How To Get Into an Ivy League School | What NOBODY Is Saying (2020)
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
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It's time for me to share with you the #1 secret on how to get into an Ivy League school! Thanks to this advice, I got into Princeton, UPenn, Georgetown, and several other top-25 universities. This college admissions life hack will teach you how to get into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, UChicago, or pretty much any other top school. Watch the whole video to find out how to get into an Ivy League college.
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Video Sparknotes:
- I discovered this crucial information halfway through sophomore year. And without it, I don't think I would've been accepted to my dream school, Princeton.
- Now, if you're at all like me, you've spent hours on the College Confidential forum, watching CZcams videos like this one, and spamming your college guidance counselors, teachers, and parents with questions about college admissions and things like that.
-This year, there were 31,056 people who applied to Princeton. Of those, 12,435 had a perfect GPA, and 13,800 of them had a 1400 or above on the SAT. That means that roughly 45% of Princeton's applicant pool was completely qualified to get in. Yet, only 6.1% got the golden ticket. So how do admissions officers determine which 14% of awesome applicants to let in, and which 86% to reject?
- You're probably thinking "Do as many extracurriculars as you can, sign up for all of that volunteer work, you know you can do it." And honestly, I can't blame you. I'm sure that's the advice your guidance counselors, parents, younger sisters, and goldfish have been telling you all this time.
- Well... colleges don't care how many random activities you can slap on your application. When going through their applicant pools, admissions officers at top colleges don't really look for well-rounded students; they look more for a well-rounded class. That means x-many jazz musicians, x-many lacrosse players, x-many public speakers, you get it.
- How do you develop a passion? Let me take you back to sophomore year. I was involved in theatre, my school's a capella group, mock trial, track, I was volunteering in a soup kitchen, I was part of China club, and I was studying both Spanish and Chinese. I wrote down all of my extracurriculars on a piece of paper and tried to divide them into two distinct passions. The two that I came up with were performance and study of Chinese culture.
- I completely dropped track and I stopped volunteering at the soup kitchen. I dropped track junior year and instead became more heavily involved in theatre, and I even joined the school's theater board. Instead of volunteering at the soup kitchen, I actually started my own community service club at my school, where student musicians could go out to our local city and perform on the street to raise awareness and funds for a local charity. I dropped Spanish and focused fully on my study of Mandarin Chinese. With the help of my Mandarin teacher, I was able to study abroad in China for a month. In the summer after junior year, I got an internship at a translation and globalization company with a lot of clients in China, and I was able to talk about that in my essays as well.
- You have to take an honest look at what you're doing and how you're spending your time, and then cut down certain things, so you're only focusing on one or two specific areas.
- Because I took the time to do that, the admissions officer who was reading my application didn't just see a kid with great scores that was signing up for a bunch of clubs simply to get into x, y, or z school. What they saw was a student who had multiple interests and was willing to pursue them at a very deep level.
- Come up with one or two things that you actually really do enjoy. And brainstorm extracurricular activities based on those interests. Literally anything can be a passion-- you just have to be creative.
Why am I watching this when I graduated from UCLA 15 years ago? *shrugs*
Also, this kid is 100% right with his advice.
KTaylorJordan bless :') this would (if I get accepted) be me LOL
Amazing!
KTaylorJordan but then UCLA gets harder and harder to get into as time passes. The acceptance rate in 1998 was approx 34%, which is twice as much of 2016’s
thats a lot of likes i see
Do you have any advice for foreign students (I am Brazilian) who want to be accepted in these universities and get a scholarship???
All these videos are like "Hi! I'm a super articulate/super smart person who's able to explain complicated topics with ease. You know, just a regular guy like you!".
Did you see how many jump cuts this video has? Ermmm... I mean you're right I'm articulate af
😂😂
@Lester Green I would say that brains don't matter as much as how badly you want something. If you aren't smart but want to get into Harvard, you might have to study twice as much. (nay, 20 times as much lol). If you're not good at sports but want to be in the nba, practice more. Everyone has their challenges but the fact that they are watching videos like these and setting goals is never a bad thing.
