Should You Apply to an Ivy League?? | Pros & Cons 

Yes, for the clout, but like a good yes for the clout. It's about the people you meet and the connections you make.

My answer is yes. I earned a degree from Stanford and one from Johns Hopkins University. I was accepted by Brown. I’ve done quite well for myself.

Heck yes!! I go to JHU and hang around all the biomedical engi kids and wonder why I'm not smart. Lmao, there are plenty of people who would die with my workload and courses even just in my school, so, perspective is definitely important ^^

Nicolas Chae thanks for consistently posting videos, great insight!

Dick

Joshua Cadman it is not an Ivy League the only ivy leagues are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania. The term Ivy League doesn’t refer to all good schools, just those 8.

He's saying Cambridge is at that level of the Ivy League schools in England.

Oxbridge > Ivy's. The Ivy's are cool and all but Oxbridge is on a whole 'nother level

@@pan1870 Some people who have transferred from Oxford to Harvard actually disagree with you.

@@buttface7337 Pretty sure MIT and Stanford would be considered Ivy league.

Josh Beasley has a really great video on that topic.

@Ari _ hi! Hope you’re doing well 🙂 I’m a high school student in Canada, I’m curious about John Hopkins. Do you think it’s a good idea to go there? And if u don’t mind me asking, what kinds of scores do I need to get in? Right now I feel like my classes are much easier than the ones in US, and I’ll have to take the SATS. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks a lot!

@@lisawei9870 hi Lisa! Thank you for asking, wow - can't believe I left this comment one year ago... so much has changed since then 😅. Giving a heads up I'm really sorry that this response will be too long, but I don't know what you're looking for in my answer so I will try to include what I believe you're asking for and all of my opinions on it, so that's why it will be long - take everything with a grain of salt though, and just take away what you will/ pick the parts you care about and take that with you(?) because no one opinion is ever the absolute correct opinion and these are all just my thoughts! :) Since you are asking about scores, I guess I will just give an honest and transparent answer about the scores I received. I got a 1520 on the SAT first try, 800 math 720 English. I was debating whether to retake it but my guidance counselor said that it wasn't really necessary because of my other scores. (Unless I was confident I would get 1600 the 2nd time, which I wasn't.) Which were: SAT Math 2 800, SAT Chemistry 760, SAT Physics 800 (these tests are curved so you can get some answers wrong). Also, AP Physics 2, Chemistry, Statistics, Computer Science A, Calclulus BC, Biology were all of score 5. That said, scores is not the most important factor, despite what people try to sell you. To be honest I have always carried the feeling that I shouldn't have got accepted, because my letters of recommendation, transcript, even the application itself, were all sent late to the school because I literally forgot to finish my application ( I applied to JHU because my mom kept nagging, the essays were short i.e. I did not have to write any more essays... lol, and essentially on a whim). But hey I have good grades! (...that matters, right...? nope. this does not matter at all. lol). of course, going along with the "whim" thing, I didn't even have an interview with Hopkins. I know plenty of classmates who never took AP tests, have lower scores on the SAT, and generally had less academic opportunities in their high school. The school really cares more about your personality, your potential, and what you can bring to the school and to society in the future, so the essay and your extracurriculars are really the juiciest part :) It's more about the work ethic then about someone's ingenuity. Because the colleges know that we carry our self-discipline and work ethic with us through the rest of our lives, whilst being good at school because of the sole fact that you're smart doesn't mean you care about society, other people, or generally trying to improve/better the world around us. However, of course it is important to the school that you care about your grades and they are generally good (they compare you to your high school rather than students from all over, so there is a more fair comparison). If someone is not good at school, they should really not go to schools like these anyway because the classes are truly, truly, truly difficult as Nick has emphasized in the video. on to Hopkins! Hopkins is a great school. I love the people, everyone is so amazing and this is not a lie ♥ True I don't get along with every single person, as in society you won't get along with every single person, but in general most people are very kind and helpful. I don't know about other colleges (some Ivies are known to be cutthroat and competitive) but Hopkins is definitely not like that. Once I even had a friend say to me that her mindset is: since everyone has to work very hard and are all working towards the same goal, we should all work together and help each other - straight out of her mouth, what an angel. But truly, because the classes are so difficult we bond over studying together, and people are always ready to give a helping hand whenever you ask. My professor who had taught at Princeton, Harvard and other top ivies also shared with me that despite all the different schools, Hopkins students are his favorite because everyone understands the necessity of hard work and is willing to put in the effort (apparently some students at other schools feel entitled to receive As even if they didn't put the work in, or so I've heard from this professor) to take care of themselves and their studies. There are a lot of things to do around campus and the shuttle bus system is also great, there are always free buses going into the city or nicer parts of town and there's plenty of extracurricular activities to do on campus too (as I'm sure is the same with every other college). And yessss we do have parties :) just because Hop is known for being bookworms doesn't mean we don't party! (Cuz stressed-out AF people need some good ol' destressin' too.) I'm quite sad that COVID hit because there are so many things I wish I could be experiencing on campus right now (OH speaking of, our campus is gorgeous. I miss that too much. The study spaces are really beautiful too) and Hopkins hosts some really amazing admitted student events for you to experience the beautiful campus, if you ever get the chance you should definitely try to attend one of these, it gives you a good idea of what the campus and the people are like (don't be shy, feel free to chat and ask questions with any of your upperclassmen there.) Generally people are very happy and enthused about learning, their work, and life in general ♥. Note that these events is for admitted students, I think campus visits pre-application lie on the more unnecessary and costly side of things, and no it doesn't improve your chances of getting into the college because too many students visit the schools (lol). Unfortunately right now these events are also canceled because of COVID, which is why (damn!) I wish it wasn't a thing right now :) So , to summarize, most people are lovely, happy, and helpful, we stress and destress together, nice beautiful campus, many activities you won't be bored unless you choose to be, hard classes (work hard play hard), scores don't matter just put a decent amount of effort into it, take care of your essays and make sure you do a good job on these, (care about and live a life!) and as for whether it is or isn't a good idea to go to the school, I leave that decision up to you. :) Have a nice day, take care and have a good 2021! And good luck with all your applications, tests, and essays and whatever else college applications put you through oml I hated that period of life so much T TTTT. Oh I just thought of something - speaking of classes at Hopkins, there is a large degree of academic freedom and generally professors are cool with you taking the class (even in you don't have the necessary pre-requisites sometimes) if you just shoot them an email, research is easy to get into, just email your professors, and did I mention I love the academic freedom. (google Core classes vs distribution requirements). Not sure if you care that much about this but I thought it may be important to mention in passing. ♥. Good luck to you!!!

