Requirements for Ivy League colleges

[chocolatestain]

hmm. Applying to college is amazingly tedious. I just sent in my application to Princeton along with applications to Barnard, Carnegie-Mellon, NYU and Vassar. Does anyone know what the chances are like for international students? Is it the same as US students?

 

[eternitygoddess]

I go to Yale, and from my experience, I would say that are no specific "requirements". Yes, most people here had great GPA's and great SAT scores. But, keep in mind that a lot of people who go here were "B" students. Ivy League schools are not just looking for someone with perfect grades because honestly there are thousands and thousands of students with perfect grades. What's most important is having an activity or an area of interest that makes you stand out to the admissions board.

THAT is my biggest fear. Everything else I'm in control of. But my interests are 1) reading trashy tabloids and 2) reading steamy romance novels. I don't think that endears me to the admission officers very much. *sighs*.

 

[yourbestfriend]

THAT is my biggest fear. Everything else I'm in control of. But my interests are 1) reading trashy tabloids and 2) reading steamy romance novels. I don't think that endears me to the admission officers very much. *sighs*.

it's never too late to start, how much longer do you have? Do you play any instruments, sports? Are you part of any clubs or teams at school? Do you volunteer anywhere on a regular basis? ...there's still time... if notfor an ivy league, for a good school theres no use in not bothering

 

[nerdphanie]

I don't know about presentations. I did take a grad seminar last year and it was very presentation-heavy, but this was for English grad students. Lots of book discussions to be led.

 

[Meg]

I've always included my love of fashion on applications since it's a big part of my life and I hope makes me stand out. I've taken a couple of evening courses at London College of fashion and Central St. Martins so I always include those and my volunteer time at tfs. Chocolatestain, it depends on the individual school.

 

[morgan38]

hmm. Applying to college is amazingly tedious. I just sent in my application to Princeton along with applications to Barnard, Carnegie-Mellon, NYU and Vassar. Does anyone know what the chances are like for international students? Is it the same as US students?

I tend to find that universities are always eager for international students, so I would say that you may have a bit of an edge.

 

[morgan38]

At stanford I know it's usually 1 year. I don't know about Ivy leagues. Hey morgan, what's Yale like? I've never visited, but that's one my top choices for law school at the moment. Almost...done...applying...they think they're special and require another essay. Done with the rest!

I love it. I'm undergrad right now, but I have a few friends at the law school, and they seem really happy there.

 

[Olivia M.]

Your chances of getting in also depend on where you are from... if you are from the Northeast, you'll have the hardest time getting into top schools because they want geographic diversity (and most of the applicants to Ivies - and Stanford, even! - are from the Northeast).

Unless, of course, you come from money or one of your parents is in Congress - in that case, grades don't matter.

Also, if you want an academic challenge more than a reputation, consider Boston University. Unlike the Ivies, they don't inflate grades. Believe me, I know!

 

[Deleted member 49693]

I tend to find that universities are always eager for international students, so I would say that you may have a bit of an edge.

International students' university fees are alot more expensive so it is easier, but still hard...

 

[Deleted member 49693]

Doesn't it also depend on the degree want to do? E.g. business and law are very hard to get into?

 

[Deleted member 49693]

Can anyone explain to me what the requirements are for master's in Celtic studies at Harvard from the link below? Also how many courses do I take to graduate with a master's and can I choose any course from the list?

http://www-hugsas.harvard.edu/programs/degree/celtic.html

Do companies like an applicant who studied something unusual to show that they are interesting? E.g. for a publishing house or magazine?

http://www-hugsas.harvard.edu/programs/degree/celtic.html

 

[BaroqueRockstar]

i'm applying for harvard and columbia, undergrad
from the ppl i've talked to (quite a few) ivys tend to eat up anything unusual
i'm not that familiar with postgraduate stuff, but an admissions officer i know personally told me that they like personality, b/c everyone applying is going to have the grades and test scores

 

[nerdphanie]

^ you do need the grades and test scores to get noticed, most of the time, unless you are REALLY unusual (or have a lot of money or are from a particularly underrepresented ethnic group or...you know, lots of things). For law school I hear it's really all about numbers. No interviews even! Yikes huh? And grad school can be really hard to get into. I know at stanford the english program only takes like...6? 8? I forget, but it was under 20, and very possibly under 10. Celtic studies sounds really interesting and if it were me hiring, I think that would stand out. I'm just a little undergrad upstart though, so feel free to ignore me .

 

[Deleted member 49693]

How does a master's degree work? Do we get course we have to do or can we just choose from a list? I might email Harvard to ask, but I don't think they will reply....

 

[Deleted member 49693]

For Celtic studies learning Irish and Scottish Gaelic as languages seems interesting...

 

[Deleted member 49693]

I wonder if there is a masters of arts at Harvard. Is there such a thing?

 

[Faith Akiyama]

i'm applying for harvard and columbia, undergrad
from the ppl i've talked to (quite a few) ivys tend to eat up anything unusual
i'm not that familiar with postgraduate stuff, but an admissions officer i know personally told me that they like personality, b/c everyone applying is going to have the grades and test scores

They're also very interested in hearing about your volunteering/leadership experiences, and excelling in that area can really help you stand out from the rest. Back in senior year, I applied to Yale, MIT, and WashU and was accepted into the latter two (Though they're not exactly "Ivy League"), and though I [possessed the academic strengths they were looking for, I still believe that my work with my youth group and Habitat for Humanity that were the factors that helped my application the most.

But often for Ivy League universities, the number of qualified applicants are often still too many for them to accept. There has always been this theory that in the end of all the evaluations, Harvard application overseers throw paper versions of the best applicants down a flight of stairs, and whichever ones land facing upward would be accepted

 

[BaroqueRockstar]

^ that's quite a scary thought, but it makes sense

 

[Deleted member 49693]

^ Ha! I can see them throwing the paper planes now. I also heard that if you know someone then it is easy to get in along with academic qualifications...

 

[eternitygoddess]

Here's an article that scared the sh*t out of me about admissions. It's very very interesting but just be prepared to dial 911 in case of heart attack.

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