All these "chance" threads...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>In all of these "chance" threads that I've read, people have amazing profiles</p>

<p>They have near-perfect SAT I and II scores, they took all these advanced courses and had perfect scores, they're president of all these clubs, they do all these extracurriculars (although i didn't see much people w/ sports, mostly academic), and they won all these impressive awards</p>

<p>Take, for example, this currently high school JUNIOR, who wrote the thread "i love mit but pro. wont get in :("
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/414918-i-love-mit-but-prob-wont-get.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/414918-i-love-mit-but-prob-wont-get.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>----->note that he even has a SAD face in his thread title<----</p>

<p>How can people with amazing profiles like that NOT HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE ABOUT GETTING INTO MIT????? </p>

<p>ITS LIKE YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO BRAG ABOUT ALL YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!</p>

<p>I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE A GREAT CHANCE OF GETTING INTO MIT, but you're making people like me feel sad</p>

<p>I'm a senior applying to MIT this year, and my profile is not NEARLY as amazing as everyone elses here</p>

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<p>this is not a bump, just wanted to add more about that thread</p>

<p>----->note that he even has a SAD face in his thread title<----</p>

<p>some of my favorite quotes: "my gpa is pretty bad so i probably won't be able to get in" - 4.7 in soph year, and thats BAD?????
"I take neurobiology at Columbia University in NY every saturday" -WHAT!? I WISH I HAD A CHANCE LIKE THAT
"take all those SATs and APs and iimprove my SATs" WHAT!?!?!?? PERFECT IS NOT HIGH ENOUGH!?!?</p>

<p>I think I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now, thanks</p>

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<p>I agree it's pretty depressing. Before reading these posts I just kind of assumd that there was a percentage of applicants who applied to MIT just because it was MIT, but weren't really qualified. After coming here, wow. Does MIT really have to choose from 10000 applicants like these, cuz if so, I might as well not even bother applying. It'd be a waste of time and money. I mean, are we only seeing la creme de la creme or is every applicant this friggin ridiculous lol?</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Before reading these posts I just kind of assumd that there was a percentage of applicants who applied to MIT just because it was MIT, but weren't really qualified. After coming here, wow. Does MIT really have to choose from 10000 applicants like these, cuz if so, I might as well not even bother applying.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The group posting here is kind of self-selected. I remember hearing someone in Admissions say that about 70% of applicants are academically qualified.</p>

<p>Remember the following things:</p>

<ul>
<li>People on CC are neurotic.</li>
<li>Your accomplishments are viewed in the context of your opportunities.</li>
<li>Taking the Internet at face value is always dangerous.</li>
<li>There are many ways to demonstrate that you are a good fit for MIT.</li>
</ul>

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<p>YAY FOR CC MEDIOCRITY! <em>Grabs razor blade and bucket</em> =P</p>

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<p>icie: "I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE A GREAT CHANCE OF GETTING INTO MIT, but you're making people like me feel sad"</p>

<p>Let me assure you that these high SAT scorers would never aspire to make you feel "sad." Morose perhaps. Maybe doleful. Mirthless, triste, melancholy, desolate--all these things quite possibly. But not "sad."</p>

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<p>If it makes you feel any better...</p>

<p>Icie, it is rumored that there are......
....cats that have razor sharp claws :eek:
...slash up applicants that smell like CC high scorers.
see[url=<a href="http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/lolz_cats.shtml%5Dthis%5B/url"&gt;http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/lolz_cats.shtml]this[/url&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/p>

<p>cheerup :)</p>

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<p>cc is pretty crazy lol</p>

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<p>You can have perfect SAT's and the highest GPA in the country, but that doesn't mean you will get into MIT. MIT is looking for a specific type of person, not people who are doing things for the sake of getting into college. If you are really passionate about getting into MIT, it will show in your application.</p>

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<p>yeah i know SAT scores aren't everything, and i feel pretty qualified even w/ low scores, after all, by looking at the MIT admittance percentages for the entering class, some people scored below 600 on some parts of SAT I, so i might have some chance =D</p>

