Life in and beyond the Ivy League

Published on Jul 28 2010,Page 18 HT Horizon

Life in and beyond the Ivy League

Arjun Seth

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While the league has a hold over Indian students' imagination, one must understand what makes it special and at the same time, consider other options

Last week, we talked about the quality of liberal arts colleges in the US. This week we shall cover Ivy League schools and try to understand what makes them special. As is well-known, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, UPenn, Columbia and Cornell are top-ranked schools, but the reasons that make them so, not so much. The grade and range of their facilities, the professors, the strength of the previous graduating classes and their success rate, job opportunities the university's students get ­ all add to the reputation of these schools. To find out more about lives of Indian students at these hyper-selective institutions, I interviewed a few students and compiled their replies.

When asked to describe the student body at Brown University (www.brown.edu), Siddharth Sastri said, “It is relatively laid-back compared to other Ivies, but everyone's really smart, hard-working and good at what they do. So, that keeps you on your toes without pressuring you.“

The right fit can be confusing, said Sejal Pachisia, a sophomore at Princeton University, New Jersey (www.princeton.edu). “It's an oversimplification to try and give an entire college a personality. Even if you end up going to a college which supposedly has a competitive atmosphere while you're not competitive at all, it doesn't mean you won't fit in. There are plenty of people who will be just like you. It's not so essential to try and find a college that “fits“ you, because you can find your fit in any college, if you try. It's not a great idea to try and base your college decision on rumours of what people at that college are like, preconceived notions or what kind of atmosphere it has, because it might not be very accurate and a lot of these opinions are largely generalisations. I learned how intense people in Princeton are ­ they're almost too focused and slightly workaholic-ish. But again, that's a generalisation.

So, if you try hard enough you can always find people who aren't like that at all. I liked how intelligent, funny and engaging they all are, and the number of interesting conversations and debates I got to have.“

Fitting in: Most Ivy League schools host a pre-orientation programme for all international students, which helps them develop a strong bond well before the session starts. When asked about her experience with student diversity, Karina Sengupta from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), PA (www.upenn.edu), said, “Luckily, I don't feel I'm trapped in any clique at UPenn. You should have the courage to break out of the Indian bubble and make new friends. Don't abandon or avoid Indians, but do make an effort to meet people from other backgrounds. You'll be surprised at how much you may have in common with people who seem quite different. Join a sorority, frat, or try something completely different. These are the only years you can experiment with no pressure. You'll be surprised to discover people and aspects of yourself you never knew existed. “ Describing the residential college system and the special bond South Asian students share at the Yale University (www.yale.edu) campus, Chandrika Srivatav, a junior, said, “Yale has a fantastic system of “Residential Colleges“. Much like we have the four `houses' in schools, Yale has 12 residential colleges and each student is randomly assigned to one of 12 colleges at the beginning of freshman year. For the next four years, students live in suites within the residential college but are free to visit any of the other 11. Each college has its own dining hall, library, late-night snack house and gym, in addition to a dean, who takes care of all the academics-related work for students in the college, and a Master, who looks after their residential and other requirements. This system goes a long way in making Yale more inclusive and homely, and is definitely a bonus. What I also love about Yale is that it has the perfect South Asian population: from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. There are enough of us that we can celebrate festivals like Holi, have a bhangra team and find plenty of people to host events with eminent speakers from the subcontinent, but not so many that we remain in our little South Asian cocoon all the time.“

Freedom of choice: Academic requirements at the Ivy League schools vary from school to school. Sastri said, “I chose applied math as my major as it was broadly what I wanted to do when I first joined college. Since Brown has no core courses, I've explored a few classes in other fields and still plan to do so. The size of my introductory classes at Brown differed greatly. My first economics class had 500 students while my `intro English' class had 13. I wish that some of my economics classes were smaller. Other than that, I haven't minded large classes.“

Describing her academic choices at Harvard University (www.harvard.edu), Shambhavi Singh said “I went into freshman year wanting to do chemistry and then flitted around unsure and then took some fabulous concentration requirements and decided on chemistry again. The organic chemistry classes I took at Harvard were the best classes I have ever taken. The teaching within departments is fabulous and even though they were introductory courses, they weren't big and the teachers were extremely dedicated to (turning) us into chemists. The general education or “core“ requirements I have taken have been great classes, too. It all depends on what class you pick, and if you try, you can usually find something that interests you and fulfills requirements. Intro classes do tend to be big and at Harvard there are some that fit 800 people. Obviously, those are no one's favourite classes. But if managed well, they can be a great experience.“

“I am an environmental engineering major ­ a major that, at Yale, has less than 10 students each year“ said Srivastava. “As a result I know all my professors individually and have no trouble finding summer research opportunities or internships. My favourite thing about Yale, without a doubt, is the two-week Shopping Period we have at the beginning of each semester. Essentially, students have two weeks during which we can “shop“ any class we want, i.e. attend any class offered by any professor for two weeks without registering for it (and with the added liberty of walking out at any point in the lecture) and pick four-to-five classes at the end of the Shopping Period, that you will study for that semester.

