As a freshman with all A+'s and 2 AP classes in the first semester, I’m dreaming of attending an Ivy League University or going abroad, like Oxford or Cambridge. Can anyone share their experiences or advice on increasing my chances of getting accepted? I’m well aware of how vicious the competition is and how grades are not only the sole factor in getting accepted. I have a couple of questions too:
What online courses are worth noting to prep for the ACT and SATs? I already did the PSAT and got a 1250, which is not good enough for me or any Ivy League. I got a 680 for English and respectively a 570 for math.
Are there good online math courses other than Wolfram and Khan Academy? I performed badly on the PSAT due to my lack of mathematical skills.
Does the Harvard Summer School Program get you into the record of Harvard? When you decide to apply there, will they see your record of going to the summer school program and increase your chances of going in?
I am looking for more books to read with a superb command of the English language. I’ve read works from authors such as J.K Chesterton, William J. Bennet, Will Durant, Winston Churchill, Adam Smith, etc.
Advice on managing time usage.
What are the best scholarships for an Ivy League?
Thank you very much in advance for any form of help even if not complete. I hope this thread will prove useful to other Ivy League bound students like me. And if possible, please add more information that will prove useful for high school and applying to Harvard. Once again thank you!
I also like to ask: how should I start establishing networks with any notable professors at an Ivy League school?
Surely this may seem like overkill, but that’s the point! It would serve as a useful tool for me to get a letter of recommendation. One way I could possibly do this is through the Harvard Summer School Program, which is hard to get into. From here I can communicate with my professors and establish a ground of communication hoping to create a relationship.
The Ivy League has a great reputation globally. I’m planning to get a PhD from one of them, and surely getting a PHD from Harvard or any Ivy League would be a great achievement! But still, I’m rather confused about what I would like to major in at the moment.
If you don’t qualify for any need based aid, your parents will be paying nearly $90,000 a year for you to attend an Ivy League school. Can they do that?
If you attain National Merit Finalist status, there are colleges where you would get great merit aid. But NOT the Ivy League.
Yes, but since most applicants don’t have any networks with a prominent figure in an Ivy League school, is it possible to establish one? I currently have no network for any useful figures to help me get in, and having good grades won’t work alone to get into the schools.
I believe my parents can, but I have truly no way of finding out. Since getting an Ivy League scholarship won’t work, does getting scholarships from institutions such as Davidson Fellows or Niche pay from outside of the university for the tuition?
Thank you, that’s useful information.
And no, I am no international student. I moved to the US 3 years ago.
Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident (green card holder)?
Ask your parents how much they can pay for college…although frankly I think you are doing this a couple of years too early. A discussion at the end of 10th grade might be better.
There are a few highly competitive outside scholarships that cover full cost of attendance, but they are HIGHLY competitive. Even very large merit awards given by colleges that award merit aid are HIGHLY competitive.
There is not any way to help you with this now. You are a 9th grader with way insufficient info to help determine college scholarships…or even where you will be a competitive applicant.
I am a US citizen and have dual citizenship, and since outside scholarships tend to be viciously competitive, what will make me qualified and increase my chance of getting one? Even though I am starting way, way too early, I believe it’s a good way for me to start high school to remind me what my goal is for the next 4 years. Thank you very much for the help you’ve aided me with.
This likely will not help you at all. Unless you are the CHILD of a prominent figure at an Ivy League school, just knowing someone there isn’t any sort of hook.
You don’t even know what you want to study, yet you are planning a PhD in it? Please slow down. You are not doing yourself any favors by this sort of disorganized planning. And this is not your fault nor is it a bad thing - you are a high school freshman! You do not need to have all the answers, you do not need to know what you want to study. That is fine and normal! But, for that same reason, there is no reason to jump ahead and plan a PhD at Harvard when you don’t know in what or for what purpose (and doing a PhD can be brutal at any university - you need to LOVE your subject, which you obviously can’t predict now, since you don’t even have a subject).
