How to get into Ivy League Colleges | 2023 College Admissions Explained

We're talking highly selective and Ivy League admissions. Yale, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Amherst, Wesleyen, Wellesley, Swarthmore, Haverford whatever it is.

Have questions about the seemingly endless changes to the SAT this year? You're not alone, but don't worry - Alyssa the College Expert has all the answers.

#MITAdmissions #YaleAdmissions #HarvardAdmissions

Alyssa Bowlby
SSA Online College Prep
Socratic Summer Academy
Yleana Leadership Academy

-

LINKS

Comparing options and financial aid:

Sample brag sheet:

How Schools Used Test Scores from the Class of 2021

PROOF POINTS: Colleges that ditched test scores for admissions find it’s harder to be fair in choosing students, researcher says

US Colleges Should Bring Back SAT and ACT Test Requirements

We are reinstating our SAT/ACT requirement for future admissions cycles by Stu Schmill '86

Getting rid of standardized testing will penalize kids from underserved schools

Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment Predicts Real-World Outcomes of Critical
Thinking.

Substantive Critical Thinking as Developed by the Foundation for Critical Thinking Proves Effective in Raising SAT and ACT Test Scores

-

EXCERPTS

"At MIT Admissions, our mission is to recruit, select, and enroll a diverse and talented group of students who are a good match for MIT’s unique education and culture. Everything we do in our process is grounded by our goal to find and admit students who will succeed at MIT and serve the world afterward.

After careful consideration, we have decided to reinstate our SAT/ACT requirement for future admissions cycles. Our research shows standardized tests help us better assess the academic preparedness of all applicants, and also help us identify socioeconomically disadvantaged students who lack access to advanced coursework or other enrichment opportunities that would otherwise demonstrate their readiness for MIT. We believe a requirement is more equitable and transparent than a test-optional policy. In the post below — and in a separate conversation with MIT News today — I explain more⁠01 about how we think this decision helps us advance our mission. "

"In the Class of 2021 Admit Rates figure, schools with similar admit rates between test submitters and test non-submitters, such as Vanderbilt, Wellesley, and Northeastern (EA), back the spirit of test optionality—that students without scores will not be disadvantaged—with their admissions data. Schools with divergent admit rates between submitters and non-submitters (Davidson, Georgia Tech, and Georgetown) are more likely to favor applicants with test scores.

In the Class of 2021 Submitters figure, schools whose admitted class profiles hover close to an even 50/50 split between submitters and non-submitters (Wellesley, Barnard, or USC) also back the spirit of test optionality. Schools who admitted far more students with scores than without, such as Penn (75% of admitted students were test submitters) or Georgetown (89% of admitted students were test submitters) are more likely to favor applicants with test scores. We suspect these schools are also more likely to require testing again once ACT and SAT sites are widely available."

[alyssathecollegeexpert]

What should I do a video about next? Was this information helpful? Let me know what YOU think in the comments! 😘😘😘

[Michelle__.]

I’m a raising senior and I am so nervous I mean applying to very selective schools is extremely intimidating but I hope I am able to strive big !!! Thanks for the info.

[Sailor-boat]

Got into Harvard and Columbia thx for the tips

[thargwobbly]

I was like WOW - She touched on all the Ivy schools where I want to apply!
And YES! I was wondering how can schools decide between applicants without the SAT, and how I can make my application stand out? Tips on constructing a great essay! What a great idea - Bulletted summaries - to get a recommendation - nobody at our school was offered Brag Sheets!

[laurat]

I love your bangs Alyssa! I’ll be sharing this with everyone!

