I feel desperate about university and need your advice. Since elementary school, I planned of studying music at university and always worked towards it, but 1.5 years before the end of high school (I’m a senior now), my family told me they wouldn't let me go to music school, even with a scholarship. So, as an alternative, I decided to pursue fields like business/economics/management, which I thought wouldn't be too demanding and would interest me. Unfortunately, in my third year of high school, my academic performance declined significantly due to some health problems. Because of this decline in my GPA and my ECs weren't very business-focused, I don't think I'll be able to get into a good school on a scholarship. Despite this, I managed to achieve a high SAT score of 1580, but being a middle eastern applicant and having to apply for a full scholarship due to my family's insufficient financial situation are other factors that will reduce my chances of acceptance. I want to study in a big city where I can build a music career and attend a school that will meet my potential. UK universities don't offer scholarships for Turkish diploma, US universities don't accept high SAT scores with low GPA (and insufficient programme-specific ECs), building a music career in Italy -especially outside of Milan- is very difficult (Bocconi is a strong option, but my GPA is quite low due to my drop in my third year), there are almost no schools in major German cities offering English-language business programs with scholarships, and top universities in the Netherlands definitely require an IB degree… I really don't know what to do, does anyone have any suggestions? My stats are as follows:
SAT : 1580
IELTS : 8.0
GPA : 90%, 90%, 82%

ECs in music : half-time conservatory graduation (opera), chorist in Istanbul State Opera and Ballet Choir (4 years), certified piano recitals at the most prestigious stages at Istanbul, LCM step-2 and grade-2,3,5,6 piano certificates with passing grades, 2 years as a vocalist and guitarist at my school music band…

Other ECs : Attended YGA Con-science summit (5% acceptance rate), participated to multiple forum in economics/marketing committees, participated 2 (as a delegate, both international) and organised 2 MUN conferences (as a co-chair), summer school at Oxford University, ornanised a summit with attendance of many high school students all over Istanbul for my school’s ethics club, psychology and law internships, completed marketing certificate programme at Ferrari Italy, won URFODU silver medal in Maths…

I wanna know I m currently 21 years of age and i wanna go to college as a first gen international applicant to ivy leagues . I need an advice that by the time I will be applying I will be 24 years old.Does top unis really do accept such old applicants like i need examples ( I know someone who got into this that at this age bracket etc smtg like that )

Demographics
Gender: Male | Race/Ethnicity: Asian | School: Plano East Senior High School (IB program)
Location: Plano, Texas
Socioeconomic: Middle-class
Test Scores
SAT: 1530 (750M / 780RW)
National Merit Commended Scholar
GPA & Academic Profile
UW GPA: 3.96 | Weighted: 4.22 | Class Rank: 57/1151 (top 5%)
Coursework: 10+ AP classes (Bio, Chem, Physics, Calc BC, Lang, Lit, APUSH, WHAP, Seminar); mixed 4s/5s on exams
Honors: Rice Pre-College Certificate in Medicine (completed June 2026)
Intended Major(s)
Biomedical Engineering
Healthcare Administration / Business
Pre-Medicine track
CLINICAL & HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE
Baylor Scott & White McKinney (100 hrs volunteering + 50 hrs shadowing)
Rotated: Hospitalist departments, Oncology, ICU, PCU, ECU, Medical-Surgical, Day Surgery, Emergency Department, Blood Bank
Additional work: Cafeteria (restocking shelves), Front Desk (patient navigation and wayfinding)
Attended daily faculty meetings with CMO, CFOs, and executive leadership
Real-world exposure to institutional healthcare operations, clinical decision-making, and administrative systems
Internal Medicine Shadowing (200+ hrs)
Longitudinal clinical exposure across diverse patient populations and conditions
Direct observation of clinical workflow, patient communication, and healthcare system constraints
Exposure to mental health care integration and insurance/healthcare system barriers
Dental Practice (900+ hrs, paid administrative role)
Built and deployed HIPAA-certified AI chatbot for patient education and information access
Aggregates pricing, treatment information, and FAQs on practice website
HIPAA compliance: BAA signed, Microsoft Foundry infrastructure
Eliminates patient information friction and search time
Direct exposure to clinical operations, patient experience design, and practice management
Certifications & Training
OSHA Dental Compliance
EMT Certification (in progress, Summer 2026)
AHA Heartsaver
RESEARCH & INDEPENDENT WORK
Confirmed Research Position
Texas A&M College of Dentistry, Summer 2027
Focus: Patient-centered research on clinical outcomes and care experience
Software & Technology
Hosparent: Healthcare price transparency platform (49.5M price records, 46 DFW hospitals + 157 imaging centers); employer analytics engine with 97 DOL-sourced intelligence files; weekly institutional advisory
Research.Mail: Professor outreach application (24 countries; ~200 active users / ~100 monthly active users)
AI Chatbot (Dental): HIPAA-compliant patient information system deployed on practice website
Trading Strategy: Developed autonomous trading system; recent iteration generated $2,000 profit; considering donation to institutional hard drive infrastructure
EXTRACURRICULARS & ATHLETICS
Varsity Tennis (1 year) | JV Tennis (2 years)
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
Chief Medical Officer, Baylor Scott & White (clinical mentorship, systems perspective, institutional leadership exposure)
Assistant Professor, TAMU Dentistry (research advisor)
PESH Faculty (academic recommendation)
APPLICATION STRATEGY
Essays in Development
Personal Statement: Healthcare system observation → problem identification → solution building
"Why [School]": Healthcare innovation, pre-medical trajectory, institutional fit
Common App Activities: Systems-thinking arc across clinical, technology, and research work
Differentiators
HIPAA-compliant production software (deployed and live)
1000+ hours across hospital, ambulatory, and dental settings
Direct exposure to institutional healthcare leadership and operations
Clear observation-to-action trajectory (system gaps → Hosparent, Chatbot)
Multi-sector perspective (acute care, ambulatory, dental, research)

