What kind of students are Ivy League colleges looking for?
A competitive application shows that the applicant has taken the most challenging curriculum available to him or her, and that student has achieved high grades on top of that. In other words, they have both a high GPA and many AP, IB, or Honors classes. For the Ivy League, a high GPA is, on average, a weighted 4.0.
We seek to identify students who will be the best educators of one another and their professors—individuals who will inspire those around them during their College years and beyond. As we read and discuss your application, here are some things that will be on our minds.
- Academic performance (grades)
- Test scores.
- Personal essays.
- Extracurriculars.
- Recommendation letters.
- Starting a club. Many students struggle to find an extracurricular activity that picks their interests. ...
- Participate in a summer program. ...
- Competing in academic events. ...
- Writing for the school newspaper. ...
- Joining the theater program. ...
- Doing an internship.
Yes, you can get into an Ivy League college without straight As. Not all Ivy League students had straight As during high school. It's more important to show that you took advanced courses and a strong course load in high school than to get straight As.
1. What's the easiest Ivy League school to get into? While all Ivy League schools have a low acceptance rate, Cornell University has the highest acceptance rate among them. Cornell's acceptance rate is 11%, but try not to get too hung up on the numbers.
We look for students who have consistently taken a broad range of challenging courses in high school and have done well. Your high school teachers can provide extremely helpful information in their evaluations.
Yale students mention happiness more than their Harvard peers, but they all agree that these Ivy League universities shaped their lives, and gave them the best possible start in their careers – as well as an amazing network of friends and colleagues to take with them into the future.
With a GPA of 4.18, Harvard requires you to be at the top of your class. You'll need nearly straight A's in all your classes to compete with other applicants. Furthermore, you should be taking hard classes - AP or IB courses - to show that college-level academics is a breeze.
In their college essays, your child wants to highlight their absolute best qualities—the ones that will help them be successful as an Ivy League student. These include intellectual curiosity, passion, creativity, initiative, leadership, and the unique “it factor” they've developed through their extracurriculars.
What is the coolest Ivy League school?
The best Ivy League school in 2022 is Harvard, followed by Princeton and Yale based on this ranking method. The most notable changes in rankings compared to last year is Columbia dropping below Princeton, U Penn and Yale.
The Ivy League with the best campus is Princeton. It's reputed as having the prettiest campus. But beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Some people see Columbia as the most beautiful because of its gothic and classical buildings, while some will pick Cornell because of its breath-taking landscape.
All IVY league universities accept the IB program coursework. "There is no minimum score required by the universities as scores are dependent on the course subjects that have been chosen. But to be on the safer side it's always advisable to score more than 38 or at least 6s or 7s in every subject.
- Leadership Work and Positions. Colleges seek out applicants with leadership experience. ...
- Part-Time Jobs. ...
- Sports and Athletic Participation. ...
- Academic Clubs and Teams. ...
- Artistic and Creative Pursuits. ...
- Volunteering and Community Service. ...
- Internships.
you can see that the average IQ of all college graduates was 111. The average IQ of Ivy League colleges was 120.
Can you get into the Ivy League with mostly A's and a couple of B's? Yes, you can get into top schools with some B's, but it depends on the rest of your academic profile. And you should be asking yourself a few different questions about your high school GPA for a better understanding of your chances.
Overall, selective colleges value a rigorous course load over perfect grades. An Ivy League school might accept a student who had all As and one or two Bs in the highest-level classes, but it probably wouldn't accept a student who had flawless grades in all mid- or low-level classes.
Harvard is the oldest institution of higher education in the US and consistently ranks #1 hardest Ivy League to get into. Founded in 1636, Harvard offers students a world-class education from some of the most brilliant professors in the world.
Cornell University
The easiest Ivy to get into based on acceptance rate, Cornell offers over 4,000 courses through its seven undergraduate schools, meaning that students are sure to find a subject of interest to study.
What is the smartest Ivy League school?
You should also have a 4.14 GPA or higher. If your GPA is lower than this, you need to compensate with a higher SAT/ACT score. For a school as selective as Yale, you'll also need to impress them with the rest of your application.
Yale meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students regardless of citizenship or immigration status. This includes undocumented students living in the US, with or without DACA status. Yale does not expect students to take out loans.
There is no minimum required GPA, but competitive applicants generally have a GPA of 3.5 or above, and mostly A's in mathematics and science courses.
| Institution | Location | Full-time enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Wellesley College | Wellesley, Massachusetts | 2,300 |
| Smith College | Northampton, Massachusetts | 2,750 |
| Radcliffe College (originally The Harvard Annex) | Cambridge, Massachusetts | n/a |
| Bryn Mawr College | Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania | 1,229 |
Approximately 23.6 percent of graduate students responding to a depression screening survey exhibited symptoms of moderate to severe depression, the report said.
- University of Iowa.
- Fairfield University.
- University of California, Berkeley.
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
- Clemson University.
- Rice University.
- Auburn University.
- Florida State University.
Does Harvard Accept B Students? Yes, just like I mentioned above, it's completely possible to get admitted into Harvard University with B grades. Admissions are not reserved only for straight-A students.
In total, one out of every 20 Harvard freshmen attended one of the seven high schools most represented in the class of 2017—Boston Latin, Phillips Academy in Andover, Stuyvesant High School, Noble and Greenough School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Trinity School in New York City, and Lexington High School.
Academic Standing Requirements for the Undergraduate Program
If your GPA falls below 2.0, you are in poor academic standing. If you remain in poor academic standing for the following two terms, you are required to withdraw from the degree program. Your transcript will reflect this new status: RW (required to withdraw).