Most of my friends at other schools have to pick their courses in the previous semester or register online, and basically take classes with barely any idea of whether they will like it or not. I cannot imagine myself doing that. It is this flexibility and atmosphere of experimentation and openness that I love the most about Yale. We are constantly reminded that it's okay to not know what we want to study and that we should try all kinds of things in the hope of discovering our true passion. I wouldn't trade this education for anything in the world.“

Pachisia said, “At Princeton, I got a lot of personal attention from some absolutely fabulous teachers.Attending the `freshman seminars' with 12-15 students was great since I liked more class time with the professor and less time just to try and figure out the work outside of the classroom.“ Set right Setting to rest some myths about the lack of individual attention at UPenn, Sengupta says “I came in knowing I was majoring in economics. I added a maths minor (because) it was convenient and I love maths. The stuff about the lack of attention in mid-sized schools like UPenn isn't true. I personally prefer classes without exams and with essays/projects as the final assessment. I've found that in most of my classes in UPenn, and am happy with that. If you want to go the extra yard (i.e. take a class, love it, and intend on pursuing research in that area), professors are more than happy to fix you up with a mentor in their department.“

Having got offers from several highly selective colleges, Singh chose Harvard for specific reasons. She says, “The setting has most definitely affected my college experience. I mostly assumed that I would be happy in any medium-sized college. However, I realise now how important it is to me that Boston is such a thriving city and there is a public transportation system. It's great to be in a city with so many opportunities and Boston is very student friendly.“

Beyond the league: Last week I had lunch with Teevrat Garg, a recent Lafayette College (www.lafayette.edu) graduate, who is now heading to Cornell University (www.cornell.edu) for a PhD in applied economics and management. He too talked about fit versus rankings. “The important question is NOT how high a university/college is ranked“, says Garg. The more important question is “how good is the college/university for me“. Simply put, Harvard isn't for everyone. At Lafayette, I got the chance to do research with professors and get published ­ something that is very hard to do at a larger university where the primary focus is often on graduate students. One of the economics class I took was advanced monetary policy, which prepared us for the College Fed Challenge, a competition organised by the US Federal Reserve Bank, where students present their recommendation for monetary policy and then defend it in front of a panel of Federal Reserve economists. The small size of the class made the preparation of each of the six students so strong that Lafayette won the national title defeating Harvard, Northwestern and Rutgers in the final round."

Final words of caution: don't consider Ivy League's status as the key criteria for evaluating schools. Students like Teevrat show us how successful students graduating from non-Ivy League institutions can be. There are several other great schools that have a lot, if not more, to offer. Students at Ivy League schools understand that it is not just reputation of their schools that they are in love with, but the liberal arts education, which they receive at these schools.

Rahul Garg (Swarthmore '11) answers questions regarding right-fit

1​. How important do you consider rankings while evaluating schools? How have your perceptions changed about this now?

Rankings were more important then than now. However, they are not useless- the only point is that small differentials in rankings are irrelevant. Now I look at them from the point of view of segments, e.g. the top 5 schools, the top 15 schools, etc. based on their category. From that point of view, yes, rankings can be useful, but I’ve learned to be cautious. Also, it does not hurt to take two extra minutes and look at the ranking criteria.

2. Did the geographic location (NE, Mid West,West , South) and setting (urban, rural, suburban, college town) of your college impact your overall assessment of your college experience? Did you think about this when applying? How did your perception change with time?

Yes it did, and I’m glad I considered it. I have family in the US in the North East, and it makes a big difference to have that sort of support here. Rural, urban, etc. did not matter too much to me when I was applying, but it turned out to be one of the defining features of my college experience. Swarthmore is in a small town, with connectivity to Philadelphia, a big city, but I had always been a city-boy and missed having lots of people around and places to go, restaurants, shops, bars, etc. Though I did grow to love the experience of being in a small campus setting, I would strongly advise students to consider this as a critical point in their college-choice decision. Many people enjoy the island/ bubble-type experience of campuses, and really blossom in them, and many others do not. It is a very individual decision that students and parents should weigh carefully if they have different options available. In the same vein, connectivity to major cities should be considered as an important factor.

3. Did you consider size (student population) as an important criteria while choosing schools? What do you think is a size that is ideal for you? Why?