@@lucabennito3651 I've heard of many people who were terrible in high school but got into ivies/top tier schools. In their applications they basically admitted yeah the played around but explained how they were different now and the steps they are taking to be more active inside/outside class. So it's true we a have challenges but it's worth while to tackle them.
@@simsrock9982 Indeed!
just ask Olivia Jade she is the best at college tips.
Captain America HAHA
I took this seriously. Thoroughly regretted.
@@tanmayarvind3651 why
@@techhelpportal7778 he got called back from yale and got kicked probably
What's up with the scandal
Be really good at Photoshop and you can excel at any sport
How?
Jet Jock lol
Lol
Haha you not wrong tho
Rick Singer 😂
Now it's time to find a passion 😑
You actually have one. Think deeper. *DEEPER*
Here is a hint: ctrl+shift+n
😂
Watching CZcams is your passion?
BOI
Does my passion for arguing with random CZcams influencers count?
Does my addiction to heroin count as a passion?
LOL
Nabeel Ahmed you can talk about how you overcame it in your college essay 🤔
Yeah, make it about molecular cooking ...
Nabeel Ahmed me too
oof
Honestly, “colleges don't care how many random activities you can slap on your application” was the advice my guidance counselor, teachers, parents, younger siblings, and goldfish have been telling me.
@@Rayski_ oh
okay but your goldfish be spitting facts though
abraham lincoln had a goldfish?
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, But I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”- Bruce Lee
or just be insanely good at a sport
they give athletic scholarships as long as you are decently qualified academically
dog it's not easy though
If you're really a dog, it will be hard to find a scholarship
hope somebody actually finds this joke humorous
Thats not enough for an ivy league school, theyre sports teams arent so crucial to them that theyll take someone just cause of sports. Also Harvard Yale and Princeton (im not sure about the other ivys) DONT offer athletic scholarships or any other kind except for need based save for very rare cases, like less than 1 person per class rare
What you're saying is 100% correct. I did this exact same strategy with the French language when applying to UPenn. I was recently admitted ED.
lmao thats dedication
Hey, I'm French and I would apply to UPenn do you have any suggestions for my French culture or had some French stuff in my CommonApp?
Four years later!!! Happy late congratulations on your graduation
congarts on graduation
Video published: 2 years ago
Title: 2020
Me: *_Visible Confusion_*
he probably edited the title so it stays recent haha
Not gonna talk about how I clicked the “read more” thing 5 times to double check Lmao-
I’m not sure how I ended up here as I’m already a PhD student.
To all of you high schoolers who don’t get into the school of your dreams, remember that school name is only a small fraction of what you get out of your university years.
I went to a mid-tier undergrad university where tuition was cheaper and I didn’t have to fight off a bunch of absurdly ambitious classmates to get research experience. I also don’t have student debt because of that choice. Remember, if you have great scores you can get generous scholarships at just a little bit less prestigious schools!
this!!!
I got into Harvard and Princeton with a 4.3 GPA and 1450 SAT Score and scored 3’s on all AP Exams
Wow do you have lots of cash too
*has shitty grammar*
Lil pump dropped outta Harvard.
1450 a existing score?
Fresh So yes, that’s the new SAT, it’s out of 1600
Wow now I’m in Harvard
Steves Coffee congrats!! That’s my dream school.
Hey there! Any advice for the rest of us?
@@petarking66 I think it was a joke
@@bohemiandoomer44 Not that much a surprise, seeing the admission rate :x
Lol
"Literally, anything can be a passion. You just have to be creative."
―Greg Smith
From all College videos I have seen, this is probably the most relate and authentic one I have viewed. I like how you genuinely display that your hard work to thrive academically and pursuing your passion outside of school will end you up at these prestigious universities. Thank you.
0:58 is the most relatable statement I have ever heard on one of these videos this is amazing
Amanda Paule dats me
That was really awesome advice, dude. As a college freshman, the application process was kind of a nightmare, but I think the fact that I narrowed down my passions a bit made it easier to present myself. Sometimes, closing the door on a few activities can really open the door for others. You’re able to invest more time and dedication into the passions you choose.
