<p>I posted this somewhere else, but its worth reposting here. (I think, sorry if it isn't)</p>
<p>Ben Jones has stressed repeatedly that you dont have to be perfect to get into MIT. He often uses the "a table can stand on 3 legs, but it will be a little wobbly" analogy (im not sure if analogy is the best word, but i cant think of the real one this late)</p>
<p>So basically this means that you can have a slightly low sat score or a C and you wount immediatly get rejected from MIT. Still, what if we have a bad rank and sat? I mean thats 2 things wrong with us. Do we get rejected?</p>
<p>Im asking this because I have a bad rank and cum gpa. It is rising, however and now I have a 4.0uw in the most rigorous course load possible) Still my sat while not terrible, is on the low end for MIT. So am i out of the mix? I have bad rank and sat so am I out? What about the fact that i'll have 10 aps by the end of junior year, but im expecting a 4 on all of them. Or that I had only 2 ecs frosh year, 3 ecs junior year, but like 10 this year. Im even founding a club, or 3. Also im pres or an award winner in like every ec im in.</p>
<p>Anyways, I have 2 questions:</p>
<p>1-Can you have 2 things wrong with your app and be fine or are you instantly out? I mean mit can come up with a thousand applicants with only one, or nothing wrong. </p>
<p>2-How will Top colleges look at a person with "catches" on everything. I mean like a good student who did bad early on or a lack of ecs canceled out by severe involvement by the end of high school. A table like this will still stand, it will just be shorter and closer to the ground. (lol)</p>
<p>Thanks for reading this.</p>
<p>Not to invade on your post Shark_bite, but I am kind of in a similar situation. My 9th grade gpa was OK and then my 10th, 11th kind of uh...sucked..a lot. But as a senior this year, I have like straight A's + 1 B (AP Calc. :p), while taking 4 APs. By the time I graduate, I will have taken 6 APs and 9 Honors courses.</p>
<p>How much consideration will they give to senior mid-year grades? Or would I just be thrown into the "no" pile, before any further consideration?</p>
<p>i dunno, but i doubt it will help. still, if you are really good elsewhere, it can kinda cancel out. work hard, but its not like you can change it. still, the question i had was what if you have 2 things bad about you. i mean bad grades and everything else great can cancel out, but can bad grades and test scores?</p>
<p>How "bad" are your test scores..? I mean mine aren't great either, but then again I am not applying to M.I.T....</p>
<p>well, i mean in general. still, i want to go to schools like harvard and i doubt i can get above a 2200. even a 2100 is a strech for me (i took the sat's and i got a 700v, 640m, 700w or 2060c) i dont know about sat2s either (i have to take physics which i suck at along with spanish and math2) </p>
<p>btw i know this isnt a bad score, but its below average for HYPMS.</p>
<p>chill out, you won't be auto-rejected. my friend who is ranked 100/600 is applying HYPSM. so ya, you'll be competiting with people with low ranks as well, with weak EC's and no hooks</p>
<p>"2 ecs frosh year, 3 ecs junior year, but like 10 this year."</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but are you a senior or a junior? Your posted age says 16, so I am assuming..a junior? If you are, nothing is a done deal yet. (neither is it if you are senior...:p) Anyways, you still have more chances to take the SAT I and II again. With an upward trend in Jr. and Sr. year and 2100 or 2200 SAT I scores, I say you are still very much in the running. It's important to remember that Jr. and Sr. year grades are probably taken into the most consideration (esp. Jr. year grades), so I would really strive for those "A's." Also, I understand the need for EC's, but rather than 10--perhaps selecting a few activities that you are really interested and pursuing them to the extreme level, would serve better the image you will present to colleges. Finally, it's very important to remember that ECs are important, but not more so than gpa. I have made some poor choices in that regard, and I am kicking myself for that right now. So, make sure you do stay involved, but also make sure those grades are way up there.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I've read that MIT has an initial screening in which you have to show a certain degree of pure academic competency, afterwhich other factors are looked at. (Ugh, can't find a link.)</p>
<p>The low score on the math SAT will hurt, and rank is probably the single most important factor.</p>
<p>bubble3272, have you heard of any other schools with this initial screening..? Do you know if Columbia or Northwestern do this?</p>
<p>yeah rank is easily the most important. and yeah i do like my ec's, i just didnt find them until this year. i mean i weeded out the ones i dont like (ugh yearbook-a 4 hour work session, no one but me came. i quit the next day) but i have a ton i do love and i have some cool awards etc in all of them.</p>
<p>still, i mean your competing grades wise with kids who never had an academic slip up in their lives. it took me 3 semesters to finally catch on, but these other kids took off instantly. I mean even with my crappy first semester grades, i was 11th in class, so i got lazy. next thing i knew i was 46. so i worked hard and tried to catch back up, but it was too late. oh well.)</p>
<p>oh and yeah im a junior.</p>
<p>While the only school for which I've explicitly read about an initial screeing is MIT, most selective schools like the ones you mentioned have a similar process. If your academics aren't strong enough, you'll be eliminated by after the first round of reading (usually by 2 people, if they both recommend deny) before you can go to selection committee.</p>
<p>In my opinion, with a little prep and slight improvement in your scores, your scores will be competitive. So, you'll probably only have 1 strike against you. Try to raise the math to 700, or try taking the ACTs. I don't think MIT is out of the question for you.</p>
<p>bubbles3272, sorry for the 20 Q's, but do you know when this initial screening is done..? My sr. mid-year grades will be sent out early Feb. and I feel like they will really help me out. Will it be too late by then..? :(</p>
<p>How much will it hurt you for Cornell, or Stanford, if you get one C in a regular math class for one semester only, but brought it up to a B the next semester?</p>
<p>As a junior with 4 currently weighted classes, this is the only non-A grade I have recieved in 3 years. Do adcoms at Stanford/Cornell/Dartmouth etc automatically trash your application if you have one little academic mishap for a semester?</p>
<p>Take pity on me please, adcoms!!</p>
<p>that counts as your 1 strike. im not sure if you can screw up again though lol (finding out was the point of this thread)</p>
<p>oh and yeah i just mentioned mit because ben jones is an mit adcom who totally rocks out loud. mit isnt my top choice school (harvard is)</p>
<p>and i took the december act's and i totally failed lol. yeah but everyone fails the first time. (omg the time crunch is crazy!) still, i knew all the answers, i just didnt have time to write them all down lol. (i'll do it again for a better score)</p>
<p>btw: this thread is too much about me, it should be more focused on adcom policy. still i appriciate the help. :)</p>
<p>lol jeez with all these "weeding" out the lower academics makes the admission game sound like some kind of intense struggle for survival. </p>
<p>oh and i started off grade 10 with terrible grades... probably ranked 50+. by the start of grade 12, i jumped to 2nd out of 650.</p>
<p>Don't lose hope, keep working hard and you'll see results.</p>
<p>Seriously!!!! My guidence counsler says the only way that would happen is if everyone else got stupider and that isnt gonna happen. still, if you look at just the time where i didnt suck, im val. ha you just gave me some hope, still its not gonna happen; its best if i just stay the course.</p>