Again, same as the previous. I like smaller schools, just because they bring the community much closer to one another, there are smaller class sizes, and it is very hard to not develop a lifelong attachment to your college and friends after that. However, larger schools can have more options with respect to student clubs and a broader social scene.

4. What was the average class size of your intro classes? Were you satisfied with this? In what way did this change your perception of your academic experience? What would you do differently?

Class sizes are small at Swarthmore. Intro classes for Econ (one of the most popular ones) are about 30 students per section, and all were taught by full Professors not TAs. Some classes that I took in my first year had only 10 students. Professors had office hours, and were very approachable. Small class sizes allowed me to take full use of those office hours as well as Q and As in the class. There was rarely a doubt that went unanswered because there was not enough time or too many students.

5. Was the ratio of international students/total population an important criteria in your selection of schools? Did you feel trapped in any sort of bubble or clique? Did your perceptions about diversity change while you were in college?

The ratio at my college of international students/ total population was small- it has grown significantly since. That was not the best thing- for me, having an Indian community abroad was not as much important as having some international students with whom you could share the experience of coming and living in a foreign place. Nonetheless, I sincerely believe that it was great that there was not a huge Indian crowd from India because that encouraged me to reach out and immerse myself into the general social life at Swarthmore. It is pointless to go all the way to the US and not have somewhat of an ‘American’ experience.

6. Can you comment an the overall personality of the student body? What aspects of this did you like/dislike?

Ultra- liberal, very passionate about what they are doing (academics, extra-curricular, politics, etc.), I enjoyed the fact that a lot of Swatties were interested in their work, and thereby killed the idea that work is a chore. While I believe that the campus can get intolerant of other opinions many times, personally, I enjoyed being exposed to a different set of rules and assumptions underpinning  political views, relationships, moral values, etc.

​

SAT Vs ACT - Infographic

On the long road towards the right-fit college, test prep seems daunting and the first step of choosing which test to focus can be challenging. Keep an eye out for our upcoming posts on how to decide between the SAT and the ACT.

Four Selective Summer Programmes to Apply to

Summer programmes are a great way to indulge your desire to travel, explore and learn. In your last two years before college, when you’re still deciding majors and colleges, it makes sense to use the holidays to acquaint yourself with the challenges ahead.

Selective summer programmes not only offer a chance for you to distinguish yourself but also an opportunity to interact with top faculty members and passionate students from around the world.

Telluride Association Summer Programme (TASP)

Perhaps the most prestigious programme on this list, it boasts of an extremely selective application process, said by some to be more competitive than the Ivy League colleges.
With a dismal acceptance rate floating around five percent, only students with strong standardised test scores and excellent academic records are invited to apply for this programme.

It offers a six week educational experience for high school students offering intellectual stimulations rarely found in secondary school education or even in college. This is done under the aegis of college and university faculty members who conduct regular seminars and organise educational and social activities outside of the classroom.

Notable former ‘TASPers’ or Telluride House members include literary critic Gayatri Spivak, Nobel laureate physicist Richard Feynman and renowned political economist Francis Fukuyama among many others.

Best time to send in your applications is before January.

Find more information here.

MIT CEE Research Science Institute (RSI)

A highly competitive summer research programme for rising high school seniors around the world, it is a six week camp for which typically, around 80 students are selected (50 from the U.S. and 30 from other countries).
It is notable for the RSI Distinguished Lecture Series which follows an evening lecture format, conducted by noted professors and scientists, a number of whom are Nobel Laureates.

A fully funded initiative, its alumni have found recognition in many international forums such as the Rhodes scholarship and Marshall scholarship and so on.

Best time to send in your applications is before December-January.

Find more information here.

Stanford Mathematics Camp

A highly competitive summer math programme for rising high school seniors and juniors around the world, it focusses on imparting instruction on advanced undergraduate math topics instead of Olympiad math.

Held for four weeks, usually July-August, it consists of two parts – Program 1 and Program 2. Together, they are meant to engage students in problems in abstract algebra, number theory and geometric topology.

With globally renowned mathematicians rounding up as guest lecturers and Stanford graduate and undergraduate math students as teaching assistants. The programme aims to fully nurture young talent in mathematics.

Best to apply before January-February.

Deadline: March 4, 2015

Find more information here.

U Penn Management & Technology Summer Institute (M&TSI)

A for-credit summer programme for 50 rising high school seniors (and a select few rising juniors) interested in the integration of management doctrines and technological concepts, it is held on Penn campus every year.

The programme is composed of three major aspects – the group project, lab work and business instruction. The group project involves a team of five students working over the three week duration to conceive a product idea in consumer electronics.

