How to Get Into an Ivy League College

Superior grades are only the first step to gaining admission to an Ivy League college. With the majority of high school graduates planning to attend college, and average SAT scores on the rise, the college admissions process has entered a state of hyper-competition. You have to start early and strive for more than the ordinary to stand out among the stacks of applicants at the top schools.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Sing your own praises. Market yourself through your application process by highlighting your strengths in your academic performance, extracurricular activities and recommendations.
2. Start early. It's important to do your research sophomore and junior year to find the best match. Read about Ivy League schools' specialties, visit campuses, speak with college counselors and students who attend the schools in which you are interested.
3. Challenge yourself. Take a rigorous academic schedule, making sure that you are taking as many honors and AP classes as you can handle, assuming they are available. Ivy League colleges want to see prospective candidates taking a challenging curriculum.
4. Be prepared. Study for the SAT/ACT exams, get used to interviewing with alumni and admissions officers, look at the application requirements before applying and think about the essay questions in advance.
5. Go beyond the books. While you are probably committed to several activities, find at least one extracurricular activity that you do well, make a significant commitment to it and excel in that area to the best of your ability to give yourself a competitive advantage over other Ivy League candidates.
6. Get to know your teachers. Select teachers who know you best for recommendations and ask them to write the letter in the spring rather than the fall. Asking them before your peers do will allow teachers to focus more time on writing you a quality recommendation.
7. Get on the right track. Push yourself freshman and sophomore years to study in as rigorous an academic program as possible. Ivy League colleges will focus on all of your grades--even those you earned early in high school.
8. Consult an alumni. If you know someone who graduated from an Ivy League school, ask his advice about admissions. The top colleges keep in close touch with their alumni. If you can get a letter of recommendation from a former student, it will help boost your credibility.

Tips & Warnings

• Invest in a college counselor. Many are former admissions officers who can provide insider tips on Ivy League schools.
• Don't take the SAT-I exam more than three times. Scores are unlikely to improve and some schools might view the excessive number of tests taken as a negative.
• Don't spread yourself too thin by being only somewhat involved in many things. Build a portfolio that shows a considerable level of involvement in a few activities to show you gained new skills and remained committed.

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