Slow down, take a deep breath, be a kid, hang out with friends, work hard in your classes, find things you love, and make high school memories. Once you have, then you can think about what colleges might be a good fit for you and your interests. It may be an Ivy or it may not be, and that’s fine, too. But you don’t need to have it figured out right now.
Take a strong courseload of courses at your school.
Make sure you take four years each of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Foreign Language. And take some arts course….music, art, drama.
Figure out what you enjoy doing and then do it. Do you like music? Art? Math? Science? What? What activities does your school offer in your areas of interest.
Play a sport. A team sport is a good thing.
When you are old enough, get a part time job. Working shows commitment and responsibility.
First, it’s not that hard to get into if you have the money.
But the bigger issue with your statement is that while some of the Summer School instructors are Harvard faculty, most are not. But you could always check on the instructor’s bio.
Slow down. You need to excel in high school and college before you ever get to this point. Do you know what you want to study? Do you know why you would want a Ph.D.? Any given Ivy is not necessarily the best place to get a doctorate in every discipline. And building a network of Ivy league professors is … not a thing. So your comments along these lines only show that you don’t know how any of this works – which is fine! You’re not expected to know at your age. But at the very least, you should slow down, take time to learn, and just focus on doing as well as you can in a rigorous courseload now, and developing your interests through involvement in clubs and other ECs. Do some volunteer work and/or get a job. Get to know your teachers. A letter from a teacher who knows you well will work to your advantage much more than a letter from some “Ivy professor” who’s in your contact list. A lot changes between 9th and 11th grades, so take this time to figure out who you are and what you want (in the short term, at least – a lot will change in college, too).
First off the Ivy League is a sports league. That’s why it’s there. The schools are different from one another environmentally a size, urbanness, Greek life etc.
Secondly, you’re in 9th grade. Your math skills and SAT / ACT will grow as you grow in math.
Thirdly, there are kids who are perfect in every way who get rejected from not just the Ivies but others. And less than perfect who get in.
Plenty of Ivy grads aren’t successful in life and plenty of non Ivy are.
You’re in 9th grade. Slow down. Be a kid. Join the band or a sport or club. Help in the community. When the time comes get a summer job.
Yes those kids get into all sorts of schools, including Ivy.
But you need to be a kid first and foremost. This desperation for something that’s in some fashion out of your control is not healthy.
If your goal is to get a PHD from an Ivy+, your best bet is to attend a feeder LAC (Check “colleges where PHDs got their start”) or another Ivy+ (less efficient path to PHD but more famous). Though at this point I’m guessing you’re using “PHD” as a form of signaling. Which is fine for a 9th grader
Do know that intellectual cross pollination means grad programs prefer their grad students not to be former undergrads.
You will need to build your college list from the bottom up. Everyone can say they want to attend Harvard- zero originality , everyone and their grandma knows that college, but that’s no proof it’s the right fit for you. Maybe it’ll be, maybe it won’t. That’s not where you start.
Finding affordable safeties you like is always difficult.
You’ll need to know your parents’ budget and it may well be you wouldn’t be able to afford an Ivy+. You may have to hunt for merit (NMF ie., the PSAT October Jr year, would matter a lot). You are really lucky because you’re living in California, home to incredible public universities and a full system for everyone.
You can start visiting whatever colleges are nearby - a CSU, a UC, one of the Claremonts, a small private college like St Mary’s or Oxy, a midsize one like SCU or Chapman - NOT because you plan to attend but to see what the campus feels like, what you like and dislike, and broaden your list.
Most importantly, college adcoms at elite institutions can smell a student who did things just for college, to match someone else’s idea of who they are. So, do what you like and do it well. Be yourself. Be kind. Have fun.
, everyone and their grandma knows that college, but that’s no proof it’s the right fit for you. Maybe it’ll be, maybe it won’t. That’s not where you start.