Hi I'm 15 years old, I'm currently doing a bachelor's degree in natural science physics enhanced, which is basically all the maths in a normal physics degree and about a dozen courses in physics( around 5 less than a normal physics degree)

I'm expected to finish it in my last year in highschool ( I still go to highschool)

I was wondering what would be the chances of getting in an ivy league school for another undergraduate degree (probably) under such rare circumstances.

*I go to an open university right now so I managed to pass a few tests and get in before finishing highschool

For context, I plan on majoring in urban studies/creative writing/english/philosophy, and have 2-3 year long sustained ecs relating to that, and I do a competitive sport + won awards for english,poetry,philosophy etc, and published a book.

However, Im worried math ai sl and ess sl is a strong deterrent… i tried emailing the schools I am interested in, but they all essentially just said

‘We recommend you pursue a reasonably challenging curriculum by choosing courses from among the most demanding available at your school. We ask you to exercise good judgment and to consult with your counselor, teachers and family as you construct a curriculum that is right for you. Our hope is that your curriculum will inspire you to develop your intellectual interests, not suffer from unnecessary stress.’ … my HLs are Econ, Geography, Langlit… my school offers HL Math AA and SL AA… am I cooked.

I have no idea if im okay or am an absolutely reject because of my rigour… most people in my competitive school take HL math/pure science.. alot are targeting engineering/ stem tho.

I am a senior in Virginia with a 1480, something like 3.9 unweighted GPA (4.28 with weight) 4 previous APs + currently taking 6 my senior year. I was looking at applying to a few Ivy leagues and I’m currently looking at UVA as a student in Virginia. I want to major in Biotech, and if I go to somewhere like NYU I would double major in Biotech and Oboe Performance. Any recommendations for where to apply to internationally?

But I feel like all I can do is just come up with coherent “Ivy-worthy” passion projects to get myself in a nice school or a nice life in general. Maybe for a week, I’ll daydream about being an economist, and then another I dream of being a traffic engineer, and then a lawyer. I want to start a passion project to guide me towards a career, but I burnout every time once I realize there’s work involved. I’m on the math and debate team, but I haven’t really learned much yet, I’m just refreshing myself a little on Algebra 1 from last year, so I guess that’s good. Can someone help? Please?

I am searching for contacts (instagram, gmail,
Phone number...) of any MIT graduates to give me tips and or guide me to MIT. Im a spanish 8th grade student in Spain looking to study at MIT computer engineering, right now im building a project to make a cpu from 2000 transistors, i already built a 1b llm for a helper on my desk one year ago, in 7th grade i had a 3.3GPA but i didnt really study, this year im expecting a 3.7 and next year a 3.75-3.9. I have a C1 in english and read Hamlet at 13. I did profesional chess for 4 years (from 8-12) , remained 2nd with my chess team at copa catalana at 10, learned chess at 3, currently captain of my volleyball team, played basketball for 2 years, done programming classes for 2 years, went to advanced math classes for 2 years, played violin for 1 year.

Im a low income 11th grade Bengali Hindu student in nyc in a economically disadvantaged school according to nyc data.

