As a college consultant, I would never discourage a student from applying to competitive schools. It’s always worth a try to see if your dream school will admit you, and if you are willing to pay the application fee, there’s no harm in trying.
What I would never recommend, though, is that a student only apply to competitive schools, or assume that if they apply to every T20 they are bound to be admitted to one of them. No matter how competitive a student’s application is, several factors play into college admissions that can ultimately lead to incredibly accomplished students finding themselves rejected from these schools. Any admissions counselor who promises a student acceptance to an Ivy League school is disingenuous and making promises they cannot keep. There are, of course, things students can do to be competitive for these highly selective colleges.
A Very Simplified Formula
It’s important to stress here that the following advice is only a basic outline. Our consultants often work with students for years to help make their applications stand out. However, a student stands a chance at an Ivy if they have the following: excellent grades in rigorous courses, an SAT/ACT score in the 99th percentile, impressive leadership roles, significant evidence of community impact, and a demonstration of intellectual curiosity about their field of interest beyond the classroom. Achieving these markers is far easier said than done, though. Even harder still is creatively linking a student’s activities to their identity and narrative. It takes determination, genuine passion, and creativity.
No Guarantees
Even with the above, and even with perfect application essays, expecting to be admitted to an Ivy League school, or even a T20 school, is ill-advised and does not align with the current reality of college admissions.
Let’s take Harvard as an example, which accepted only 3.41% of applicants for the class of 2027. Nearly every top student applies to this school, and the school ultimately has to make tough decisions on which fantastic applicant is admitted. Of those 3.41% of accepted applicants, 30% are legacies, recruited athletes, children of faculty at the school, or relatives of donors to the school. To put this into perspective, this group of applicants that Harvard sets aside 30% of their seats for only account for less than 5% of applicants. This means the other 95% of students who apply are competing for the remaining 60% of seats available.
As I mentioned at the start of this post, though, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply. The odds may not be in your favor, but that applies to everyone who is competing for the remaining 60% of those seats. Who is to say it could never be you? The point here is not to give up, but to do everything in your power to boost your chances of admission. After that, you should still make sure that your college application list includes target and safety schools that you would genuinely be happy to attend. The reality of the college admissions process is that it can often be opaque, subjective, and inequitable. If anything, though, this should only make you feel incredibly proud of yourself should you find yourself admitted to one of these selective colleges.
