r/ApplyingIvyLeague

I'm having a really hard time deciding. I care mostly about academics. I’ve read a lot about social life and workload, but I think that both are great. (my long-term goal is research, and I’ll pursue a PhD regardless which school I go.)

Now I just really want to know which school is stronger overall, considering both reputation and EE? Like, if I go on to a PhD and a research career, which school would be more impressive on a CV?

Signed up for both admit days but now am leaning 90% Brown. Is it still worth the 5 hour drive to Ithaca to check it out - just in case?

Hey guys, please be honest. I'm obviously stressed and I really just want an honest breakdown of possible choices for me.

*Current Junior*

Stats:

1540 SAT

Unweighted GPA - 4.0

No class rankings at my school, but definitely at the top of my class

Asian male

Intended major: something pre-med, probably chem, bio, or biochem -- I would like to minor in German

AP's:

*My school doesn't let underclassmen take AP's, hence my not so great list*

Also haven't taken any exams yet, but I'm gonna assume I get all 4's and 5's here.

AP German, AP Chem, AP physics mechanics, AP precalc, AP Calc AB, Ap calc BC, AP stats, AP lit

Extracurriculars (not in any order)

• Varsity Baseball 4 years + Captain
• Varsity Esports 4 years + Captain
• Varsity Indoor Track 4 years + Captain
• Varsity soccer 2 years
• President of club that assists refugees, we organized many drives, 5ks, and other events to support refugees
• President of Sports Marketing club - grew the club from only 10 ish active members (at meetings and events) to over 50+ active members which is huge bc my school only has around 500 students.
• President of HOSA - haven't had much impact yet as I just got it
• Dialogue Facilitator leader/trainer - been doing since freshman year. We essentially lead hard conversations (political conversations, abortion, after someone in the community passes away) and I train the new facilitators (over 80 of them) to lead these conversations.
• Was Troop guide (mentor younger boy scouts), Den Chief (mentor cub scouts) , and Assistant senior patrol leader of my Boy Scout troop (pretty much vice president of the troop, did tons of planning and work)
• Run a meme account on Instagram and YouTube with over 15k followers (Insta) and over 100M views. (this ones kinda stupid ik but it doesn't hurt)
• Publishing research with a Cancer Biologist expert over the summer - this one can be strong I think, but I'm still developing it currently
• Did a medical (paid) program for two weeks at Brown, this is what sparked my interest

Awards & Honors

BSA Eagle Scout

Congressional Award Gold Medalist

Honor roll every semester

National German exam 3x Gold Medal recipient, 1x Silver medal

HOSA State winner

All Conference Baseball

Volunteering:

100+ hours tutoring underprivileged children online, ranging from subjects of elementary science all the way to Precalc

30-40 hours of Miracle League, an organization that helps disabled kids play baseball and fosters a sense of community

80 hours of Boy Scout service hours, these are from various activities

List:

Safety - UNC Wilmington or UNC Charlotte

* I honestly don't know what schools are reaches and which are targets because I haven't spoken much about it to my college counselor *

Others:

UNC Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, NC State, Duke, Columbia, BU, Yale, UPenn, Rice, Cornell, Georgetown, Brown, Notre Dame

D3 Baseball schools - I haven't touched on this yet, but I am a baseball player and I want to play in college. I'm not good enough to play D1 or D2, but I have a good shot at playing at d3 schools. The schools that I have reached out to regarding playing there are: Johns Hopkins, MIT, CalTech, WashU, Emory, Tufts, Uchicago, NYU. Playing in college is really a dream of mine, as I've been playing baseball forever. However, if I got into one of the non d3 schools that is significantly a better school, I would probably go with that one.

Please, just be honest with me, I'm confident that I am a qualified individual, but I know that some of the colleges I am applying to are incredibly difficult to get into. If you have any recommendations for other schools to apply to, feel free.

This is a throwaway account, but recently, I got acceptances to Cornell, Brown, and Johns Hopkins for Mathematics, and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to have such a hard choice to make. I’ve been thinking about what is best for my aspirations specifically, but I’m still unsure what choice to make. It’s such a big decision, and I don’t want to mess it up, even though I’m sure whatever school I choose, the experience will be beyond amazing.

