistake and that each of them looks for a different profile in the student. I have a question, what does each ivy look for in a student? I’m an international student and I’ve been trying to do some research on the ivies. I’ve been super interested in applying to all, but now that I’ve read that some of them want a specific profile and that’s not really all about numbers, I want to know what it takes to get into each asides from good grades.
I like Penn a lot, but when I asked myself the question of why I liked it, I stood blank and didn’t know how to answer asides from “It has the best business program”
However, when I asked myself why I liked Brown, it’s cause it gives me the liberty to choose all of my classes and core classes are not needed.
Which ivies include core classes in their study plan and which don’t?
I’m interested on studying business, more likely to choose something like business administration, international business or marketing, maybe entrepreneurship!
You should understand that the core of the Ivies is a liberal arts education where you learn strong writing, communication and critical thinking skills, usually in a variety of areas. The aim is to be a highly self directed lifelong learner as opposed to learning vocational skills. For undergraduate, most do not have business programs. Penn does in the Wharton school, applied economics, acually. Cornell has the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management which is located in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Brown does have something called Business, Organizations and Entrepreneurship which is sort of interdisciplinary but people also go into business careers from the Econ dept or the Applied math or the joint applied math-econ. You just are not going to find bus admin or marketing at an Ivy. Student who go into business at Harvard might have studied Philosophy.
Even though Brown doesn’t have core, they do have requirements for your concentration/major. And when they review you application, they might look to how you would create a program of study given no core requirements yet you have to take units of your choice.
Many international students focus on Ivy League schools because of the informational flow outside the United States. The truth is Ivy League schools have lots of competition here nowadays. If you would like to study here you owe it to yourself to learn about the true landscape of the top schools. This way you can find one that really suits your interests rather than try to fit yourself into one.
As far as business schools go, the Ivies have lost a lot of ground in the past 20 years. This is especially true at the undergraduate level, where equal schools have invested heavily in their programs and have other benefits like top sports, more modern facilities and a more complete college experience.
As far as getting accepted, and this is true of all the top universities and colleges, students in the top 5% only realistically have a shot and then it becomes a process of subjectivity and chance.
If it weren’t for international students, many of which don’t have a chance anyway, the acceptance rates would be similar to other top schools at the Ivies and schools like Stanford for example.
So what’s my point? Don’t be blinded by the Ivies because there are other schools, better in many cases, and some you might like more if you had more complete information.
I’ve always thought that the whole “You shouldn’t apply to all the Ivies” mindset had less to do with the schools wanting different things, and more to do with all of the schools having such distinct personalities that an applicant who thinks they would be equally happy at all the Ivies might be applying solely for the name, not for fit. I mean, Brown has the open curriculum you mentioned; Columbia is known for having a very rigid set of core requirements. While it’s possible that someone could be as happy at one as they would be the other, it seems a bit unlikely, at least at first glance.
That being said, while I’m no expert at Ivy admissions, I don’t think their profiles deviate significantly from each other. I mean, it could be that Yale needs three trombone players for their orchestra and Princeton wants a few more Olympic level athletes – but those aren’t the sort of things that applicants could guess at. You need strong grades, test scores, recommendations, and extracurriculars to be a candidate at all of them. The main differences might be if you’re applying for a specific school – Wharton at UPenn, however Cornell works, etc. Then it would probably be beneficial for you to have demonstrated significant academic/extracurricular interest in whatever area you’re indicating (but it’s a good idea to show an interest in your major in general, so).
I believe Brown is the only Ivy with a truly open curriculum.
That’s your biggest issue - you need to be able to express yourself in your essays why you should be attending a particular college.
The reason I personally say that it is folly to apply to all the Ivy League colleges is because I cannot imagine how people can convincingly convey their desire to attend a particular school when they all have such different personalities.
While it is fine to touch upon Brown’s Open Curriculum, that should nor be the focus of your essay; it’s so overdone.
Aside from Brown, all other Ivy League schools have some version of a core curriculum/gen ed requirements.