Do I still have a chance to get into an Ivy league school?

Question

I am not one of those students who is obsessed with Ivy League. But I've always wanted to study law, so I really want to attend Yale. The lowest gpa I've ever gotten on my report card is a 3.71. Out of the 7 classes I take in school, 6 of them are A.P. or honors. I am currently a sophmore in high school. I just want to know if I am still eligible to apply for an Ivy League school with my grades. It would help if you actually attended an Ivy League School. If you did, could you please write the name of the school you attended? Thanks.

Answer 1

I attend Harvard Law School.

The good news is, as a sophomore, there are few doors closed to you. If you study hard and get spectacular grades, and prepare like hell for the SAT, you're in good shape, since most colleges will fawn over improvement nearly as much as they will consistently good grades.

Keep in mind, if what you want to do is study law, where you go to undergrad matters less than you think it does. People get into top law schools from all sorts of colleges, and we have the same career prospects as our classmates who went to Yale undergrad. Indeed, we have more doors open to us since we do not have massive student loan debt to worry about when selecting a job after law school.

Also, the LSAT is a major factor in law school admissions, and a high score on that will get you into many schools. If it is killer-high (175+) it may matter very little where you went to undergrad. Some even say that it is easier to get in from a lesser-known college, since they are flooded with applicants from Harvard and you will stick out more if your admission will give them one more undergraduate college to post on their admissions website. This is not completely unmitigated, since those with just "very good" LSAT scores may need their grades more to get in, and they are easier to assess when the admissions agent knows how grading works in that college.

If you are certain you will go on to graduate school, keep in mind that it is your graduate school, not your undergrad, that employers will care about it. If this is the case, select with care, taking into account scholarship and quality of the education.

It well may be that going to an Ivy League is worth it for you just to have the most brilliant professors and intelligent classmates. But keep in mind that you are paying quite dearly for that experience, and you can gain a very good education at many, many colleges. While I easily admit that prestige is a very, very important factor in most grad schools, and is worth paying much more for, I think that its worth in an undergrad is overestimated.

Back to the short term - college admission is a holistic process, and will take into account the difficulty of your classes (APs help) your extracurriculars, your SAT scores, recommendations, and your application essay. While working hard at your classes is an absolute must for Ivy League admissions, all these factors shoudl be taken into account now.

Develop good relationship with your teachers. If you're having trouble, go for extra help (this may improve your grade both by helping you understand the material and by showing the teacher you really care!). Sign up for, and take leadership roles in, a few activities that mean a lot to you. Do something interesting - like volunteering on weekends - which will make a great admissions essay down the line. And don't be afraid to continue taking difficult classes.

Start studying vocabulary now, and integrate it into your daily speech - even putting new words into emails and homework so that you become more familiar with them. Read Contact by Carl Sagan and other good books for vocabulary. Most of the people I know who went to Ivy league schools spent a lot of time reading as a kid, and not too much time on TV and video games.

Take an SAT course over the summer, when you really have time to work on it. These courses take a *lot* of work to really succeed!

And if worse comes to worse, you can always go to Cornell or Brown! (Just kidding!) In seriousness, I would also consider Seven Sisters, Amherst, Williams and other non-Ivy prestigious 'feeder' schools.

Answer 2

except you're valedictorian or salutatorian, i'm able to assure you that Yale, Princeton, and Harvard are out of attain for you. you will desire to remember that those are not purely truly aggressive colleges, they're Ivy Leagues. i understand various people who had larger marks and rankings than you, with lots of extra curriculars and different issues, and have been nevertheless rejected from Ivy Leagues. If I have been you, i'd try for Cornell, although. you have a great shot at entering into someplace like NYU, too. purely remember that simply by fact a university isn't an Ivy, does no longer advise its no longer the two powerful education-clever.

Answer 3

Grades are obviously important, but extra circulars will make or break you.

Speech/Debate, Student Council, etc. can help a lot... even athletics.

Make sure (even if you don't actively participate) to be at least superficially involved in as many things as you can so you can have them on your application and distinguish you from other candidates.

Most important element: Hard work / Leadership ability. These schools are looking for the best, and any way you can show that you are able to lead people or be the head of the pack will greatly help you.

Answer 4

that gpa shouldn't knock you out of the running for most ivies, although yale is a relatively selective one. (i am assuming the gpa is weighted on a standard 4.0 scale). anyways you need to start focusing now, if you haven't already, on "soft" factors. see below for details:

http://nymag.com/news/features/24398/index.html

also, a word on law school: the prestige of your undergrad doesn't have a huge amount of impact in law school admissions. it's more about numbers. so, be sure to pick a place rife with grade inflation, where you're comfortable choosing an "easy" major. then start taking practice LSATs, if you haven't already. haha. good luck

Answer 5

While it's been a while since I attended, your grades and your AP courses should absolutely qualify you.