Many students, myself included, dream of getting accepted into and attending a prestigious university. After all, who wouldn’t? When talking about “prestigious universities,” the eight Ivy League schools—Harvard, Brown, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania—are upon the most renowned and widely recognized on a global scale. Students from all around the world come to the US to attend these schools, which are classified as some of the best in the country. The Ivy Leagues have been home to a great deal of notable alumni, many of which have gone on to become Nobel Prize winners, representatives of our country, and world-changers. However, with their well-respected name and reputation, the Ivy Leagues are also amongst some of the most competitive schools in our country. The question is, how do these schools decide who to grant admission to and who to reject in such a vast pool of applicants?
A common misconception regarding academic successes that students think will gain them admission into an Ivy League is that you have to have the highest test scores, grades, and partake in a lot of extracurriculars. In reality, this couldn’t be farther from the truth and can actually be a direct recipe for rejection. Colleges in general, and Ivy Leagues in particular, don’t want a “well rounded student,” but rather a well-rounded class built up of students with all different backgrounds, stories, and skills that will end up learning from each other. The Ivy Leagues look for students who are unique and will contribute something to their class. When reviewing an applicant as an individual, the admissions committee tends to sort students in what some may refer to as imaginary “buckets” based on certain aspects of their application. It’s obvious that not all students in each “bucket” will be offered admission, which is why it’s critical that you have components in your application that will pull you out of that “bucket” and set you apart from the rest of the applicants who have similar interests.
For instance, let’s say a student is a member of SGA, Art Club, Chinese Club, Model Congress, National Honors Society, and on the track team. What’s to keep admissions officers from thinking that this student is just like the rest of the applicants in these clubs and may have joined these just to cushion their application? Well, admissions committees can see right through this. It’s actually quite easy to determine whether someone is doing something just because they think it will look good for college or because they truly are passionate and love what they do. In agreement, through a personal interview with me, Harvard acceptee Kay Rollins mentions how you should “do what makes you happy,” and that “Ivy schools like people who are excited to do the work and who are excited about their passions.” Rollins herself is a two time national champion in extemporaneous debate and currently ranked number one in the nation for this type of debate, which is a great example of something that made her stand out amongst all the other applicants who also applied to Harvard with debate as their interest.
Though this is an outstanding accomplishment, not everyone will be number one in the country at something, which is still okay and will not ruin your chances of getting into an Ivy League. Admissions officers don’t necessarily measure the significance of your achievements, but more so your dedication and drive to do what you love, as demonstrated by Dartmouth alum Dylan Mellor. Mellor really loved to play football, which is what he put on his application, talking about how “A lot of people think football gets you into college,” and contradicting this statement by saying “I had to get in by myself. I have to really manage my time well to get my school work done and my other activities.” In the CNN Money article, Mellor also talked about how he worked out every day, worked in the Nike Factory store, and was a mentor in Varsity Club, a mentorship program where varsity athletes mentor younger kids.
This is an excellent example of how you can take something as simple as playing football, and develop it into a newbound passion that will help you stand out to the Ivy League admissions committee. R.J. Palacio once said “You can’t blend in if you were born to stand out.” This is exactly the kind of mindframe that proves to be beneficial when applying to the Ivy Leagues and any other colleges.
Article by Alexandra Doncheva of Richard Montgomery High School
Graphic by Xiomara Choque of Montgomery College