Getting Into An Ivy League College; How Tough Is It?

Students who hope to attend an Ivy League college face a major challenge. In fact, admission to the Ivies appears to be more competitive than ever before.

Ninety-five percent of the students admitted to Harvard graduated in the top ten percent of their classes. And, remember that a significant number of those students come from academically competitive schools public and private schools.

These students also scored highly on standardized tests, with the middle 50% earning SAT scores of 2080-2370 and/or ACT scores of 31-34. To earn a composite score of 31 on the ACT, by the way, you must answer about 90% of the questions correctly.

Clearly, students who want to wind up at an Ivy must beat out some very talented competitors. But...here's some worse news for applicants...they have to beat out lots of them. Harvard received 22,754 applications this year. Only 2,124 received the letter they wanted from the Office of Admissions.

Are the other Ivies easier to get into than Harvard? Maybe, but not much. Is it impossible to be admitted to an Ivy? Not impossible. But, awfully difficult.

Start by knowing two realities. One is that are no guarantees you will be admitted no matter how high your grades and test scores are. Ivy League admissions officers will be the first to tell you the sheer number of good applicants force them to turn away thousands of students who would be successful on their campuses.

You also need to know that anyone who has the credentials to be a legitimate applicant to an Ivy will almost certainly get into a great school and will be fine even if they don't go into the world with an Ivy League degree.

So, how do you maximize your chances for admission to an Ivy or other highly competitive college? First, take the most challenging high school courses available to you. And, if you can take a few college courses while concurrently enrolled in high school, you might want to do so, especially if you run out of genuinely difficult high school courses.

Take both the ACT and SAT early. Analyze the results and determine where you need to improve. Then, get to work. Do it in a test prep course, by yourself (with professionally prepared materials) or with a tutor...preferably one with test prep experience.

Make yourself what used to be called a "well rounded" person; it's good for you and good for your candidacy. Join clubs or organizations in which you have genuine interest. I repeat, genuine interest. Accept positions of leadership if they are available.

Spend a lot of time on your essays...they are your "voice". Ask several trusted adults to review them and make suggestions.

Early decision may improve your chances. Consider it carefully.

Choose carefully the teachers you ask for recommendations. Be as certain as possible that they will recommend you with enthusiasm.

Anything you can do to help others and/or accelerate your personal growth can only help you as a person, and make you at least a marginally more attractive applicant.

Remember that the Ivies want academically motivated, capable, high potential students; students who will do well in college and beyond. They also seek diversity, and students who can and will contribute to the college community because of their leadership skills, special interests, and/or talents.