3 Things About the Ivy League: Fact or Myth?

Ivy League. Perhaps one of the most renowned phrases in the education scheme, people often think that if you make it into an Ivy League, you can make it anywhere. These selective schools are what every student dreams of being accepted into, so much so that you may have heard a few tales about these distinguished institutions. Some are real and some are, well, myths. 

Are you one of the future Ivy League applicants in the next cycle?

Discover the myths and facts of the Ivy League admissions, and be more informed about the schools' application requirements!

#1 Admission Officers Want to See a Wide-Range of Activities

Quality of Quantity is a phrase that you might have heard in other scenarios. And when it comes to your college application, the same phrase still applies! Ivy League schools will focus more on what kind of extracurriculars you participate in over how many you take. It is much better to pick a few specialized extracurriculars and excel in them rather than attending a large handful of classes and only participating in the background.

#2 Academic Brilliance is the Best Selling Point for Ivy League

In some cases, your academic excellence will be the tipping point to getting accepted into your dream university. However, an application that solely focuses on academic achievements is not as appealing to Ivy League schools as some people make it out to be. 

That being said, don't use this as an opportunity to slack off on your studies. The real myth is that academic scores don't matter, which is simply not true. Although academic achievement is not the thing that may make your application stand out, subpar academic achievement will make your application stand out, for all the wrong reasons. 

In the end, Ivy League admission officers want to admit brilliant, well-rounded, high-class students that seem to excel in whatever they attempt. But your selling point does not need to be your straight-A report card. Instead, you can show off your leadership roles, or the hours you spent doing community service. These things are also selling points, and a good report card can complement these factors.

#3 Application Highly Increases as the Universities Adopt Test-Optional

The acceptance rates of the Ivy Leagues are known to be very low making it highly competitive for admission. However, that didn't stop the wave of interest from students all over the world to apply.

The 2020/2021 undergraduate admission cycle set the highest 36.3% spike of applications to the Ivy League schools. But this unprecedented event was due to all schools' decision to go with the test-optional application. 

Many applicants think that with the SAT or ACT out of the equation (optionally), they will have more chances of being offered admission. But even so, there are still applicants who include their test scores in their application. Now, which team will you be in the next admission cycle: team SAT or team test-optional?

Now that you debunk some of the myths, are you feeling more confident to shoot your shot?

No matter what, it's still tough to get into an Ivy League. These prestigious institutions carry rigid acceptance rates and strict requirements to make it in. It's difficult, stressful, and complicated. 

Here at ALL-in, our mentors have graduated from top universities around the world (including the Ivies), and know just what you need to be accepted into an Ivy League university. And if you're aiming for just that, we can help you. 

On August 14th - 15th, we are hosting a University Application Bootcamp with courses targeted to you students who want to apply to Ivy League schools. It'll be the perfect way to nail your essay and application to stand out and impress the admission officers!

See you there!