US universities

Any tips on applying/getting into Ivy League universities from the UK? I don’t fit the Sutton trust programme criteria so any other advice such as extracurricular, supercurriculars etc.

Reply 1

marcus.0

What year are you in? If you are past Year 11, I would maybe reconsider. US universities are another ball game, and you need more than just the occasional sports hobby to have a shot.

If you are starting Year 12 with top GCSE grades or starting out Year 10/11 though, here's some general advice:

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What Ivys? Know the general scope of the universities you're applying to. The minimum for Harvard is vastly different to activities that could get you into Dartmouth.

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Build a story. Find something that will drive most of the activities you do and will show that you are passionate about it. The honors and activities will follow.

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Build strong relationships with your counselor and some select teachers. These will ideally be your Maths teacher and the teacher of the major you want to pursue.

Reply 2

Zara_yb

I am in year 12 and my GCSE grades were 9999998876 (a 6 in PE). I am considering Princeton, Brown or Dartmouth

Reply 3

Foxehh

Why do you want to get into an Ivy League? Brown and Dartmouth are out of the question if you’re going to be requesting financial aid as they’re ‘need aware’ in their consideration of applicants and Princeton is kinder but their overall acceptance rate is disgustingly low for internationals. You might as well apply just to see, but you are going to be up against students with resumes of published research, international awards and recognitions, internships at major firms, etc. And even most of those students don’t get in.

If you’re after the networking, academic rigor, and American uni experience, and not just blind prestige, look at other T20 or even T40 schools that meet full aid and are need blind. The small, but still highly respected, liberal arts schools like Grinnell, Amherst or Bowdoin with excessive endowments are your best shot at realistically attending a uni in the US, and will give you a very similar uni experience. They are also more holistic in their reviews and will be more understanding of less impressive extracurricular lists. Still you need 10 strong extracurricular activities for CommonApp, so that is a good goal to focus on writing/seeing to fruition now.

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

I'd day definitely apply anyway, US unis especially are a bit of a lottery and there's no real harm in trying. I got a Stanford offer in December while applying for financial aid, and Stanford being need aware. I can admit there's quite a bit of luck to US universities given how subjective a lot of the application is