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    How to Get into the Ivy League: Brief Overview

    2019-04-12

    This article is long and detailed, but I strongly believe it’s well worth yourtime. These are all the lessons I wish I had known when I was in high school.

     

     

  • Part 1: What is an Ivy League School? 

  • Part 2: What it takes to get into an Ivy League? 

  • Part 3: Myths 

  • Part 4: How to Prepare? 

  • Part 5: Other Tips 

  • NO.1
    What is an Ivy League School?


     

     


     

    The Ivy League, a group of eight institutions onthe northeast coast of the United States, includes Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College.  


     

    All these schools are more than a century old and seven of these were founded in the Colonial Era of the USA.  


     

    These eight institutions are known for their excellence in academics, teaching standardsand research facilities, and low ratio of student to faculty. 

     

    NO.2
    What it takes toget into an Ivy League?


     

    Out of the 8 Ivy League schools, 7 schools had acceptancerates lower than 10%. Harvard had the lowest acceptance rate (less than 5%)whereas Cornell had the highest acceptance rate, at slightly above 10%. 


     

    Clearly, getting into an Ivy League school is an impressive achievement. So, the first question to answer is- What isit that the Ivy League schoolslook for in the applicants?  


     

    Then an extensive plan has to be drafted for building an application which is uniquein character and compels the reader to read through and consider. 

      

    ■ Qualities & Factors


     

    1. Contribution/Services(Are you a giver, or just a selfish taker?) 


     


     

    Students who are going to contribute positively to theircommunities and help other students accomplish great things as well. Students who are going to accomplish world-changing things. 


     

    #1 Case in point: Cassandra Hsiao (Class of 2022) at Yale University. Her college application essay has reached millions across the world and factored into her acceptance by all 8 Ivy League Universities.  


     

    Let us look into how she contributed positively to her community 


     

     


     

    #2 Case in point: Farmington High School Robotics team build power wheelchair for2-year-old with genetic condition. 


     

     


     

    2. Leadership 


     

     


     

    “Leadership” is amajor buzzword in college admissions; it is found across applications through essay supplements.  


     

    Showing leadership roles and specific responsibilities highlight students’ initiative and developed capacity as a leader, role modeland doer. Key words: “impact” and “inspire”. 

      

    3. Passion 


     

     


     

    It doesn’t matter if a student is doing athletics, community service, academic clubs or anything else. What the admission officers are looking for is the student’s genuine commitment. 


     

    4. Outgoing 


     

     


     

    Ivies look for students who are talented and have lives outside the classroom. This shows that you’re a fun person and the admission officers are interested in knowing what you have learned out of these activities. 


     

    5. Be a good person(Genuine) 


     

     


     

    Being nice might just be the thing that solidifies your spot at an Ivy League school. Colleges want the students they admit to be good people who give back. 


     

    Case in point: A letter of recommendation from ahigh school custodian helped one student get into Dartmouth, according to New York Times. The letter noted that the applicant was the only student who knewthe names of every janitorial staff members and would help custodians with menial tasks like turning lights off in empty rooms and cleaning up after other students.  

     

    NO.3
    Myths


     

    1. Higher Scores = Better Offers 


     

    FACT: Unfortunately, that’s not the case. 


     

    What many Chinese students fail to understandis that, unlike in the Chinese admissions process where everything rides on the Gaokao score, in the US, perfect grades and test scores don’t guarantee admission to top universities.  


     

    US admissions offices use “holistic review,” meaning they look at all aspects (extra curricular involvement, essays, demonstrated interest, and recommendations)of an applicant and what he or she can contribute to the campus community, notjust academic performance. 

      

    Case in point: An anecdote of three students applying tothe Ivy Leagues, two of whom had the highest-possible SAT scores and the other closebehind but spoke five languages. The first two were rejected, and the polyglot student was admitted. Hence Ivy League schools want more than high scores. 


     

     


     

    2. Activities:More means good 


     

    FACT: No. 


     

    Your application need not show how you are an all-rounder, but it should focus on your strength. Ivies are looking to admit students who focus on a fewcore interests for all four years of their high school careers. So, it is important for students to focus on what they love instead of joining a bunch of random clubs that they don’t care about. 

      

    3. Colleges preferthe SAT over the ACT 


     

    FACT: Both the ACT and the SAT are universally accepted by most colleges, andadmissions officers don’t prefer one test over the other. For some students,the better plan is to take both tests to find out if one test is a better‘fit’. 


     

    4. Recommendation Letters from influential figures will help my admission chances 


     

    FACT: Unfortunately, No. 


     

    Parents with connections often think that such letters from government officials, celebrities, or other notable public figures will give their kids a big edge in the high-stakes battle for admissions atprestigious schools.  


     

    In a majority of cases, this simply isn’t true and the insight added by these recommendations is rarely anything other than superficial. 

      

    Case in point: Let’s say that a given congress woman actually met your child once or twice a fundraiser.What insight could they possibly provide that would not be otherwise evident inthe admissions portfolio? “So and so is committed to community service.” 

      

    What is more likely to persuade a committee to accept anapplicant? 


     

    -Genuine letters from your school guidance counselor and teachers whowatched your commitment to service grow over a period of years.
     

    -A transcript filled with AP history classes and a beautifully writtenessay. 


     

     

    NO.4
    How to Prepare?


     

    Every part of your application should be consistent with your strengths-your GPA, SAT/ACT scores, letters of recommendation and your personal statement. 