TheGeekInvasion very true. What Ivy are you going to?
Excellent advice, Greg! I have interviewed high school applicants to Princeton since I graduated from Princeton in 1975, and the students who have successfully gotten into Princeton (a handful of people in 45 years) have all done what you are recommending--that is, focus on one or two things they are passionate about.
This is by far the best tip for anyone wanting to get into a ivy league school. I only had three cords and yet was the only one in my school who got into an ivy league school. Mean while others in my class who applied had over 30 cords, the same GPA and ACT and didn't even get wait listed!
When you were following this advice and didn't even know it.
Storytelling in any manner has always been extremely important to me. Writing has always allowed me to articulate my ideas and music and art helped me connect with others. I never considered padding my application--I've always been a good student. I'm staying involved in band and theatre throughout high school as well as editing and writing for my school paper. My volunteer work is all at a local library...I've written a couple book reviews but most of it is reading books to young kids and working on video projects for library events with other teens. I hope this works for admissions!
College admissions can be extremely daunting, specifically at top 10-15. These universities would want it's applicants, to potentially stand out, amongst the copious amounts of equally qualified applications they receive each academic year. Thanks a lot Gregory, for an awesome peice of information. Keep posting amazing videos like this :)
I’ve been through scores of videos on CZcams and this is the only one that truly helped me and didn’t give me anxiety about what I wasn’t doing. You’re so down to earth and a great speaker! Thank you so much :)
Get Very Affordable Advice From TOP Harvard, Yale, Stanford, And Other Top School Advisors On Your Application ➤ collegeadvisor.com/gregsmith
First
BAHAHA ASKING FOR MONEY...NO DIGNITY DUDE
When you come from small town Africa and the only extra murals offered were rugby[football] and cricket. Be greatful America, I'd be honored to get into UC Davis atp.
Watched this video in the fall while I was in the middle of the application process. You provide some great tips and with these in mind I was accepted early action into my top school. So thank you Greg and for everyone who is not Greg reading this comment, good luck with college admissions!
you are my hero man, so glad i watched this freshman year so i can get a good head start
I like the fact that, even though I knew most of this information, hearing it from someone else 100% made me feel better and more confident about my college plan
I saw this random video pop up and it definitely helped me reflect my own experience and learn from my mistake. I feel like I would have done so much better in college app if I were at my current maturity state to write my essays back then. Too late I just graduated this May and started working FT at a great company. So at least life went on well even though I didn't get into my dream school.
Side note: I am Chinese and I am glad that you're learning Chinese cultural. I love my heritage
This video is more helpful than the thousands of college admission videos I’ve watched on so far! Wish I came across it earlier
thank you! :)
I love how you went straight to the point
Probably some of the most meaningful advice. I wish I saw this video 15 years ago when I was first applying to colleges myself.
This makes sense. It's the same way companies hire people. And yes, colleges like when you have leadership experience.
I have a Dartmouth degree. To get in, I focused on researching hoe disabilities are portrayed in film and I've volunteered helping people who have disabilities.
I also have cerebral palsy so I'm reasonably sure that I was the first person to graduate from Dartmouth with Cerebral Palsy. I graduated in 2001.
at first my dumbass was like "damn this dude got a degree on hoe disabilities...", Safe to say I don't think I'm going anywhere 😂
I read this at first and was like "Woah, you mean like disabilities prostitutes have? That would be really interesting like are there prostitutes with disabilities and how much money do they make? Which disability is fetishized the most?" And then I realized you meant 'how' ahahah.
@@saketnaik1 not hoe disabilities lmfai
This was super helpful and right in time for my daughter's sophomore year.
Glad I could help! Best of luck to her.
This is fantastic information!! A good friend of mine is in highschool doing so many different clubs, and now they have decided to stick to their passions; debate and coding.
