Are you interested in checking out some of the more competitive U.S. colleges and universities? 

The Ivy League -- coined in the early 1930’s by a New York sports reporter describing eight schools with a common interest in academics and athletics—is made up of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale.  

 Ivy League schools have retained their strong academic reputations and remain among the most selective in terms of college admission.  There are many other highly competitive colleges and universities such as: MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Williams, Amherst and others. Check out the InLikeMe Top 16 and the InLikeMe Top 50+ for our lists of schools, along with mini-profiles and direct links to the college and university web sites. 

 The majority of students attending highly selective colleges were in the top ten to twenty-five percent of their graduating class, challenged themselves academically, were active in extracurricular activities, demonstrated self-motivation and leadership, scored well on the SAT and/or ACT and showed themselves to be passionate about learning and one or two activities. In short, they were qualified and interesting candidates who stood out in the crowd!  Read the InLikeMe commentary: Getting Accepted: Eleven Key Factors Colleges Look For in Applicants.

A generation ago, it was pretty straightforward to predict which students would be admitted to the top schools, since most of the highly-selective colleges accepted 30% or more of the applicants.  

The most competitive schools have seen a persistent rise in applications and these colleges no longer have room for many of the qualified and interesting candidates. Harvard College, for example, offered admission to less than 10% of the high school seniors who applied. Most of those rejected were academically qualified and many had very impressive achievements. 

Experts will tell you that that getting in these days is a combination of good luck and standing out in a compelling way. See the InLikeMe commentary: Strategic Positioning – Creating Your “Wow Factor”, “Dazzle” or “Hook” and our Ivy League Web Links.

Intense competition for admission to selective colleges and universities has fueled the college prep industry made up of consultants (e.g. independent educational counselors & consultants, admissions advisors, private college counselors), essay services and test prep companies.

While these services providers cannot guarantee admission to the school of your dreams, they may be able to help you improve your chances and present yourself and your selling points in the best possible light. See the InLikeMe Commentary: Private College Admissions Counselors: Do I Need One?

 Independent Educational Consultants & Advisors

This section provides a  list of advisors that appear to specialize in admissions to competitive colleges. InLikeMe does not endorse, recommend or take responsibility for their services. InLikeMe simply provides links to third-party web sites and services that may be of interest to our readers.  You may also find some of our Web Links on this subject to be helpful: College Counselors Associations, Ivy League, and Educational Consultants.

 Advice from Successful Applicants

Check out this advice from successful applicants:

• Maximize Your Mileage on High School Activities 

• The Story About Writing A Winning Personal Story

• Getting Accepted: What Colleges Really Care About

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