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Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to commonly asked questions about the Ivy Index Score.
What is an Ivy Index Score?
The Ivy Index Score measures a high school student’s “Academic Achievements and Personal Qualities” independent of individual Universities’ Institutional Priorities.
Given information asymmetry and efficiency, employers, scholarships, and graduate schools often look to a student’s attended college as a summation of a student’s high school performance and future potential Yet that signal has always been imperfect as some highly motivated and star teens turn down highly ranked universities for perhaps state schools due to affordability, proximity to loved ones, etc.
Likewise, highly selective universities with limited seats have to sometimes turn down highly qualified students as they contend with Institutional Priorities (e.g. legacies, athletes, orchestras, etc.) that may or may not align with what employers care about. Hence the indicator (for some) breaks down. The Ivy Index seeks to decouple a student’s high school academic achievements and personal quality from the University they happen to attend.
All applications are human-scored according to college admissions criteria.
What does my Ivy Index Score indicate? Is a 90/100 a good score?
Ivy Index Scores indicate the colleges that students are competitive for.
97-100 — Top 5 Colleges
93-96 — Top 10 Colleges
90-92 — Top 20 Colleges
87-89 — Top 35 Colleges
83-86 — Top 50 Colleges
80-82 — Top 100 Colleges
77-79 — Top 200 Colleges
Note: Based on US News & World Report college rankings
Does an Ivy Index Score help me get into college?
No, an Ivy Index Score is used by employers to evaluate your competitiveness for internships or jobs.
Will the Ivy Index Score actually help employers evaluate me?
Most people don’t realize that employers have a hard time figuring out how to evaluate the accomplishments on your resume. The Ivy Index Score is a number out of 100 that gives employers an intuitive sense of where you stand against your peers. Even if they have never heard of the Ivy Index Score, they will know that you’ve achieved something if you show an Ivy Index Score of 98/100 on your resume.
Where do I write the Ivy Index Score? What do I do with the it?
You can list your Ivy Index Score on your resume next to your GPA or SAT score. You can write it as “Ivy Index Score: 95/100”.
Why should I submit an application?
When people ask us this question, our answer is, “Why not? What do you have to lose?” For a small fee, you could have the opportunity to indicate to employers that you are a competitive candidate, no matter where you go to college.
What is the criteria that you use to evaluate applications?
We consider the following criteria in our evaluations:
✓ Academic achievements
✓ Standardized test scores
✓ Extracurricular activities
✓ Personal characteristics
✓ Adversity experienced
We DO NOT consider:
X Whether or not your parents made donations
X Whether or not your parents are legacy or professors
X Number of spots available for students at each college
X Number of spots for students who live in certain regions
X Number of spots for students who identify with certain groups
X Number of spots for students who select certain majors
How quickly can I get my score?
You will receive your score within weeks after you submit your application.
How do I submit an application?
How much does it cost to submit an application?
The official Ivy Index Score application is $399, currently at the promotional price of $199. If you are not ready to get an official Ivy Index Score, you can apply for a diagnostic Ivy Index Score that will give you an idea how you would do on the official application. The diagnostic Ivy Index Score is $299, currently at the promotional price of $159.
If you have difficulty making this payment, we offer scholarships for students who submit a copy of their FAFSA to us. Please contact us directly.
What is the difference between the official and the diagnostic applications?
The official Ivy Index Score application is the score that you can put on your resume when applying for internships, jobs, or graduate schools. You can also opt to make your score public so that employers can access your score.
The diagnostic Ivy Index Score application is designed for students who aren’t seniors yet and haven’t completed a Common App. It gives you an idea of how you would do on the official application. It is not the score that you would put on your resume and not the one that employers would access. Because the diagnostic application is not as high stakes, it does not require a personal essay and thus tends to be easier for students to complete. It also does not require standardized scores because some students may have not yet taken the SAT/ACT. To submit a diagnostic application, you will need to fill out our application form. If you already have a Common App, you should apply for the official application.
Can I update my application after submitting it?
We will only review the information submitted in each application. We do not accept updated information for already submitted applications. As you take more tests or do more activities, we encourage you to submit a new application to receive a new score.
What is your refund policy?
The payment for the application is non-refundable. Once we receive your application, we start to review the application and will send you the score in 8-10 weeks. The decisions made by Ivy Index Score are final.
What payment methods do you accept?
Currently, we only accept credit card payments. If you have difficulty making this payment, we offer scholarships for students who submit a copy of their FAFSA to us. Please contact us directly.
What is your privacy policy?
Please check out our privacy policy.
What are your terms of service?
Here are our terms of service.
What happens when students misrepresent themselves on the applications?
In the event that students misrepresent themselves, Ivy Index Score reserves the right not to issue a score to the student. Here is our complete fraud policy.