What do I need to do to get into an Ivy?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey, guys, I am currently a junior in high school and I would like to know what I need to do to get into an ivy league school. I would also like you to point out my weaknesses. Thanx :)</p>

<p>Age: 16
Ethnicity: Hipanice (columbian)- came to the U.S. when i was 12 years old
Education: Public high school
State of residence: FL
Ranking: 1 out of 441 students
GPA: 4.00(unweighted) 4.68 weighted
AP Classes
taken: AP human geography(3), AP World History(3) Currently taking: AP psychology, environmental, statistcs, U.S. History</p>

<p>Freshman classes:
AP human geo
aerobics/ drawing and painting I
french I
Geometry Honors
Computing for college
Honors English I
Honors Biology I</p>

<p>Sophomore:</p>

<p>Legal aspects of business
Health/ PE
Chemistry Honors
Algebra II honors
French II
AP World history
English honors
Driver's ed
Physics </p>

<p>Junior:</p>

<p>Pre-calc honors
entrepreneurship
AP U.S.
English III honors
AP environmental
AP statistics
AP psychology
American literature honors
SAT prep class</p>

<p>Extracurricular</p>

<p>Math team, 9th and 11th grade
Key Club 10th and 11th grade (treasurer 11th grade)
FBLA 10th and 11th grade (secretary 10th grade) - 1st place business law regionals
Volunteens 9th, 10th, and 11th grade
model UN 11th grade
Environmental Club 11th grade - founder and president
National Honor Society 10th and 11th grade
Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce Junior Leadership 11th grade</p>

<p>I am interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. My dream is Harvard, but I don't know if i'll be able to get accepted. Any tips as to what else I could do to make myself stand out? Also, what other colleges do you recommend
thanx :)</p>

<p>P.S.: sorry if it was too long</p>

2

<p>Congrats on your achievements to date. I have very important questions for you. How you answer it is very important IMHO. Why is Harvard your #1 choice? Why are the other seven your next choices? What about these (very different) schools attracts you?</p>

<p>If your answer is “reputation” then you’re only at the starting blocks of your college search and there’s a world of info you haven’t tapped into – which will make any application seem rather shallow.</p>

<p>What do YOU want? </p>

<p>As you research, hopefully you’ll find a whole retinue of peer colleges that might attract you as well. Good luck to you.</p>

3

<p>The reason why I want to attend Harvard is that it is one of the best schools of medicines in the nation and the world. I would like to be able to learn from some of the world’s best teachers, and to make friends with some of the brightest students this nation has to offer.
As for other schools, I had thought about the Miami university, because it is a state college and my parents are pushing me to it. But I would truly like to go to the best college of medicine that will accept me.</p>

4

<p>If you attend Harvard right after high school, you won’t be benefiting much from their program in medicine. You’ll be attending Harvard College, taking undergrad courses and such; the quality of its med school is irrelevant.</p>

5

<p>-You have a pretty good chance of making it into an IVY school.
-However, no real predictions can be made unless you post some test scores.
-I would say your only significant weakness is your EC’s. You have zero EC’s that go along with your major(medicine). Maybe volunteer at a hospital, join a strong science club, etc…
-Your slight URM status should also help you get into an IVY.
-I dont understand why you would go to harvard for a pre-med undergrad. The “quality” of your undergrad doesn’t matter, and doesn’t effect your placement in medical school. You should want to go to a lesser ranked school , get a great GPA, get large financial aid, and have time to study for the MCAT. People from Arizona State University and Harvard have the same exact chances.(plus, the ASU person probably has a better GPA)</p>

6

<p>well, for my test scores I got 96th percentile in the PSAT 63 reading 65 math 70 writing
thanks bigxcman, those were some good tips :)</p>

7

<p>Veronica,
I am always happy to see hispanic girls doing so well in school. My D is applying to schools this year.
As I see it you have half the search done, you know what you want to study. Now look for a college where you will fit, one that you like, and not just because it’s the best in that field.
Remember you will be spending the next four years there, so it’s best to go to a school where you’ll feel right at home. Ask yourself: city or rural? big or small? what kind of climate? what kind of people?
I used to be the kind of person that thought only a dozen schools were good, but the truth is that there are so many good schools in the US (University of Miami being one of them, specially for medicine).
I would advice you to go to start your search on naviance (if your school has access to it, ask your school counselor) and look for a wide range of schools, from safeties to reaches (including Harvard, if you still like it), where you would love to go.
Keep in mind that you can go to undergraduate school somewhere else and then apply to med school.
Some random thoughts…Good luck with your search!</p>

