Ivy league admission for 2012 Fall Discussion Board

[ecieee]

I'm planning to apply to all the Ivy league this year! I was wondering if anyone want to join me in planning how we should attack the commonapp and get our essays to absolute perfection

I feel lonely because I am the only one who is applying to US unis in our school!

I need some friends to keep me on track and support each other!

Come on~

[i love ib lol jk]

Good to see an Aussie here, where are you from mate? I'm looking to apply at Princeton but I don't know how we are going to prepare for the SAT and the IB at the same time. Hmm. Apparently US unis only go on our predicted grades as well, strange.

Edited August 13, 2011 by i love ib lol jk

[Arrowhead]

The SATs are easy as pie. Just get a good night's sleep and read up on your vocabulary words before the test. Its easy to get up to a 1900 on the first go. And since you're allowed to choose your best sections after every attempt, aim higher and work harder and you can easily muster up a 2250 at the least. The subject tests are pretty manageable as well.

Erm, US Unis couldn't care less about your Predicted Grades. They look at your grades, overall, through the entirety of your High School career and what was your overall GPA. That's all they're bothered about. Especially if we're talking about Ivys here. They also take into account if you've taken a really challenging academic load. They don't know anything about the IB, let alone predicted scores, and don't much care about it. All the IB scores do is give you college credit.

Also your extra curricular activities and admissions' essay are super important.

Edited August 13, 2011 by Arrowhead

[ecieee]

Good to see an Aussie here, where are you from mate? I'm looking to apply at Princeton but I don't know how we are going to prepare for the SAT and the IB at the same time. Hmm. Apparently US unis only go on our predicted grades as well, strange.

Aussie~ haha I live in QLD! What about you?

The SATs are easy as pie. Just get a good night's sleep and read up on your vocabulary words before the test. Its easy to get up to a 1900 on the first go. And since you're allowed to choose your best sections after every attempt, aim higher and work harder and you can easily muster up a 2250 at the least. The subject tests are pretty manageable as well.

Erm, US Unis couldn't care less about your Predicted Grades. They look at your grades, overall, through the entirety of your High School career and what was your overall GPA. That's all they're bothered about. Especially if we're talking about Ivys here. They also take into account if you've taken a really challenging academic load. They don't know anything about the IB, let alone predicted scores, and don't much care about it. All the IB scores do is give you college credit.

Also your extra curricular activities and admissions' essay are super important.

Heya Arrowhead! I have actually read your yale essay - absolutely beautiful yet very very sad.

Can you share your experiences in how you went about applying to US unis? I think I have read from some where that you got accepted to Yale! Why didn't you take it? I would absolutely die for Yale um-hum.

[Arrowhead]

Heya Arrowhead! I have actually read your yale essay - absolutely beautiful yet very very sad.

Can you share your experiences in how you went about applying to US unis? I think I have read from some where that you got accepted to Yale! Why didn't you take it? I would absolutely die for Yale um-hum.

My US Unis' applications was spanned across two intense weekends. One weekend involved sitting for the SATs for the second and last time. I ended up with a score of 2230 and a perfect 800 in the Critical Reading section. In the second weekend I did my Common App essay as well as my special Uni essays that some of the Ivys required. In total, I applied to four US Unis (NYFA, Penn State, Brown, and Yale). I got into all except Penn State.

As for why didn't I take Yale, well as much as I wanted to, the tooth fairy didn't leave me $100,000/year for tuition, boarding, and living. However, I did have enough for £8,000/year for living in London as a local student at LSE. if I had had the funds, I would have gone to Yale, but alas, with the economic crisis and lack of scholarships for International students, it was not meant to be. Besides a Law degree was much more attractive to my parents than going in blind at Yale as Undecided. They were scared I'd give up the academic (so useful) classes and instead end up becoming a Theatre Major or something else equally scandalous. And so the cards are dealt. Maybe I will go to Yale someday. Maybe for my Master's in something? Who knows?

