How to Get into an Ivy League School 🎓

Over 54,000 students applied to Harvard last admissions cycle.

A mere 3.59% were accepted.

A similar trend holds at the rest of the Ivies, each having a single-digit acceptance rate. So what does it take to stand out?

Before I dive into this newsletter, I want to remind you that the U.S. has nearly 4,000 colleges, of which plenty are esteemed institutions—many on par even with the Ivy league. The Ivy League is nothing more than the name of a collegiate athletic conference. The label isn’t rooted in the academic quality of these schools (though it just so happens that these schools are strong academically).

Enough yapping. Let me tell you my story with Ivy League admissions and how I got into six of them (along with Stanford and MIT).

My Origin Story

I started thinking about college admissions as a freshman in high school. I knew I wanted to get into the Ivy League but didn’t know how to begin.

I remember scheduling a meeting with my guidance counselor a week into high school to ask her what I should to to improve my admissions chances. Although what she shared with me was correct (get good grades, join clubs), it didn’t give me a clear enough picture.

So I ended up scouring the internet, scrolling through forums such as College Confidential to make sense of the process. (That website is a scary place, btw—tons of extremely driven kids and parents who make the process seem a lot more stressful than it is.)

And over time, I began to understand what I needed to do to stand out and how to frame my application. Below I’ll cover my various learnings.

Academics

Your transcript is the most important part of your application. While your essays, interviews, and letters of rec will push your application into the accepted pile, your grades get your foot in the door.

Unless you’re a “hooked” applicant (meaning you’re a legacy or recruited athlete), you should strive to get your GPA above a 3.8 and your standardized test scores above the 25th percentile, which usually entails a 1500+ on the SAT or a 33+ on the ACT.

(If you need help on the SAT, by the way, sign up for my eight-week bootcamp.)

But numbers numbers aren’t the only thing that matters. These schools also want to see that you’ve taken the most challenging courses available to you. When you apply to college, your guidance counselor will check off a box indicating the level of your course rigor. Reach out to your guidance counselor to see what qualifies as “most rigorous.”

“But Gohar, what if my school doesn’t offer any AP or IB courses?”

That’s fine. Your guidance counselor—along with college admissions officers—will evaluate your course rigor in the context of your school’s offerings. If your school only offers honors courses, take as many as you can.

Extracurriculars

Now this is the big one. Assuming you have the numbers and the course rigor, you’re officially in the running.

At this point, it’s all about fit. Admissions officers are trying to curate a class of compelling students who will each bring a unique perspective to their campus. To see what these colleges are looking for, I recommend searching up “[School name] mission statement” or “[School name] values.”

For example, MIT says, “The mission of MIT is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.”

Now yes, while humanities students get into MIT, you better believe the vast majority have strong STEM extracurriculars.

What makes a student’s activities list strong is the level of “spikiness.” Contrary to popular belief, you don’t want to be well-rounded in the scope of elite admissions. You want to have an area that you specialize in—whether that’s biology, dance, cartography, or environmentalism doesn’t matter. Simply choose something you love and go all in.

Spend freshman year of high school exploring different areas, and then spend sophomore and junior year honing in. And here’s a bonus tip: try to explore the intersection of two academic subjects. If you want to dive in to biology or chemistry, that’s fine, but so do thousands of other students.

Is there something at the intersection of chemistry and the humanities that you could explore? The point here isn’t to force your activities, or to pursue something you’re not interested in, but rather to find a pocket that speaks perfectly to your unique set of interests.

Depth in a niche area is how you stand out—or at least one way to stand out. Yes, well-rounded kids also get into Ivy Leagues, but the vast majority have a spike, imo.

Essays

Alright, so you have the grades and the activities, but now it’s time to market yourself. You need to help admissions officers get a sense of your personality, and more importantly, get them to like you.

This is where the essays come into play.

The college essay is your story—it gives admissions readers insight into your worldview, values, and characteristics, and it helps them understand whether you’d be a good fit for their campus. The truth is, you can write your college essay about anything, but here are some examples to inspire you:

1. How origami helped a student discover her love for math.

2. How a student’s weekly family dinners sparked his interest in politics.

3. How the album covers on a student’s wall relate to the eras of her life.

The goal of the college essay is to be unequivocally you. But what does that mean?

First of all, don’t treat it like a formal essay. It’s not an expository piece; it’s not an argumentative piece; it’s a narrative. Tell a story.

Second, write how you speak. This means using a relaxed tone, avoiding fancy words, and maybe even incorporating humor.

Third, bring in a new angle. Don’t just rehash your academic and extracurricular accomplishments. Help the reader understand how you think about issues; show them how you overcome challenges; show them how you’ve grown over your time in high school.

The college essay can be tricky, and if you need with yours, send your essay to Next Admit to receive comprehensive feedback from Ivy League consultants in as little as 24 hours.

I can say a lot more about Ivy League admissions. (Like, a lot more.) For example, we haven’t even touched upon letters of rec or interviews, which are also important. But maybe I’ll save that for a long-form video.

If you have any questions, feel free to message me on Instagram. I do my best to answer a handful of DMs each day.

And if you’re looking for more college admissions advice, subscribe to the Next Admit Newsletter. We send out our best admissions tips once a week.

I wish you all the best this admissions season. See you next week!

Best,
Gohar