How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
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How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
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Re: How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
#2I'd argue the author didn't really sneak in.
I think graduating high school seniors are held to a different standard than working adults - which the author technically was.
But, the strategy is good. I did almost the same thing. I took graduate CS classes and was later accepted into SEAS at Columbia. I ended up going to another school that worked with my commute better but, if you are set on going to a specific school, establishing a relationship there will help you - but only if you get good grades :-) You still have to prove you are serious about the education.
Re: How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
#3I think a much better strategy would be to just become among the best in the world at something in high school. This is a lot easier than you'd think, as it really only takes 4 hours a day to become better than 99.9% of HS students at virtually anything. Failing that the author's strategy is probably the best backup, assuming you're committed to getting a college degree from an elite college.
Re: How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
#4Or you could get a job as a janitor... and then solve a difficult graduate-level problem from algebraic graph theory that a prof leaves on the chalkboard.
Re: How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
#5If only Indian colleges worked that way. They have only one way to get it (I mean the finest one's IITs/NITs/BITS/IIIT/Best state colleges), give there entrance exam after 12th class. Crack it, your in, don't crack it, your out.
Also I like how the American colleges allow you to take several classes which are not related to my branch. I could tailor my degree to my requirements.
If I had the chance I would have taken basic and advanced electronics (from semiconductor theory to VLSI anything in between), all the computer achitecture classes (from digital systems to advanced parallel computing systems) with embedded systems & DSP, lots of math and 4 specific computer science classes (algorithms, operating systems, AI and data structures).
That would have really fulfilled all my desires.
Re: How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
#6How I got accepted to grad school: I sent a typed letter as "priority mail" (where the recipient has to sign for it) to the prof I wanted to work with.
It was my junior year and I told him I could meet him in-person during spring break. He agreed and I traveled out there as promised. The screwed-up part was that he ended-up leaving town that week and I didn't get a chance to meet him! So I talked to everyone in the department I could get access to.
Eventually the department head at the time liked what I had to say, so he told me he'd see me back the next year.
Re: How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
#7Strategies for getting an Ivy League degree (not undergrad though):
"How to game the U.S. higher-education system"
Re: How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
#8I think a much better strategy would be to just become among the best in the world at something in high school. This is a lot easier than you'd think, as it really only takes 4 hours a day to become better than 99.9% of HS students at virtually anything. Failing that the author's strategy is probably the best backup, assuming you're committed to getting a college degree from an elite college.
I am probably nitpicking, but there is a major difference between being the best in the world at something and being better that 99.9% of HS students.
It is not easy to become the best in the world in any field you choose, and the choice of field would also be quite important from an admissions perspective.
Re: How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
#9This sort of sneaking in is pretty pointless though. The only really good reason to go to one of these schools is that everyone knows how hard is is to get in. If you go to a different part of the school that isn't as hard to get into (this is what GS is at Columbia) then you throw away that advantage and you're left paying three times what you should be for an education that, as was alluded to elsewhere in the comments, you could have gotten for 1.50 in late charges at the public library.
Re: How I Snuck Into The Ivy League. And You Can Too.
#10Or you could just start "dropping in" on classes.. That's the first thing that came to mind when I read the title.