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Archive for: Ivy League College Admission

Getting Into Ivy League Colleges


Getting Into Ivies, Ivy League Admissions, Getting Into The Ivy League

Getting into the Ivy League is not a random process involving dart throwing.

There’s an amusing post up on “The Huffington Post” today by J.D. Rothman about getting into Ivy League colleges. The article specifically focuses on why your child didn’t get into the Ivy League! It’s a summation of the common flaws of many applications to the Ivy League and J.D. Rothman breaks it down quite simply and gets it right…almost entirely. Almost.

Rothman writes that one of the reasons your daughter didn’t get into an Ivy League college is because she’s a girl. Girls are better students and there are more of them in the applicant pool. This is generally true. Rothman also claims that girls take more ownership of the college application process, which is something we at The Ivy Coach haven’t found to be true (at least to an extent that we’ve noticed a discernible difference between girls and boys in this regard).

Another reason she got rejected (or waitlisted) is because she’s a bright, well-rounded student. Colleges don’t want Renaissance children. That’s true. They want talented applicants who will form a well-rounded class. Not well-rounded students who will form an untalented class. Other reasons your daughter isn’t getting into Ivy League colleges this spring, Rothman posits, may be because her application stinks of privilege. Also true! College admissions counselors have a distaste for those who have had every advantage in life. Rothman also writes that not enough research experience, a lack of leadership, and “a lame essay” may be to blame. All also true!

The only thing that Rothman writes that we disagree with is that the whole Ivy League admissions process is arbitrary and random. Ivy League admissions counselors are not, as Rothman claims, “sitting in a room eating pizza and throwing darts.” That is not what a holistic review of an applicant is. There is a formula for admission to the Ivy League (it’s called the Academic Index) and if you master the rest of the aspects of your application that are in your hands, you’ll get in. It’s by no means random. There’s an element of luck in everything you do in life but it has little to do with the Ivy League admissions process.

Ivy League Admissions Counselors


Some people think that contacting college and particularly Ivy League admissions counselors is unwise. They may think these admissions counselors don’t want to be bothered, that doing so should be reserved exclusively for the sycophants. They’d be wrong. Establishing a personal connection with regional Ivy League admissions counselors can truly boost one’s chances for admission. It’s a way of showing interest in a college. It’s a way of establishing a personal connection that can go a long way.

Ivy League Admissions Officers, College Admissions Counselors, University Admissions Counselors

Reaching out to Ivy League admissions counselors can boost a student's chances for admission.

But that doesn’t mean a student’s parent should be making the contact. And that doesn’t mean the student should ask questions that are answered in college guide books. The questions should parlay a student’s interest in the college and, ideally, his/her intellectual passions such as asking about a research program the student read about online.

One may wonder how much contact is too much contact. A student should not be contacting an Ivy League admissions counselor every day. That student will only be regarded as annoying. They should not show up unannounced at the admissions office and ask for a personal meeting with the regional admissions counselor. These kinds of tactics will only hurt – not help – your chances for admission.

But putting a face to an application typically helps a candidate. That personal connection can go a long way. And don’t assume a regional admissions counselor will remember you simply because you sat in at a panel when the counselor presented at your high school. Ask smart questions. Show what you can bring to the college. Ivy League admissions counselors are human and people tend to want to help those they know over those they don’t.

Check out our related blog on showing interest in universities. And let us know your thoughts by posting below!

Admission to The Ivy League


Tiger Moms. You know who they are. You’ve talked to them in the stands at your child’s game. You’ve parked behind their minivans on the pickup line. Maybe you paged through Amy Chua’s book. Maybe even there’s a little bit of a Tiger Mom in you as much as you may care to deny it. But do you have to be a Tiger Mom for your child to gain admission to The Ivy League? Absolutely not!

Ivy League Admission, Admission to Ivy League Colleges, Ivy League Universities

Contrary to what one Princeton University professor may think, innovation and The Ivy League are not mutually exclusive.

However, Anne-Marie Slaughter, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, thinks that the innovators and entrepreneurs who will shape our country’s future aren’t in her Ivy League classroom. In a CNN post, Professor Slaughter writes, “Innovation requires creativity; entrepreneurship requires a willingness to break the rules. The jam packed, highly structured days of elite children are carefully calculated to create Ivy League-worthy resumes. They reinforce habits of discipline and conformity, programming remarkably well-rounded and often superb young people who can play near concert-quality violin, speak two languages, volunteer in their communities and get straight A’s. These are the students that I see in my Princeton classes; I am often in awe of their accomplishments and teaching them is a joy. But I strongly suspect that they will not be the inventors of the next ‘new new thing.’”

We don’t disagree that many of the movers and shakers whose startups revolutionize a space don’t come from Ivy League colleges. But there are only eight Ivy League colleges! They can’t enroll every future American innovator. Professor Slaughter, you point out anecdotal evidence — the Bill Gates’ and Mark Zuckerbergs — who dropped out of an Ivy League college in their entrepreneurial pursuit. We wonder if Professor Slaughter bothered to peruse some of the hot new startups coming out of Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston. Did she check out any of the “About Us” pages? Because if she did, she’d realize that a disproportionate percentage of these companies were founded by Ivy League graduates.

We can throw anecdotal evidence to the contrary right back at her. Need an electrician in your area but you want to get it done for the least amount of money possible? Electricians can bid online for the job on Redbeacon, one of the hottest startups coming out of Silicon Valley founded by Harvard MBAs. Or what if you want to go on an adventure and make friends outside of the city with a group of people? Urban Escapes was founded by a Dartmouth grad and it recently sold to AOL. What if you want to buy the cheapest tickets for a concert or sports event online? SeatGeeks, a company that uses an algorithm that aggregates the available ticket prices on the internet, was founded by Dartmouth grads, too.

If a college professor doesn’t believe in the potential of her students, maybe she shouldn’t be teaching. And we wonder if Professor Slaughter really believes what she writes. Her two sons are going to go to Rutgers instead of Princeton, a university where both she and her husband hold professorships? We think not.

Check out our related blog on what Rice University admissions looks for in its applicants. See Ivy League admissions statistics and take a look at the CNN blog by Anne-Marie Slaughter on admission to The Ivy League and innovation.