What would happen if a person from a competitive high school applied to an ivy league had a great extracurriculars list, great letters of recommendations but had a subpar gpa (around a 3.5 to 3.6 unweighted but with all AP’s and Honors) because in one year they encountered a family issue and had to be out of school alot?
Let’s say that their parents went through a divorce, or one of their parents just left,or something just happens, and that parent also loses their job?
So basically, to condense it, would the chances for a highschooler with a low gpa like a 3.5 to 3.6 have their chances raised for an ivy league if something existential like a divorce with complications, or a loss of a job happens?
One is that it is very hard for anyone to know. Just what happened to you is something we don’t know. Ivy League and equivalent admissions is also not something that is possible to fully understand. If people were able to predict whether they could get into Stanford or Harvard, then there wouldn’t be 19 students who apply and get turned down for every one who gets admitted.
However, another thing that comes to mind is that there are a very large number of very good universities in the US, and more elsewhere. If you have strong test scores, strong GPA for most semesters, a very good explanation for one or maybe two bad semesters, and if whatever caused your issues is over and will not repeat (which seems likely if it were for example caused by your parent’s divorce), then there are very good universities that will take a chance on you. Whether this would be an Ivy League university seems relatively unlikely. However, you can get a chance to do well at a very good university.
If you are majoring in Computer Science or some form of engineering then you don’t need to attend an Ivy League or equivalent university. If you are majoring in many other fields, then graduate school might be likely anyway. If you do very well at a good university, then you have a realistic chance of going pretty much anywhere that you want to go for graduate school, if graduate school is even a possibility (for example, based on major, finances, undergraduate GPA, and other factors).
As such I am quite confident that you will have opportunities in the future. However, I don’t think that I could guess much more without having a lot more information.
Honestly, they wouldn’t get in. There are too many applicants without those dips in their record. But why fixate on a Ivies? It is a sports league, for crying out loud. There are hundreds of other very good colleges that can get you where you want to go.
Yup. Adcoms know the 4 years are challenging, classes with all those highly prepped classmates, their successes, their experiences with great ECs, the higher bar profs can set. They look for kids who mastered the rigor.
You want to be find the right level of college for your record, where you can be empowered. Not just the prestige. Do yourself a favor.
3.5-3.6 GPA is too low for any realistic chance of admission to an Ivy League school.
And the divorced parents will both be required to fill in financial aid forms at Ivy League schools. If they do not cooperate, no financial aid for you. Even if they do, you may find that they have put their money into their lawyers’ kids’ college funds instead of your college fund (divorce tends to be a financial disaster for those divorcing).
It’s worth an application, but don’t spend all your time obsessing over ivy leagues. They’re really not worth the headache. You have a plenty good GPA. Your GPA can earn you scholarships if you have a high SAT score.
To my surprise, alot of people are commenting that you can’t get into an ivy league with such complications and I agreed until my senior friend got admitted to Harvard with free tuition because his parent’s overall income was less than 65k.
For a little background, we’re both based in Texas and I’m just not sure if he got a higher gpa than what he’s been saying but he did get admitted.
The free tuition is because his family makes less than 65K, which is unrelated to admission. In order to receive admission, you have to be a qualified candidate. While those complications can help provide context for your grades, they are not a “hook” as would dramatically increase your chances. Your chances are not going to be raised because of these complications.
It is quite common that a large number of students aim for admission at Ivy league. The acceptance rates in all the Ivy league and the top private and public universities/colleges reflect the rush for associating prestige with these umiversities/colleges. However, getting admission to any one of them, based on certain events in a student’s personal life, is not very common. In fact, challenge as mentioned by OP is nothing very uncommon and he should be aware of it. Should he aim for Ivy league? It is his choice. Will he have a fair shot, difficult to say, and I doubt he will get any kind of special attention due to the circumstances faced by him. Good luck!
“I’m just not sure if he got a higher gpa than what he’s been saying but he did get admitted.” You admit you don’t know his grades. Bet you don’t know the rest of his app, either.
OP, rather than look for hooks, you need to face the reality that your grades are lower than a tippy top expects. I don’t think you grasp that.
You do not get accepted because your parents had issues. You do not get accepted because pressures got to you. Nor because someone else you know, low income, got in.
You dont seem to get what it does take. Or some of the basics, like fin aid. That suggests you have little idea about Harvard, in the first place. This is all mixed up.
Idk, there’s no need to be…rude about it? I’ve never stated that I wanted to get into an ivy league nor did I ever state that I was aiming for an ivy league? Heck, I’m already IN college.
The sole purpose of this thread was to get context around the “exclusiveness” of ivy leagues. It’s easier to ask anonymously on the internet than to go around campus and ask for different opinions.
Overall, the negativity in this thread is rather uncalled for? I’m not sure if everyone on this site is an ivy league reject waiting to demolish another potential applicator’s dreams of some sort but save words like “you don’t seem to get what it does take” for later.
I think it is fair to expect that a discussion thread is initiated by stating the genuine purpose! While any form of ‘rude response’ is unwanted, the OP should have been clear about his intention for seeking response to a particular situation faced by an applicant.
My observation:
There are many private and public universities and LACs that are considered equally good and comparable to Ivy League.
“Exclusive” is not a term used by the students or the administrators at Ivy League.
Not having adequate knowledge/understanding of the admission process is perfectly okay. However, trying to generate response of a likely non-existent situation is regrettable.
I’m not sure that hypothetical questions are permitted under the terms of service. If they are, and you want people to treat them as hypothetical situations, you probably shouldn’t post them in the What are my chances forum.
To answer your original question - hooks do matter. Real hooks like URM and recruitable athlete, not my parents got divorced. And even with a hook, the rest of the application needs to be solid. Schools are trying to admit students they know will succeed and not set them up for failure.