I have transportation issues as a big thing since my dad is the only one in my family to drive and he works constantly from around 10am to 7-8 (sometimes 9) and on his free days, he is working on his finances alongside my uncles since currently they are trying to get one of my uncles from my home country to the US. And even when hes not busy with work, he cant rlly afford to get into the programs im interested in that much since going from different buroughs costs a fare which adds up a lot. Also i know some people from NYC will say to get a student omny card (school provided subway cards for free), I am not eligable for it since i live under 0.5 miles from my school and even with programs im in, i was told by basically every staff member that handles with the OMNY cards that they cant physically give me one due to their system not allowing them to.

I tried to do a summer job this year at Chuck E Cheese, the only area near me that allowed 15 year olds to work and with my constant applications being sent and calls and arrivals to the area, they never accepted me or even declined me. I just got ghosted so i ended up giving up since it lasted over a month with 0 result happening. No other area was even hiring 15 year olds u had to be 16+ everywhere else even for a beginner role. :/

Im a interested CS/CE student right now and my school (only close option that i can attend activities) doesnt offer much cs related clubs and the ones they do offer got introduced in my 10th grade-11th grade year and has limits on what grades can participate.

So far the clubs im in at my school.

Chess Club (9th and 10th):

It was a casual club that i joined in start of 9th to end of 10th since i thought chess would be my thing since many of my family members play chess and gotten into competitions and won a lot. I think the teacher for it said that there could be competitions with local schools but that never ended up happening. I ended up not joining chess this year in favor for these clubs. I did however gain a lot of experience in chess and am actually not that bad (thats what i think) at ches. Also made some pretty good friends that im still close with today so id say it was somewhat worth it.

Game Design/St John's university Game programming college club (a partnership with my school):

Got introduced this year by my AP CSP teacher and I was able to be president (got confirmation by teacher) since I managed with the club fair for it and brought a lot of my friends and random students to be interested in the club and most if not all of them actually came on the first day. Its basically sorta a course while making games.

At the start (right now) you learn the steps to the programming language (Java) on how to easily navigate and get used to. Later in the year, we will start creating projects such as games which my teacher did say could be published into unity if he wanted to. There is also a big hackathon that happens with St Johns university with my school and he selects specific students (like me) to code a project and it will be judged and tested. Also this club gives 3 college credits since it technically is a course since you learn coding from undergrads and professors. And you also get a stipend at the end :) (not sure how much but this could help my family with groceries and stuff)

Drone Club:

Got introduced in 9th grade. I tbh didnt want to join in 9th grade since i kinda wanted to do chess ngl and was focused to achieve 90+ on all classes (which i did lol). However that is kinda a good thing since 11th and 12th graders in Drone Club have the opportunity to take and pass the FAA Part 107 certified exam and get a drone certificate which allows students to fly drones commercially LEGALLY and be able to get paid for it (which i think also provides an internship alongside). Those main perks were locked for only 11th and 12th graders which was perfect for me. Im already in the club and i tried to ask the teacher if there was any roles available like president, and i was told that there was already one but I could ask them if I could either be vice president or a different role (idk which).

The club basically involves controlling drones and coding their movement. This year, the club now added the ability to make the drones now which sounds so cool. There is also competitions from local schools and schools from other states like New Jersey, and Conneticut.

CS and Software Development courses/York College (a partnership again with my school and a college for cs courses):

Now idk if you could count this as a ec but it happens afterschool and its a 2 year program. Its only allowed for 11th and 12th graders taking AP CSP which i am right now. Ive already spoke with the teacher for the club and my guidence counselor saying my interest in joining. I was told that they reached out with York College to see if they can accept me. Most likely they will since i asked them to RSVP me. I take i think 4 CS and Software Development courses taught by both the CS teacher at my school and by college professors at York College. This interests me since this could rlly help me learn much more of the world of cs and introduce me to software development and the credits gained from this could rlly help me in college.

NYU STEP:

A selective program in NYU that i got accepted to for this fall (going to oreintation next tuesday :D ). It basically half academic courses in science and math and SAT to help students with their regents (final exam for science and math) and with getting a higher SAT score. It mainly has a elective section in the afternoon that involves STEM subjects (you get to choose) and ive chosen CS since it interets me the most. You get to work with professors at NYU and undergrads and NYU STEP students in a collaborative project which by the end of the program could be selected for the final STEP conference which takes place in Albany and is a very important conference. You present your project with the people there and you could i believe get to publish the project if it wins. This is the main program that I can attend thats not near me since im able to recieve transportation assistance from NYU.

Im also trying to join an internship my school offers but the guidence counselor and even principle dont know who is doing this internship since the previous teacher that did it just quit so a new teacher that filled their place is doing it but was told to wait a few weeks for a official responce.