As for actually applying, make your essays personal. When you apply to the US, especially to the Ivys, everyone has amazing grades and amazing activities and is an amazing candidate on paper. They don't want perfect academic drones that march to a beat, they have those dime a dozen. They want exceptional students, different students, students who can bring a sense of diversity to their Universities. A messed up kid who reformed himself and was the frontrunner to becoming Valedictorian (and ultimately became so) at a Swiss Boarding School while on a 100% academic scholarship, that, I'm guessing, impressed Yale.

But that's exactly what I'm doing, guessing. It really comes down to the luck of the draw. I think most people at the Ivys would concur that if they sent their applications again the following year, they aren't 100% certain they would get in again.

Ahhh Yale, so many dreams unfulfilled...

Edited August 13, 2011 by Arrowhead

[ecieee]

Heya Arrowhead! I have actually read your yale essay - absolutely beautiful yet very very sad.

Can you share your experiences in how you went about applying to US unis? I think I have read from some where that you got accepted to Yale! Why didn't you take it? I would absolutely die for Yale um-hum.

My US Unis' applications was spanned across two intense weekends. One weekend involved sitting for the SATs for the second and last time. I ended up with a score of 2230 and a perfect 800 in the Critical Reading section. In the second weekend I did my Common App essay as well as my special Uni essays that some of the Ivys required. In total, I applied to four US Unis (NYFA, Penn State, Brown, and Yale). I got into all except Penn State.

As for why didn't I take Yale, well as much as I wanted to, the tooth fairy didn't leave me $100,000/year for tuition, boarding, and living. However, I did have enough for £8,000/year for living in London as a local student at LSE. if I had had the funds, I would have gone to Yale, but alas, with the economic crisis and lack of scholarships for International students, it was not meant to be. Besides a Law degree was much more attractive to my parents than going in blind at Yale as Undecided. They were scared I'd give up the academic (so useful) classes and instead end up becoming a Theatre Major or something else equally scandalous. And so the cards are dealt. Maybe I will go to Yale someday. Maybe for my Master's in something? Who knows?

As for actually applying, make your essays personal. When you apply to the US, especially to the Ivys, everyone has amazing grades and amazing activities and is an amazing candidate on paper. They don't want perfect academic drones that march to a beat, they have those dime a dozen. They want exceptional students, different students, students who can bring a sense of diversity to their Universities. A messed up kid who reformed himself and was the frontrunner to becoming Valedictorian (and ultimately became so) at a Swiss Boarding School while on a 100% academic scholarship, that, I'm guessing, impressed Yale.

But that's exactly what I'm doing, guessing. It really comes down to the luck of the draw. I think most people at the Ivys would concur that if they sent their applications again the following year, they aren't 100% certain they would get in again.

Ahhh Yale, so many dreams unfulfilled...

I absolutely feel for you Arrowhead. I really do. I'm one of those people who desparately need scholarship/financial aid to study at uni. My parents simply cannot afford for US unis and so I'm relying on that need-blind financial aid that some Ivies offer. To be honest, I think I am aiming too high but I just want to give it a go so that I won't regret in the future. The main reason I want to go to the Ivies is because I had a really rough life from childhood (not as in like a criminal though!) and I want to break free from that. I want to end the vicious cycle that I was half forced to live in and be exposed to the whole new world!

800 in critical reading? That is completely crazy. I know that Maths section is a joke, but I always seem to do badly on CR!! I guess I just need to do a whole lot more practice with those prep books.

Thanks for you advice!

If you don't mind, can I PM you from time to time regarding common app application?

[Arrowhead]

Sure, I'd be happy to help wherever I can, feel free to PM me.

[MR.AHM]

Hello, I am also applying to US universities. I mainly focus on Princeton. I just love it. I wrote my Personal Statement and got my ,ock results which are absolutely perfect except English

I got four 7s, a 6 and one 4 in English Obviously.

