Yes, you can get into an Ivy League college having graduated from an online high school! Here are some of the most important tips to follow if you are an online high school student:
1. Take Latin to improve your vocabulary. It will help you tremendously on the SAT’s and you can study any other language you want in college.
2. Your GPA won’t be valued in the admissions process so realize that you must ace the SAT and AP exams. The good news is that you should be able to make plenty of time in your schedule to prepare for them. The reason your GPA won’t matter as much is because colleges cannot guarantee that your tests for each subject were proctored, timed, and not open book. If you start to ask around about students who have been home-schooled, you will find that there are many who will have a 4.0 GPA and have flunked the SAT exam. Avoid this outcome and make sure you realize the importance of your board scores and prepare accordingly.
3. Take AP courses. The standardized, timed and proctored test for AP courses will prove you mastered the material and can do difficult, college-level work.
4. Get a 5 on your AP exams by finishing the syllabus weeks before the exam in early May leaving a good amount of time to prepare and take several practice exams. Several online schools do not emphasize the importance of finishing the course work weeks ahead of the AP exam held in the beginning of May. In order to ace this exam, you need to prep by taking several practice exams. Finish early to save time for exam prep!
5. Balance your course load. Your AP courses are the most important so don’t take so many that you can’t possibly ace all the AP exams. My daughter took 1 AP course sophomore year, 3 junior year, and 2 senior year. She took 3 AP exams and got a 5 on all three. Yes, if you don’t feel like you’re going to ace the AP exam, you don’t have to take it. She didn’t bother to take any AP exams senior year because she was already accepted into Harvard!
6. Prepare for the SAT or ACT during the summer. You won’t have time during the school year to get the most out of your studying and do your homework and focus on your talent outside of school. Start preparing during the summer before sophomore year and during the summer before junior year. You’ll be ready for the PSAT exam in October of junior year having prepared for the SAT and you’ll also put yourself in a position to ace the SAT junior year and be done with it!
7. Try and take at least 8 SAT practice exams before yo start your junior year. Correct each exam focusing on the problems you got wrong before you take another exam. The best SAT tutor companies will tell you that it takes 8 practice exams to shoot for that perfect score.
8. Start your courses early, in August, so you have time to prepare for any AP exams. If you’re not taking any AP exams that year, you’ll give yourself time to take a break before SAT practice during the summer.
9. Send a brag sheet to your college advisor and any teachers or people writing a recommendation for you.
10. Look into applying to the National Honor Society.
Click here for more of the best tips for high school to get into an Ivy League College.
