What are the best Ivy League Colleges?

What is important for a high school student who wants to get into Ivy League colleges?

• I'm in eighth grade right now, and I want to know what the smartest things to do in high school would be if I want to get accepted to Ivy League schools. I am going to a private high school in the fall, and I'm taking all honors classes. Aside from getting the best grades I possibly can, what are some good things I can do to make my application to colleges more impressive? I am considering joining the peer leadership program, and also freshman cheer leading, considering I've been a cheerleader for the past three years. After that, I'm not sure if I want to continue cheering. I know sports have nothing to do with Ivy League schools, but I thought that might help me meet new people and stay active. I intend on remaining an assistant at religion classes at my Church for service hours, and I want to know if there are other things I should consider becoming involved in, or if I should take some of the things I plan on doing off my list. Thanks!

• Answer:

  Oh boy, you are sooooo wrong when you say that sports have nothing to do with Ivy League schools! A good athlete with an A avg at a school with a good curriculum, and good SAT scores, is way more likely to get into Ivy League than a kid who has much better stats at a better school but no athletics or something that really makes them stand out -- and I mean something big. (It kind of ticks me off!) My dh does admissions interviews for local applicants to his Ivy League alma mater, so we know who gets in and why. The coaches get a certain number of picks, so they go to good high schools, ask which athletes have 4.0 gpas, what are their sport's stats and they watch the athlete. I know of several just from my area who were admitted to Ivy League -- and received "likely" letters long before March. They wouldn't have been admitted without their athletic skills, guaranteed. What you need to do is to take the hardest classes available at your school, get excellent grades and SAT scores, and STAND OUT. Top colleges like extracurriculars that have depth and focus, meaning something you are passionate about. Joining a zillion clubs, even if you are president of every one, doesn't impress top colleges -- they'll just think you're scattered. You want to be well-rounded, but don't overdo things that aren't really important to you. See if you can spin your passion into a community service, too. Like an award winning musician who composes their own songs and teaches music lessons for free to less fortunate children. That sort of thing. Take a look at a long post I made, it will tell you a little about some top applicants (according to the Admissions personnel) at an Ivy League, -- and not all of them got in: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090317233957AA72VT6&show=7 Just to give you an idea, from the applicants at one Ivy League, there were from 3000 - 3500 perfect SAT scores in each subject! I don't know how many kids got 2 or 3 of those perfect scores, but you can see that one perfect SAT score won't blow Admissions away. (I know one kid who had all perfect scores, but I don't think he was admitted to his first choice Ivy.) What makes you unique? Work it into something big! My son is also in 8th grade, and he'd make a great candidate for Ivy League, but he's not too crazy about freezing! = ) Whatever you do, just be sure to have fun in high school. Don't drive yourself nuts about college. Good luck!!