Who gets into the Ivy League colleges?

[Andalublue]

They do it by reading the essays apparenlty. There is a running joke at MIT among some of the departments is the only thing hard about Harvard is getting in.

I know that Oxford and Cambridge in the UK also value original thinking highly, and select strongly based on essay and interview. I remember a very bright friend of mine sitting the Oxford entrance exam. She said it was very different from any other exam she'd ever taken. One questions asked: "What is the difference between wit and humour?" She answered: "Wit is the inward smile; humour the belly-laugh." That was it. She got in.

I was slightly confused by that poster, Northern Light's comment:

she told a mutual friend that Harvard also picks people based on their background.

I wondered how this related to her comment that Harvard looked for original thinking. I couldn't see a connection.

 

[soccerboy22]

I know that Oxford and Cambridge in the UK also value original thinking highly, and select strongly based on essay and interview. I remember a very bright friend of mine sitting the Oxford entrance exam. She said it was very different from any other exam she'd ever taken. One questions asked: "What is the difference between wit and humour?" She answered: "Wit is the inward smile; humour the belly-laugh." That was it. She got in.

I was slightly confused by that poster, Northern Light's comment:

I wondered how this related to her comment that Harvard looked for original thinking. I couldn't see a connection.

It probably means that Ivy league schools like to have people from different places and experiences to come together thereby enriching the college experience because you get people with different opinions based on where they grew up. At least that is how it was at BU.

 

[choiceone]

Honestly - they're over rated . . . a bunch of rich well off fratties and idiots who glided in by parental connections? I think students are better off when half of their classmates actually earned their way in with brain power.

Congrats on getting into Stanford - I hope she proves my negative opinion of ivy league schools wrong with intense success and makes me look like an ass

There are a lot of well off undergrads at Ivies, but, for example, at Cornell, these people pay the full tuition, and Cornell has enough money that, if there are applicants who can't really afford tuition, it can just give them free tuition and does so if they are desirable enough. This used to be a strategy used for grads, not undergrads, but now, lots of departments won't take a grad student unless the departments can finance them. So not all Ivy students are paying those horrible tuitions.

 

[winston53660]

having some talent helps

 

[vendur]

Ivy league admissions are de facto rigged to get rich kids form the suburbs into them, barring obvious affirmative action admittances, of course.

The crappy country school that I went to had two possible extra curricular activities -- Football or basketball.You needed a ride to and from school to go to either, which I couldn't even do if I wanted to. There were no AP classes. Zero. In fact, they didn't even have a physics class at all, AP or otherwise.

No matter how well I would have done at that school and no matter how high I'd score on the SAT/ACT, I'd never get accepted.

Sure the Ivy med schools might be interested, but only after getting double science major BS with a 4.0.

 

[Fisher]

Ivy league admissions are de facto rigged to get rich kids form the suburbs into them, barring obvious affirmative action admittances, of course.

The crappy country school that I went to had two possible extra curricular activities -- Football or basketball.You needed a ride to and from school to go to either, which I couldn't even do if I wanted to. There were no AP classes. Zero. In fact, they didn't even have a physics class at all, AP or otherwise.

No matter how well I would have done at that school and no matter how high I'd score on the SAT/ACT, I'd never get accepted.

Sure the Ivy med schools might be interested, but only after getting double science major BS with a 4.0.

If you track down the admissions data for undergrad they typically reject more people with 4.0 gpa's and near perfect SAT/ACT scores than they accept and accept more people who were academically solid but not Mensa candidates than were nearly perfect. The process is ambiguous, but they accept based on spectrum--geographic, interests, backgrounds academic and otherwise to try to promote diversity. For instance if you put the smartest seniors in the universe all in the high school class, only a couple will be admitted because they do not want too many people from the same school no matter how smart they are. Having achievement outside of school altogether can be a big factor as well. As for grad, it is a different game

 

[vendur]

If you track down the admissions data for undergrad they typically reject more people with 4.0 gpa's and near perfect SAT/ACT scores than they accept and accept more people who were academically solid but not Mensa candidates than were nearly perfect. The process is ambiguous, but they accept based on spectrum--geographic, interests, backgrounds academic and otherwise to try to promote diversity. For instance if you put the smartest seniors in the universe all in the high school class, only a couple will be admitted because they do not want too many people from the same school no matter how smart they are. Having achievement outside of school altogether can be a big factor as well. As for grad, it is a different game

Accepted on arbitrary and ambiguous bull****, which kids from the burbs are fantastic at coming up with. A lot of prep schools even have feeder programs for volunteering and whatnot.

well, let's see here David Love "the Fourth" fed cancer patients(between playing Gameboy and jerking off to porn on the internet), Jethro cut wood cause his family would freeze to death if he didn't and fed the animals cause they'd starve to death if he didn't.