<p>Plus, I'm a pretty fun guy with a wicked sense of humor ;)</p>

<p>"Your accomplishments are viewed in the context of your opportunities."
Yeah, totally</p>

<p>Thanks guys, i hope to see you guys at MIT if I get in, assuming you guys get in too or already a student there =D</p>

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<p>I cannot agree more with your response (although I would refrain from direct jabs at posters). I know many people who complain that their 3.9 GPA and 780-780-750 SAT I and 700's SAT II's won't get them into any high-ranking college because they're not perfect.</p>

<p>I'm not an admissions officer, I'm not a college student, I'm not a teacher or a parent or anyone important. I'm merely an MIT hopeful like most of you. But even I can realize that hey... perfect doesn't not always == interesting.</p>

<p>Why complain over only getting 3rd at state in a competition? Think of the people who didn't place, the people who were eliminated early in the round, the people who didn't even get a -chance- to participate yet still desire to attend the same college you do. You're worrying over not getting a 780+ on your Math II? Well guess what, I earned myself a 640 (despite intensive studying and enrollment in AP Calculus) and I haven't cried yet. You think a 750 isn't "good enough" for a science subject test? The science I love most is Physics, but I received a 650. I took it because 1) I love Physics and wanted to show that I was passionate enough to show what I -did- know instead of taking something easy that I was bound to score uber-high on (such as World History) and because 2) it was relevant to my major. You think getting a 4 on an AP test is bad? I was sick on test day last year and received a 2. That's right, I didn't even -pass- the AP French IV Language test even though I had prepped the entire year.</p>

<p>But I'm not dead, I haven't lost hope yet, and after receiving replies on my first and only "chance" thread, I've proclaimed this "chance" deal a huge folly. Sure, it's always best to have awesome test scores, but isn't it more important to show that you have a life, a purpose, and a passion that you like to aspire for, instead of becoming some test-taking, application-filling, college-pleasing machine? After all, who wants a bunch of students who are all state champions in math, have triple-800's, and spend their free time doing nothing but reading the Campbell's Biology textbook?</p>

<p>I've just heard it from my college friends, but what the colleges want to see are people who are passionate, courageous, and ambitious.</p>

<p>If you've already told yourself you probably won't get in, you've already lost half the battle. Stay optimistic while keeping it real, and hopefully I'll see the rest of you hopefuls at MIT someday!</p>

<p>If not, what's the worst that can happen? You'll be "forced" to go to a "lower-level" college? Be grateful you even have the credentials to be accepted into good state universities - there are tons of other people out there with 2.9's and 450-380-400 SATs that would die to be able to attend any of your "safety schools". Take things in stride, deal with it, and reapply to MIT for grad school =)</p>

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<p>Vivi - Wow, you couldnt have been more correct in basically every way. It seems like most kids are retaking tests for 10 or 20 points to get that 800 and I cant see anything more obvious than that that an applicant is just doing it for their dream school. Since when has life revolved around college? When did learning for the sake of LEARNING fall by the wayside? Never once have I done something for the sake of getting into college because frankly, its not that big of a deal. Good health, great friends, and an unregrettable life have been 10 times more important than MIT or Harvard. Think how miserable you'd be if you spent 4+ years preparing for a future at a school then got rejected. Think about all those wasted Saturdays taking standardized tests and all those hours of Key Club that you could not give a crap about. At least, if you do what you love, regardless of what people think, if you dont get in where you want, your not going to feel the same sort of pain. MIT is a stretch for everyone, and while it is many peoples as well as my #1 by far, theres more than one way to get to where you want to be, doing what you love.</p>

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<p>This post was really nice, and believe me, it came at the right time.... I did pretty well on my SAT II's but I messed up SAT Critical Reading.... Just retook it last week and well, am feeling happier now, knowing that there are other people like me here!! :D And yeah, it isnt really about definite chances or getting into one university, esp one like MIT at all... Esp for international applicants like myself, things seem to depend on a lot of other things than SAT scores... But we just gotta give it our best shot!! :D Best of luck to all you EA applicants waiting for the results :)</p>