I want to know how do we calculate our GPA because I contacted Amideast which is like the British Council for US, they said they will consider me for a scholarship if I get accepted to the Ivy league, but they asked me about my GPA, I said its maybe around 3.7 -3.75. I didn't know and they didn't reply to me since...

I feel very sorry for you Arrowhead . Money is really a pain in the ass. People who get very outstanding scores are hindered by money issues. And people with low scores and a wealthier family get the chance. Not fair at all.

I will do my SATs in October or November do you recommend any thing for english. coz mine is not that good I believe but can achieve high scores. Don't worry about my Maths, I got 7 in HL

[Arrowhead]

I feel very sorry for you Arrowhead . Money is really a pain in the ass. People who get very outstanding scores are hindered by money issues. And people with low scores and a wealthier family get the chance. Not fair at all.

Really, don't feel sorry for me. I believe everybody who gets in an Ivy has a right to be there. And those who get in and cannot go for whatever reason have other, greater things planned for them. Scores are not a reflection of intelligence or brilliance. "Having good marks helps, but being an interesting person helps more," said the interviewer from Brown 5 minutes into my interview. I don't know why, but those words stuck with me. In fact, I had a perfect 4.0 (unweighted) through the entirety of 11th and 12th grade, but the reason Brown was interested enough to give me an interview was because of my essay. I wrote a monologue of how I realised I wasn't gay and the swell of emotions that inspired in me. The interviewer from Brown talked to me about that essay for 20 minutes and that was the reason he was so interested in me, or so was the impression I got from him. That's why I believe that anyone who has had the fortune of being accepted to and attending the Ivy league schools is deserving and extraordinarily fortunate. Besides I ended up at LSE, not exactly shabby IMHO.

I will do my SATs in October or November do you recommend any thing for english. coz mine is not that good I believe but can achieve high scores. Don't worry about my Maths, I got 7 in HL

I wish I could help you out there. But English just comes to me naturally. If anything, I could probably give you more advice for Maths because that's what I struggled most with. I had brilliant scores in the Critical Reading and Writing sections because those are just my strengths just like Maths is one of yours (a 7 in Maths HL! You friggin' genius you!).

Cheers,

Arrowhead.

Edited August 17, 2011 by Arrowhead

[MR.AHM]

I feel very sorry for you Arrowhead . Money is really a pain in the ass. People who get very outstanding scores are hindered by money issues. And people with low scores and a wealthier family get the chance. Not fair at all.

Really, don't feel sorry for me. I believe everybody who gets in an Ivy has a right to be there. And those who get in and cannot go for whatever reason have other, greater things planned for them. Scores are not a reflection of intelligence or brilliance. "Having good marks helps, but being an interesting person helps more," said the interviewer from Brown 5 minutes into my interview. I don't know why, but those words stuck with me. In fact, I had a perfect 4.0 (unweighted) through the entirety of 11th and 12th grade, but the reason Brown was interested enough to give me an interview was because of my essay. I wrote a monologue of how I realised I wasn't gay and the swell of emotions that inspired in me. The interviewer from Brown talked to me about that essay for 20 minutes and that was the reason he was so interested in me, or so was the impression I got from him. That's why I believe that anyone who has had the fortune of being accepted to and attending the Ivy league schools is deserving and extraordinarily fortunate. Besides I ended up at LSE, not exactly shabby IMHO.

I will do my SATs in October or November do you recommend any thing for english. coz mine is not that good I believe but can achieve high scores. Don't worry about my Maths, I got 7 in HL

I wish I could help you out there. But English just comes to me naturally. If anything, I could probably give you more advice for Maths because that's what I struggled most with. I had brilliant scores in the Critical Reading and Writing sections because those are just my strengths just like Maths is one of yours (a 7 in Maths HL! You friggin' genius you!).

Cheers,

Arrowhead.

