Secrets of getting into elite schools

Applying to College
1

Every year we hear the same complaints, a 4.0/4800/Val/Sal, NMS, AP Scholar, 14 AP 5s, tennis/swim team captain, piano prodigy, award winning writer, Intel Science semi-finalist, president of this or that club, 200+ volunteer hours at the hospital doesn’t get into HYPSM or the rest of the top 15 schools, while someone with much less qualification gets in. What really is the secret to getting into these elite schools? Here are some useful tips:

  1. Find the right parents, if you aren’t already born to one of these parents, try and get yourself adopted by one, the earlier the better:
  • Wealthy/well-connected CEOs/Lawyers/Hedge fund kings: rich enough to endow a chair or donate a new library
  • Powerful politicians: if not a cabinet member, then at least a multi-term senator who’s on some committee, preferably Democratic party
  • Celebrities/pro-athlete: preferably one who is a vocal supporter of the Democratic party
  • Low income, never went to college(that’s right, if you can’t find a rich parent to adopt you, find a really poor one)
  • Faculty member of the desired college
  • URM
  • Legacy: if not rich, then at least an active alumni, preferably in fund raising
    50% of those admitted came from right parentage, if your parents are not one of the above, your chances are down to 50%, 50% of 5% admit rate for Harvard is 2.5%.

  1. Move to a desirable geographic area, no I don’t mean NYC or Boston, more like ND, WY, AK, MS, NM, Puerto Rico. If you are in CA, move out now! Or move internationally - anywhere in Africa, Bangladesh, Central Asia, Central America.
    At least 10% of admitted are international. If you’re not one of the first 2 categories, your chances are down to 40%. 40% of Harvard’s 5% acceptance means 2%.

  2. Focus on sports! Athletes have a 3 to 1 chance of getting in. Your chances are far better if you are stellar in sports and average in academics than the other way around. Do your best to get to elite level in at least one of these sports:

  • Football (NFL hopeful)
  • Basketball (NBA hopeful)
  • Lacrosse
  • Field Hockey(esp. for girls)
  • Crew
  • Any Olympic sport (make sure you make Nationals and are at least Olympic hopeful)
  • Polo
    At least 10% of admitted are recruited athletes, if you are also not one of these, your chances are down to 30%, or 1.5% for Harvard.

4). Music - play an instrument that’s in an orchestra. Forget piano, unless you win an International piano contest overseas it doesn’t count, and winning that kind of competition requires 6 hrs a day of practice. Better to pick an orchestral instrument, violin is too popular, too much competition, go for something more obscure(but not too obscure) like trombone, bassoon, trumpet, viola, French horn.

  1. If you are an Asian male, forget it, doesn’t matter what you do, you won’t get in…unless…you do one of the following:
  • have your parents donate $5M or endow a professorship, or
  • discuss how hard it is to be gay in your “culture”, and having to come out to your parents and family; If you’re not gay, just pretend you are, but be prepared to be paired up with a gay roommate.

As you can see, unless you came from the right parents, the right geographic location, excel in the right sport, or play the right instrument, your chances of getting into Harvard/Stanford is not 5% but <1%.

Alternatively, you can just say to heck with all this, stop being a tool killing yourself only to help lower these schools acceptance rate, enjoy your high school years, only do the ECs you actually enjoy, go to your local state school or any school that gives you the most financial aid, graduate in the top 5% and go on to a great life and great career like 95% of other successful people in the world. Your success in life depends on YOU, not the school you go to.

2

This post is awesome…anyone who argues with this is simply just lying to themselves and not living in today’s reality. If you aren’t a URM getting into a HYPSM is luck simple as that.

3

Pfft… or I can say that it’s twaddle. Tell that to the dozen Asian males who have just been admitted to my HYP alma mater from my regional area.

I get that you’re looking for simplifications. But acknowledge that this is your exercise – you’re not the oracle on high telling us your wise pronouncements. But go ahead… continue.

4

And you can always count on the ones who won the lottery and got in to believe in their own hype and keep pushing the cool aid.

5

Spare us the Fox News talking points. Getting into HYPSM is luck (and hard work) for URM kids, too.

6

I’m pretty conservative and were many of my HYP close friends. What you call “liberal bias” is what I would contend is a method to gather a fantastic freshman class.

But that’s the rub, isn’t it? How HYP et al assemble their classes irks you b/c of their mission for diversity. But then you still want to join in desperately… Why? There are 1000s of schools who admit w/o a single thought for diversity. Why didn’t you just apply to 1-2 of them and get admitted right away? These schools fail in your eyes but that USNWR single digit ranking pulls you right in, eh?

BTW: I’m an Asian male and my SAT/ACTs were about the 30th percentile of each of the Ivies that accepted me. Oh my!

7

Humorous but right on the money.

Somehow I have a hard time feeling bad for these Ivy rejects. They are excellent sheep willingly subjecting themselves to be used and abused then tossed aside. There are at least 2000 other colleges in America, and at least a few hundred of them are excellent.

8

T26E4, I’m long passed college application age and do not have children applying to college anytime soon so I have no skin in this game. This post is meant as tongue in cheek and hopefully a little consolation to all those shocked and despaired by their rejections.

9

@fallcolors , “a little consolation” at whose expense?

10

At the expense of those who got in through the back and side doors (through hooks).

11

T26E4
"BTW: I’m an Asian male and my SAT/ACTs were about the 30th percentile of each of the Ivies that accepted me. Oh my! "

When was it?
2014? 2013? or 1972?

12

"At the expense of those who got in through the back and side doors (through hooks)

Says you. I suppose you have done a thorough statistical analysis of all students who applied and were admitted to these colleges. Otherwise you are just blowing smoke based on anecdotal evidence, and being rude about it to boot. Hope it makes you feel better to diminish others.

13

Looks like those grapes have gone sour. I recommend getting some fresh ones.

14

This crap gets old. Every year bitterness takes over CC for a while. I can understand hurt young people doing it. But if you are really an adult as you say, I expect better.

15

Agree-- this is a cyclical thread topic.

16

Not crap and totally relevant for this year’s scene, but will probably be taken down any moment now :stuck_out_tongue:

17

I’m a long time lurker and this post was so offensive you made me make an account. So thanks a lot.

First off, you don’t seem to have much of an understanding of statistics. If you don’t understand why 50% of the admitted students being legacy doesn’t mean (which probably isn’t even true) that your chances are down to 2.5% Harvard probably made the right decision.

And that last comment about pretending to be gay. Wow. I don’t even have any words.

18

Absolutely disgusting and incredibly offensive.

You also have an incredibly poor grasp of statistics. 50% of the class being legacies (which probably isn’t even true) means a non-legacy’s acceptance rate is down to 2.5%. I can see why Harvard didn’t admit you.