How to increase your chances of getting into the Ivy League

Competition for a place at an Ivy League University has never been tougher, with average acceptance rates hovering around 3-6% (for context, Oxbridge applicants face a roughly 17% acceptance rate). Given this astonishing competition, how can you make your application stand out? 

Ivy League and top tier schools 

The Ivy League is comprised of eight of the most selective universities based on the East Coast: Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Brown University, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth College.

Bear in mind, however, that these universities are by no means the only stellar options: other supremely competitive institutions that offer a world-class education include MIT, Stanford University, Duke University, Vanderbilt University, Georgetown University, Amherst College, Williams College, Pomona College and many more.  

A-List offers Private Consultations and free Discovery Session to help navigating this process and creating your university list. 

Understanding Ivy League admissions rates

Ivy League schools have some of the lowest acceptance rates in the world, often admitting fewer than 10% of applicants.

Below is their admissions data released for the Class of 2028:

These numbers reflect how selective these institutions are, but they don’t tell the whole story. Admissions officers consider far more than just academic performance when evaluating applications.

Improving your chances of Ivy League acceptance

The US university applicant profile 

Unlike UK universities, US universities seek a student who not only maintains top academics, but who also demonstrates longstanding, genuine participation in a breadth of extracurricular activities.

In fact, in the application, students are asked to describe and to list their top ten activities in order of preference: US universities want to be able to envisage how a student will engage with life on campus. Therefore, applicants who demonstrate both leadership and teamwork in their activities position themselves as students who will likely involve themselves fully and productively in campus.

A-List would always advise, however, that students seek ways of pursuing & expanding their genuine interests as they think about strengthening their application – admissions officers can tell immediately by when a student has participated in an activity purely to “appeal” or “check a box”. Follow your genuine curiosities! Remember, a “team” doesn’t have to be a sports team! Choirs, school newspaper boards, drama troupes, volunteer groups, Girl Guides, and Model UN groups all are examples of working together in a group.   

A-Level or IB course selections 

US universities offer students the opportunity to study a range of subjects alongside their area of specialisation. In fact, nearly all universities have a “core curriculum” of course categories that students must take in order to graduate (this effectively means one course in each of the Arts, Humanities, Social Science, Biological Science, and Physical Science areas, often along with a Foreign Language)! 

Therefore, when selecting your school subjects, a strong US university applicant will ideally show a breadth of subject mastery by choosing a variety of subjects. This is in strong contrast to the ‘all science’ or ‘all humanities/social science’ divide that many UK universities prefer.

However, if you have already chosen your subjects and have chosen all subjects in the one area – don’t worry! A strong Reading/English SAT score can enhance an all-Math+Science A-Level grouping, as a strong Math SAT/ACT score will complement a Humanities-based subject selection.  

Weightings  

US universities judge applications holistically: this means that admissions officers will take your grades, your personal essay, your activities, your SAT/ACT score, and your background all into account when making their decisions.  

A good guiding principle to their selection criteria is that admissions officers want to see that students have made the most of the opportunities available to them. If challenging subjects were available to you (which the university will know through the School Profile your school will send), they want to see that you took them and excelled at them. If your school or family had the resources to facilitate participation in a variety of extra-curricular activities, the university will want to see that you embraced them. 

Interviews 

Interviews at US universities tend to be conducted by university alumni. The interviews also tend to hold less weight than they would in a UK university: these interviews are essentially to check firstly that a student really IS as enthusiastic and experienced in the areas they claimed in their application and secondly that a student demonstrates sincere curiousity, warmth and intellectual engagement. In other words, will the student be a good peer?  

While not all universities may require applicants to undergo an interview, we strongly encourage students to take advantage of an interview wherever possible. This may mean signing up for an interview several months before submitting your application to ensure you obtain an interview slot! 

Early Decision (ED) or Early Action (EA)

Early Decision (ED) is a binding commitment, meaning if you are accepted, you must attend. Apply ED only if you are 100% sure about your top choice and are comfortable committing before seeing other offers.

Early Action (EA) is non-binding, allowing you to apply early and receive a decision sooner while still having the flexibility to consider multiple offers.

Many schools favor ED applicants because it demonstrates strong interest, and the acceptance rate for ED/EA is often significantly higher than for Regular Decision. For example, for the Class of 2028, 8.7% of applicants got into Harvard through EA and 17.9% of Brown applicants were admitted through ED. Therefore, if you are highly interested in a particular Ivy League school, you should consider applying through their ED/EA round as you'd be competing against fewer applicants while demonstrating your interest to admissions officers.

Conclusion

The US university application process is long and involved – but well worth it! Begin your research early and be thorough; concentrate on making your school grades the best they can be and try to expand your extracurricular activities to include team and leadership roles if not already there. With thorough preparation, hard work, and a broad university list that reflects your applicant profile, good applicants are successful. 

Unsure where to start? At A-List, we offer Private Consultations and University Advising sessions to help students find the right place for them, craft the strongest possible applications, and maximise their chances of success. Reach out to our Advising Team through privateclient@alisteducation.co.uk or info@alisteducation.co.uk.