For some context, I am very passionate about pure mathematics. It has been my spike, and I’ve done a lot with it extracurricularly. I’ve taken classes at an external institution for some standard, first- or second-year undergraduate courses like Linear Algebra to more advanced subjects like Abstract Algebra and Complex Analysis. In my own time, I’ve been really interested in Topology and Differential Geometry, and I’ve read a bunch of Graduate Texts in Mathematics books from Springer in the topics, from Lee’s Introduction to Topological Manifolds to Sharpe’s Differential Geometry: Cartan's Generalization of Klein's Erlangen Program. Outside of that track, I’ve read some other texts in that series, such as Mac Lane’s Categories for the Working Mathematician. I think it is undoubtedly clear that this is what I’m most passionate about, and it would be my dream to stay in academia and pursue it as a researcher while professing at a top tier university. I plan to get my Ph.D. in some form of pure mathematics, and I really want that to be at one of the top graduate programs, such as at MIT or Harvard.

However, because of financial concerns, my family is set on me not pursuing that path immediately. They want me to get an applied mathematics job first, earn enough money to be comfortable, and then go after pure mathematics later. Since I really do enjoy all mathematics (I don’t think I can name a math class I didn’t enjoy), I don’t think that would be miserable, so I’m okay with that. Even as a pure math enthusiast, I’ve still taken external courses in Statistics and Data Science, and I enjoy analyzing data with computer science. Because of this, I’ll likely become some form of Data Analyst for some time after college. I would like to get a Master’s in Data Science to help me here.

Considering all this, I decided that I’d want to double major in Mathematics (to keep with my pure math passion) and Computer Science. All schools I got accepted to would allow me to do that. Also, my cost of attendance at all schools is roughly equal, and all three were very generous with their financial aid offers. However, there are other things I’ve had to consider.

At Cornell, I’d be able to minor in Data Science. This is nice to have considering the career I need to take on after college. While Brown has an Open Curriculum, which is good for my degree aspirations, Brown doesn’t do “minors” in the typical sense, and their Data Science is only a Masters, which I’d have to pursue separately after undergrad. Considering I want to go to a different grad school for mathematics after undergrad, I’m not sure if that’s the best circumstance for me. Johns Hopkins has a part-time Data Science program and a minor in Applied Mathematics, but those are in a school different from the one I was accepted to, so I would have to go through the Interdivisional Registration process to access that.

However, when I looked at the courses offered at Brown when compared to Cornell, I enjoyed the diversity of classes more at Brown. They have a lot more Topology and Differential Geometry opportunities at Brown than at Cornell, and they say on their website that it’s possible for undergrads to take graduate mathematics courses, and a lot of the graduate courses there are what I’m interested in. I wasn’t able to find anything about taking graduate courses at Cornell, and generally the selection was a lot more rigid and aligned with the standard calculus to analysis track. Johns Hopkins is quite rigid for undergrad courses, though they do say that undergrads can take graduate courses, and they have the course opportunities I am looking for in their graduate selection.

All schools have extensive research opportunities, but Cornell and Johns Hopkins are more accessible early on than Brown is for serious research, and that’s something that matters a lot to me. Cornell is especially important here because it is stronger than Brown and Johns Hopkins are in pure mathematics, since Brown excels in applied mathematics and Johns Hopkins is not necessarily a mathematics haven compared to their other strong programs like in medicine, and I need strong letters of recommendation from serious mathematicians for graduate school. Even though Johns Hopkins is lower ranked in its mathematics department than Brown is, the ability to do research earlier is important if I want to get a serious letter of recommendation.

