<p>We all probably have exemplary transcripts, so I focused on my love for math and science more. Making lots of jokes and showing my passion. I hope that is more what they want.</p>
<p>Somehow I feel hopeless when I read of these perfect scores and neat science-related EC’s.
I don’t have perfect scores neither do I have heavily science-related EC’s. Quite frankly, I’ve done more than most from my school, but we don’t have much exposure or support toward those sort of things so it’s very tough.
However, I’ve had leardership roles in other EC’s, especially lacrosse for which I’m being recruited for, and hope that being different (although many will say less-qualified) can actually help me stand out and for admissions to look for my potential instead a list of achievements during my high school years.</p>
<p>how many of you guys are interested in engineering?</p>
<p>ChemE for the win :D</p>
<p>…plus business as a second major.</p>
<p>Uh oh, leadership?</p>
<p>That’s probably the one place where I’m going to fail. I can’t really think of any leadership positions I’ve had. Granted, a ton of my ECs are music-oriented where leadership position basically means you have 1st chair in the orchestra. You;ve got thirty highly competitive kids in some instrumental sections competing for the first chair. I’m not saying it’s impossible to have leadership positions in ECs like that but I think even getting 2nd or 2rd chair (as I have many times) still demonstrates strong ability</p>
<p>Leadership, huh? I founded a number of clubs at my school, and I am now president of them (MUN, Interact, part of founding team of student government, plus a few more that I didn’t include on my app).</p>
<p>But I only had the opportunity to found those clubs because my school is new. I wonder if they’ll take that into consideration, and regard my leadership as nonchalant XD</p>
<p>I’m Mu Alpha Theta prez but that’s about my only official leadership role and it isn’t on my app since I didn’t get voted in until a little while after sending out my app. Guess I know what my supplement will be about if I get deferred. Thanks for the info Kitkatkatie</p>
<p>Does being prez of Mu Alpha Theta for 3 years count as leadership? I coach all of the teams single handedly because our sponsor does nothing. 5 hours of practice a week done lead completely by myself.</p>
<p>Katie-</p>
<p>I wasn’t trying to look too cocky… sorry if I came off that way lol.</p>
<p>I just mean that I feel like MIT would appreciate my interest in engineering more than schools such as Caltech would.</p>
<p>I’m far from confident about my admissions status =/</p>
<p>Good to know about leadership, I’m president/founder of my school’s scrabble club, and an officer of our science club =)</p>
<p>eligray - I wish I had your confidence… even though I have done all that stuff, I still don’t think i’ll get in</p>
<p>I think the leadership is more about demonstrating that you have initiative. My leadership stuff is that I led mini-crews in forest restoration, theater crews for musicals, and I was the prezzie of a club… If I do get deferred, I’ll be updating them with the info that I’m directing a one act play. Oh yeah, I also run my own online store where I sell jewelry I make and give all the proceeds to an environmental charity. That probably looks pretty dec.</p>
<p>My leadership stuff isn’t like I founded clubs or started my own charity organization (well… I guess the online shop… but that’s individual). It’s more that I tried to show that I know how to work with others and lead others. </p>
<p>I bring this up because my EC, as meh as he was, was very interested to know about the time when I led a theater crew for my school’s fall musical. He seemed interested to emphasize the fact that it was of my own initiative that I got my internship/theater positions/volunteer positions.</p>
<p>All of that said, I think that if you’ve founded clubs, led your own charity, or were the captain of some science bowl team, then you’ve got excellent marks for leadership. But, it doesn’t have to be just that. I was never one to take leadership roles, but I just naturally led things, and I tried to put that into my app. Yes, I have a TON of science activities… but I don’t think that’s everything. I think that if you show a talent in science, that’s great, but you have to have something else going for you. They’re looking for people that have a life and interests outside of academia- those are the people that will survive the tough firehose mentality of MIT. </p>
<p>They’ll have something that keeps them human through it all, whereas those people who are only math/sci won’t have as much to fall back on when they get that first F on a physics test. (They even make a point on their match list that you can survive and excell after a failure.)</p>
<p>I’ll frame my view with this long story:</p>
<p>When I first looked at colleges, my dad was in a spot where he could afford an expensive college counselor (not anymore…), so I drafted a list of ECs and possible colleges. This was the middle of my junior year, so by then, i had a decent idea of what I wanted to do- chemical and biological engineering. When I looked at MIT, I immediately thought “do I want to have a social life and see daylight regularly?” and I moved on. It wasn’t even on my list until 6 months ago when i really looked at it. And even then, it was on there as a “what the heck, I’ll apply. I don’t know how I feel about it…” I always thought MIT was for brains that didn’t have a life outside of school (which was me…). I thought the tunnel system characterized MIT completely- the vampires of the academic world (think the sci fi section of the library) obsessed with their blood (scientific knowledge!) and completely isolated from reality.</p>
