How to Get Into an Ivy League School

This is part 2 of a complete guide disclosing the secrets of how people get into Ivy League schools, including an in-depth 20,000-word article by experts.

This post contains some of my own conclusions based on my research and some notes from the PrepScholar article.

Whether or not you get into an Ivy League school will always be somewhat subjective, so there is no 100% foolproof formula for doing so.

So if all you want to do is get a job, get paid, clock in, and clock out, then this guide isn't for you.

Is it Luck?

Some think that getting into an Ivy League school is a numbers game.

For example, the current odds of getting into Harvard are close to 5%, so your odds would be 1 in 20.

However, this doesn't explain why some students manage to get accepted into every school they applied to, including Harvard, Princeton, MIT, and Stanford.

Are they the luckiest students in the world? Or do they know how to game the system?

Some Disclaimers

1. Going to an Ivy League school, such as Harvard, doesn't mean you will be instantly rich and life will be easy. The average Harvard graduate makes around $88,000.

2. For most careers, attending Ivy League schools won't add extra value. If you plan to become a lawyer, you have top bragging rights if you graduate from Yale or Harvard. For the rich and famous, the Ivy League is sort of like an exclusive golfing club.

So even if you don't want to attend an Ivy League school, learning some of the tricks on how to have a strong college application can help you get into other schools.

For Starters

Let's start with the obvious things you need to do to get accepted into an Ivy League school:

- Near-perfect GPA (3.9+ unweighted)
- AP exams scoring 4 or 5 on each exam
- 98th percentile score on the SAT (1520+)
- 99th percentile score on the ACT (34+)

It helps if you attend a school that has some grade inflation so that you can spend less time on basic courses and more time focusing on AP courses and SAT & ACT exams. A good public school is fine, as it is sometimes better to be a big fish in a little pond than a small fish in a big pond.

Keep in mind you don't have to be perfect. If you are super strong in math and science, then it's okay to be weaker in English, and vice versa.

Now the Secret

The secret to getting into an Ivy League school is to prove to the school that you will accomplish things that will change the world.

How do you do that?

Well, you need to have a track record that shows you are doing things now that prove you have an effect on the world.

Now this is hard to do, even for an adult with a successful career, let alone a 17-year-old teenager. This is why it's often a "privilege" to have parents that can support kids through this journey using their expertise.

Some examples to show schools that you are world-class:

- You are a state or national debate champion (pre-law)
- You started a successful business (Business major)
- You created GPL software that has 1 million downloads (CS major)
- You write blog posts for major news companies (English Major)
- Participate in nationwide research competitions (Science Major)
- You have 100,000+ social media followers (various majors)

Forget about volunteering, athletics, or playing an instrument. These things are a waste of time in terms of helping you get into a top school.

Here is a nearly 20,000-word article that explains all this in depth:

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, by a Harvard Alum
https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-...rvard-alum

Here's two quick 1 minute (roughly) videos I created with just one sentence typed into InVideo AI.  I downloaded them and placed it into my Google Drive, it'll show up very similar to a YouTube video, I've set it to 480p so the size is smaller.  The AI has this voice from a middle/senior aged man, sounds British/American mix...

Language Learning AI https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ucqu2iz...sp=sharing
Unmasking Aliases AI https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VIH9nfq...sp=sharing

I'm from Brazil and this institution is advertising its MBA degrees for around 20 dollars. It is not a Master like American MBA's but something like a Graduate Certificate (we call it lato senso, which is a a graduate degree that doesn't require a dissertation/thesis). There are some other areas too. I don't know if there are hidden fees, but this is absurdly cheap, even here, where online education is usually way cheaper than in-person degrees. 

https://faculdadeimes.org.br/faculdade/g...presarial/

I found this page from the University of Kansas about something called Jayhawk Flex. Apparently, representatives met together in February 2023 to discuss integrating CBE into the school. Their main objective has been to finish it by Fall 2024.

KU hopes that through Jayhawk Flex, they can launch:

• A Non-credit CBE program
  
• A For-credit, stackable, micro-credential
  
• A Full direct assessment academic program, including general education
  

Hi, everyone. 

Would it be possible to get a Pierpont BOG Associates degree while enrolled in another university? I'm currently registered at University of the People, but still far from completing their CS associates (30 credits completed). However, since Pierpont started admitting international students (i'm from Brazil), I though that maybe it could get me a degree earlier than I had previously planned and with a better "brand". I already have some Google certifications (IT Support and Data Analytics) which I would use together with Sophia and ASU 1 credit course (based on other people's degree plans I saw here).

