Pulling a fast one to get into ivy....(trickery)

Lbtg47 · October 24, 2004, 1:02am

k here is what i am considering....

my parents are divorced... i went to hs frosh year at my dads house then moved in with mom soph a junior year... my dad lives in a small poor town while my mom lives in rich upper class big town. my gpa is TERRIBLE(3.5, i hope). needless to say the school at my moms is much better and extremely competitive for a public hs... i could pray for top %10.. but really i have very little chance of that

sidenote: my gpa is so bad because of serious family problems. huge upward spike from 3.0 to 3.9 from soph to junior year... im just screwed if frosh grades are included. i was advised not to rely on my family problems to explain bad gpa for application process.

here is where my trickery comes in.... what do you think would happen if i moved back in with my dad senior year... there is very little competition at that HS and i would easily hit top %5...

teacher recs would become a disaster(but now that i think about it maybe i could still get recs from my moms school) and i have no idea how college would look at me since i dont think anyone from the hs at my dads has gone to any ivy for many many years.

this is all becoming very complex to me since i am not very informed with regards to admissions.. ideas?

c0nfusion · October 24, 2004, 1:33am

I think you, along with many others, place too much emphasis on getting into an ivy in the first year. It doesn't matter where you start, only where you finish. You'll have the same degree if you start at a credible local school, get a good gpa, and tranfer to an ivy as you would if you started and finished at an ivy.

Kebree · October 24, 2004, 1:43am

First, transferring into an ivy is nearly impossible to do unless you've got a stellar record.

Think about this: would it be worth changing schools on the outside chance that you might get into a better school? Odds are, you'll do better by remaining at the competitive one. Ivies might be out of range anyway (unless you've got great ec's, recs, essays, and sat's).

bettina · October 24, 2004, 1:57am

This is a terrible idea. You would really uproot yourself to manipulate admissions? Or are adults telling you? I think this is a really good case for being true to yourself and what you want.

Since you are doing so much better now I would not move. Your GPA is not terrible. Your good school will actually help you with college placement over an awful school. Of course it will mostly help you with the real stuff, which is being prepared for college. I think preparation from a strong school, if you have the option, over a weak school will win out every time.

It is really distastful that you are only interested in an Ivy school, without the chops to back it up, and wanting to actually forge your credentials and manipulate your school to get there. You say you are not informed, so I'd say get informed right away and find out that there are likely 20 or 30 schools, and more, that you can go to and have an exceptional experience at. You don't seem to even consider if you are prepared to go and be successful at a top school, and you only seem to recognize a few schools as being worthy.

reidm · October 24, 2004, 3:29am

First of all, changing schools would not be trickery, but as other posters have noted it might not be a very good idea.

If you can get a 3.9 at your current school, why not get another 3.9? Chances are, your current school is better-known to selective schools than your other school. Top schools may admit an applicant from a no-name rural school, but typically, they are going to nab a 4.0 / 1500 SAT kid. If you are going to end up with a 3.6 GPA, I think you are better off doing that at a well-known competitive high school, regardless of your class rank.

Note too that many schools do not included freshman grades in their GPA calculation, so you would end up with a decent average.

Lbtg47 · October 24, 2004, 10:17am

aw guys no need to flame....really... :-/

i know it would not be 'trickery' but you really have to sell your thread title these days for anyone to look at it.

forge my credentials? shove it. im considering switching schools to a school where my class rank would be higher.... im not changing grades here....

"It is really distastful that you are only interested in an Ivy school, without the chops to back it up,".... well i assume you meant 4.0 UW gpa by that.... and as i stated i do not have grades like those because i could not have grades like those.... i had very serious family problems.... not all of us are given the same chances at life you are. im sorry it offends you so much that i do not come from a rich well rounded family.

and if it makes you all sleep better at night you can assume by ivies i meant tier 1 schools etc...

be true to myself? i would actually prefer living with my dad for my own reasons.... the only reason im not is because of the much better school at my moms.... if i could live with my dad and gain an advantage going to school there i do not understand how that is not being true to myself...

youre all so anal...