Hahaha, I just love maths and my family all does. Its easy for me for some reason. But regarding your essay about not being gay, I don't think I will do that. I will be kicked by my supervisor for sure

• I finished my essay. I sent it to many supervisors and teachers in my school and they found it impressive. So I think mine will do fine with the application + the Academic Preparation stated in Princeton uni website are easy:
  
• four years of English (including continued practice in writing)
  
• four years of mathematics (including calculus for students interested in engineering)
  
• four years of one foreign language
  
• at least two years of laboratory science (including physics and chemistry for students interested in engineering)
  
• at least two years of history
  

I have all of these with me. And my ECA are great. Like this summer I supervised 20 students for one month in the summer school. It was mainly for my CAS. And I'm thinking of more new things to do. I want to apply for a work experience but couldn't because im under age. The normal ECA's I have are Football and Volleyball. And involved in Teaching IGCSE 2 and prepare them for exams this year as a CAS project. Also taught the young scholars in my school the basic subject in IGCSE because they find English hard because they came from public school in my country, no good english teaching there. And assisting the English teacher with his weak students in his Year 9 class. Also I was involved in an act show in our National day celebration.

Also got the Citizenship award and Academic Excellence from my School

With this I believe I will have a good chance in Princeton

[Guest Red XII]

Shop around a bit more instead of just applying to all the Ivy League schools. While prestigious, the Ivy League is an athletic conference, not a group of the top schools. There are plenty of other top US universities that are as good as or better than the Ivy League schools.

[ShootingStars]

Applying to US unis while doing the IB is hard, I agree.

But just try to get your essays done asap, and get lots of opinions on them. But not too many, you don't want others to change the voice in your essay.

As for the SAT - practice, practice, practice. That's all I can say. And get a good night's sleep before the actual day.

Good luck!

P.S. I do agree with the previous post. Just because its an IVY, doesn't mean its everything.

Edited August 27, 2011 by ShootingStars

[kijly]

Any comments on Liberal Arts Colleges? A lot of people just disregard this thought when I mentioned it, at least in my community....

[Jaymi]

Hey guys! im considering IVY League schools at the moment, my parents are forcing me to look at the opposite end of the world (i had my heard set on england ) and they have their hearts set on ivy leagues if not an ivy league a normal american university (blah).

Thing is, i have no idea where to start! i tried to google universitys in USA for business but i cant seem to find a good ivy. Does anybody know ivy league schools for business and the entry requirements?

Im so lost..i hate looking for universitys gets me all hyped up o.O

Thanks guys! help is much appreciated

[Arrowhead]

Any comments on Liberal Arts Colleges? A lot of people just disregard this thought when I mentioned it, at least in my community....

I know exactly what you mean. When I briefly entertained the idea of pursuing Liberal Arts my parents vehemently refused to pay. In their opinion I rather go backpacking across Europe and Asia for a year than go to a Liberal Arts college for four years and essentially do a tougher High School. Insofar as Liberal Arts colleges are concerned: Smith College is supposed to be really good (a friend of mine transferred there this Fall), another friend is going to start at Middlebury this coming Spring term (she's going for Medicine, but Middlebury is still an awesome Liberal Arts school). I've a few friends who have wonderful things to say about the Liberal Arts programmes at Wellesley, Bates, and Bryn Mawr as well.

Here's a league table I found on the web, maybe it'll give you some ideas as well.

Edited August 31, 2011 by Arrowhead

[Arrowhead]

Hey guys! im considering IVY League schools at the moment, my parents are forcing me to look at the opposite end of the world (i had my heard set on england ) and they have their hearts set on ivy leagues if not an ivy league a normal american university (blah).

Thing is, i have no idea where to start! i tried to google universitys in USA for business but i cant seem to find a good ivy. Does anybody know ivy league schools for business and the entry requirements?

Im so lost..i hate looking for universitys gets me all hyped up o.O

Thanks guys! help is much appreciated

There are eight Ivy league schools in the US.