What do elite colleges look for in applicants?
Colleges look not only at your overall GPA but also at how well you did in individual classes. If your school has a class rank, that shows how much competition you faced with grades and performance to reach a particular level.
The study's author, Kimberly A. Whitler, found an interesting pattern that might shock some: Most of the F100 CEOs didn't attend Ivy League schools. Eighty-nine percent of Fortune 100 CEOs graduated from non-Ivy League schools, according to research, with just 11% actually attending prestigious Ivy League schools.
The Ivy Leagues are among the most prestigious colleges in the world, with an average admittance rate of slightly over 9 per cent.
- Stanford University.
- Caltech.
- UC Berkeley.
- University of Chicago.
- University of Michigan.
- Northwestern University.
- Johns Hopkins University.
- Duke University.
Princeton. Princeton is commonly regarded as the “cheapest Ivy” thanks to its extensive financial aid offerings.
The best Ivy League party schools are Dartmouth and Penn, followed by Cornell. But if you put yourself out there and meet the right people, you can have an incredible social life at any of them.
Princeton is one of two Ivy League colleges on our list (the other being Dartmouth). As much as it values its academic rigor, it also clearly values the safety of its students. Princeton's overall crime score of 7.63 is lower than Bridgewater's, but its violent crime rate per 10,000 people is shockingly low: 0.35.
Ultimately, most colleges do not consider AP or IB better than the other. Consider what classes are offered at your school to determine which program is right for you.
Do colleges even care about IB?
IB: Availability. Both IB and AP courses offer students the opportunity to challenge themselves with higher-level classes. College admissions officers often look favorably upon applicants who participate in these programs.
Ivy League universities (and most universities, for that matter) consider student accomplishments from the ninth to 12th grades. So typically, achievements in say the 7th or 8th grade don't matter all that much. However, successful Ivy League applicants boast impressive school records right from the start.
- Join a sports club.
- Attend dance classes.
- Reading about your subject, or anything that interests you.
- Blog writing, story writing or journalist writing.
- Learn a musical instrument.
- Travelling.
- Getting a part time job or work experience.
- Learn a new craft.
Tier one activities can include athletic achievements, such as being a highly recruited basketball player or a nationally ranked tennis player. Likewise, national recognition for musical prowess such as winning a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award is a tier one extracurricular activity.
Some common college clubs to consider listing on your resume include: Greek life, professional societies, student government, sports, drama clubs, speech or debate clubs, and campus media, such as college newspapers, radio stations, or TV stations.
The public, necessarily, is a range of people, and some of them are bound to be smart. So just because people are intelligent at the Ivy League doesn't mean you have to be at an Ivy League to be smart. School doesn't determine intelligence. It's a matter of environment and opportunity, not predestination.
1. What's the easiest Ivy League school to get into? While all Ivy League schools have a low acceptance rate, Cornell University has the highest acceptance rate among them. Cornell's acceptance rate is 11%, but try not to get too hung up on the numbers.
5. Do Ivy League Schools Interview All Applicants? Ivy League schools can't guarantee that every applicant will be offered an interview (mostly due to limited alumni interviewers). However, you won't be disadvantaged in the admissions process if you're not offered an interview.
While tough to quantify, studies have claimed that athletes are up to four times more likely to be accepted at Ivy League schools than their non-athlete counterparts.
Ivy League institutions are reach schools for nearly all college hopefuls, even those with top grades and standardized test scores, experts warn. Brilliant high school students may benefit from looking beyond these schools to less-selective colleges that align with their academic and career interests.
What qualities are Ivy Leagues looking for?
Typically, applicants who have been admitted in Ivy League colleges boast excellent grades in academics (with a focus on certain subjects), in addition to having a track record of meaningful involvement in extracurricular activities, leadership skills, and well-crafted essays.
In most cases, the Admissions Committee has sufficient information in the student's application materials to reach an admissions decision. If the Committee would like more information about a student or has questions about any application materials, someone may reach out to schedule an interview.
"Those from Ivy League and more prestigious universities were significantly more likely to leave," he said. "In the first years post-graduation, these students tend to have more job opportunities available to them than those from lesser-known institutions. Recruiters tend to seek them out."
you can see that the average IQ of all college graduates was 111. The average IQ of Ivy League colleges was 120.
Even Top Students Get Turned Away
The admission rate for Stanford University and Princeton University hovers around 5%. It is not uncommon for a valedictorian to be rejected by prestigious schools. The valedictorian and their parents are always shocked when this occurs.
- Wrestling: only a 2.7% chance of earning a scholarship. Of the 395 programs, 78 of them are NCAA DI offering 9.9 scholarships per team. ...
- Volleyball: 3.3% chance of earning a scholarship. ...
- Basketball: 3.5% chance of earning a scholarship.
Think of it this way football and basketball are likely the most impressive sports but a benchwarmer football player will always be less impressive than a varsity lacrosse player. But also competition level matters.
While being a recruited athlete can be a “hook” in the selective admissions process, it doesn't guarantee admission. Colleges will still look at your GPA, test scores, and more in order to determine academic eligibility and if you meet the academic standards of the school.
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College ranks as the second easiest Ivy League school to get into.
Harvard University — 3.19%
With a record-low admission rate of just 3.19% for the class of 2026, Harvard currently ranks as the most difficult school to get into. This rate reflects admission into Harvard College, the Ivy League university's undergraduate school.