I know this was a long post, so thank you for reading it, and thank you for any advice you have. As of right now, I’m leaning most towards Cornell, and least towards Johns Hopkins, though the course selection consideration with Brown is making it difficult to make the final decision.

asian f high income CA

4.0 UW rn but I'm getting a b in chem this semester for sure. 4.6 W (including that B, w/o like 4.7) and forsee around a 4.8 W GPA by senior year and 3.94 UW (factoring in the inevitable Bs in AP Chem LMAO)

Debate captain next year

Work at an independent speech and debate organization for fundraising/social media and as a speech coach for kids

Varsity Speech and Debate (I do both speech and debate): lots of local league medals but nobody cares about that. Don't do a lot of invitationals because of cost)

Expanded Congressional Debate program from 2 (yeah 2 people) to 20+ and growing and the first person to actually do well in it (national qualifier)

Science Olympiad (not varsity due to stupid team politics even though I always beat varsity, lots of national-level invitational medals but I don't think they give a crap about those and nobody gives a crap about regional medials. Got a bunch of state medals when I went in middle school tho)

Model UN will probably have a leadership position next year and got 3rd at a pretty high level conference (don't do that many conferences due to cost).

1st degree black belt in martial arts (im tryna not get doxxed so hiding details)

All state and penta-state music

coach middle school and am the assistant coach (honestly love doing it, hiding the specifics but the program was not well supported by the community and no funding from the school so I help out a lot and mentor as well.)

Will be getting my Associates Degree from cc next year with straight As

have not taken SAT or PSAT yet, will be taking both in August. I got a perfect score on the 8/9 though, just didn't want to waste money on PSAT 10.

coursework: All honors that I could possibly take and all the APs our school offers with the exclusion of AP seminar and APs that I took at cc (English, history, and psych)

I'm applying for summer programs, rn all I have is one of the LLNL ones (think adjacent to STEM with phones) and none of the rest have released.

ETA I don't think I'm getting into like HYPSM. But at most I want to get into Berkeley or LA or smth.

(So sorry for the grammar, I'm sleep deprived and currently babysitting!!)

I (16GNC) am a Native Hawaiian, and I come from a rural, impoverished community. We only offer 2 AP courses at my school and a dual enrollment course. I get really good grades and I do a lot of community work, and I really want to apply for Brown, but I don't know if it even worth it. I would absolutely love some insight/advice!

To start, I have 700+ (not a typo) hours of community service for which I have received a certificate of recognition from the state of Hawaii. I also earned my certificate of Hawaiian Studies from my local community college when I was 15, and I now tutor dual enrollment courses at my school. I also tutor college/career prep one-on-one with my underclassmen in my freetime. I also do work at my school as the sole student representative for School Community Council, in which I speak directly with community representatives and our principal (among other staff) via monthly zoom meetings to improve student condition.

My activism is constant and I source my motivation from personal experiences (I won't/can't share here, sorry reddit :(), but my real worry is in my academic career.

As I've mentione, my school only offers 2 AP course (APENG and APES), both of which I am taking next year. I currently have a 3.961W GPA and a 27 on the ACT. I plan on taking the SAT twice and retaking the ACT, so we'll see how that goes.

Is it even worth it to apply? Do I have to write a super great admission letter or should I not even bother?

I am in 10th grade and currently have a very

Middling gpa at around 3.6 through a year and 3/4, with one C in precalculus this year. However I’m at an extremely academically focused school with hard classes, and I’m setup to take 2 college classes in junior and sophomore year at a t40 university due to the design of my high school. As far as ECs go, I haven’t done too much yet but have just started a research project that I will likely be working on with a professor that has done a lot in their field (economics, which is also the field of my project). Additionally, I’m one of the top 5 youngest people to qualify for a national level tournament in a card game I play, but I’m worried I don’t really have enough. My apologies if this is a bit of a ramble, didn’t quite edit this as much as I probably should have

hiiii !!!! sooo if you need help getting funding for your independent research as in money to publish or even operate it dm me !!!

I’m a sophomore in high school wanting to do the CIEE program in france for a semester. I’ve been taking french for 4 years and continuing onto the college courses in it.

My issue is that i’m trying to get into an ivy league or similar level college and worried that it’ll offset my plan. I would be missing out on AP courses and either the PSAT or SAT as well as continuing to build my resume for college. Do you think this would count against my chances?