Hey Greg, great advise, I’m a junior and want to get into a top college but find myself doing many extracurriculars. I’m really into environmental friendliness and recycling, so I wanna start composting in my school to reduce landfill waste. I want to be a chemical engineer soon! Love the advice and keep it up man!
Me: Hey goldfish what should I do to get into Harvard?
Goldfish *2 seconds later* What did you ask me again?
huh
I like how frank and open you are about your experience. Great video! (If you can add in captions, I think it would be better for people with bad memories like me haha :D)
If you click the 'CC' button at the bottom, you can see captions that I transcribed myself (they are spot on!) :D
The most real and actually helpful video i have seen on this subject in a while
god bless you for always writing what you talked about in the description
Thank you so much I started Highschool like a week ago and everyone in middle school was like “YOU NEED TO DECIDE YOUR FUTURE NOW ! DO ALL THE CLUBS!” And I was so stressed , this calmed me down lol
What if you aren't sure about what your passionate about most because you are extremely passionate about multiple things?
Read So Good They Cant Ignore You by Cal Newport. He explains how passion searching is fruitless and what you should do instead; he did a ton of research too so it is not just some armchair philosophy.
What the heck??? I went to the county library yesterday and checked out that book... what are the odds that I stumbled across your comment?!
Exactly right. And you're still too YOUNG to know what your really want to do in life. It's ridiculous to expect a teenager to know with certainty which path to take.
Vincent Ardizzone I’m a teen and I have a good idea of what I want to do. Not every teen is the same....
These colleges want people who are passionate about a single thing. They want people who are the best at one thing instead of being the second in multiple things.
Good video! Nice application of the 80/20 rule
So glad I’m watching this before high school
this dude
rubbin in my face that he's smart, i get it. i saw a lot of comments from Harvard students and lemme tell u somethin. YOU'RE *GUCCI* Harvard is like my *DREAM* school.
I’m only in eighth grade but my biggest dream is to go to MIT. I was getting prepared to do a lot of random extra curricular activities in high school, but now I’m instead looking forward to my years in high school and building off of the activities I love.
thanks so much!
how’s it going? I’m also in eighth grade and want to go to MIT
im in 8th too and wanna go to harvard lmao but im not from the states so its like 400X more difficult for me 🙃
Damn so we’re the same age, how’s junior life going?
now I am in 8th grade! same here not in the states and I wanna go to MIT, it's gonna be hard but i'll try my best
Really appreciate the video man. My Penn ED comes out this Wednesday, not really that nervous about it though. Your video was beyond helpful throughout the application process, keep doing what you're doing dude.
This is honestly one of the best videos I've seen on the subject, thanks!
My dream school is either Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell or Princeton. I always have wanted to get into an Ivy League School.
You can do it!
Thank you so much!
@@Katie-yj3gm Cut some slack! If it's her dream, let it be her dream! She never said what her reason was, so there's no need to jump to conclusions. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.
Bruh I got a 2.6 gpa 🤦♂️ and I'm dumb
@@trumanhuang6627 I'm a junior now but my grades have been okay so far
now that i’m almost in 9th grade, i’m starting to take my future and life more seriously. i don’t think i’d actually attend an ivy league school, but i’d be so happy to get into one.
Hi! I'm a Venezuelan girl applying to UBC in Canada and I'm following your advice. Thank you sooo much this video help me a lot!!
Thanks Man, I got recently accepted into VMI my Dream School and I recently been watching your videos and it made sense to drop clubs and activities that doesn’t really help me develop my character. I used to do JV Track and Cross-Country but I stopped because I was only getting cardio training from it no leadership experience, I dropped or stop attended community service clubs that I barely participated in, and focused more so on my Air Force JROTC Program and the Clubs that I had a leadership position in, and my French Studies And using my French for Community Service And Work related projects. It cut off a lot of stress and better improved my reputation for not only VMI, but my Scholarship for the Air Force. Thanks!
I’m currently a freshman trying to get into MIT and this was very helpful
results?
谢谢你和Princeton加油💪！
Wow. I'm at the end of my freshman year here - so glad I found this!
