<p>SAT I: 1420 (730M, 690V)
Writing SAT II: 670
PSAT: 200 (Semifinalist?)</p>
<p>GPA: 3.5 UW 4.3 W Top 15-20% (Should go up considerably by the end of the year)</p>
<p>Senior Year Schedule:
AP Calculus BC
AP Physics 2
AP Computer Science 2
AP Govt/Eco
AP English 4
Orchestra
Jazz Band</p>
<p>Played violin for 12 years. Played Euphonium for 3 years. Played trombone for 3 years.</p>
<p>Marching band for 1 year. Jazz band for 3 years (Vice President). Orchestra for 3 years (Vice President). Community orchestra 2 years. Community band 2 years.</p>
<p>250 hours of volunteer work helping the computer science teacher with projects. 100+ hours of volunteer work at church library.</p>
<p>Created website for a local little league team.</p>
<p>Computer technician for the school newspaper 1 year. (there is only one each year)</p>
<p>Know about 8 programming languages. Fluent in three.</p>
<p>Build and sell computers on a local scale for 2 years.</p>
<p>I'm a white male living in Texas. I want to go into either computer science or electrical engineering. Planning on applying to UT Austin, Rice, Washington University in St. Louis, Trinity, A&M, Carelton...Do I have any chance of getting into a school like MIT or Caltech or should I just not try?</p>
<p>oh gosh..i dont know about the other schools but rice looks good. you should try..your stats are good and stuff...hey didyou tell them how many community service hours you have? if you did..how did you do it? did you just say "i have 140 hours for church blah blah"</p>
<p>I am a junior, so I haven't applied to anything yet. I just wanted to know if I was completely crazy for where I want to go. Rice is probably my top choice.</p>
<p>Cutoff for Commended last year was 201, semi was i think 221. You might get commended.</p>
<p>Right. It was 216 or something here last year. Sorry about that.</p>
<p>Whether or not you try for MIT/Caltech depends on the kind of person you are. If competition (between yourself and the SAT's) is something you find challenging and envigorating, go for it: you will need excellent grades this year, and close to 800's in the SAT I math, IIC, and an SAT science. And all it will buy you is a lottery ticket. If you think this sounds stressful and pointless, aim your sights at Rice. You will have to work hard to stand a good shot there, but at least its a reasonable reach.</p>
<p>So if I got all A's, 800s and all that stuff..what would my chances be for MIT then?</p>
<p>MIT maybe....It really depends on what the opportunities are like in your area and how you used them. I noticed you haven't done any comp sci/math competitions- did your school administer AMC/AIME? If not, go on the web and look up "USACO" (USA Computing Olympiad- the premier high school programming competition in the US) and try your hand at their contests. It'll prove whether you really are good at programming, and whether MIT/Caltech would even be the right place for you to go. Plus, if you're ranked high enough in any of their contests, it would definitely be a big plus on your application.</p>
<p>hope that helps, and good luck :)</p>
<p>MIT admits what, 17% or something like that. Unlike Catech, they do not appear to be entirely stats-driven (your grades are an issue), so that won't knock you completely out of the running. asterstar has made an excellent suggestion on ec's - and if you are an MIT kind of a kid, you will have fun in the competitions. </p>
<p>One final piece of the application puzzle is the essay. A good essay can be a tip factor, even at a tech school. </p>
<p>Since it sounds like you're going to go for it, please try to visit these schools. My son was in a similar position last year - visited MIT - and decided it was not for him. You will either love it or want to run away quickly.</p>
<p>You might want to take a look at Harvey Mudd as a science-y LAC.</p>
<p>yeah harvey mudd is cool</p>
<p>Yeah. My grades arent as high as they could be. The more I look at the stats on MIT (acceptance rate and how my SAT score is near the bottom of their average scores), the more i doubt my acceptance there. I will probably have a pretty good essay, so that won't be a problem. Anyway, I will definitely check out MIT and Harvey Mudd this summer and I signed up for a few comp sci competitions. Thanks for the suggestions. Does anyone else have suggestions?</p>