OP -- the fact that you are thinking about this enough to post here is sign that your son has great support. Private schools may not be better at many things than publics, but most do know how to package your child well in their recommendations. Beyond that, he must package himself. As a male engineer, the competition for ivies is even tougher than in most other disciplines. Have him do things outside of school as well as inside of school, make sure he writes great essays to show his maturity and richness as an individual -- regardless of the topic. If he is hard core science, I hope he has room to take high level humanities as well to show real intellectual depth. Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:Though I agree with much of this thread, I hope that no one takes "Ivy" too literally - there are enormous differences in the admission standards among Ivy League Schools - Harvard & Princeton are comparable to Stanford, whereas Penn and Cornell are comparable to DUKE or Washington University.

All are great schools, though. All are hard to get into. Even the implied "dregs" of your list take only 15% of applicants. They do have very different characters, though.

Though I agree with much of this thread, I hope that no one takes "Ivy" too literally - there are enormous differences in the admission standards among Ivy League Schools - Harvard & Princeton are comparable to Stanford, whereas Penn and Cornell are comparable to DUKE or Washington University.

Anonymous wrote:OP Here. My son wants to get into an ivy. We went to awesome state schools and would be beyond thrilled if he did the same. He is a budding engineer and ranked first in his class at a public school. He is an incredibly hard worker, but from what I gather he needs to be "marketed" in a way that my husband and I are not familiar with. That's why I was asking for some ideas. He will apply to reasonable choices and safety schools, but we do not want to discourage him. He has done alot of great things, but honestly spends most of his time doing work. It does not come easily to him.

I used to do undergraduate level admissions interviews. Never heard of them? They exist at some schools and are done on request. It's usually a very positive thing to do because it indicates a high level of interest (read: exceptional yield which in turn affects ranking / perceived prestige). Consider asking for those.

Beyond that focus on academics and students interest in leadership roles within the school. Name them in essays. Your son won't be a part of the underwater stock traders club, he wants to run it. That kind of stuff.

Market leadership potential, teamwork, maturity and academic readiness. I can get into more details over email of you'd like.

OP Here. My son wants to get into an ivy. We went to awesome state schools and would be beyond thrilled if he did the same. He is a budding engineer and ranked first in his class at a public school. He is an incredibly hard worker, but from what I gather he needs to be "marketed" in a way that my husband and I are not familiar with. That's why I was asking for some ideas. He will apply to reasonable choices and safety schools, but we do not want to discourage him. He has done alot of great things, but honestly spends most of his time doing work. It does not come easily to him.

OP, is it your son or you who wants him to get into an Ivy? There are lots of great, highly rated schools (NESCAC comes to mind) that are not members of the Ivy League, but where your child will receive a stellar education. Why all the pressure? Hiring a coach seems like a colossal waste of money to me, but if you have some extra cash lying around and it will make you feel better, spend it.

I can't understand why kids of Ivy caliber would need a coach anyway. If they aren't self-motivated, they aren't in that league anyway.

If you're looking for something to brag about, OP, that's another issue. It's not about your son, not entirely, in that case.

Anonymous wrote:Agree.
Gone are the days of the kid who is a varsity athlete, class president, and founder of multiple school clubs being the " ideal candidate.

They want kids who are passionate about something and have already shown that passion in their choices.

This is why we've relaxed and told our kids to focus on state schools they like and not the Ivies that we attended. We were the well-rounded types of the past, but what we've seen in our professional lives is that Ivies now tend to select and graduate idiosyncratic types who have very interesting resumes and inflated egos. A top grad from Mayland or JMU will outperform the Princeton or Brown grad in the workplace at most of the time.

Anonymous wrote:Our son is a junior who is in a Full-IB program. He has above a 4.0 gpa. His SATs are very, very good. He has been very active and is well rounded.

That said, we know that his chances of getting into am IVY are slim. Are there recommendations out there for a college admissions counselor who can assist him and make sure his application/essays are strong and he shows himself in the best light?

My husband and I went to great state colleges, but were definitely not in the league he is in. We want to help him achieve the goals he has worked so hard for.

Thanks

I do this for graduate level applications. It's not the same but if you'd like me to take a pass at your sons apps happy to do so for free.