Deadline: March 1, 2015

It would be advisable to apply before January-February.

Find more information here.

Early Decision Admission Rates

According to recent articles in The Daily Pennsylvanian, early decision applicants will fill 54.4% of the Class of 2019 in Penn.

They go on to remark upon the fact that this is the second consecutive year that Penn has filled more than half of its batch through ED applicants.

With an admissions rate of 24% from its early decision applicants’ pool, there’s a slight decrease of 1.3 percentage points from last year’s admissions rate at Penn.

Looking at other peer institutions, Harvard’s early decision admissions rate dropped from 21.3 to 16.5 percent. While Brown University increased its admissions rate to 20 percent by 1.1, Dartmouth’s admissions rate decreased from 38.8 to 26 percent. Stanford is known to have accepted 10.2 percent of its early applicant pool, with a slight drop from the year before. MIT admitted 625 of its 6,519 early decision applicants for a 9.6% admissions rate. Princeton has accepted a fair amount of early decision applications for a 20 percent admissions rate.
Rounding up the tally is Yale with acceptance of 753 early decision applicants.

Look out for our coming articles on why or why not early decision may make perfect sense for you.

ACT Prep - 5 Great Apps to You On The Go

The first of an ongoing series to brief you about how to prepare for the ACT, here’s a curated list of apps you should have on your phone.

It’s a tall order to expect oneself to prepare for a test day in and day out which is why your phone can be most useful in ensuring you are on top of your prep.

ACTStudent by ACT, Inc.

From the makers of the test itself, here’s a great iPhone app to keep you on your toes. The practise questions are completely in alignment with the actual test questions. Keep yourself updated on your registration and scores online as well.

AllenACT by Allen Resources Inc.

With over 1000 questions in its bank, this iPhone app does most of the heavy-lifting so that you only have to focus on your studying. It tracks your strengths and weaknesses as well as adapts its questions based on your performance. For comprehensive test prep, you need not look any further.

ACT for Dummies

This well-designed iPhone app keeps you ready till test day with 150 practice questions and 2 practice tests, all under timed conditions. It offers many other useful features as well with test day countdown and the capability to mark questions for review later to help you on your way. 

ACT McGraw-Hill

From the famed McGraw-Hill, a long time publisher of educational tools, here’s an iPhone app with over 10 diagnostic tests and over 1000 questions. It has tools to help you formulate your ACT study plan and offers regular analytics of your scores.

ACT Math Test Prep by Allen Resources Inc.

Reportedly designed to make sure you get a perfect score, this iPhone app has a comprehensive test bank to keep you engaged every day.

SAT Prep - 7 Apps to Help You Ace the SAT

As a school student just about to enter the 11th or 12th grade, thinking about applying for colleges abroad, you have probably had bunch of terms and conditions thrown about recklessly around you – you need to read this, you need to be able to do that and so on. If you’re applying to the U.S., you’ve been hearing a lot about the SAT, the ACT and perfect scores (2400 seems to sound better than 20/20 vision).

As part of an ongoing series aimed at helping you bridge the knowledge gap to “Ace the SAT”, as they say, we are going to be taking a look at putting technology to work for you. 
In this era of smartphones, it makes absolute sense to make your phone (yes, that font of unholy distractions) an integral part of your learning process.
Looking through the dozens of paid and free apps available on Android and iOS, here’s a list of seven apps you should have on your phone and why –

iPhone SAT Vocab Challenge by Modality – The Princeton Review

For those looking nervously at the SAT Writing or Critical Reading sections and at all the newspaper articles and editorials they are supposed to be reading, here’s an exciting way to improving your vocabulary.
Through four different timed games, it tests your knowledge of 250 commonly used SAT words – synonyms, antonyms, definitions, connotations and all.

The Official SAT Question of the Day – College Board

Well, there is not a need to say anything except that this is the official app, getting a question a day from each section to your phone straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth. How’s that for being productive every day?

SAT Up

Ranking in the top 20 of Education apps, for iPhone and iPad, this app prepares you for every section on the SAT with over 400 questions, step by step explanations and not to forget, detailed analytics. 

SAT Connect

There isn’t much to say on an app that offers 7 diagnostic tests, 4000 words, 1000 fully explained test questions end more except “ Get it now!”

Adapster: SAT Math by Empire Edge

Hailed by developers as the “next generation of study tools”, Adapster lives up to that fame remarkably, letting students create customized practice tests based on their needs.
The software makes note of errors and offers detailed instruction in problem concepts and tests them over and over.

