Part 1: Becoming the Best in High School
1. Challenge Yourself
Discover the most demanding and rigorous opportunities in high school, especially in academic areas. Often times, performing mid-range in challenging programs is preferable to excelling in moderately difficult ones. You will also get extra points for applying to Ivy League schools if you take advanced courses in high school, especially those that offer college credit.
2. Start early
Aspire to be versatile. Lazy people resolve late to excel in high school, and such applicants may not be admitted. Your high school grades should always be excellent.
Colleges like to see students improve, so there are exceptions to this. If the problem with your lack of excellence stems from external circumstances beyond your control, you can submit supplemental materials with your application to explain these external difficulties and tell how you have achieved academic success in such circumstances.
3. Have a strong academic record
Being in the top 10 percent of your class is essential, and being in the top percentile will certainly increase your chances of getting in. Always remember that the students applying to your target colleges are the best in their high schools.
4. Excellent standardized test scores
Standardized test scores are the decisive part of the application process because they are the only part of the application process where all applicants are competing on the same playing field. Applicants should set a goal of 700 or higher on each SAT (including SAT2) or 30 or higher on each ACT. A single SAT score of 750 or higher and a single ACT score of 33 or higher will ensure that students do not have to retake the test.
6. Participate in extracurricular activities
Ivy League schools are looking for multi-talented students who will do more than just read books for four years. Join a sports team (even if it's just an intramural team), join a few clubs or a theater department.
7. Volunteer
Think about volunteering on a national and international level, and don't just limit your horizons to your hometown. It's much more rewarding to help raise funds to build a school in Peru than it is to raise money for a church back home.
8. Be a leader in what you do best
Look for opportunities to be a leader, take on more responsibility, and get more recognition. A leader can be the class president, a cheerleader, or the leader of your club. Take your leadership responsibilities seriously, because what you learn from them can enrich your experience and make you stand out from the crowd when writing paperwork or being interviewed.
Part II: Taking Control of the Application Process
1. Research Each College
Different Ivy League schools will give you different life experiences. You need to determine if the school's research opportunities, location, social life, classmates, professors, dorm rooms, and dining services are what you really want.
2. Visit the campus
Talk to professors and current students. Get a feel for what your life at this school will be like. Stay there for a week if possible, some schools can offer you this opportunity.
3. Research the school's financial aid opportunities.
4. Teacher Recommendations
Get a good recommendation letter from a teacher who knows you and favors you. You can talk to your teachers about how to describe you in the letter before you write it, and many teachers will approve of this.
5. Polish your application
As many applicants know, great high school grades and standardized test scores only get you through the first round of screening, and don't guarantee that you'll end up at an Ivy League school. After that, colleges will read your paperwork, letters of recommendation, and conduct interviews to get a sense of what kind of person you really are.
Starting your application early gives you plenty of time to revise all the materials you need. You can seek advice from elders who know about reputed colleges about what to write in your paperwork and how to present yourself to the college, they can also help in performing better in interviews.
6. Interview Preparation
The person interviewing you could be a teacher from the admissions office or an alumnus. Dress modestly, be prepared for any questions you think you might be asked, and most importantly, be yourself or act maturely during the interview.
Get someone to give you a mock interview. Even if they are not familiar with the interview process, they will help you stay relaxed and be able to express yourself clearly. Tops Education has a complete process for helping students with their interviews, from basic question preparation to wheel-to-wheel mock interviews with different counselors, to ensure that every student who is going to be interviewed is well-prepared.
7. Waiting to hear
Most Ivy League schools send acceptance letters in the mail in early April, and some make them available online for the first month. Some schools will send applicants letters of possible acceptance a month or two before they announce their official admissions results.
Part 3 What to do after acceptance or rejection
1. Don't let your school grades drop dramatically
Students whose grades drop dramatically may be denied admission to a college. Being arrested in any form can also disqualify you from admission.
2. If on a waitlist, consider other schools
If you've been put on a waitlist, your chances of being accepted are slim. You need to shift your focus to applying to other schools.
3. Try to transfer to an Ivy League school
If you excel at the next level, you will be able to transfer to an Ivy League school in a year or two.
Many state universities guarantee that students transferring from community colleges will meet their grade requirements. This can ease your burden or even get you into a well-known state university that is not Ivy League, but is a very good university, and an Ivy League school might turn you down right away.
4. Look at Ivy League graduate programs
If you did well as an undergraduate and scored well on the appropriate entrance exams, you may be able to get into an Ivy League school for graduate school. Many Ivy League graduate programs not only offer substantial scholarship opportunities, but also provide many opportunities for students to pay for tuition and other expenses by teaching and working as a teaching assistant.
A reputable graduate school can be more helpful than a prestigious undergraduate institution in increasing your salary in a high-paying career. If you are applying to graduate schools where grades are important, a strong record at a lesser-known undergraduate school can increase your chances of acceptance more than a nebulous reputation.