<p>So, I'm applying RD, and I'm wondering what parts of my application to highlight, and what parts might need 'explaining' or something. :p</p>
<p>Basic stats:
[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2080, 760M, 670V, 650W, (Does the writing section really matter? And, I retook the SAT in December, I'll get those scores on Monday))
[</em>] SAT IIs: 760 MIc, 760 MIIc, 730 Physics
[<em>] ACT: 33, 34 English, 33 Math, 32 Reading, 32 Science.
[</em>] GPA: 3.9ish, 4 B's in high school, Comp Lit 1, Comp Lit 2, Brit Lit 1, and Adv. Am. Hist 2.
[<em>] Rank: School doesn't rank.
[</em>] Other stats: 3 BC Cal, 3 AB subscore, 3 Phys C Mech, 2 Phys C E&M
[/ul]</p>
<p>I'm a bit worried about the AP scores (and the Verbal score)... I had A's through the classes, the classes really weren't grade inflated. I just don't test well...</p>
<p>Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: Alabama
[</em>] School Type: Math and Science, Boarding (school starts 10 or 11 to 12, I came in 10)
[<em>] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[</em>] Gender: Male</p>
<p>And for the extra stuff:
[list]
[li]Curriculars: (These are classes I've gone beyond the requirement to take, because of my enjoyment of the fields):(Junior)AP BC calculus (It's actually split into seperate classes, of which I took Diff Cal(10), Integral, BC) Physics C, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Complex Analysis, Problem Solving Seminar, Intro to Electrical Engineering, Digital Electronics, Robotics, Introduction to Electrodynamics (directed study), (Senior)Lasers and Holography, AP Chem, Multivariable Calc, Number Theory, Problem Solving Seminar, Quantum and Relativity, Math research (for credit, explained below), (will take) Astrophyics, Statistics.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Extracurriculars:[/li]-Soccer since age 5, Varsity since 10th grade.
-I built my own audio amplifier and speakers (11th)
-Chess club since 10th grade.
-Geometry team(9), math team 10-12
-Science Olympiad (11, 12).
-Vice President of RC/Engineering club.(12)
-Volunteer Camp Counseler at United Cerebral Palsy's CAMP SMILE, a camp for mentally (or otherwise) disabled children. (Summer after 11)
-Swim teacher for two summers (before I moved), teaching kids age 4 - 15.
-I'm a community level designer for Unreal Tournament 2004. I work with a team of mappers from (literally) all over the world. We've released two mappacks (Ultimate Community Map Pack (1 and 2), or UCMP(2)). The first release, we were completely unknown, and still received over 40,000 downloads of the pack in a short period of time (a couple weeks). This mappack was published in PCZone of the UK, (and permission was asked of us for it to be published in a French magazine, though we never received confirmation that it happened). The second mappack I co-authored a map for with an online aquaintance. We've been asked permission to publish in an Italian magazine, no confirmation that it has happened though. <a href="http://www.ucmappack.org%5B/url%5D">www.ucmappack.org</a> for the mappack's site, and go here for images of my map for the first pack, DM-UCMP-Contrast: <a href="http://www.ucmappack.org/ucmp1scrs/dmcont.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.ucmappack.org/ucmp1scrs/dmcont.htm</a>, and here for images of the map for the second pack, BR/CTF-UCMP2-Sublimity: <a href="http://www.ucmappack.org/ucmp2scrs/ctfsub.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.ucmappack.org/ucmp2scrs/ctfsub.htm</a>.</p>
<p>[li]Research:[/li]-I was invited to an internship at the University of Alabama's EMSyL (ElectroMechanical Systems Laboratory)
-Based off experience from this internship, me and a friend built a robotic system that can map out the interior of a room in 3Dimensions into a VRML file. (Unfortunately, none of the data looks too hot, due to the fact that we couldn't afford good hardware ;))
-For this robotics project, our physics teacher took us to the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science, and Technology (NCSSSMST) at Villanova University to present our work.
-We expanded this project into a computer program that uses neural networks to learn to recognize 3D objects. We learned of the Siemens competition a month before the deadline, so we worked hard to get it into submittable form. We submitted it, but didn't make semi-finalist.
-We're expanding this project further so that it will be able to recognize 3d objects in a clustered environment of 3d objects. (Post EA app submission), I've managed to derive new math in order to describe these 3D objects, thus making it much easier.
-Our physics professor intends to take us to the next NCSSSMST at Renssalear to present this project.
-My school is one of 18 in the nation to recieve the MIT-Lemelson Inventeams $10,000 grant. I'm one of the team leaders on this project, and unless circumstances change Drastically, I'll be one of the presenters at MIT in June. Our project is to make a (mostly) autonomous robotic system that can detect and destroy metallic AND non-metallic land mines. We're planning on implementing a form of the object recognition program in this project as well.
-Since I've taken (/am taking the last of the) math classes at my school, my math teacher invited me to do research with her husband, a math Ph.D. at a local university. I'm researching Rational Approximation with him.
[/ul]</p>
<p>So, can my extra stuff make up for my standardized test scores? Is being involved in an MIT project going to hurt my chances? (:P)</p>