<p>Fast forward to about 2 months ago. I found mitadmissions.org. I read about the hacks. I found out the have a 24/7 pottery lab (!!!) and a wood shop (!!!) and a dark room (!!!) open to students at very little cost. Then I started reading all of the admissions articles where they said they were looking for more than test scores and grades. Then, I knew I had found my first choice. I had the test scores. I had the grades (there are a couple bad ones that will probably make them defer me… personal reasons explained in my app). But, I wanted to go to a school with that extra spark.</p>
<p>The extra spark:</p>
<p>This is going to sound stupid, but I’m already writing you guys a novel, so no one will read this part (probably). I read this book series, Black book: Diary of a teenage stud ([Amazon.com:</a> The Black Book: Diary of a Teenage Stud, Vol. I: Girls, Girls, Girls (0046594004994): Jonah Black: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Black-Book-Diary-Teenage-Girls/dp/0064407985]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Black-Book-Diary-Teenage-Girls/dp/0064407985)) I know, that’s a terrible title… and the book is definitely not literature, but this character really impacted me. </p>
<p>In this book, the main character has a sister who is crazy smart, but she’s just weird. She builds these little inventions and hangs out with the wrong crowd- the people who don’t graduate, or take “time off” when they do, the people that care way more about concerts than school. you know those kind of people. No one really understands her, and she’s just looking for a place where she can find “her people.” Anyways, this girl was graduating early and looking for a college, and she visited Harvard. She expected that she would hate it- that they would be stuck up and just horrible (like me and MIT). When she got there, yes, there were the stereotypical people, but then she met this other more “underground” group of cool people who were crazy smart, but were also into other things. They were into the odd music, the out-there political philosophy- they had this extra strange spark to them that was interesting. </p>
<p>I hope to find this at MIT. I don’t want to have the stereotypical college experience. i want a place that’s full of those weird people who are on the edge of what’s socially acceptable, but are still crazy smart. I want to have a group of friends that have unique interests and that are just interesting to be around. I think that’s what the admissions office is trying to make- a class with a couple token stereotypes, but with a lot of people who are interesting, who have good stories to tell and will hopefully tell the world those stories with the MIT name attached. </p>
<p>When I saw this in MIT, I knew I had to apply. yes, there are the stereotypes. But, I think a lot of the people there are my kind of people. The people that don’t like to do things the conventional way. Who find social morays to be uncomfortable and just want to break out of the box while still getting an excellent education and using their brains. </p>
<p>I used to be focused on being an engineer. Now, I’m not so sure. I want to explore a bit. i want to talk to people with interesting stories and see if I really want to do engineering, or if I want to be an artist or a lawyer or something else. I want to see if I even want a defined career. I want to explore, but I don’t want to waste my time. MIT has this perfect combination of allowing you to explore the avant garde edge of science but still take that ballroom dancing class or take an exploratory class in cog sci. I feel like there are so many possibilities there, and I want to have that sense of freedom to explore the interests of my classmates in addition to my own interests. hopefully, I’ll be able to find a place where I can truly explore who I am and what I want my life to be with others who are doing the same and can help me see the more unique life paths through their own life stories.</p>
<p>All of that said, I think MIT values having a direction. I come off as kind of undecided in this post. I think they do want people to be unsure… but unsure within the sciences. I feel like I could go in a completely different direction. I don’t really want to say that, especially as they’re a tech school. ;)</p>
<p>If you got through that whole post, wow! I think I’ll be known as “that girl who posts novels.”</p>
<p>I wish I had said all of this in my interview… I said it in my Chicago interview. Of course, my EC was very different from my Chicago alumnus. Now, I’ll probably have to find a way to include this in my application through a supplement. That’ll be hard. any ideas?</p>
<p>Katie-</p>
<p>I absolutely agree about what is attractive about MIT. People pushing the boundries of social norms, and unafraid to do things unconventionally. That’s exactly how I see myself as a person (though my opinion won’t be seen by admissions readers), and I’d love to experience that some day.</p>
<p>One of the biggest factors in what my life will turn out to be is coming on Wednesday…</p>
<p>Tbh, I’m probably the least science-oriented person here. I’m kind of hoping I’ll strike them as something of a unique applicant. Most of my essays were about my interest in philosophy (I have a great supp rec from a summer philosophy instructor) and how it applies to my interest in neurosci - but in terms of science ECs, I have almost nothing.
