Hey guys!!
I am new here and I am a current senior (class of '16) 
The title may sound like ‘what is she even saying?’ but I really mean it. I know I won’t actually get into all the incredible Ivy Leagues but I’d like to apply to one top school in this whole college process.
I took a couple of which school is right for me quizzes, and I got Yale every time! I have never visited Yale but have heard a lot of positive things about it. I am not a big Harvard fan tbh I visited Harvard and didn’t really like the community.
I want to major in environmental studies, so anything related to that would be great! I also want to go to law school so environmental law is a great option for me.
I don’t know how this works but if it helps my UW gpa is 3.8 and I am the president of the environmental club in my school.
I don’t really want to know if I’ll get in or not because what to expect from schools which yields 90% of applications you know lol I would just like to know which one is best for me.
If you are a current Ivy Leaguer, please tell me more about that school because I am very new to this site
I don’t want to waste my time taking quizzes.
Thank you guys
With your interest in environmental studies, I’d definitely consider Brown. They have an excellent open curriculum which allows you to only take classes your interested in.
@Nattybow2015 Thank you for your response So I can’t major in environmental studies at Brown?
You’ve already lined up your matches and safeties, right? So now you are just deciding on a few reaches. It would really help if you could say which programs you really liked in your match & safety list.
Check out Cornell or Brown.
What are your test scores?
What is your class rank?
Brown.
I’ve always thought rumors about how great Yale is are too good to be true though.
None? I don’t know if any Ivy is especially good, or even in a good place, for environmental studies. For example, almost none of the Woods Hole researchers attended an Ivy for any degree. Brown was the only school in anyone’s CV. In other words, they may offer prestige, but that doesn’t mean the Ivy League has the best schools for what you want to study. Save the Ivy reaches for law school.
What are your match and safety schools?
With the open curriculum, you can major in environmental studies. The open curriculum means that there aren’t any core classes your required to take besides those in your major. Of course, it is best to sample different fields of study because you might find another discipline that interests you as well.
@“Midwest Dad” @SlackerMomMD Yes as I said above, I’d like to apply to one top school and I don’t think it hurts to apply, I just wanted to know which one is good for someone like me who would like to start my own club for environmentalists and want to study more about the environment
@Nattybow2015 are you talking about Brown? or do all ivy league’s have an open curriculum?
@mom2coIIegekids my school doesn’t rank and my combined SAT score is a 2250. As I said, I didn’t really want to know if I’ll get in or not because I don’t think that anyone on this website is an admission officer and can tell me my chances for ivy leagues. I just want to know which top school would be right for me if I were to apply to one
@PKMGSoledad I also thought Brown would be better, I’ll definitely visit them thank you for your help
@PKMGSoledad A friend of my dad’s is a Yale graduate and said that Yale is the place if I want to explore the environmental field and then later go to law school. That’s why I was wondering which would be better Yale or Brown? Thank you
I was specifically referring to Brown because I applied last year and did significant research into how the academic courses work and requirements.
@Nattybow2015 Thank you did you get accepted? if yes, did you apply ED?
Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown, Yale, Princeton, and Cornell all have exceptionally well developed environmental science programs with outstanding options in affiliated fields. When I worked in Yellowstone, one of the leading planners was a Dartmouth graduate.
2250 is pretty much exactly the average SAT score at Yale (and Harvard and Princeton…). Your 3.8 GPA will be a hair on the low side, though. You’d need some nice ECs and recommendations to make up for that, but even then, you’re looking at roughly a 6% chance of being admitted.
I think you’d have a better shot at getting into Brown. And to your question: Brown does have the open curriculum; the other Ivies do not.
Here are some basic things each of the Ivies is known for:
Harvard - Final clubs, leadership
Yale - Humanities, residential colleges
Princeton - Eating clubs, undergrad-focused faculty
Columbia - The Core, New York City
Penn - Wharton, the “social ivy”
Dartmouth - Greek/party life, undergrad-focused faculty
Brown - Open curriculum, happy students
Cornell - Engineering, relatively less selective
Do your own research on them – find out the things you like and dislike about each of them.
Also – since they are rural, maybe Dartmouth and Cornell would have some environmental projects going on…? Might be worth looking into.
here’s a list and Yale does show up:
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/10-of-the-best-college-environmental-programs-in-the-us
I was not accepted and did not apply ED. I did interview through the Brown club in my area. I also applied with a 3.95 unweighted GPA, 32 ACT, and several AP and honors courses. Brown is very interesting in there admissions selection. Applying ED would definitely increase your chances. If you choose to apply try to be creative with your supplemental essays as well. Best of luck!
Further, the Yale School of Forestry is arguably the premier program, of its kind, in the nation. That said, while you would certainly make what appears to be a very legitimate candidate, a 6% admission rate, is hard to predict for even the best of candidates.
@prezbucky Just curious, how do you know this? Looks like Brown is the school for me after all because I like to be in a “happy” environment. Thank you
@whenhen That’s what I thought too and that’s what I have heard thank you for your help
@Nattybow2015 That’s interesting to know, you were a great candidate though! I am sure you ended up at an amazing school. Thank you for all the help
@boolaHI that’s what my dad’s friend said. The only question now is Brown vs Yale. thank you