IVY LEAGUE Colleges: Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, Penn, and Colombia.
These are the top 8 Ivy League colleges. But the question is…How hard is it to get accepted?
First steps
College might seem far from now, but it will come faster than you think. You won’t have to worry about it now, but it will be key to being successful in high school. You might be thinking, how can I be successful in high school? How can I prepare myself and what should I expect while applying?
How to be successful in high school
Master time management - manage your time wisely- reviewing class work and any homework even before test date is given- manage your time while studying- Don’t rush through studying to relax- Take your time, and make sure you understand criteria
Participate in class regularly- it’s important to participate because teachers will take note that you are focused in class and understand the lesson- you become active in the class
Improve study habits- if a certain way of studying is giving you grades lower than 80, it might be time to try different strategies in studying- such as flashcards for memorizing, reviewing class notes- or even taking notes on what your confused on, or need more practice with for the test
Develop good note taking skills- note taking is crucially important during classes- good note taking skills are important because they are essential to studying for tests- be a good listener in class-use colors- highlight- improve your handwriting by writing more at home, or doing it as a hobby- eliminate distractions- don’t doodle, as it can be distracting and make you off track
Communicate with your teachers- if you are concerned about a grade, it’s important to talk with your teachers, so that they can understand your concerns, and help improve them- teachers will know what kids challenge with the most- they can help
Write down your goals- writing down goals can help you achieve more- some of your goals might be to do better in school, or manage your time more effectively
Get involved in extracurricular activities + community hours- while applying for colleges, they will want to know what activities and clubs you did in high school- this is important because colleges will see that you can handle school work, and other activities too along with it- community hours are also important because colleges consider it as an extracurricular activity- it shows that you are passionate, have commitment, and have a strong sense of civic duty
Take AP classes-college require a passing grade at the end of every year to gain college credit-
Exams
To get into ivy league schools they require the SAT or ACT to be submitted.
SAT - in high school
There are 2 hours and 14 minutes of testing time
The SAT is composed into 2 sections
There is a reading and writing, and a math section
You have 64 minutes to complete the reading and writing section
You are given 70 minutes to complete the math section
There is a total of 154 questions
The SAT scores range from 400-1600
The SAT is given 7 times a year -March, May, June, August, October, November, and December
You can take the test anytime starting freshman year
Students can take the SAT as many times as they wish
It is recommended to take the test at least twice
It costs $60 to retake the SAT
It is important to score 1,560 or more, to be competitive for Ivy League
Mostly multiple choice questions, except for grid-in math responses.
ACT - in high school
You are given 2 hours and 55 minutes to complete the ACT (including a 15 minute break)
It is composed of 215 questions with an optional essay
The ACT has 4 sections such as English (74 questions), Math (60), Reading (40), Science (40)
The score ranges from 0 to 36
It is composed of ALL multiple choice questions
A score 34-36 are the most competitive scores for ivy league
Getting a 34 or higher will make you top 1% of test takers
You can retake the test as many times as you want
On average it takes a student 2-3 times to reach their testing goals
Too many retakes can impact your score negatively, especially if you don’t improve
The ACT with no writing is $69 to retake
The ACT with writing costs $94 to retake
You can choose if you want to take the test on paper or online
If you want to improve from your last ACT score, it is advised that you should start studying 6 months in advance
Harvard: Acceptance rate- 4.92% (2024)
Yale: Acceptance rate- 6.53% (2024)
Cornell: Acceptance rate- 8% (2024)
Princeton: Acceptance rate- 5.55% (2024)
Brown: Acceptance rate- 6.88% (2024)
Dartmouth: Acceptance rate- 6.90% (2024)
University of Pennsylvania: Acceptance rate- 8.07% (2024)
Columbia university: Acceptance rate- 6.1% (2024)
Conclusion
With the time, and effort, your chances of getting into Ivy League schools will increase. Being accepted to Ivy League schools might just be a dream, but you could make it happen. Having a vision of what the SAT, ACT, and what can make your application stronger can help you think about your choices beforehand. and plans on how to apply for these ambitious and competitive colleges!