1. Yale

2. Harvard

3. Princeton

4. Brown

5. Columbia

6. Cornell

7. Dartmouth

8. University of Pennsylvania

Since you're looking into Business schools, you should know that both Princeton and Brown do not have Business schools. Some of the best Business schools in the USA are Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and Wharton. But these schools are generally famous for MBAs and PhDs in Business not Undergraduate courses. I would imagine that for an Undergrad course somewhat focussed on Business you might want to consider taking a Management course somewhere in the US. That would be your best bet.

As far as applying is concerned, most Universities in the US accept the Common Application, some colleges (especially the Ivy League ones and other famous or well known ones) have additional forms and essays that you have to write. These application essays are insanely important for your application. In one page you have to express why you're a worthy applicant and a fruitful future member of their communities. Make them personal (the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do with UK applications).

As far as academics are concerned, you need a top notch score on the SATs, I had a 2230 as my final score and I managed to get into Yale so I would imagine that that would be enough. Your High School Grade Point Average (GPA) from 9th until 12th grade will be considered by the schools as they look through your transcripts. For Ivy Leagues, nothing less than perfect, unweighted, 4.0s will make the cut.

Apart from all that you need to be an all-round student, amazing academic achievements, leadership positions of pride (Student Body President/VP/Treasurer/Secretary or Head Pupil or Captain of a team), creative ventures (theatre, music, musical instruments, art), and some achievement in sports as well (participant in one or more sports teams), also you being a humanitarian wouldn't be amiss either. They look for all rounders at the top schools because everyone who applies has amazing grades, no exceptions.

Edited August 31, 2011 by Arrowhead

[Forester]

Hey guys! im considering IVY League schools at the moment, my parents are forcing me to look at the opposite end of the world (i had my heard set on england ) and they have their hearts set on ivy leagues if not an ivy league a normal american university (blah).

Thing is, i have no idea where to start! i tried to google universitys in USA for business but i cant seem to find a good ivy. Does anybody know ivy league schools for business and the entry requirements?

Im so lost..i hate looking for universitys gets me all hyped up o.O

Thanks guys! help is much appreciated

wharton at upenn - they have undergraduate business school there.

there are no specific entry requirements. as an international student, you are possibly looking at 2200+ SAT, 3.8-4.0GPA and lots of business related extracurricular activities.

no other ivy league schools have undergrad business programs. ie. you would have to do 4 years in undergrad and then 2 more years in business grad school.

other undergrad business programs - NYU stern, MIT sloan, berkeley Haas, university of virginia, university of michigan Ross

[Forester]

Any comments on Liberal Arts Colleges? A lot of people just disregard this thought when I mentioned it, at least in my community....

the only difference really between a liberal arts college and a university is that a university has graduate programs. that's it.

in essence, harvard college is a liberal arts college because it has various distribution requirements in all the different subject areas. but it is also a university because it has harvard business school, law school and med school. but those are grad schools.

what you can do is just attend a liberal arts college then go to grad school at a university. in fact, liberal art colleges such as williams, swarthmore, amherst are feeder schools to the best programs at the ivy league grad schools.

[daxx]

I think the best advice for applying to the Ivys (and top LACs) is to realize what distinguishes the school from the others, and why you would make a good fit for the college. This means that applying to all eight Ivys is probably a bad idea as unless you can truly sound passionate about one, you probably don't care so much as which school you get into, but rather only that it is an Ivy. This is what my guidance counselor stressed to my class the other night. In other words, find the certain 'qualities' of the students at the school you are applying to and try to demonstrate them through your application (while not sounding like you're trying too hard).

[ShootingStars]

Advice to people applying Ivy League -

1) Be yourself. Show your VOICE through your applications.

2) Ace the academics. Thats the first thing you have to, the most important. Everything else comes after academics. Its the first cut you have to pass.

3) Look at universities beyond those that are Ivy Leagues. There are plenty that are just as good/better than Ivy Leagues.

4) For the poster who mentioned Business - Penn and Columbia are the only Ivies offering business.

5) Visit universities if you can. Try and get a feel of the atmosphere and see if you would fit in there.

Edited November 21, 2011 by ShootingStars