I’ve noticed one common occurrence amongst those who I know who’ve gotten into Ivies and other top colleges: they come from a very high socioeconomic background. I (personally) know very few students that have come from a low-income background and are able to achieve to the same level that many of these high income students. The normal path of progression that I’ve noticed seems to be this:
top tier public or private elementary and middle school ----> top tier public high school or private school. Is this the norm for many other Ivy League bound high schoolers?
The proportion of high-SES students at Ivy League (and similar) schools is really high, but there are several reasons for this. First of all, they get many more applications from high-SES students because these students are more likely to care about attending an elite university. Trying to go to Harvard is just not a priority for most people around the country. In addition, the high-SES students have more resources to help them understand the admissions process: their parents, better counseling at their high schools, and maybe even outside professional help.
A low-SES applicant may have been the only student from their high school who applied to elite universities, and they probably didn’t have much help with the applications outside of what they could find on the Internet. However, I think the Ivies love to accept low-SES students who have succeeded in the circumstances they were given. Programs like [url=<a href=“https://www.questbridge.org/%5DQuestbridge%5B/url”>https://www.questbridge.org/]Questbridge[/url] can help these students with the admissions process.
I second Questbridge! They have a version just for Juniors called College Prep Scholars. Even if you don’t become a Questbridge scholar senior year, this program is supposed to help you prepare for the college application process. Your chances of getting into an ivy can suddenly double/triple if you choose to apply through Questbridge.
There’s also free summer programs like LEDA(specifically aimed at low income or first gen Juniors), TASS(seminar on African-American issues for Sophomores—>check it out! Probably the best experience of my life), TASP(similar to TASS, but around broader topics and it’s for rising Seniors), and any MIT diversity program. Just search “free summer programs for high school students.” The best list I’ve seen is from Collegiate Blog.
Colleges also have diversity fly-ins and pre-colleges that might give out substantial financial aid. You can also look into getting a remote mentor your Senior year through College Point/Matriculate.
Go on College Board and find out which schools are need-blind. Some schools automatically give you a full-ride if you make less than $60,000. Calculate your EFC (expected family contribution) for different schools there too. Khan Academy is one of the best resources made available to low-income kids. It links to your college board account so after you take the PSAT or SAT, you have a personalized prep plan. That’s a really good reason to sign up for the PSAT this year so you can practice, practice, practice!
Also, there are fee waivers for pretty much EVERYTHING related to the college application process. If you don’t ask, the answer is no.
High income students going to the Ivy League (or even just a 4-year institution) at a higher rate than their counterparts has been the norm for many years, but hopefully the resources I listed will show you that there are many people out there trying to level out the playing field.
Holistic admissions evaluates the kid’s achievements in the context of their environment and opportunities. The high SES, privileged students are expected to have higher test scores, take many of the APs offered at their schools, etc. Kids from less advantaged backgrounds are not expected to have the same level of “achievements”, but they are evaluated in the context of what was available to them and how well they took advantage of it. Of course, they do still have pretty high standards for these students so they can be successful once they are in college.
As far as the schools attended, I’m not sure what you consider “top tier”. My kids’ public school is pretty good, but I wouldn’t call it “top tier”. Sends about 2/3 of graduates to 4 year colleges and last I checked ranked 7/10 on one of those school evaluation sites. But the small handful of students who excel do get into top colleges.