Does anyone have any experience or advice with this same issue? I’m also wondering if just going in college or a specific high school semester would be a better option. Also, just experiences with the program in general as a high schooler would be appreciated!

i’m gonna be honest, freshman year i didn’t take any aps because i genuinely did not know how any of this worked. i’m an only child, and my parents went to college in asia, so they don’t really know the american high school and college system. i had no older siblings to tell me what classes to take, and no one really explained how important aps, dual enrollment, and weighted classes were from the start. instead, i took standard classes and got graduation requirements out of the way early, like pe and spanish, because i thought that was the smart thing to do.

now i’m taking a lot of aps and trying to raise my rank, but i feel like i started too late. right now i’m 16th/350ish and i’m hoping i’ll move up, but a lot of people ahead of me have been stacking weighted classes since freshman year. at my school, a lot of people are also taking like 10 online cc classes (weighted the same as ap) where they just cheat at the same time as ap classes. i read somewhere that if you’re applying to ivies from a small town, you basically need to be number 1 or very close to it to have a real shot, and i’m worried i could end up around top 10 or maybe a little outside of it.

how much does class rank actually matter in this kind of situation? will colleges take into account that i didn’t understand the system early on but increased my rigor later? and how are aps vs dual enrollment viewed when some people have been maximizing weighted classes from the beginning? If I’m 10th in my class will colleges know that the people in front of me only got their through cheating in DE classes??

I am extremely grateful to have such options and am currently grappling with which to commit to for premed. I am still waiting for Hopkins fin aid but assuming thats not an issue which would you choose and why?

I‘m worried about the cutthroat culture, unhappiness, and grade deflation that are rumored at Cornell and Hopkins. I’m wondering if just going to state school would be better for GPA if I intend to go to med school

I would appreciate any insight!

Edit: State school gave me a full tuition scholarship, not that I am paying full for it

So I was recently waitlisted from uchicago and Columbia and I’m very scared to write a LOCI because I have had to take almost 2 months off of school due to serious health problems. I have no true updates (besides keeping up with spontaneous volunteer work when my health allowed) and I know that you are supposed to update schools on your extracurriculars since submitting your original application. These are truly my dream schools and tbh coming from my rather disadvantaged backround I am surprised(and extremely grateful) to even get on the waitlist. I would greatly appreciate any advice on what I should do in this situation.

Moving to the US is exciting-but it can feel overwhelming. To international students from Middle East, SE Asia, and Indian diaspora (and those in need), I am the support while you adjust culturally and independently.

Also emotional concierge for students and families accepted to Boston area colleges. Dm

https://www.instagram.com/p/DWCnJGSieoz/

Hey everyone,

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If you're interested in finance or economics, or just want a strong extracurricular, this is worth checking out.

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I’m an international applicant doing O/A Levels, and I plan to apply in 2029 to Ivy League and T20 universities. I want to know if I’m on the right track and what else I should be doing. Any advice would be really appreciated.

Preferred major: Science, Technology, and Society (STS)

O Levels / IGCSE grades: 10 A/A*s and 1 B (in Religious Studies)

A Levels: Haven’t taken them yet, but I’m aiming for A/A*s

SAT: Not taken yet. I’m currently studying and plan to keep retaking it until I score above 1520

Extracurriculars:

* Founder of 4 monetized YouTube channels with 250K+ total subscribers. I’ve been working on them since I was 12 and currently earn more than the average income in my country at 15.

* Working a full-time remote job as a YouTube strategist for an established company (paid role).

* Building an NGO focused on women’s rights and female education called Eve’s Daughter (translated differently in my language). This is something I’m deeply passionate about, inspired by my personal experiences with harassment and cultural barriers. I already have a clear plan and potential partnerships in mind, so it’s not just a social media initiative but something I want to scale for real impact.

* Planning to apply to summer programs like TASS, TechGirls, and RSI (though I know admission is competitive and opportunities are limited in my country).

* Working on publishing a research paper with a professor in a field related to my other extracurriculars.

* Volunteering at a summer camp every year teaching underprivileged children. By the time I apply, I expect to have over 300 hours of community service.

* Mentoring others on YouTube and financial independence, which I plan to expand further.

This is what I’ve done and planned so far for 2026. I know I still have time and more opportunities will come. I’m not doing these activities just for college applications. Most of them genuinely align with my interests and passions. However, if there’s any advice on how I can make my application even stronger, I’d really appreciate it.

Thank you!