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by mlinhares 1049 days ago
That's 100% NOT how to enter an Ivy League college, there's a lot of preparation, planning and "tips and tricks" you get by hiring people specialized in "college applications" to get there. The odds you'll get to an Ivy League college without help from college admission consultants and careful planning is pretty close to 0.
4 comments
AbrahamParangi 1049 days ago
Yeah that’s just not true. You can just get good scores and grades, with the caveat here that “good” means atleast 99.5th percentile.

Under those conditions I’d estimate your odds of getting into at least one Ivy (or equivalently good school) at around 50%, which might seem low but remember 99.6% of college students do not attend an ivy.

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hot_gril 1049 days ago
I know an unusually high number of people who went to Ivy Leagues, and none of them had just good grades, in fact some of their grades weren't great at all. They had some special factor. On the other side, the people I knew with absolutely perfect grades and 2400 SAT (this was before the 1600 scale) and no other angles didn't get into a single Ivy League, but still got into very good schools.
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AbrahamParangi 1049 days ago
Yeah I mean, there is a range of outcomes. That said, if you are in the top 99.5% or higher numerically you have quite a good shot.
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hot_gril 1049 days ago
I just wouldn't say 50%, more like 10%. Again for actual Ivy Leagues only, not top non-Ivy schools like CMU or Berkeley.
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true_religion 1049 days ago
I got into an Ivy League just by getting a high GPA and SAT. I was also in a bunch of clubs but after school activities were pretty popular at my school so that didn't stand out.
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dublinben 1049 days ago
That may be the case for undistinguished applicants with no particular outstanding qualities who need to set themselves apart from the rest of the crowd. Everyone I know who attended an Ivy came from an underrepresented background of one kind or another, and got in simply on their credentials.
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hot_gril 1049 days ago
If you're from the right background then sure. Asian or Mid Eastern (so like the entire largest continent) isn't going to help you, though.
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hot_gril 1049 days ago
Yeah. The high scores alone can get you into some top universities like Berkeley, but not Ivy League or certain others like Stanford.
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