1) Extracurriculars

The Ivy League often looks for students who not only have strong academic strengths but also for students who they consider "well-rounded" meaning socially capable engaged in their school and high achieving. They gauge this through two measures the essay and the students extracurricular activities which can include community service sports clubs science fairs and similar activities. There are two mistakes students make in this process however. First when picking extracurriculars you should try to find ones that make you stand out. The Ivy League reads thousands of applications where the student volunteered for his church for hundreds of hours. Although this may be incredibly selfless and virtuous this does not add diversity to the university nor does it make you stand out. Pick an extracurricular like your school's Gay-Straight Alliance or environmental club or volunteer at an AIDS hospice or local wildlife protection group. Becoming involved in a niche group is a key to making yourself stand out to the admissions councils at Ivy Leagues. Secondly do not spread yourself thin over an enormous number of extracurriculars. Focus on three or four and become highly involved. Don't be a member of 20 clubs that you went to two meetings for.

2) The Essay

The essay is a very critical portion of your essay because it is one of the rare times when the admissions officer can hear your personality. Thus it is critical that you are able to communicate a positive and personable personality. You may still speak of times when you did something you regret but the essential component of the essay should show personal growth. Key traits that you should try to demonstrate when deciding on how to address the prompt should be: open-minded compassionate inquisitive outgoing laid back funny extroverted thoughtful engaging and optimistic. The essay can be the most difficult component for many students which is why I often recommend that they utilize some sort of college admissions counseling service which can be found through online counseling firms or through counselors in your area.

3) The Standardized Tests

Let's clear one thing up right now: You do not need perfect SAT/ACT scores to be accepted to an Ivy League school. What you do need is very strong SAT/ACT scores. I would aim for between a 2200-2400 on the SAT or 32-36 on the ACT. All the Ivy Leagues will take both equally so my advice would be to take practice tests of both online and find which you feel more comfortable with prepare for it and do well. Regardless of whether you take the SAT or ACT I would advise students take 2 or 3 SAT II's. Students should definitely be the Math 2 test (Preferable done the June or May of the year the student takes Pre-Calculus). The other two can be geared towards the major the student will be applying towards and in areas where they have taken AP classes successfully. Engineering majors should do Physics/Chemistry science majors Physics/Chemistry/Biology Liberal Arts major should take the English Lit/Histories/and foreign language.

4) Grades/Tran

Your tran is an essential part of your application. No matter how amazing your essay or extracurriculars are if you around outside the top quarter of your class you should try to find other schools to apply to. During high school it is critical that you not only make very strong grades but that you also have taken the most rigorous classes offered by your high school. You should not have many instances on your tran where you took the regular version of a class that is also offered in the AP/IB curriculum. Also taking four year of foreign language is not required but it does make you more appealing to the universities. A dominant theme in admissions these days is a multicultural emphasis and taking a foreign language extensively demonstrates that you are interested in different parts of the world.

5) Interview

The interview is another critical element to your application because it is one of the few chances when an admissions officer or alumni can directly speak to you. And don't stress out if you're a shy person! The goal of this interview isn't to see whether you're going to be the biggest party animal on campus it's to determine how genuine intelligent personable inquisitive and friendly you are. It's also important that you demonstrate to the alumni that you are highly interested in the school so be prepared to ask the alumni questions about his experience at that school. The interview is a great opportunity to show yourself off so don't stress out too much and just try to enjoy the conversation for the 30-45 minutes that it lasts.