Thank you so much brother for sharing this profound personal story 🙏, love from Tibet 🙏❤️
4.0 GPA I have PSATs tomorrow. To be honest it doesn’t really take much to get a 4.0 just study and do all and I mean ALL of your work simple
Gleeker A 4.0 is easy only if you have the mindset, and the PSAT was very funny for me
I slacked of freshman year, had a weighted 90.17 with only one honors class, sophomore year I had 95.48 with 2 honors classes, now I'm in junior year with 3 honors and an ap; hopefully this will boost it a lot.
Wish I tried hard right off that bat
How was the test?
Gleeker getting a 4.0 is really easy at public high schools, but you can't say the same for elite private high schools that make you earn your As. You have to do the homework and work your butt while being naturally intuitive and better than your peers who are already really smart to earn the high grades.
This was so helpful!! Lmao when I saw this with the other recommendations, I was like "eh probably another one of those national merit scholars that is also a famous novelist" and I'm so glad I was wrong. I hope MUNs are good enough, because that's all I'm interested in rn
that was so organized. thank you 💛
Useful. Wish I'd known this sooner. I did not, but you have earned your "like" and thank you for sharing the honest truth with people - many of whom will hopefully run across this sooner in their life than I did!
Thank you so much for the advice, I honestly don't know if I would've gotten into Penn if it wasn't for you
Sean Hughes congrats!!
Afia Oduro-Manu thank you! Take this man's advice if you are applying to colleges!!!
Sean Hughes def will do in about 2 years!!
I'm one year late but congrats!!💗
Sean Hughes im a freshman and ended with a 3.0 with regular classes :( should i just start looking for a different college the year already ended
Thank you bro. I appreciate your help:) im submitting my Harvard EA app in the next week or two
Pass Wifjreiguru did you get in?
That was very helpful. I’ve been watching Many videos; I appreciated how succinct and to the point you were. Thank you 🙏
Thank you so much for creating this. This may be the best college advice video I've seen!
4.3 GPA and 28 ACT here. My School didn’t offer AP classes but it was huge on community involvement. I was one of those kids who did a bunch of random things and none of them really paid off. It was all for the sake of college applications. I’m on a tuition scholarship to one of the bigger schools in Alabama but I’m confident I could’ve gotten into an Ivy League School if I had applied myself and seen this video earlier.
Omg my dad literally said the same thing, “they don’t look for well rounded people. They look for a well rounded class!!” I wonder if he watched this video 🤔 2:52
Btw thx for the tips!
Astro Man they want the class to be filled with people who individually have one or two strong interests so the class together had thousands of interests, instead of a bunch of kids with seven weak interest.
It's a pretty common saying
Love this video. Great work. Really helped me out with the way I was going about my applications.
im halfway through sophomore year lmao hopefully i can get into an Ivy league or another good school
I'm a freshman and I've always dreamed of getting into a good school like Harvard. Honestly, getting good grades comes very easily and naturally to me, even though I procrastinate and I know that grades may be a key in it, but other things matter, too. I plan to take all advanced classes whenever I can, maybe except for advanced math because math is not my strong suit, however I'm already taking advanced history because I love the challenges. I signed up for the PSAT early and am planning to study, and also signed up for this competition to win 30,000 in scholarships. I hope I win and get a good grade! My whole life I've always gotten straight A's and been at the top of my classes. I'm trying to study how to get everything to go in my favor! I hope my dreams do come true, I'm just trying to become a science teacher lol.
Don’t go to a prestigious school to become a science teacher. Go to a cheaper college
Become a college professor for biology, chemistry, or physics, not just a simple science teacher
Thanks man, that was pretty helpful. I really appreciated it 😍
Dude!you actually make sense!
This video is different and wayyy better compared to all other videos which say the same thing on how to get into Ivy league
I discovered this video too late 😭 I’m going to be writing my essays in a month...
Don't you worry! It can be very hard to string two different activities into one 'passion,' but I guarantee you that it's possible. For example, I combined Mock Trial and a capella into my 'performance' passion. I'll do a video on this soon, stay tuned!