    The majorcomponents of the application are: 

  • Grades/GPA 

  • Test scores 

  • Extracurricularactivities and awards 

  • Recommendationletters (Mentioned above) 

  • Personalstatement (Stay tune for our next post) 

  • SupplementalEssays (Stay tune for our next post) 

  • AdmissionInterviews (Stay tune for our next post) 


  •  

    Grades/GPA
     


     

    One factor that is certainly considered by all schools is an applicant’s Grade Point Average (GPA). It is a testament to a student’s work in high school. 


     

    Often, GPAs are weighed based on the difficulty of a student’s selected courses. If you’re aiming for a top university such as the Ivy Leagues, a 4.0average – or close to – is expected. 

      

    Here’s a quick letter grade and percentile to GPA conversion chart to make things easier: 


     

     


     

    Source: CollegeBoard 

      

    Calculating your GPA as an international student can be challenging. Here’s a GPA calculator you can refer to calculate what you GPA would be based on yourcountry’s grading scale: 


     

     


     

    Link: https://www.scholaro.com/gpa-calculator/ 

      

    Average GPA of Admitted Students at Ivy League Schools: 


     

     


     

    The academic expectation of Ivies is well above average; with only two universities fall below a GPA of 4.0. This is because all the Ivy League universities take into account a weighted GPA over unweighted GPA. Hence, it’s important that you challenge yourself with your course choice. Such as, taking AP/IB/Honorcourses. 

      

    Test Scores 


     

  • SAT/ACT 


  •  

    You’ren going to need good Standardized Test scores to get into an Ivy League school,successful applicants do tend to be in the top couple of percentiles.  


     

    Below you will find a side-by-side comparison of scores for the middle 50% of enrolled students just for reference purposes. 

      

    However,just keep inmind that the Ivy League is so competitive that many students within the ranges below do not get in. 


     

    If you’re scoring lower than the 25th percentile on either the SAT or ACT, you’ll have a really tough time getting accepted to an Ivy League school. 

      

    Clearly,these are very high standards. In fact, all 75th percentile scoresfor Ivy League schools are in the 99th percentile nationwide.  


     

    To be at the top of the Ivy League application pool, you will need to be one of the top 1% of test takers in the country! 

      

  • TOEFL/IELTS 


  •  

    Most of the Ivy League schools have minimum TOEFL score requirement of 100 and 7 for IELTS. For example, here here’s Yale’s TOEFL and IELTS requirements forunder graduates. 


     

     


     

    PS. In recent few years, college admissions have become increasingly competitive. Most Chinese students who have gotten into Ivies have an average TOEFL score of110+. 

      

    Extracurricular Activities 


     

    Since other components are more or less of similar standards for most applicants, it is the extracurricular activities and awards which make you stand out. 


     

  • Examples of Activities: Volunteering, professional work experience, notable hobbies, publishing a book or articles in the newspaper,winning the Science Olympiad, being a national level sportsperson or the pivot of a charitable organization 

  •   

    Since there are so many common activities out there, how do you set yourself apart? 


     

     


     

    Let’s take cooking as an example to evaluate your competitiveness according to a model called “Good-Better-Even Better-Best”. 


     

    It’s never too late. Start taking initiative and devote efforts to bringing your activities to the next level. 

     

    NO.5
    Other Tips

      

    1. College Prep Plan 


     

     

     


     

    2. Is SAT 2 necessary? 


     

    Whether they are required or not, by taking SAT 2, students could stand out by revealing to admission officers that they are knowledgeable in multiple different subjects. 


     

  • There are 20 SAT subject tests that fall into five categories: Mathematics; Science; English; History; Language. 


  •  

     


     

    Some universities that require SAT subjecttests are: 

  • Harvard University: Any 2 tests 

  • California Institute of Technology (Caltech):Math Level 2 and 1 Science 

  • Harvey Mudd College: Math Level 2 and 1 of any other subject 

  • MIT:1 Math and 1 Science 

  • Cornell University: Required only for Arts and Sciences (any 2subjects) or Engineering (1 Math and 1 Science) majors 

  • Rice University: 2 tests in subjects you want to study 

  • Tufts University: SAT with 2 subject tests or ACT 

  • Webb Institute: Math Level 1 or 2 and Chemistry or Physics 

  •   

    3. College Selection 


     

     


     

    Regardless of how much you love top universities and that all your dream schools are in the Top10 list, it’s important to have realistic expectations when it comes to selecting your college. 

      

    Suggested School Selection Model: 3-4-3 Formula; 3 Reaches + 4 Matches + 3 Safeties 

      

  • Reach: A dream school where your academic credentials fall inthe lower end or even below. 

  • Match: A match school is one where your academic credentials (GPA, SAT/ACT, TOEFL) fall well withinthe school’s average range. 

  • Safety: A safety school is one where your academic credentialsexceed the school’s range for the average freshman. 

  •   

    Tips: Build your school list based on admission data fromprevious years (refer to acceptance rate, SAT/ACT average score, TOEFL averagescore, GPA, major offering and etc.) 

      

    4. Start Early 

    According to Harold Ekeh, teen who got into all 8 Ivies in 2015. DON’T PROCRASTINATE!!! 

      

     

     


     

    Final Reminder: START EARLY! Start by just jotting down notes before Summer of the year you are applying, it makes essay writing a lot easier. 
     


     

    Thank you for your patience and for reading the entire article. All the very best for your upcoming application season! 

      

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