 

[captainawesome]

Ivy league admissions are de facto rigged to get rich kids form the suburbs into them, barring obvious affirmative action admittances, of course.

The crappy country school that I went to had two possible extra curricular activities -- Football or basketball.You needed a ride to and from school to go to either, which I couldn't even do if I wanted to. There were no AP classes. Zero. In fact, they didn't even have a physics class at all, AP or otherwise.

No matter how well I would have done at that school and no matter how high I'd score on the SAT/ACT, I'd never get accepted.

Sure the Ivy med schools might be interested, but only after getting double science major BS with a 4.0.

A guy from my town got into Harvard who wasn't rich. He was white too. He was however super smart.

 

[Cyrylek]

My niece was turned down for admissions by Harvard (but was admitted to Stanford

Good for her. I have certain sentimental attachment to all things crimson, but if I were young again, and could choose any school in the world, I would put "Stanford", "MIT" and "Caltech' in the hat..."

 

[vendur]

A guy from my town got into Harvard who wasn't rich. He was white too. He was however super smart.

How do you even define rich?

How do you know he wasn't rich?

How do you know he was "white" and applied as such?

I could qualify as native american, but look white.

define "super smart"

How do you know he was "super smart"?

All you need to do is look at the enrollment stats to find that it's almost exclusively wealthy to ultra wealthy who get in, and it's not by accident nor dint of hard work.

 

[captainawesome]

How do you know he wasn't rich?

How do you even define rich?

How do you know he was "white" and applied as such?

I could qualify as native american, but look white.

define "super smart"

How do you know he was "super smart"?

All you need to do is look at the enrollment stats to find that it's nearly wealthy to ultra wealthy who get in, and it's not by accident nor dint of hard work.

I knew him. He wasn't rich. He was white. Only 300 people in the entire highschool. Super smart like a perfect SAT. I also talked to him.

Yeah legacy is a scam at the ivy league and money can buy a whole lot.

 

[chromium]

Ivy league admissions are de facto rigged to get rich kids form the suburbs into them, barring obvious affirmative action admittances, of course.

The crappy country school that I went to had two possible extra curricular activities -- Football or basketball.You needed a ride to and from school to go to either, which I couldn't even do if I wanted to. There were no AP classes. Zero. In fact, they didn't even have a physics class at all, AP or otherwise.

No matter how well I would have done at that school and no matter how high I'd score on the SAT/ACT, I'd never get accepted.

Sure the Ivy med schools might be interested, but only after getting double science major BS with a 4.0.

I'm sure you'll pull the 'random dude on internet, no credibility' card again, but this sounds a lot like my HS experience. It had no APs, sports only for EC (and i wasn't in sports), and we were certainly far from rich. It had no calc or physics or even trig. It wasn't Harvard, but i did get into Penn. With ECs and 'rigor of schedule,' they look at what you accomplish in relation to your opportunities, and try to enroll a well-rounded class. This is so obviously the case that if you go onto college forums, there's a lot of whining by kids who take 10+ APs that apps from 'incestuous small towns' have an easy path to Ivy.

I don't believe that's true for a second, because out there you're at such a disadvantage on ACT/SAT. The guidance counselor won't even know of SAT II. Even perfect scores have like a 50% chance of admit at HYPSM, so those do seem impossible. A less selective Ivy like Penn with average test score in 98th percentile is not though.

 

[Neomalthusian]

When I read little anecdotes about borderline obsessive compulsive good students lamenting about how they were denied from an elitist school, I often wonder what that particular individual kid really thinks she or he wants to do in life.

I wonder this because what I have found makes me happiest requires nowhere near an Ivy League education. I have a graduate degree from the #1 graduate school in the country in my field, but I don't even need that particular degree from that particular school to be doing what I am doing now. And I am very pleased with what I am doing. So I basically went overboard with my educational ambitions relative to what I really wanted in life and for a career.

Plus, what I thought I wanted when I was 17-18 is way off base from what I really ended up wanting out of life. So before they throw a pity party about not making it into Harvard, Yale or Princeton, I would check to make sure they REALLY want what an elitist education will get them. These young kids are competing to the death (practically) for something they're not even sure yet that they will want.