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<p>Seriously kids, most of the people that post on this board are insane. Or, as Jessie said with the most perfect word choice ever, "neurotic." </p>

<p>Honestly, most of the people who are making you feel bad about yourselves are probably pretty bad fits for MIT. They're the people that are going to write extra essays "explaining" the one B they got freshman year, and MIT is going to pass them up for someone with a little more personality, who can handle failure without whining about it, and who knows that there's more to life than the SAT.</p>

<p>Personally, I had good grades and SAT scores but NO awards- not even at the regional or school-wide level. No science fairs, crazy internships from the age of 13, hell, I wasn't even president of anything in high school. ANYTHING. I played field hockey (mostly JV, yes, even as a senior) and did one year of FIRST robotics before the team was disbanded. Now, I'm a junior at MIT. </p>

<p>In other words, I promise there is nothing wrong with you, you have a chance of getting in, and in the end, you have a healthier attitude towards life.</p>

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<p>WOW LAURA THANK YOU. It is SO nice to hear of somebody getting into MIT without crazy awards or research or USAMO or something. Seriously. THANK YOU!</p>

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<p>ye icie dont get down. people who are posting chances threads like that are probably just trying to boost their own egos or looking for some kind of validation because they're insecure. it gets a little annoying but just ignore it.</p>

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<p>LauraN: "Honestly, most of the people who are making you feel bad about yourselves are probably pretty bad fits for MIT. They're the people that are going to write extra essays "explaining" the one B they got freshman year, and MIT is going to pass them up for someone with a little more personality, who can handle failure without whining about it, and who knows that there's more to life than the SAT.</p>

<p>In other words, I promise there is nothing wrong with you, you have a chance of getting in, and in the end, you have a healthier attitude towards life."</p>

<p>Well, you know, obviously no one here is going to support writing an essay listing excuses as to why someone got a "B". However, I will say that I find the notion of grading people's personalities far more dehumanizing and unpredictable than ranking people according to their accomplishments as measured by grades, test scores, recommendations, and competitions--especially at a technical school such as MIT where prowess is more easily measured than in softer fields such as business.</p>

<p>Maybe this is a mistake to say it because there seems to be few that seem to understand what I'm getting at. </p>

<p>Whether you "get in" to college isn't supposed to be a validation of your value as a person. Hopefully, it is a rational process which assesses your achievements as a scholar as well as your potential for future achievement. Yes, it's not all about perfect test scores, but you do need a high degree of meticulousness and attention to detail to succeed--especially in technical professions. A guy I knew got about 1390 on the SAT, got into MIT, and got a 4.8/5.0 GPA in mechanical engineering there while being a 4 year athlete (captaining it senior year) and was also president of the class. He won a Marshall Scholarship in 1998, which is one of the 3 British Postgraduate Scholarships (Rhodes is the most famous, but Marshall actually has higher academic standards.) It would have been a mistake to rule him out because his SAT score wasn't near the top 1000 of applicants to MIT. However, hopefully you try to assess who actually has the most potential to succeed and not just pick out "normal" people just so that it's not all high achievers.</p>

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<p>collegealum - i think basically what you were getting at was the "potential to succeed", which I believe is more or less a synonym for what Laura was attempting to explain through the kids who "can handle failure without whining about it".</p>

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<p>seriously you people need to calm down.
no, not the people with the great stats who supposedly doubt their own chances of admissions, but rather the people who keep attacking them.</p>

<p>has it ever occured to anyone that people may do that in order to not come across as arrogant? I mean, it might not be necessary, but at least they're probably not "just trying to boost their own egos or looking for some kind of validation because they're insecure".</p>

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<p>ye but just post your thread and be done. people just take it overboard, like when you ask if you have "any possible chance at all at MIT" with like a 2200 or something</p>