Edupath SAT Prep & College Search

One of the most elegantly designed apps available, its UI keeps you engaged and keeps track of your study progress, sending you real time performance charts to allow you to choose which areas to focus on. It also doubles up a college search to help you find one that meets your needs.

Hangman Free HD

Did improving your vocabulary sound boring to you? Then you should give Hangman a spin. Also, the two person gameplay gives group study a whole new kick!

The "Why This College" Essay

While wading through all the essay questions - talking about your life, motivations and interests, nothing can be more confounding than writing about why you would be interested in a particular college. Although so far you may have been attempting to ‘market’ yourself, here is a question that’s clearly probing how genuine your intentions and choices are. Consequently, most student essays have great difficulty in representing their motivations accurately and not seeming quite vague.

Before you begin writing, you should think about how to narrate the story of making your choice. Your essay should be a brief walkthrough for admissions officer, of the experiences and ideas that have led you to the point of applying to that particular college.

Reading the prompt carefully should keep you focussed on what points you have to cover. You must make sure your essay is concise and is not diverging to unrelated points.

The first step then should involve keeping yourself informed regarding every aspect of that college. The college website should be read thoroughly and you should be aware of every part of the college life – academics, co-curricular activities and clubs and so on. With regards to the programme you’re applying for, try and keep yourself briefed about the faculty members, ongoing research work and the programme itself.

Differentiating yourself from countless other applicants becomes easy once you’re sufficiently aware to be specific about your interests. As they say, “The devil is in the details” and admissions officers are known to favourably remark upon a good eye for the minutest of details.
Write about how the current research work or the academic accomplishments of particular faculty members, align with your motivations in that particular field. If you have already worked out what you want to pursue later in that field, write about that as well in tandem.

Demonstrating a seamless connectivity between how you engaged with your interests in school and how you would engage with them in college is an important part of identifying yourself with a particular college. Relate your past experiences in extra-curricular activities in school – perhaps as a founding member of a club or as a creator of successful initiatives, and try to connect them with similar clubs’ activities in college.

While the architecture of the college or the city it is located in should not figure as prime factors of your choices, your appreciation of them should represent how you see yourself fitting into the daily routine.

Your excitement about being added to that college’s culture and history, should be sustained by your efforts to find points of interest in its various aspects.
Once that is clear, you can easily inset yourself within that life. Admissions officers’ are very appreciative of a personal vision being apparent.

Of course, one of the common errors one makes while writing such a descriptive essay is rambling on. You have to keep in mind that the gentleman or lady reading the essay has countless others to read and will only be irked by incoherent passages. Once you’re done with your first draft, trim it down to the briefest possible version.

Lastly, as you look over your final essay, it would be a good idea to observe how personalised it is to that particular college. If your essay seems to be suitably describe other colleges as well, then it’s obvious you have written a generic one.
Keep in mind that the college you’re applying to is already aware of all the conventional reasons for choosing it. The key to standing out then is to show them how your choice is largely independent of these conventional reasons.

To avoid being vague, be personal. Good luck!

School of the Art Institute of Chicago application deadlines and supplementary essay prompts

Fall 2015

First Year

• Early Action - 12/01/2014
• Regular Decision - 05/01/2015
• Early Action II - 02/01/2015

• Spring 2015

  First Year

• Regular Decision - 01/15/2015

Writing is a vital component of being an artist, and an extremely important part of being a student at SAIC. Tell us about you, your art-making practices, and why you are a strong candidate for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) undergraduate program. 

Include information about what inspires you, what does your artistic process look like, share why you are interested in and utilize certain materials, exhibitions in which you have participated, or other activities that contribute to the making of your work. If you are applying to the BFA with an Emphasis in Writing, your statement needs also to address how you imagine a studio arts environment will impact your writing practice. (The application won't accept a response shorter than 500 words.)

Rice University application deadlines and supplementary essay prompts

Fall 2015

First Year

• Early Decision - 11/01/2014
• Regular Decision - 01/01/2015

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 word limit)

With the understanding that the choice of academic school you indicated is not binding, explain why you are applying to that particular school of study. (150 word limit)

If you have applied or expect to apply to other colleges or universities this year, please name them. (50 word limit)

How did you first learn about Rice University and what motivated you to apply? (250 word limit)

Each year, Rice University offers a merit scholarship to an employee dependent of Marathon Oil or one of its subsidiaries. If you are eligible, please name the parent or guardian:

In keeping with Rice’s long-standing tradition (known as “The Box”), please share an image of something that appeals to you.

To successfully upload your image, first paste it into a Word document or .pdf file, then upload your document. A .pdf file under 500 KB in size will be accepted. See Help Section for more information.

Hint: A .pdf file under 500 KB in size will be accepted.