I go to penn (wharton). My perception is it’s much more major dependent then anything. Example, engineering will always be more demanding than English because of the nature of the coursework and what your learning. Completion level wise, amongst students, I also think some majors lend to it like finance/Econ versus something like history, which is less toxic by nature. Admissions, other than for a select few elite candidates who are winning national awards ect, is all a crap shoot (people get rejected by Cornell but into Harvard all the time) so the caliber of students is similar across all elite schools.

@@Jabjab1226 I completely agree.. The system in my perspective and from hours of research for one, you need good grades which is normal BUT it is also luck based on many levels..

@@Jabjab1226 True. You said you go to Wharton, could you tell us how he workload is and the classes and stuff?

harambe damn that’s deep

I'd beg to differ. If you're the smartest in a room, you're in the wrong room.

@@ethansong3901 I agree. Ivy or not, you can tell when it comes to the interview.

And Cornell

@@losgamers5383 ISTG I CALLED IT I KNEW THE COMMENT WOULD SAY CORNELL AHHHHHHHHGHGHHFHFGHFFHFHGFH

No such thing as a “lower” ivy, that’s just too dumb 😂

You should probably aim for mostly As and a few Bs at minimum.

Z D it might honestly like unless everything else about you is completely KICKASS your chance is even slimmer than usual.

You’re still very young; please enjoy life while you can. Don’t rush things because life is short and precious. Spend more time with your parents because although I got into Ivy League Schools, I wish I spent more time hanging out with my family and go to the movies. You’re only a teenager.

What'd u get on that SAT?

JustinTime I'm pretty sure it was okay. I took the sat in 7th too and I got a 1020 which is Average for people who take the sat but it isn't enough for the Ivy's. So I'm planning on taking it again later.

@@aspiringking5000 1020 aint even close for an ivy tho, cant really tell ability by 7th grade. Why did you take it then anyways?

@@aspiringking5000 and 1020 is fairly low in general, which is obviously expected cause u were in 7th grade

hoochrocks in the country

there’s no way to say until you apply but there’s no hurt trying and i think you have a shot. write a kickass essay and shoot your shot !!!!

Yeah what sat score is 85 percentile? But based on that i would say that may put u in that "unqualified" pile. Still def try no harm in trying but i think the sat may be the weakness, maybe try ACT? Either way ur extracurriculars could pull through overriding ur 'weaknesses'

Please tell me you got in to an Ivy League!

@@oliviahausman3024 Wow this was a while ago. No I didn’t, but I’m going to a university that I like a lot with a strong major. Thank you for asking!

@@isaiah1931 I’m happy all is well😊

Believe me im not trying to reach for a top tier school im really just trying to stay local and go to a typical state U. Thanks to everyone that read this comment :)

Look the school's average SAT score and that will give you some perspective, but you need to study and retake the SAT, a 900 could hurt your chances.

@@nahummaru1241 thanks bro I really appreciate the feedback :)

hey not to be a debby downer but I just wanted to notify you that Dartmouth has an acceptance rate averaging around 11% but I really wish you luck in your college admissions!! I am in the same boat lol :))

@@emmageisler9553 you're thinking of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. I'm applying to UMASS Dartmouth right outside of New Bedford, MA. The acceptance rate last year was 73%. I know, people get confused because of Dartmouth.

Don't worry about it too much, not everyone has to have a "spike" to get in. Just focus on your passions and work hard in them. Good luck!

@@ninatanlaven7154 thank you!!:)

you can always show the different aspects of your personality + the general essence of who you are through your essays!! good luck :) you'll do great!

@@harithaha Aw thanks I appreciate it!

He said dream school, and stanford if anything is on a higher level

ayoo go bruno

Liza Shechtman lol probably a lot dude those courses are analogous to taking APs except harder, or so I’ve heard.

Yeah but the IB score alone won’t get u in, u have to take the SAT and go through the application process like everyone else but the IB diploma will def help u stand out

I don’t understand what you’re trying to get across...

dude getting in after getting waitlisted is not at all "barely squeaking by." and these schools are known for their academic rigor and workload so it's probably challenging for almost anybody at these schools. (that doesn't mean they aren't 'smart enough'). nic is at the school for a reason- he deserves to go there for his intellect and talent.

Ur an idiot Harvard has extreme grade inflation. Princeton also has the worst grade deflation of any Ivy League. Ur saying Harvard students are just way smarter than Princeton students so their gpa is way higher?

Harvard is known for its grade inflation lmao