Is it possible to get into Ivy League’s if you don’t have perfect grades? Answered
I have A’s, B’s and a couple C’s. I’m a sophomore. Is it possible to even get into Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale with my kind of grades if I make up for it in other aspects like that SAT/ACT and EC’s? Or should I not even bother and just look at regular college’s? Please be honest.
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2 answers
Hey Tanya! I am also a sophomore in high school and an incoming junior. I may not be right, but having talks with upperclassmen, older siblings, and researching over the past couple of months, I believe that it is possible, but very slim. You see, your GPA is the major thing that most colleges and universities look at. However, the position that you are at is feasible. If you can manage on getting an outstanding score on your ACT/SAT scores, as well as having plentiful extracurricular activities then you'll definitely have a chance of getting into an IVY League school. This true story I heard recently was that this guy applied for Harvard with less than a 3.0 GPA. However, he built a device that helped with COIVD-19 and still got in. And another one was that this woman applied for UCLA and got accepted, even though she came from South Korea with knowing very little English. She got accepted because she took many activities in art and was proficient in it. This is my perspective, but I hope this helped. Remember it doesn't matter how you start, but how you finish. :)
Yes, It is possible but beware that you're probably not gonna get in realistically. I feel like it also depends on what classes you've been taking. For example, if you're taking regular classes and you have Cs you're probably not gonna get in. However, if you're taking the hardest class as your school has to offer and you are getting those grades your chances although they are still on the slimmer side are increased greatly. Extracurriculars can help you a lot depending on what exactly you do. For example, if you start your own organization or you are very active in your community to the point that you have managed to get an internship with the mayor's office you could definitely have a greater chance of getting in. But if your extracurriculars like you were in a dance club or you were in Mock trial but you didn't receive any type of awards or achievements they don't help you too much.
Your SAT can help you a lot but a lot of top universities focus on holistic approaches so if your grades weren't good and you didn't take challenging classes even if you manage to get a perfect score on the SAT your chances are still very slim.
I would say apply to the college even if you don't think you're going to get in because you still have a chance college applications are very weird. Any school you want to apply to apply. Even if you can't get in it's worth trying than regretting that you did not even bother to apply.
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Thank you Kasian :)