Question about ivy league colleges?

People say they are impossible to get into, they say that people with great grades even get turned down. What is it that an Ivy League school REALLY looks for? I mean, what is it that makes them accept kids? I just don't get it, they say you should do something that makes you "stand out" which I am all for and I hope to go to an Ivy but I mean, what should I do to "stand out"? What can I do to almost guarantee me admission?

Question about ivy league colleges?
You definitely need to have more than just grades and SATs. The schools aren't looking to fill their classes with a bunch of smart people who spend all of their time studying. They are looking to build a diverse class of very smart people who excel at more than just studying and will enhance the vibrancy of the school's community (through the arts, athletics, clubs, etc.). One extreme example is a former classmate of mine who started a non-profit while he was in high school focused on helping AIDS patients in Southeast Asia and spent several summers over there during high school. Obviously this is extreme, but the key is to make the activities substanstive and demonstrate how your interests and experiences can postively impact the school's community through the personal statement / essays (and trust me, schools will see through your one-day-a-year habitat for humanity / soup kitchen resume-padding volunteering :)
Reply:There isn't a set formula for what they want. Here are some things that you should have, though:





Excellent grades


Involvement in extracurricular activities; leadership in these is good, but they also like to see that maybe you started something new at your school (if possible)


Community service





It's hard to explain what to do to stand out. Basically, it means doing something that a lot of people don't do. For example, I am a piano scholarship student at the music school where I take lessons, and I'm pretty sure that most people don't have that.





Good luck, but remember, it doesn't matter where you go to school. It matters that you got the degree.
Reply:These schools get between five and ten QUALIFIED applicants for every slot that they have. This means that you really need to do something to stand out.





Lots of people will tell you that you can do this with extracurricular activities. I don't think this is the case. Not having activities will certainly hurt you -- but since they are easy to pad and hard to verify, I don't believe that schools put as much weight on them as people think.





The two ways to stand out are to write a killer admissions essay and to have a great interview. Do a lot of research on writing your essay, and make sure it is good.





Obviously, you also have to have a high GPA, lots of AP classes and a high SAT score too.
Reply:In basic they get tons of kids that fit their standards...


they have to cut some off.





basically





=extracurricular's


=volunteer hours


=great grades/challenging courses


=great sat scores








Those are the basics i would say, anyhting else u can do to make urself stand out
Reply:What really helped me get in to Princeton, was having both of my parents graduate from there. But if you are not a legacy, your going to have a tough time getting in.