Such good advice, 格瑞！
Thank you Greg . You have to multiply ! Got it
i’m a sophomore in high school and am freaking about all this ,, thanks for the help!!
What would you do for becoming a lawyer at Harvard? What extras/charity work should I do for a passion in law? I also have straight A's, good test scores, and run track and varsity cross country.
i’ll come back and edit this when i’m in princeton
my darling did you get in?
It’s been a year buddy
I am an aspring international student who doesn't know much about extracurriculars and activities. Thanks for the video because it has shed more light on that.
This really did help, thanks a lot!
Title: How To Get Into an Ivy League School | What NOBODY Is Saying
Up Next: Why You SHOULDN'T Apply to an Ivy League School
:/
I wish I saw this video when I was a sophomore... it’s 8 days before my first application is due so I’m not sure how useful this is😂
how's your results now? 😂
It’s so impressive to see that u have passions in Chinese and did such a great job!!
This was actually a really good video, thanks g
Why even care if it's so selective, their obviously not looking for the best, their looking for the most suitable.
I'm in my sophomore year right now and this is really realy insightful, thank you so much❤
This is amazing advice, thank you. Liked and subbed. Wish u the best!
great advice! Point me to a new path! Thank you very much.
Imagine it’s a college acceptance reaction video and he already had the college sign up 😂
That is really helpful, Do you have experience for International Students???
Your videos are so great and so much content!
Really love this, super straight to the point! Liked + subbedddd
*Watches this even though I'm only applying to state schools that basically accepts everyone* lmao
I'm currently stressing as a sophomore.
i'm a sophomore too. hard work and dedication! we can do it.
Dude this was so helpful thank you so much!
Thanks, glad you found it useful!
Gives me hope cuz I do some unorthodox shit outside of school lmao
Subbed
Hey, first of all, I want to apologize for any English mistake, I'm working on that.
I'm an Argentinian student and I'm kind of worried about my future, I really want to study physics at Boston University, my sat is 1510 and act 33 but I expect my gpa to be 3.2 (besides my gpa I always had good grades on physics, mostly A, and a few A-, my first two years I had problems adapting to high school due to some bullying I've suffered in elementary school and my grades were mostly Bs, in junior my gpa was 3.75 and I expect in my senior year to have a gpa of 3.7). I'm really passionate about physics since it has a personal story and I expect to reflect that passion in my essays. I'm also truly creative and that's why a lot of people tell me that I should study something related to art and some of my extracurriculars are artistic ones.
One of my biggest problem is money, my family never saved any money for college and my parent's income is low even in our country. Any advice? Thanks
Martina Zoe Hey, I think you should definitely apply to Boston. You fit their stats and, in terms of your application, you can explain the circumstances behind your GPA to colleges when you apply through the commonapp under a seperate section. I have a similar story where my GPA was poor for a semester sophomore year because of family hardships, I recieved 2 F's and all B's that semester. Still, my overall average ended up being a 93~94 and I got into Cornell University with a 1390. If you explain your circumstances well + have a great essay you're certain to get in somewhere good.
I would advise applying to many different colleges in addition to BostonU. Colleges typically have a budget for the financial aid they can give for international students, so sometimes they will pick people who can pay the full bill. Still, there are many good international opportunities in the US. It might be hard to get into Boston University, but you have a good chance at getting into other places as good as Boston University. You even have a chance for Harvard, MIT, and the Ivies. I heard Grinell College has about 25% international students enrolled, you may want to look into there
Wtf I have a 2.5 why am I watching this ?🤦♂️
How do you manage to get a 2 5?
Alex Justin I have a 2.8 it’s literally bs and cs in normal classes. Still going to a decent college
How do you mange to get that low-
Vignesh Anand why does every kid with bad grades say this💀
Thanks for the info! I’m going into sophomore year and I think I’m on the right track because I’m mainly focusing on theatre/singing and community service through a program that my school district offers.
This is great advice. Thank you!
Thank you!!! 😀
You're welcome Angie!