My opinion is that education between 18 and 24 doesn't have to be elite. It has to be a playing field whereby kids can not only excel or fail, but can also determine what they want out of life. Because that will determine more reliably whether getting into Harvard/Yale/Princeton is in fact life-or-death for them or not.

 

[Mach]

My niece was turned down for admissions by Harvard (but was admitted to Stanford), despite a high IQ, top grades, etc. But GW Bush was admitted to Harvard under a special program despite the fact that the U. of Texas refused to admit him due to poor grades.So who does get into the Ivy League schools?

I was under the impression that if they have a decent enough school resume, and you go to the school and prove you can pay for tuition in full, for all four (+) years, maybe even pay for the first year in full up front (I don't know the specifics), you're as good as in with most schools. I have no idea if that's true, I have plenty of time to research this given that my daughter just started formal schooling, but I would like to see what people have to say about that. We do have some Ivy leagers here on the forums.

Let me be clear, I don't think this is a negative per se either, I'd actually be disappointed if it did not work this way. Why bust ass and earn a lot if it gets you and your family nothing in return? I'm also not commenting on whether Ivy league schools are worth the $$ or nauseatingly elitist, etc. Just about getting in.

 

[KevinKohler]

I live right next to Yale, and know a couple of professors who work there...

Yes, they look at grades, yes they look at SAT, yes, they check IQ scores. But Yale get's between 30-50K applicants per YEAR, and most ALL of them are equally exceptional. So, they narrow down by checking things like....sports, boyscouts/girl scouts, and did they finish, class pres, student body, etc....And from there, they further narrow it down to those who can better show they are ABLE to pay.


Fact is, a car salesman with 5 people looking at one car...is gonna sell that car to the person with the best credit score. Period. Colleges are the same, and make no mistake, it's a business. Pres of yale makes 3 mil per year.

 

[Dubliner]

Honestly - they're over rated . . . a bunch of rich well off fratties and idiots who glided in by parental connections? I think students are better off when half of their classmates actually earned their way in with brain power.

Congrats on getting into Stanford - I hope she proves my negative opinion of ivy league schools wrong with intense success and makes me look like an ass

Hey Aunt Spiker, I just finished with the whole college admissions process and would like to address a few things you mentioned. Yes, there definitely students at these elite schools that got in because of a family connection or something of the sort, but many of the students who are admitted are extremely remarkable.

All of the students that I know who were admitted to the top schools this year (Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, etc.) worked insanely hard to get in. They are genuinely intelligent, and even more important, hard working. They studied their asses off, did tons of volunteering/worked jobs, and were very proactive in the school/community. The students at the top schools are for the most part brilliant, and it is just a small minority which get in due to parent connections.

 

[imagep]

Hey Aunt Spiker, I just finished with the whole college admissions process and would like to address a few things you mentioned. Yes, there definitely students at these elite schools that got in because of a family connection or something of the sort, but many of the students who are admitted are extremely remarkable.

All of the students that I know who were admitted to the top schools this year (Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, etc.) worked insanely hard to get in. They are genuinely intelligent, and even more important, hard working. They studied their asses off, did tons of volunteering/worked jobs, and were very proactive in the school/community. The students at the top schools are for the most part brilliant, and it is just a small minority which get in due to parent connections.

So what college did you pick?

 

[Dubliner]

So what college did you pick?

Small college in Southern California called Claremont McKenna.

 

[chromium]

Hey Aunt Spiker, I just finished with the whole college admissions process and would like to address a few things you mentioned. Yes, there definitely students at these elite schools that got in because of a family connection or something of the sort, but many of the students who are admitted are extremely remarkable.

All of the students that I know who were admitted to the top schools this year (Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, etc.) worked insanely hard to get in. They are genuinely intelligent, and even more important, hard working. They studied their asses off, did tons of volunteering/worked jobs, and were very proactive in the school/community. The students at the top schools are for the most part brilliant, and it is just a small minority which get in due to parent connections.

Yeah I wouldn't bother replying to someone who calls Ivy admits "idiots," I mean what a joke.

 

[EnigmaO01]

I once dated a girl that got accepted to Harvard Law School. I remember on a date where she was mad because she had been rejected by Harvard and said they said they might be persuaded if her father would make a generous donation. On future date she was extatic she had been accepted so I could only assume her father who was an attorney had made a donation.

That said she was certainly qualified graduating first in her class in high school and a bright girl that was chemistry major. I remember when she told me she took an accounting class as an elective at the same college I attended that I had trouble passing.