Your Location: Argentina
Your Age: 35
What kind of degree do you want?: Focusing on the bachelor's first, but getting further in the future.
Current Regional Accredited Credits: 0

School Name Total Credits: #
Class Name, Credits, Grade

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 0

Provider Total Credits: #
Class Name, Credits, Grade

Any certifications or military experience? None


Budget: I have a max of $2.5K saved up for this purpose. I'd like to go the cheapest route possible, but will consider spending more.

Commitments:  I currently work full time, training for a marathon, and can work on my studies part time and lots of hours in the weekend.

Dedicated time to study: Around 30 hours per week.

Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  I would like to finish ASAP.

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Nope


Some more details:

Hello everyone! I'm Franco from Argentina. I've been working as a software developer for the past 3 years. I'm doing good and happy with my career change. Now that I'm comfortable with my position, I feel it's time to work on my degree, certs, etc. I prefer to study in American colleges since in my country all online paths are built in a traditional schema, and I don't want to spend 5 or 6 years making slow progress. I went to business school here and also a biological science drop-out so it won't be exactly a whole new world of knowledge.

I read a lot on this forum, and I think the cheapest and fastest way to fulfill my goal is to complete Pierpont BOG + UMPI degree plan.
 
I have no ACE or RA credits so I'll be starting from scratch. I'm not familiar with the schedules so I'm not sure if I should get all the ACE credits on Sophia plus the RA credit for both Pierpont and UMPI degrees or only get the necessary credits for the first one and work on the rest after applying for it. I don't know how much time it would take to get the credits, but I will dedicate around 30 hours per week. As I said earlier, I have a business background and I work full time as a software dev so at least half degree (or maybe whole Pierpont degree ?) should be done fast.
I also don't have much money for this endeavor, had to cover a lot of expenses in the last months and the currency change is a nightmare. When I enroll in UMPI, I mean to try to finish it in 1 session or 2 if for some reason I can't hold the pace.

Let me know what you guys think! 

Boston Public Library has partnered with Grow with Google to offer the Google Career Certificate program. Google Career Certificates can help you prepare for jobs in:

• CybersecurityAdvanced Data AnalyticsDigital Marketing & E-commerceIT SupportProject ManagementUX DesignBusiness IntelligenceIT Automation with Python

Hello everyone, I am a student from China, currently studying nursing at a university in China. I am currently in the second semester of my freshman year. I also studied at the University of the People and have obtained 9 credits. I plan to study at UoPeople until December 26th next year, because I will be 20 years old on that day. Two days ago, I completed the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate. I plan to study at Sophia during the summer vacation next year to take more credits to transfer to UMPI. Because I am very poor, I have been working and studying. I hope to complete UMPI in one session. Is this plan okay? I have another question. Do I need to submit the language score again when I apply for UMPI next year?

Hi.  I don't need a doctorate but would like the title "Doctor".  When the Gambit business school offer was posted this morning, I got excited for a minute.  Something was wrong with the faces though and sure enough this (and the sister forum) called them out long ago.  Is there a class of doctorates that is not AACSB/Regional accredited but has a decent or even neutral reputation?  I obviously don't want a diploma mill.

I don't want to pay more than 5K (incredibly limiting, I know).  I like CUE but not sure I can handle translating several hundred lessons - also worried broken English will reduce my absorption like ENEB did.  A positive would be if WGU or ENEB covered some of the first classes <-So far the Philippines has looked the closest for that (and takes pressure off their short time-limit).

Has anyone looked further into the other eMagister offerings?  There's something called a Doctrinal Doctorate-sounds kinda like Ethereal but so many interesting topics.  They may be the same/worse than ENEB due to translation.

My fiancée told me not to waste my (really our) money on an expensive doctorate.  She knows my strengths/passions (technology, spirituality and psychology) and feels a 5K or less masters in these topics may be better fit the budget/motivation level.  I'm in no rush but would like to have something identified by end of summer.  Thanks

Other info:
Live in Virginia
Work in Cybersecurity assurance/governance (not hands on technical)
Semi-retiring in 5 years if all goes well
TESU-BA
WGU-Masters Cybersecurity
ENEB-MBA+

Has anyone used the UMPI portfolio review process? If so, how long did it take, and what were the outcomes? Did you have to spend so much time filling out forms and answering questions that you feel you may as well have just done the class?

I will probably have 14 BABA major and concentration classes to complete as well as one GEP, and I'm hoping to do it in one eight-week session, which I know is aggressive. To improve my odds, I am interested in challenging a couple of classes via portfolio review to reduce it from 15 classes to 13 classes. The classes I am thinking about challenging are BUS 240 Change Management, and BUS 260 Leadership.

I am a certified Agile team coach and experienced team leader. I think I can meet the learning outcomes from the catalog.

Sorry if this is a duplicate thread. I did a search for "portfolio review" and didn't find anything, but maybe an existing thread has an alternate title.

Thanks!