and reidm i wont have a 3.6... as i stated in my first post i would be lucky to have a 3.5(considering i get a 4.0 this year).

edit: that reminds me... my HS will factor freshman grades into my gpa which will DESTROY my rank.... top %25 with luck... im crazy for even looking at tier one schools. a self motivated student who had to overcome serious personal obstacles stands no chance at a good school these days.

and yes my SAT's and my EC's are easily good enough to go to a tier 1 school. sigh.

jenskate1 · October 24, 2004, 11:28am

first of all, a 3.5 GPA and top 25% rank isn't the worst thing in the world. If there are reasons behind it (which you have said that there are), and you are trying to improve (which your grades show), then I can't see that it's going to doom you in the college admissions process, especially if, like you say, you have the scores and ECs.
You have a guidance counselor, who has to write you a rec, and will probably /hopefully do a great job explaining your situation.

Something that I am surprised that the other posters didn't write is that by going to a worse high school, you are setting yourself up for being poorly prepared for college, wherever you end up. This might mean that would have a lower GPA coming out, damaging your chances at further education.

Also, although this is hard to see now, going to college is all about having a real love of learning. By willing to sacrifice your learning now, what I am seeing is someone who actually doesn't really care about their education beyond a superficial level.

Please don't take this the wrong way, I don't mean to offend you, but you asked for advice, and this is mine.

zantedeschia · October 24, 2004, 11:39am

Some schools don't even factor in freshman year grades. I don't think you should switch to a worse school, you have a good chance where you are.

Northstarmom · October 24, 2004, 11:51am

If you want to get straightforward, helpful responses to your dilemma, then don't put a bogus title on your message. If your question is, "Should I change high schools to go to an Ivy," then ask it, don't act like you plan to deceive Ivies to get in.

Lbtg47 · October 24, 2004, 12:11pm

i dont see myself learning anything senior year that i wont have to retake in college.
Calc and Physics C are the only senior year classes that are not bs classes to raise my gpa.. i would like to major in engineering so i would have to retake those classes in college.

Also as far as i know my senior year isnt going to make or break my study skills either...

youre right about the titile, sorry. this is very frustrating to me. i know most colleges i would like to go to wont even look at my app with such a low GPA but i really feel that i should have a chance to go to them.

jamimom · October 24, 2004, 2:11pm

Northstarmom expressed my sentiments exactly. And the answer to that question as to whether such a transfer would up your chances to a selective college varies so much that it is impossible to assess. My son did transfer from a rigorous school to a less rigorous one, and it did help him in the some of the colleges where he applied but he was taking a risk on that one. He really had no choice about the transfer as we moved and made him come with us. But having a school that is not on the radar screens of the top colleges is a risk in itself. It so depends on a variety of factors whether this will work or not.

I know many kids who want to transfer to a more rigorous highschool in their area as they do not feel that excelling at their present less rigorous highschool without a track record of sending kids to top schools is disadvantageous to them. So whether the reverse transfer you are contemplating will work is doubtful to me expecially if you are looking at the very top schools. If you have other reasons for wanting to transfer, it may be an option to consider. But be aware that there can be many disadvantages going to a highschool that is not considered competitives and no guarantee that you will be helping your odds for colleges.

lisa_fillmore · October 24, 2004, 3:44pm

Adcoms know schools and will not be more impressed with top 5% at a weak school than top 15% at a strong one. Wouldn't consider changing schools unless everything else is in place--a 1500 plus SAT, great ECs, strongest course load, etc.

liek0806 · October 24, 2004, 9:01pm

I don't think you'll get into an IVY if you stay at your mom's school unless it's maybe Cornell or your URM. Why IVY, why do you want to go there.

In my personal opinion I think when it comes down to Rank, Ivies would rather accept a top 5 percent at weak high school than a top 15, Ivies try to keep up their rankings and by accepting something lower than a top 10, I don't think it will help them in bragging.

I think if I had a true reason to go to an IVY, and not becaues of the name, I'd move into dads because besides being ranked top 5 they'll also see that your coming from an underpriveleged place. That's my two cents.

If it makes you happy do what you want.