Personal Goal, Research Paper Example

My Personal Goal:

My personal goal is to give my children, John age 9 and Sally age 6, the tools they need to secure acceptance into an Ivy League undergraduateinstitution.I have adopted this goal because the high quality education and credibility of an Ivy League institution will give them access to an abundance of opportunities for their futures that are emotionally and financially fulfilling.  In addition, thestepsrequired to prepare them for acceptance will serve a dual purpose of cultivating curiosity and determination that will be valuable through their life regardless of the institution that they attend.

Strategy:

Chuck Hughes, a former senior admissions officer at Harvard, wrote a book on how to achieve the elusive Ivy League goal (“What It Really Takes to Get into the Ivy League”). He says: “a student’s profile should look more or less like the following:

• She needs to be in the top 10 percent of her class.
• Her academic record shows she participates in the most demanding programs at school.
• She needs to get a 700+ on the SATs or 32+ on the ACTs.
• Her extracurricular activities show achievement, leadership, and a sense of accomplishment. And finally, she demonstrates her “glowing” personal qualities through recommendations, essays, and interviews (if possible).” (http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/22/pf/saving/willis_tips/index.htm)

The evidence supports his claim. We can see by looking at the statistics of those students accepted to Harvard  in 2010 that the high school records and entrance exam scores match up with his recommendation (see exhibit 1).

For my personal strategy I intend to take steps that will prepare my children to meet the criteria outlined above. These steps include:

• I will enrollmy children into language, music and sportsprograms for them to try out and then allow them to choose the one that interest them.
• I will encourage an interest in writing and reading. Writing is extremely important to the application process as well as general academic success. If they will know how to express themselves through words they will already have a head up on the competition.
• Once they reach the 8^th grade I will begin to narrow their focus to one or two extracurricularactivities. This not only will allow them to further develop their craft it will also demonstrate to admissions team that they have a sense of passion and dedication to a select few personal interests.
• I will place a strongemphasis on their high school academics as they need to be in the top 10% of their class.
• I will place them in study programs for the SAT and ACT.

Why My Strategy Will Work:

Although there’s obviously no fool-proof way to guarantee acceptance into an Ivy League this evidence does supports thestrategy that I have outlined.  If I develop my children’s interests at a young age and stimulate and encourage them mentally then they will be self-motivated academically and get top grades. As you can see from the numbers,(Exhibit Table 1),there is a 4%-10% chance that they could make it in without being in the top 10 percent of their class (perhaps if they have outstanding SATs or stellar extracurriculars) but every area in which they fall behind weakens their chances.  Ivy League students are the best of the best. Challenging and helping my children to attain this high level will benefit them regardless of their acceptance and in this at least I can say I know that my strategy will be successful.

EXHIBIT 1

Figures are for the Fall 2011 entering class.

Harvard Admissions Data (2010):

Percent of Applicants Admitted: 7%

Harvard GPA, SAT and ACT Score Graph

Test Scores — 25th / 75th Percentile

SAT Critical Reading: 690 / 800

SAT Math: 700 / 790

SAT Writing: 710 / 800

ACT Composite: 31 / 34

ACT English: 32 / 35

ACT Math: 31 / 35

ACT Writing: 8 / 10

Data Source:

National Center for Educational Statistics