<p>I am going to be a High School Junior in the approching 2011-2012 school year and I have tons of questions about college. I have big aspirations as far as college and beyond. I want to major in Biology and minor in spanish. Later I want to continue my education in medical school to become a doctor (Orthopedic Surgeon).</p>
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<li><p>It has been my dream for a long time to attend an Ivy league school (even though my parents insist on going somewhere in state); however, assuming that I could get in, is it really worth the expenses? Will I really recieve a better education if I attend an Ivy League versus an in state university?</p></li>
<li><p>Second, what do Ivy League administrators look for most in prospect students? GPA? ACT? SAT? AP scores? Volunteer hours?</p></li>
<li><p>Third, what advice do you have for getting into the Ivy Leagues?</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, do the Ivy Leagues destribute as less, as many, or more scholarships that typical Universities? I really really need some scholarship money, regardless of where it comes from. Do you have any advice for getting scholarships?</p></li>
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<p>Thank you so much! Any comment is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>1) They’re called Ivy Leagues for a reason.
2) all of the above
3) Work hard, and take early steps to pursue what you want to do in life.
4) Ivy League schools general distribute more scholarships than the typical university, with most meeting 100% of the financial need demonstrated by applicants.</p>
<p>Hey,:).
I’ve done my 0-levels. I took 11 subjects out of which I got 8A’s including 3A*'s. I’ve done internships, taken part in declamations, debates and participated in other competitions too.Currently, I’m in the first year of A-level. I’ve taken world history, sociology, economics and maths. Well, I don’t know whether I’ve gone for the right subject choice. I basically want to go to IVY’s league, or probably a renowned university that ACTUALLY polishes my skills, and gives scholarships too. But, I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO? THE ROAD MAP? I don’t know whether my subjects are of scope or not. Which university should I apply to? What should I do in future that earns me a comfortable living, and is prestigious too. I’m afraid because I’ve seen many who work extraordinarily hard but they end up living a miserable life.
Here in Pakistan, we lack counselling. 
Please help me with sound pieces of advices so that I come out of this mental stress.
God bless you.</p>
<p>Hey Raheela, this forum would be happy to help, but you need to go start your own thread instead of hijacking everybody else’s.</p>
<p>OP
Questions 1 and 4: You need to go to the FAFSA aid calculator to get a ballpark of how much your family will be expected to contribute. You should do that with your family, and have an idea of how much they will be able to contribute to your education per year, and how that compares to how much they will be expected to contribute. If your family is poor, the Ivy Leagues are extremely generous, such that you will probably be able to attend for free. However, if you are fairly wealthy but your family is for some reason in a bad spot that the FAFSA calculator doesn’t take into account, such that your family’s expected contribution is whatever thousand dollars per year, but they can only actually afford to contribute half that, you will need to look elsewhere for scholarships.
While the Ivy Leagues are extremely generous with regard to what they see as your family’s financial need, none of them give a single merit scholarship to a single student. It’s part of the agreement that forms the Ivy League conference. Also just look at the information on each Ivy League’s website about financial aid: each is probably much more complete than you can possibly get on this forum.
2. Yes. Well, actually, they look for students who pass their (high) academic standards who are interesting, and they can see contributing to the class in a positive way. That contribution can be in the arts, or in being the next Einstein, or in volunteering, or whatever. Merely having all the best scores won’t get you in, because that doesn’t translate into seeing you thriving as a student here, and actually being a part of the campus community.
3. Make sure you have good scores on things. Then, if your GPA and SAT/ACT/subject tests are very high already (3.85+ UW, 2150+/32+, 700+ on at least two): Are you as involved as possible in extracurriculars that you love? Bio research/competing in science fairs/when you’re a senior Siemens or Intel (are both of those seniors only? I think one might take juniors), or finding a program and getting money to go volunteer in Guatemala over the summer, or being vice president of the school’s retirement home visitors and helping expand the group from one to two retirement homes, or whatever. You don’t need to be crazy, but you should be making a difference or otherwise being successful.
Tangent: You’re unlikely to succeed, or be happy here, if you just participate intensely so you can get in, while you don’t actually really enjoy leading activities/placing in science fairs/whatever. That’s not a bad thing! My best friend doesn’t like extracurriculars for the sake of extracurriculars, which is lovely for her and I admire sometimes…but that’s also why she got rejected from all the Ivies to which she applied, and wouldn’t be happy here if she had gotten in.
Make sure you get to know your teachers/guidance counselor this year. Letters of recommendation can sometimes make very much of a difference, and there’s a world of difference between “Exultationsy is ok at physics I guess. She got a B+ which is not bad. I think she works hard.” and “Exultationsy is ok at physics. She got a B+, which 50% of the class does, since I give like 5% As and we don’t have A-s. But she really seems to love the subject! She comes up to me occasionally and asks me questions about newspaper articles about physics that she doesn’t understand, which shows that she likes the subject, and I’m impressed that she tries to apply what she’s learned outside of class. That is pretty cool for a kid who wants to major in something humanities.”
- This is something along the lines of an actual LOR I got, I think; I didn’t see it, but I’m assuming, for illustrative purposes, that that particular anecdote went in it. 2. It didn’t get sent to Harvard, since I had two humanities letters, but UChicago required a science/math LOR when I applied, and I got in early. 3. You don’t have to get letters just from the classes you get the best grades in. If you take AP Art History, and it’s totally outside your comfort zone and you barely miss getting an A, but you learned a lot and the teacher is impressed with your performance given your bio-y nature, that is not a bad letter to send. (In addition to at least one that you did get an A in.) 4. Such details are very convincing, which is why you want to be sure that at least a couple teachers can distinguish you from the crowd and provide such things.</p>