1) Extracurricular Activities: The Ivy League often looks for students who not only have strong academic strengths, but also students they consider to be “well-rounded”—that is, socially capable, committed to their school, and high achievers. They measure this through two measures, the student’s essay and extracurricular activities, which may include community service, sports, clubs, science fairs, and similar activities. However, there are two mistakes that students make in this process. First, when choosing extracurricular activities, you should try to find those that make you stand out. The Ivy League reads thousands of applications where the student volunteered for their church for hundreds of hours. Although this can be incredibly selfless and virtuous, it doesn’t add diversity to the university or make you stand out. Choose an extracurricular activity like your school’s Gay-Straight Alliance or environmental club, or volunteer at an AIDS hospice or local wildlife protection group. Getting involved in a niche group is key to standing out on Ivy League admissions boards. Second, don’t get scattered in a myriad of extracurricular activities. Focus on three or four and be very involved. Don’t be a member of 20 clubs that you attended two meetings.
2) The Rehearsal – The rehearsal is a very critical part of your essay because it is one of the rare times when the admissions officer gets to hear your personality. Therefore, it is essential that he can communicate a positive and pleasant personality. You can still talk about times when you did something you regret, but the essential component of the essay must show personal growth. The key traits you should try to demonstrate when deciding how to approach your message should be: Open-minded, Compassionate, Inquisitive, Outgoing, Relaxed, Fun, Outgoing, Thoughtful, Engaging, and Upbeat. The essay can be the most difficult component for many students, which is why I often recommend that they use some type of college admissions counseling service, which can be found through online counseling companies or through counselors in your area. area.
3) Standardized tests: let’s get one thing straight now: you Do not do they need perfect SAT/ACT scores to be accepted into an Ivy League school. What you do need are very strong SAT/ACT scores. I would like between 2200-2400 on the SAT or 32-36 on the ACT. All Ivy Leagues will accept both equally, so my advice would be to take practice tests of both online and find out which one you feel more comfortable with, prepare yourself and do it well. Regardless of whether you take the SAT or the ACT, I would recommend students take 2 or 3 SAT IIs. Students should definitely take the Math 2 exam (preferably taken in June or May of the year the student takes Pre-Calculus). The other two can be geared toward the major the student will be applying to and areas in which they have successfully taken AP classes. Engineering students must take Physics/Chemistry, Science students Physics/Chemistry/Biology, Liberal Arts students must take English Literature/History/and a foreign language.
4) Scores/Transcript – Your transcript is an essential part of your application. No matter how amazing your essay or extracurricular activities are, if you’re out of the top quarter of your class, you should try to find other schools to apply to. During high school, it is critical that you not only get good grades, but also have taken the most rigorous classes your high school offers. You should not have many instances on your transcript where you took the regular version of a class that is also offered in the AP/IB curriculum. Also, four years of a foreign language is not required, but it makes it more attractive to universities. A dominant theme in admissions these days is the multicultural emphasis, and learning a foreign language shows that you are interested in different parts of the world.
5) Interview – The interview is another critical element to your application because it is one of the few opportunities where an admissions officer or alumni can speak directly with you. And don’t stress if you’re a shy person! The goal of this interview isn’t to see if you’re going to be the biggest party animal on campus, it’s to determine how genuine, smart, personable, inquisitive, and friendly you are. It’s also important that you show former students that you’re very interested in the school, so be prepared to ask them questions about their experience at that school. The interview is a great opportunity to show off, so don’t stress too much and try to enjoy the conversation for the 30-45 minutes it lasts.