How/What does one have to do to gain acceptance into an Ivy League?

Question

Is there a secret unwritten code students should do like participating in community service/social work or join certain extra-curricular activities? What exactly do they want to see?

Answer 1

In addition to being at the very top (top 2 on average) of your high school class and taking the hardest classes plus a 2250 plus SAT score, they want:

Harvard, Yale, Princeton: kids who have taken one activity all the way to national honors and recognition: Olympic athlete, member of big city symphony, artist shown in galleries, winner of Intel or Westinghouse, started non profit and raised millions.

The rest: leadership posiions beyond your school, serious achievement in an activity, a talent or skill that makes you truly stand out.

All want the teachers doing your recs to check the box that says one of the best students in their career. They want summers used well to advance your academics in competitive programs such as TASP and RSI.

Look around you and do way more than the others.

Answer 2

I beg to differ with those who have answered before me.  First of all, it is not true that you need to be in among the top two students in your class.  When my son graduated from HS two years ago, the # 3 student ended up going to Harvard.  In addition to her, we had 3 kids going to Columbia, one to Yale, four to Cornell and 2 (#1 and #5) are attending Princeton.

My son happens to be one of the Princeton kids.  He took 9 AP classes and virtually all other classes were honors classes.  He took 5 SAT 2 exams....but he never took the ACT.  He did score a 2360 on the SAT 1 and had three 800s in the SAT 2, 1 790 and a 760.

The key is to take the most challenging classes your school offers and do well in them.  Do not shy away from AP and honors classes...these schools want to see that you can meet the challenges of college...

Outside of the classroom, my son did the following:

  Black Belt in TaeKwonDo

  Taught Sunday School for 3 years

  Attended the Columbia University Science Honors Program

  Was a member of the track team (not a star)

  Was a National Merit Finalist at the time of application

  Was co President of the National Honors Society

There is no code......if there was, and everyone knew about it, it would be worthless as everyone would be striving to complete the "secret code's requirements".

Work hard, pursue your passions and challenge yourself.  Pick a couple of activities outside of the classroom and stick to them. A long term commitment to something bodes well.

Good Luck!  

Answer 3

Aside from what the previous person posted, they also want to see ACT scores because it shows that you were serious about taking advantage of every testing opportunity you could in order to show your potential for college.  

They like to see well thought out and designed original research or research that you assisted on that is published in a nationally recognized journal or magazine.

They like seeing a large amount of community service hours, especially if those hours served were in an area related to your future field of study.

They like to admit legacy students.  A legacy student is someone whose parent or parents attended and graduated from the same college.  The belief is that legacy students will strive harder to achieve their goals because that is what their parents have instilled in them.