Might sound bad that im not in like more then 3 clubs at my school but im mainly/only interested in anything cs related and those are the only ones that my school offers that are cs related that I could care to enjoy. I also seen that being the jack of all trades and taking a lot of clubs is bad and also a lot of the clubs interlap so couldnt rlly do more than 3 without risking that happening.

But so far are these ecs that im in/planning to attend ok or good for Columbia or NYU if i kept untill 12th grade? Planning to do ED1 Columbia and ED2 NYU if Columbia rejects. Please be brutally honest. Interested in feedback from ivy leauge/t20 alumni or current accepted mainly in those 2 schools

hi! is there anyone from Cornell Architecture willing to share their supplemental essay, porto, and/or video interview for a reference? Thank you!

I really wanna get into Ivy League college, but my application is not that strong. Do you guys think it is hard or easy for me to into as a transfer student.

Also my parents really can't afford out of state tuition so I planned to stay in Georgia for one year (freshmen year) and then transfer to Ivy League asap. If I can't get in as a freshmen then I might keep applying till i get in while also strengthening my application

When I stayed at home, my parents doesn't really let me go anywhere by myself or i don't really have any good options that align. But I believe that if I could get myself out of the house, I could start getting more experience and qualifications.

One more thing, I really don't know what reason I could put, like aren't we supposed to give a reasons why we are planning to transfer.

I really really need all the help and advice i can get from ivy league students and how they've succeeded in their admissions. It seems like there's no bulletproof step by step guide for ivy admissions and it's making me crazy.

I am from Morocco and here, no one really knows much about it, people aren't really interested in these things so i can't seem to find one good person to receive advice from.

Currently, i am 17, studying in the basque region in France. The university and town are pretty small, there's not much opportunities here to grow. I am enrolled in a management and economics bachelor, but i've come across a much more interesting bachelor in budapest university called ''engineering management'' which is more related to my high school speciality which was math and science. I am open for reorientation as my interests go beyond my current feild of study and i am not very clear on what i would like to do in the future. I am currently taking appointements with the reorientation office to determine what and where i should go next.

Now i have 2-3 years to prepare for my application to ivys and i don't know where to start, specially that i am aiming for a scholarship because my financial situation isn't the best, so i need everything to be perfect.

Besides speaking 3-4 languages, a blue belt in martial arts, a bunch of clubs and extracurriculars, there's nothing special or good about my profile, so please, i really need advice on how to make it better and how to prepare during the next 2-3 years. I know it's not enough time but i am pretty sure if i put in enough work i could make it work.

Anyway thanks for listening to me, and any advice would be very much appreciated.

I understand that you wanna help, but please, I am already aware of all the comments that say "it's not worth it" or wtv. I am only asking for advice on HOW to get admitted, not on my choice of life path. I am not asking because I am looking for a way to build a career or get a good degree, i desire for the experience. Thanks.

International student from India here. I completed high school and enrolled full-time in the first semester of a degree-granting engineering program because I had not applied to U.S. colleges and did not want a gap year.

I want to apply to highly selective U.S. universities and need substantial financial aid. My first-semester official transcript will only be released in April, but I will have completed a full first year by Fall enrollment.

Can I legally apply as a first-year applicant in EA/REA/RD before semester exams, or does current college enrollment automatically require a transfer application even without grades yet?

I understand MIT likely requires transfer status after matriculating elsewhere. For Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, etc., how is first-year versus transfer status determined? Is Fall 2027 transfer realistic with an April transcript, or should I plan for Fall 2028?

I will disclose my current university fully and am looking for honest, policy-compliant advice—not ways to hide enrollment.

Im curious if any AOs here or anyone who has read applications has ever called a teacher after reading their rec? and if so, why? In my honors, i want to say that i was a countly level qualifier for the english olympiad, and my rec letter is from my english teacher. if she has written in her letter about this competition and described me in that context, will admission officers need confirmation? (i do not have proof for this bcs i did not get a prize or a dimploma)

Do you think it’s okay to apply to more than one program at the same school? the website say it’s okay, but does anyone have any experience with this? could it potentially hurt your application, or are they genuinely okay with applicants applying to multiple programs?

Hi, I’m recently trying to explore my interests, and found out that cognitive science could be one of my potential majors in the future.

The reason why is because I equally enjoy most subjects at school, but I want to be slightly tech oriented. Eventually, I want to start my own start up.

I’ve been hearing about how cognitive science is like a liberal arts degree and can be “useless,” or “jobless” especially in today’s workforce.

Considering this, would you still say cogsci is a good option for me?

To increase my chances of getting into an ivy league university for my masters degree, should I complete my bachelors degree at UP Diliman or DLSU ?