My no means I’m I set on getting into Ivy League school. However, I thought I might apply to one or two because I thought I had a chance(Class rank #1, 4.0 GPA, tons of EC including many sports, good ACT score which I’m planning to raise even higher,etc.). Yet, it seems like it’s almost pointless. There are a bunch of forums where people say they they had a 4.0 GPA, good amount of EC, and near perfect ACT scores, yet were rejected from all the top schools. Of course I understand if they don’t get into all schools, but getting rejected from all of them seems harsh. How do people even get into these schools? It seems near impossible. Any tips on applying?
Yes many students get rejected. Students with the same stats also get accepted. They are not turning people away from lack of qualification, but from lack of space. The entire forum has thousand of posts about ‘tips’ in applying. You can start with this blog post from MIT, which applies to selective schools.
http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways
Yes, it can be very discouraging, but people like you do get accepted to these great schools. You are doing great, so far, keep up the good work.
Lots of kids like you - numbers wise - are only now starting to think about what they want to do, where they want to be, and sometimes what their financial situation may dictate about the number of places they can apply, etc.
You are on the right track, and you will continue to be a great @JackLuzzy.
The most selective schools want you to be the best possible student and most interesting person that you can be. If that is also your goal (as it should be), then there is nothing pointless about it. Whatever school you end up attending, you will still be a smart, interesting person who knows the importance of hard work.
It’s a crapshoot for this very reason, No one knows exactly for sure.
There is no blueprint to what the Ivy or any other hyper-selective school is looking for. My advice would be to do your best academically, get involved with things that excite you on the EC front, and remember that there are tons of fantastic colleges and universities out there – if you don’t get into one school, you will find another that you love.
Perhaps this is going to be a problem for you. Colleges aren’t looking for “tons of EC.” The expression for many of those kids is “a mile wide and an inch deep.” As Stanford says in a FAQ
Thank guys for the replies.
@mikemac I certainly understand what your trying to say. Of course I’m not doing all these EC at the same time. I’m talking about throughout my high school experience in gerneral. For example, in my freshman and sophomore year I was involved in sports year round. That being said, I was only involved in one sport at a time for each season(Cross-Country, Basketball, and Track). Junior year, I ran Cross-Country in the spring, but rather than doing a winter and spring sport, I’m involved in National Honor Society, Best-Buddies, Key Club(Service Learning Club). Believe it or not, I’m quite involve in all my EC. I’m not one of those kids who join 10 clubs, but then hardly gets involved in all of them. I manage my time wisely and know my limits.
“not at the same time” = a dilettante
This conversation is mostly moot - yes, a bad essay will doom you. Yes, very very few ECs (like two average hours or five very light) will doom you. But otherwise, you are at best looking at a 10% chance if you rule out the definitely nots.
Why not actually look for colleges that are a good match for you, and not get hung up on Ivies?
Other than the fact that it is prestigious what about Harvard, Yale etc. make them a school you would want to attend? The reason I ask this is because it is typical with most schools that the university have a trait or strength that draws an applicant to it. The applicant often has interests and strengths of their own that fit well with the institutions they choose to apply to. I also think if you can answer that question it will make it much easier for you sell yourself to the university. If you don’t know why you want to apply other than everyone else who is as smart you are thinks they should apply too then I think you don’t have much more to offer than their typical applicant. If you have sound reasons that Harvard/Yale etc. is the best institution for you to be educated for four years then you probably already have strengths they might be seeking.
Don’t stop yourself from applying because you might be rejected. If you apply to a range of schools, that will happen with some of them anyway.
I was accepted at Princeton and Dartmouth and also waitlisted at Columbia and Brown. There’s no clear cut way to get into any of these schools but this is the general trend and consensus which we applicants have found to be true in our experiences. You first have to qualify academically, this means making sure your test scores at least fall within each school’s 25th-75th percentile, the closer to the 75th percentile the better. Also make sure your GPA, course rigor and ec’s are on par. This is just the baseline though, so meeting this does not guarantee anything at all. After you pass this “mark” you’ll probably be judged based on your essays and recommendations. Make sure you adequately express yourself in your essays and present who you are, not the persona you think they’ll want. And after, just let it go and see what happens. If you get in, great! If not, just realize that in many of these schools if 100 people apply, 95 of them will be rejected. It’s not a reflection on your self worth or value, you just fell into the 95% of the applicant pool. Best of luck bud, feel free to message me if you need any help or anything !
Thanks again guys. Like I said in the beginning, I’m not dead set on attending an Ivy. Would it be cool if I got it? Yes. Would I care that much if I didn’t get in? No. The main reason I asked this is because I didn’t quite understand how all these “perfect” students are getting rejected. I guess it all comes down to recommendation letters, interviews(if needed), and your own personal experience.
And of course, many accepted students at these schools will tell you there must have been a lot of luck involved. Both my S and D were accepted at multiple Ivies, and have told us repeatedly that they and their friends all go through a point where they wonder “Wow, there are truly amazing people here” before they realize they are pretty amazing themselves.
Keep up the good work, and good luck
OP is trying to grab a brass instead of finding a fit. Getting into an Ivy would not be “cool” if you aren’t going to thrive as an undergrad in the system and atmosphere of a research university, for example. Instead of wondering what Ivys are looking for, figure out what you are looking for.
The reason so many perfect students don’t get accepted to the small number of “prestigious” universities is that there are far more “perfect” students than there are places in their freshman classes. Before the common application you would have to apply to each university individually. Far fewer students took a chance because applying was time consuming especially at prestigious universities. A student was much more likely to really want to attend Harvard, not see what the best university they could get into might be.
So far, I’ve toured Harvard and Princeston and liked them a lot. They each have something that I feel I would exceed in. I think some might be a bit confused. I’m not applying because of their fame, but because I genuinely like them. I thought I’d clear that up for some.