8

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<p>The University of Miami is a private school, not a state school. And like others have said, you have to go to college first before you apply to medical schools.</p>

9

<p>Right now, I’d say your biggest weakness is your test scores. Sorry, but 630 is just not Ivy caliber. You’ll have to work on getting those up before the real SAT with intensive studying.</p>

<p>From your AP scores, it seems like you either: (a) go to a relatively bad school, where it’d be easy to be #1 or (b) don’t test well.</p>

10

<p>Study very, very hard for your AP’s. You should at least get 4 for most of them, though 5’s are pretty standard.</p>

<p>To get your SAT scores up, I would recommend that you get review books for both Math I and Math II and finish them before you take the SATs. Take timed practice tests.
And read lots of good books. It’ll really help your CR score.
Review grammar. Don’t use proper grammar in school only. Use it all the time so it becomes like second nature to you.</p>

<p>Like bigcxman said, find an EC that has something to do w/ medicine.</p>

<p>Start on your essays early, too.</p>

11

<p>normally, i wouldn’t say this, but if your top choice is harvard and those are your scores, my reaction is ‘ouch’</p>

<p>I’m sorry, but your profile and your motivations are rather piecemeal for a harvard or Ivy applicant. In fact, they are rather below average. You need to realise that harvard accepts 7-9 percent of its applicant pool, and you will be competing with the most insanely talented students in the world. Other Ivies are similarly selective.</p>

12

<p>Look at the CC boards for each Ivy. THere, you can see the results of this year’s admission: who was accepted and wasn’t and their stats and ECs.</p>

<p>No one except probably the high stat offspring of multimillionaire donors has a good chance of getting into an Ivy. Ivies are reaches for virtually everyone, no matter how stellar.</p>

13

<p>Rule #1: Don’t ask for advice on this forum.</p>

<p>Rule #2: Don’t ask for advice unless you absolutely positively know that the person knows what they’ll be giving you advice about. Northstarmom, for instance, knows about Harvard and their admissions process. She was admitted and does interviews for the school. Most of the people in this thread are high school students only a hair less clueless than you. The only problem is that they pretend to know what they’re talking about.</p>

<p>Rule #3: Make your own answers. Check out the Harvard website. Get a feel for it. Look at how the undergrads talk and act. Are there any underlying similarities? Probably. Figure those out.</p>

<p>Rule #4: Don’t take anyone’s advice. Least of all mine.</p>

14

<p>Rule #1: Don’t ask for advice on this forum.</p>

<p>Rule #2: Don’t ask for advice unless you absolutely positively know that the person knows what they’ll be giving you advice about. Northstarmom, for instance, knows about Harvard and their admissions process. She was admitted and does interviews for the school. Most of the people in this thread are high school students only a hair less clueless than you. The only problem is that they pretend to know what they’re talking about.</p>

<p>Rule #3: Make your own answers. Check out the Harvard website. Get a feel for it. Look at how the undergrads talk and act. Are there any underlying similarities? Probably. Figure those out.</p>

<p>Rule #4: Don’t take anyone’s advice. Least of all mine.</p>

<p>Wow. that’s the most helpful and inspiring thing anyone’s said in this post. thanks</p>

15

<p>I guess I’ll give you a heads-up: I’m a high schooler.</p>

<p>However, I’ve been here for almost a year now, lauched just about 1,000 posts, seen EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE float through here in the way of students and interests, and given solid, respectable advice to all.</p>

<p>So, here’s my advice to you:</p>

<p>You’re looking at a sports conference. John Hopkins is far superior to the ivy league in this field, and many other schools, such as Case Western, Carnegie Mellon, U of Miami, Vanderbilt, Duke, Pitt, and the University of Michigan will probably do a far better job of meeting your medical interests.</p>

<p>However, you really don’t strike the medical chord for me. You seem like you want three things: money, a stable job, and a great job title to drop at cocktail parties. You seem more like a business person. </p>

<p>I would reconsider the medical track and do business, at least to start. Try for UPenn-Wharton, MIT-Sloan, UMich-Ross, UMiami, NYU-Stern, and Indiana U-Kelley as a safety. </p>

<p>Take your ACT and SAT (yes, both) now, and STUDY!!! Clear your head. Spend some time on here. Check up on prospective school forums frequently, and read the threads. If you lose interest, you’ll know the school is not good for you.</p>