Leadership? I wouldn’t figure MIT as the kind of place that likes club presidencies out the wazoo - at least, not just for the sake of having them. You know? They have to be leadership in an area of significance to you - and honestly I think this could be better described as initiative, which can manifest in other ways… Initiative and passion should lead to leadership; leadership for its own sake, in my opinion, is less telling of “MIT match” qualities.
Anyway… I’m president of Latin Club? ~_~; </p>
<p>I suppose we’ll see how the chips fall in a few days… But it’s interesting to hear everyone talk about their apps and expectations.
I am also under the strange influence of the aptly-described “invincible feeling” - though I’m not sure why, as mentally I know how ridiculously competitive it is. My best guess is that I’m just so averse to the idea of getting rejected that I can’t bring myself to internalize the idea that it will probably happen. …If that makes sense?</p>
<p>Anyway, best of luck to everyone. You all sound like amazing applicants.</p>
<p>eli-</p>
<p>I think the problem with places like MIT/HPYS is that we focus on them as the be-all and end-all. I’m to the point where I know I will end up at a college. Somewhere. And I’ll make the best of it wherever I end up. Where you go to college doesn’t define your life (I posted this in another epic post on this thread). MIT rejecting you or accepting you isn’t going to define who you are or how successful you’ll be. You know that 50% of the people graduating from Harvard make 50k per year or less? (I know Harvard =/ MIT, but you get the point…) It is the individual that matters more than the institution.</p>
<p>That said, this week will be a defining time in my life. Yes, it will somewhat determine the direction of where I go for the next 4 years. But 4 years isn’t my whole life. I think it’s important to remember this. It doesn’t define you. </p>
<p>You are the one that defines yourself. Not your parents. Not your friends. And definitely not some admissions committee.</p>
<p>Very good point Katie :)</p>
<p>As long as I get into either CalTech, MIT, or Stanford, I’ll have a top-tier option available to me. And if not, I’ll almost certainly still get into UCLA. You’re right, it’s not the end of the world if we don’t get in. But to be honest, getting rejected to all 3 schools (especially MIT) would sorta end my chance to going to school somewhere full of fellow (proud) dorks 
:(</p>
<p>Elanorci- It’s funny how it feels like it comes down to luck at this point in the process, eh? :)</p>
<p>Stanford is sooo un-dorky, to be honest.</p>
<p>Katie, I totally agree with everything you said. And I have to say, I love your epic posts and everything you write in them. Hopefully I’ll meet you sometime at MIT in the coming years :)</p>
<p>@trf I hope to meet all you guys!</p>
<p>I think I might be meeting 11% of you guys. 
(If I’m in that %…)</p>
<p>thanks, trf warm fuzzies.</p>
<p>We should have a pre frosh party before orientation (like was previously suggested and confirmed by mollie) for all us crazy CC kids. It’d be hilarious fun. We all have to get in first, though.</p>
<p>I’m taking credit for the party idea lol</p>