Im a sophomore in high school. My first semester of sophomore year kind of damaged my gpa by alot. Some things happened during the first half of my sophomore year, and I can definitely do better in my upcoming years. My cumulative gpa with freshman year and first half of sophomore year is probably around 3.2 right now. The last psat I took, I got a 1370 on (the 1520 scale). Did i completely screw up my chances of going to the ivy league, or do I still have a chance? If it helps, Im African american, sort of financially challenged, and my E.C.'s include section leader in my school marching band, lead drummer in school jazz band, leadership positions in two other clubs, various volunteer work, and I will be completing an internship at Stanford University this upcoming summer. I have a passion for neurobiology that I hope to expand on by going to Ivy league.
You still have a chance, but that GPA has to come up.
There are a ton of great schools. Why would you limit your interest to Ivy League schools without really knowing much about college. Does that make sense to do?
I know there are many more great schools. I just thought that if i set my sights on the ivy league, it would seem easier to get into other less selective schools.
The problem with that way of thinking is that students end up not being interested in the vast array of schools available and focus inappropriately on the 8 “Ivy” colleges. And that is problematic for many different reasons. One is that most students won’t get into those schools. And they shouldn’t. They are not appropriate schools for everyone. And, they are not even always the most appropriate for some of the very strongest students either. And if you spend years thinking that you have to go to one of those 8, everything else will be a disappointment while many would be a much better fit for the student. But, you are not even a junior yet. focus on high school!
Several non-Ivies are more selective than some Ivies, fwiw.
It seems like all you’re focused on is prestige. Wake up.
Yeah…it does actually seem like you’re solely focused on prestige. You haven’t even bothered to research specific ivy league schools, but rather use the collective noun “the ivy league”. You may think this is just a trivial issue, but your focus on only prestige may show on an interview, essay, etc. I’m going to be harsh with you, because I want you to face reality. The ivy leagues already have incredibly low acceptance rates; your gpa as of now (gpa is one of the most important things btw) is probably in the lower percentiles of aspiring ivy league applicants. Did you get that 3.2 gpa in just regular/honor courses are all AP courses? That makes a huge difference. Your EC’s are pretty good, but not super diverse, which is understandable since you’re only a sophomore. Your PSAT score is pretty good for a sophomore, so try to bring that up by junior year to make NMSF. Why do you have a “passion” in neurobiology? How have you demonstrated this? Colleges know neurobiology leads to a neurologist/neurosurgeon career, and I’m sure they’ve dealt with the students who are only interested in prestige+money, not learning for the sake of learning. Try not to come off as too superficial, and you will have a decent chance at “the ivy leagues”. Btw, its a known fact that no can know if one stands a chance or not at ivy leagues…that’s how hard admissions is these days. No one is guaranteed a spot.
If you have financial troubles, have fun paying off massive loans for many years to come. You better hope you get an extremely high paying job right out of college or you’re going to be broke trying to pay those loans off. Maybe try to get past the whole"Ivy League" drooling extravaganza that so many high schoolers have. My friend in high school had that mind set and it ruined him. Higher education is all just a terrible dance anyways. Open your eyes.