Getting into a Ivy League School

[Jodi1980]

What should your gpa, act/sat, etc look like??

 

[JasonLyons]

surely your not asking me

 

[supercarrie]

I think it depends slightly on each school, but all are VERY hard to get into, obviously.

According to www.review.com, here are some stats for a few Ivies:

Harvard - 700-800 verbal, 700-790 math SAT, 30-34 ACT, 90% in top 10% of HS class
Princeton - avg. SAT 1490, avg. ACT 33, 92% in top 10% of HS class
Yale - 680-770 verbal, 680-770 math SAT, ACT range 28-33, 95% in top 10% of HS class

 

[NancyIL]

GPA - 4.0
SAT - 1600
National Merit Finalist

Are you close?

 

[nsyncraider17]

There was a girl who graduated from my high school this spring who had at least a 4.0 GPA, she got a 1600 on her SAT, played varsity tennis, and was an excellent violinist.

She was put on the waiting list for Harvard. But one of her friends told me that it was because she's only 15. (she skipped 2 grades)

 

[lilboo]

Ivy Leagues come in many different flavors (and then again, not really)-do you have a particular one in mind?

Whatever your choice, as you must already know, those numbers are meaningless without the essay, the recs and evidence of your passion and involvement in other interests. Quality of involvement over the quantity of interests. And you don't need to just showcase the same old piano/ballet/swim team captain-though those are all fine!

If I remember correctly my school printed out a highest avg accepted/lowest avg rejected chart and things REALLY vary. It may be safe to say a 3.1 GPA may be accepted to at least -I shouldn't say "at least"-Cornell (A&S) and maybe Dartmouth on the strength of the rest of their application.

Also, I don't know if this is officially and widely known or understood, but your secondary school's status may matter in terms of GPA(obviously). What I mean is, it seems that in more nationally renowned, highly competitive secondary schools-lower GPAs have been accepted esp. in light of a strong app. Students from less competitive secondary schools seem to be, more or less, 4.0 GPA holders all around. You can kind of judge how your school might rank by gauging the no. of graduating students from last year who went onto the most highly competitive schools-Ivy or not.

Anyway-I didn't mean to ramble on-you probably just wanted some straightforward numbers but it's so much more complex than that-as you may be discovering!

Good luck whatever your decision!

 

[lilboo]

nsyncraider17-

I just saw your post and hadn't seen it prior to my post. I was afraid that my "piano/ballet/swim team captain" comment might be misunderstood as a snide jab at your friend's accomplishments-not at all!!!

Just wanted to assure the OP that slightly more UNORTHODOX pursuits would also be very acceptable, even favorable on an application.

 

[Amzey]

I don't know what it takes, but I know it's hard. I had a 4.10 GPA, 750 verbal SAT (though I was not so lucky on math, only a 650, perhaps that's what kept me out), lots of extracurriculars and leadership positions and all that.. and I still got rejected from 4 Ivys. Oh well, I'm headed for NYU in a couple days and that was my dream school anyway.

 

[SPAGo 98]

activities, activities, activities. a great gpa will not get you anywhere if you don't do extracurriculars.

 

[Doctor P]

As someone who has sat on a lot of admissions committees, a national scholarship committee, and tons of search committees, I can tell you that in a competitive pool there is typically no single profile that will get a candidate selected once they have made it past the original cut (typically, you have to have some minimum credentials to even get a serious look in most pools). The key is to be able to catch the committee or the reviewer's eye by distinguishing your record or your application from the pile. Recommendations can be a crucial input into this process--make sure that your referees know you well and can express that knowledge in your letters. In addition, if there are any potential red flags in your record, make sure that they get addressed somewhere in your application packet (e.g., one applicant explained her dip in senior year grades to us by telling us that her fiance was murdered at a party they were attending during her senior year, and enclosed documentation of these tragic events and the her difficulty in coping with them--in the absence of such an explanation, an otherwise good record could have been lost to a "senioritis" diagnosis). Finally, if 127 out of 128 students are admitted with your GPA/SAT combo the previous year, remember that does not in any way assure you admission. Good luck!!!

 

[figmentvi]

My DH graduated from Cornell and was accepted to every Ivy League school he applied to. (Smarty pants... I called it the Poison Ivy League). He had a GPA of 4.0 throughout HS and scored 1550 on his SAT's.

However even those scores were not enough. He was also a world class rower (8 man shells, U.S. National Team). So make sure you have lots of outside activities.

Good Luck !!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dd is in 6th grade. I have girls in my troop that already have there "IVY" funds in the bank.
Is there something they could do now to start them on the path to their dreams?
Do you have to go to private school HS or can you get in with a public school record?

Thanks for the thread...very good question!

 

[caitycaity]

you can definately get in from public schools, but it helps if the public schools are well regarded and offer ap classes (and the potential applicant can take the ap classes and do well in them).

 

[Kermit]

I was accepted at Ivy League schools when I was in high school, and I went to a really bad public school. I hate to say that, because there were individual teachers who were great, especially in the gifted classes, but honestly the school was bad. I don't remember which ones I applied for, but I know I didn't get turned down by anyone.

Being well-rounded must help. I was in a ton of activities. I was also valedictorian, but I don't know how much of an impact being first has over being tenth. I wouldn't think that would be such a big deal.

If you don't do well on the SAT, try the ACT. I did fine on the SAT and was well within the minimum acceptable score, but my scores didn't really blow anyone away. I don't remember what the score was, but I think I was somewhere in the low 90s for the percentile ranking. I took the ACT, which is centered much more on reading and being able to read quickly, and I scored in the 99th percentile.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Our very own Princeton babe, Danacara, is the perfect person to answer this question.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

JJ she is the person that has got me interested in researching this. They had debated ivy league schools and Danacara really impacted me and made me think very differently about how I view Ivy schools.