[TommyNHoang]

One of the first videos I have ever watched that actually provided useful tips for perspective college students on the admission process. This will really help a lot of teens out there still struggling with setting a clear road map for college. Keep up the amazing work! <3

[leonchen]

Thanks for making this video

Deeply appreciate

[whitebeardpirates]

really helpful, thx for your time and effort♥♥

[vex]

Woah! this was actually super helpful unlike most college videos. Keep up the great work

[MuhammadOmerIrfan]

im a junior and i've been watching these videos regarding college essay. This is without a doubt the video video i've watching. its such a compact video with so much useful info in just 10min. I will definitely revisit he vid in summer before my senior yr. Appreciate all the work! ❤

[greatindiandreams]

Alyssa i think you should make a video about British universities. As British universities are 3 years and a student can do his masters too all in 4 years. If someone who doesn't get into an Harvard or UPENN can still get into Imperial college London, University College London & University Of Edinburgh because their global rankings is still much better than rest of ivy league as per QS and the best part is that they are cheaper easier to get into. I also got into brown, Dartmouth and NYU but i chose Kings college London because of better ranking (37 global). Kings college London being part University of London i usually hang out with people from LSE, UCL, LBS etc. As for the networking is concerned i think its much better than ivy leagues i have personally met many children of billionaires, royalty, heads of state and industry leaders. i hope this helps.

[emallace]

Oh my gosh I wish I knew of you when I was applying. You're amazing.

[aditinarayanan]

I am your 500th subscriber<3 thanks for the vid

[SomethingToThinkAboutwithWJ]

Alyssa, you have outstanding on camera presence. Great information for highly selective college applicants.

[soccersprint]

It is very difficult to get into the IVYs for undergrad degrees, however Its significantly easier to get into grad school in all the Ivy"s and elite schools. If you dont get into an Ivy for undergrad then no big deal. Just make sure that what ever school you go to for undergrad, you keep your GPA above 3.2, and do meaningful summer internships. Then you can apply to IVYs and other elite schools for grad school. Apparently its easy to get into the graduate programs in the school of Public health at Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia and also John Hopkins, if you are interested in getting a masters of public health. Its still competitive to get into most of the Ivy grad programs but outside of MBA, LAW and MED, its much less competitive. I think Harvards school of Public health accepts 40-60% of applicants while their MBA program only accepts 5- 10% of applicants.

[chantalpurvis]

Thank you Alyssa for this good advice, because I want to apply to all Ivy League colleges .

[anxheloripa]

Alyssa, you and your organization has helped me so much, allowed me to get in my University of choice for free. This video is absolute gold. People, if you stumbled upon this Please Follow All These Steps. They WORK.

[SelfEsteemSalon]

Hi this is super helpful! I am writing in regard to an "undecided major". ---- Can you clarify the "send them a music recording or send them art". Do you mean attach this to the common application? or do you mean send this after applying- send to a faculty member or an admissions officer? I assume you mean this as separate from the required portfolios or music samples that are mandatory for certain majors. Also, some of what I could send them is videos, but it's where the applicant appears in the video personally, which I think is not allowed=. or is that ok at the interview stage?

[happyspirit]

Hi, so I'll finish high school at the end of 2023. I'm planning to take a gap year in 2024 to improve my extracurriculars. Do you think taking a gap year can be detrimental to a strong application? I'm an international student, and extracurricular activities are not highly valued in my country. I only found out in the middle of the year that international students can study abroad, so I don't have any extracurriculars. Do you think I can achieve good extras in one year? I really want to get into MIT.😢

[jerichoadler]

Hi! I was wondering how recommendations work. I’m an international student and I noticed that we need recommendations from a counsellor and two teachers( please do correct me if I’m wrong). I’m planning to apply to multiple colleges in the US which means I need a lot of teachers and counselors. My question is, do I truly require multiple teachers for recommendations or could a teacher write multiple or make a general one. As well, for counselor recommendations, I heard school staff like my school principal can suffice, however is there other individuals I could ask for recommendations in this section(or the teacher section)? I ask this because I see people getting recommendations from their boss, a CEO, someone they shadowed, etc.
I just wanted some clarity in this section of the admission application and any help would be appreciated! Thank you very much!