3.6 gpa :( and MIT obessed; PLEASE REPLY!!!

College Search & Selection
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<p>So I have a terrible GPA.
- the most rigorous schedule in my school only 1 other person takes as many classes as I do ( of course she has a 4.0).
-I am a underachieving procrastinator
- I'd like to point out that I do get the highest test scores in all my classes even though that makes my situation more pathetic.</p>

<p>ECs- lets say they're amazing. To clarify I am involved in everything at my school with tons of leadership and volunteering that was initiated by me, but if everything goes well this summer I will have a cool physics research paper( I have 1/2 of it done) and some iphone development. In my own time I have self taught myself stuff, and do random projects. I won't go in depth but I have a lot of stuff I am involved in. Oh I'm going to MIT for OEX this summer, excited to go there :D</p>

<p>Test scores :/</p>

<p>SAT 1-(I will retake as I didn't study)
740 M- want to change
800 CR
650 W- have to change
SAT 2- 790 Chem, 800 Math 2
IB scores- I did worse than I expected could get 7s or 6s, mostly nerves as everything was easy, except the essays :( I hate the essays <em>THIS IS JUST SPECULATION</em></p>

<p>Teacher recs-
Every teacher has a love-hate relationship with me, it becomes hateful as the year goes by. I expect them to be " yada yada you may think shes great, BUT she is a failure" jk but a few of my teachers hate me way too much, I'm a nice kind of socially awkward person that doesn't turn in a few things no need to hate :(</p>

<p>So, I REALLY LOVE MIT. I will not get in. Where should I apply? Can you guys suggest matches, I have enough reaches.</p>

<p>Oh also forgot to mention I am a black female interested in STEM :) please help me AA, I am relying on you to let me get into my dream school.</p>

<p>Other schools I have considered: UVA, Va Tech ( I live in VA), Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Caltech, Berkeley, Stanford, UChicago, Columbia, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, etc. I haven't focused my list.</p>

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<p>Your tests scores are really good…so no sad faces. its great that your retaking them. A 3.6 isn’t necessarily bad either (no not MIT or Harvard good) but good.<br>
Don’t not apply to MIT because of your GPA. I mean you are in IB and that counts for something, but don’t get your hopes up either.
You would possibly be able to get into Tufts, Conn College, or Colgate (some of the NESCAC schools) but Tufts might still be reachy.<br>
Clark U might be a match as well.</p>

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<p>You’ve got a lot going for you: great test scores (though 740 SAT M is on the low side for MIT, and 650 W needs to improve for top schools), rigorous curriculum, great ECs. And being a black female looking to go into a STEM field is like triple bonus points. I think you’ll do well. As well as MIT? Well, who knows, but it’s worth a shot.</p>

<p>I think Va Tech is probably a good safety for you as an in-state student. Most of the other schools you list are pretty reachy, though UVA in-state might be more of a match, and Carnegie Mellon might be a match (average 3.6 GPA, SAT CR 620-720, SAT M 670-780, admit rate 36%). I think you need more schools in the match/low match/safety range. How about Lehigh, Case Western, and RPI? These are all pretty strongly STEM-oriented schools where your stats would place you towards the upper end of the class. </p>

<p>I do think you have a shot at MIT and some of the other highly selective schools on your list. And I think you already know what needs to be done: get serious about the SAT to pull up that M score a bit and the W score a lot, and totally nail your HS grades next year.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice! I looked at Tufts and I like it well enough, yet I wasn’t too interested in Conn College, Clark and Colgate.</p>

<p>I do feel pretty confident I can make it into Va Tech, especially considering the people who get in from my school. As for UVA the decisions at my school last year surprised me both ways. </p>

<p>I actually was considering RPI as my cousin went there. Case Western and Lehigh seem fine. I’m not getting a chance to really look into the schools but they look promising enough. I definitely want to major in engineering, physics, math, or computer science so I do preferably want to go to a STEM-oriented school or a large enough school that there would be a sizable department in the field I choose.</p>

<p>So I have another question. Lets say I pick some number of my reaches to apply to, how many ‘matches’ and ‘safeties’ should I apply to? Also I’m not really sure what kind of schools would be in either category for me. Would Va Tech be enough as a safety or should I add in something like George Mason.</p>

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<p>Make sure that your safeties are also schools that will be affordable to you. Apply to your state school or somewhere that guarentees merit or that you are well above average, just to have one school that will give you enough in case college isnt affordable.
So, I would apply to 2 safeties (VA tech and another that would give you money probably), 3 matches, 3 reaches. I wouldn’t surpass 8.</p>

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<p>Ok, so 2 safeties, and 3 matches. I probably won’t follow the reach advice because I’m crazy ;). What would be my safety other than Va Tech? My other state schools are either matches, or schools I’m not interested in (I’m ok with George Mason as a super safety). Would RPI, Case Western, and Lehigh be considered safeties, or does anyone have suggestions of schools that would be?</p>

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<p>I’m going to sound like a ■■■■■, but if you were truly that obsessed with MIT you would have worked hard enough to get a good GPA. </p>

<p>That being said, you might still have a shot if you CRUSH that essay.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I know :frowning: and I know its kind of late to change anything, I have ‘tried’ repeatedly. My obsession with MIT is trivial compared to my dislike of high school. Anyway I accept that I probably won’t get into MIT, just let me know about the inferior schools I have stuck myself into going to.</p>

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<p>Lehigh would be a match not safety probably. But Creighton has a pretty good pre professional programs…ummm Oh! RIT. safety, possibly Colorado school of mines as well.</p>

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<p>Personally I’d suggest making your college choices as unemotional as possible. In other words, try like heck to avoid being obsessed with any school.</p>

<p>Try creating a simple decsion matrix, include only the most important factors/reasons you want to go to college, and compare schools that way.</p>

<p>I suggest all this because I, too, was obsessed with MIT. I got in, and it wasn’t a good fit at all. I did graduate, but if someone had suggested to me that I do a decision matrix beforehand (and I was realistic when completing it), I would have made my undergrad years a lot more enjoyable and more in line with my overall life goals.</p>

<p>Regarding the question, “can I get in?” like most schools, MIT accepts a very wide range of students. Especially if you have a particular skill or interest, or combination of contrasting skills/interests, that is somewhat unique.</p>

<p>But before worrying about whether or not you can get it, I really suggest you free yourself from obsessing over any school. It really serves no good purpose.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Larryy
Sorry to bump up an old thread but I found it ironic that I stumbled back to this thread now to see new advice that I had actually just recently(yesterday) started to do. I think it’s a great idea to make a chart/matrix of desired qualities in schools with rankings in your major, opportunities to do research, student culture, location, etc. The table I made also was weighted for the different qualities and made into a sort of best ‘fit’ index. MIT still came up on top but I saw that CMU was a really strong(yet still too selective) match for what i want. It was really helpful for me and I would definitely encourage others to do the same.</p>

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<p>If you say you are “an underachieving procrastinator” why would you have any desire to go to a school that intense? The course load there is insane, and unlike high school they have no obligation or reason to even consider giving you leeway on deadlines and quality of assignments.
You’d probably get in because you’re a female AA interested in STEM with pretty decent scores and good EC. If your teachers say you are lazy in your recs that could potentially be horrible for your application.</p>

<p>EDIT
lol I didn’t realize it was an old thread sorry.</p>