IVY League

The ideal GPA currently is between 3.5 and 4.00. To get into the Ivy League schools, you need a 4.00 or something close to it. When it comes to Ivy League colleges, it's also important to remember that they're looking for well-rounded students who excel academically but also have extracurricular interests and community involvement. Make sure to highlight your unique talents and experiences in your application, and don't be afraid to show your personality. It's also important to start preparing early - take challenging courses, build relationships with your teachers, and seek out opportunities to volunteer or intern in areas that interest you. Remember, admissions officers are looking for students who will contribute positively to their campus community, so be sure to demonstrate your passion and commitment. Good luck!

GPA is only a threshold measure for T30 schools so no one gets accepted or rejected or waitlisted based on their GPA. Instead, when doing a holistic review of your application the admissions officer will make a mental note of your GPA and determine how good or bad it is compared to the rest of your application. They will compare and contrast it to other applicants applying from your school, other nearby schools, and your city, state, and country if you are applying as an Int'l student.

When a T30 school states its average or mean GPA is 3.8 or 3.9, remember that is just average or mean. There are people in the admit pool that have a 3.5 and others with a 4.0. Typically students who get admitted with lower GPAs have other significant merits on their application like being a recruited athlete, legacy, or some incredible EC or honor. GPA is only 1 of up to potentially 100 criteria a college uses in a rubric to determine whether you are selected or not.

If you are submitting your best Chocolate Cake in a baking contest, having a good GPA is like saying you used butter in your recipe. It's only one key ingredient in the recipe. The others are flour, milk, salt, chocolate, eggs, vanilla, unsweetened cocoa powder, espresso powder, powdered sugar, water, semi-sweet chocolate, oil, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.

So to make a great impression on your college application to T30 schools, besides a decent GPA, you will need impressive course rigor, evidence of intellectual vitality, impressive ECs, memorable well-written essays, insightful supplemental essays/answers, stellar recommendations, high standardized test scores like SAT/ACT/APs/IBs (Diploma), high scores on your interview, and great optional video submissions.

The last thing is something completely outside of your control which is your 1.) Hooks and 2.) Talent that aligns with institutional needs.

Hooks are whether you are a recruited athlete, legacy, VIP, child of a faculty member, or child of a wealthy donor. As long as T30 colleges employ Affirmative Action and generous DEIA policies, being Black, Latina, Indigenous, or from a marginalized population like LGBTQIA or disabled physically matters. Also being low-income and the first generation of your family to attend college matters as well. These are all hooks.

Institutional needs are shopping lists the T30 schools make for themselves each year to fill the gap of certain positions they need to keep the circus going. This can vary from the school looking for Swimmers, Divers, Fencers, Rowers, Water Polo Players, key musicians like Oboe or French horn players, Ballet Dancers, Cheerleaders, Newspaper Editors, Student Government future leaders, etc. No one except the admissions teams knows what the institutional shopping list really looks like from year to year.

Hope this helps you understand that some things are not in your control.