Advice for Applying/Chance?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I will be applying for MIT this fall and would just like to get your advice/opinions.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I am half Korean and half Chinese. I see myself as more Korean than Chinese, but during admissions are all Asians grouped together? Or is there an advantage to applying with one ethnicity?</p></li>
<li><p>How do my grades/ec's look?</p></li>
<li><p>gpa shows noticeable improvement from freshman to junior year
Approximate GPA's:
- 9th: 3.75 (uw) / 4.20 (w)
- 10th: 3.85 (uw) / 4.65 (w)
- 11th: 3.92 (uw) / 3.85 (w)</p></li>
<li><p>Sophomore year AP's: AP Physics B</p></li>
<li><p>Junior year AP's: AP Physics C (EM & M), AP Calculus BC (with AB subscore), AP U.S. History, AP English Language, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science</p></li>
<li><p>Senior year AP's (will take in Fall): AP Spanish, Ap Statistics, AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP Microeconomics, AP Physics (need class credit), AP English Literature</p></li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>Most ap tests were 5's besides English... Always been strong in math & science... never great in English... lol.</li>
<li>Note that all physics tests were taken out of curiosity and prior to having taken any physics classes.</li>
</ul>

<p>EC:
- Currently an intern at CalTech
- Tae Kwon Do for 11 years (instructor with 6 years of competition experience)
- 13 years violin; member of orchestras for 7 years</p>

<ol>
<li>How do my test scores look?
SAT (R/M/W): 640/790/620 (only took once)
SAT II (All taken in one seating and in this order. Scores seem to have a decreasing trend...):

<ul>
<li>Chemistry: 790</li>
<li>Math IIC: 770</li>
<li>Physics: 710</li>
</ul></li>
</ol>

<p>Thank you for any and all insight! Really appreciate it!
- Kevin</p>

2

<p>Correction:

  • 11th: 3.92 (uw) / 4.85 (w)</p>

<p>Bump.</p>

3

<p>You look like a pretty strong applicant, but your SAT score could use some raising. Since you seem to like science more than English, you might want to try taking the ACT. I thought it was much easier (the absence of vocabulary was a total plus).</p>

<p>Edit: about your ethnicity question–you shouldn’t stress about it. The application allows you to choose multiple categories, so just pick whatever you identify with. Whether you pick both or just one shouldn’t have an effect on your overall application.</p>

4

<p>Thank you. :)</p>

<p>I forgot to add these in as well. Not sure if these will make a difference.

  • Physics Bowl Captain
  • Science Bowl Captain
  • Rubik’s Cube Club (~10 second 3x3 solve time)</p>

<p>I am planning to take the September ACT (Will try to boost ACT score to about 2250 SAT I equivalent) and then take the October SAT II Physics. If it’s too late, then I will submit score (SAT II Physics) into RD.</p>