First off, there’s no need to freak out if you’re not the valedictorian or salutatorian.
Did you know that the majority of students admitted to Harvard and Stanford aren’t valedictorian, either?
Here’s what you need to know about your high school GPA to get into the Ivy Leagues:
1) It’s ok to have a mediocre freshman year GPA and class rank. What’s important is that you SHOW IMPROVEMENT and an UPWARD TREND over time
2) Probably more important than your GPA are your transcript and the classes you take. Be sure to take the MOST DIFFICULT COURSES your high school offers – Advanced Placement, IB, etc
3) Make your junior year count. It’s the one that Admissions Committees focus the most on – you want your best grades in this year
4) Don’t forget about the SAT. It counts as much (and sometimes more) than your GPA and class ranking
5) As long as you’re in the top 5 percent of your class, roughly speaking, you’ll be fine
I’m not recommending you do only the BARE MINIMUM needed. You should always aim to be #1 in your class.
I went through this process awhile back and was accepted to 6 Ivy League schools and Stanford, so I speak from experience about this process. I wrote a book on how to get into any college called Hopeless to Harvard.
Follow my 5 steps above, and you’ll be fine. Focus on your passions – whether that’s sports, science, or social studies.
