<p>Tell me why you thought so. Also, for those who were sure they were going to get in, but didn't, please reply too. </p>
<p>Im just curious.</p>
<p>Writing SAT : 570...</p>
<p>I got in :O</p>
<p>No Humanities AP even though school offered a lot of them
CR 650 WR 670
No research
No prestigious summer programs</p>
<p>and I got in, too :O</p>
<p>...because it's MIT?</p>
<p>Seriously, I have no illusions that MIT could have rejected me without a second thought, despite the "strength" of my application. I am continuously grateful Ben & co. admitted me, because IHTFP. :D</p>
<p>I really don't think anyone can be absolutely sure that they'll get into MIT...to assume such would be rather absurd, given the competitiveness of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>^
"I really don't think anyone can be absolutely sure that they'll get into MIT"</p>
<p>I didn't say "absolutely" sure. I just said sure. There is a difference slightly. The valedictorian in out local public high school was known to be very cocky in his achievements in academics. The only school he applied to was MIT (he was so sure he would get in EA > he got rejected, not even deffered.</p>
<p>@rainynight</p>
<p>Hmm, thats interesting. You must have had some extrordinary ECs then right?From your previous posts, you seemed to have involved urself in robotics? you must have won many awards or something in robotics.</p>
<p>I absolutely believed that I was going to be rejected when I applied in the 2002-2003 school year. I only bothered to apply because, well, it's a good school, and it seemed silly not to at least give it a try. It was one of the biggest shocks of my life when I got the acceptance.</p>
<p>I didn't think I would get in because I only had a 3.85 GPA (I know, hardly a bad one, but at the high school level plenty of kids have 4.0s), I had gotten Bs in every math class except AP Stats, and I had gotten a 2 on the AP Calc BC test.</p>
<p>I would be happy to tell you the <em>good</em> parts of my application if you want, but you only asked why I didn't think I would get in. :D</p>
<p>The point is, for Harvard, you might have to be perfect to get in, but for MIT you don't! You have to be good, but what they care about more is the right match. It definitely helps to have good scores etc on your app, but that will never be enough. focus on the match.</p>
<p>In robotics we don't really win any awards other than being seeded high-ish. There are team funded completely by NASA with unlimited funds and access to CNC, waterjetted cutters and NASA engineers.</p>
<p>I only bothered applying because the previous robotics president and one of my model airplane friends got in, both graduated a year before me. Before then, I was aiming for Berkeley EECS for the longest time. Before Berkeley, I was going to Zhejiang University for as long as I could remember. hehe</p>
<p>
[quote]
The point is, for Harvard, you might have to be perfect to get in...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not really, no. MIT is probably more stats-driven than Harvard, really. It's Caltech that prides themselves on being stats-driven. Not that I'm saying that to knock either Harvard or Caltech, it's just different philosophies for different institutional needs/wants.</p>
<p>@jessiehl</p>
<p>Sure you can. Please do say the <em>good</em> parts of your app. I asked rainynight, so to be fair, I'll ask you.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Please do say the <em>good</em> parts of your app.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Okay.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I had 800s on both the SAT math section and the SAT II Math IIC, perhaps demonstrating that, grades aside, I wasn't sleeping through my classes. My combined SAT math + verbal was 1570.</p></li>
<li><p>I had what might have been a state record at the time for the most AP classes taken (nothing terribly odd for College Confidential, but most people in my home state, even in the best schools, don't take classes that advanced, or at least they didn't 5-10 years ago). I also had two regular college classes. I had taught myself the second level of higher math, allowing me to squeak into the 10th grade math/science/tech magnet class as a 9th grader. Basically, I took all kinds of risks with my schedule, even though it meant that I got lower grades, because I wanted to learn things. Everyone thought I was mad, when I could have gotten a 4.0 easily had I chosen differently. I think MIT respected that.</p></li>
<li><p>I had two region-level awards in category for ISEF research projects.</p></li>
<li><p>I had good ECs - four years on the nationally competitive quiz bowl team, three years on Science Bowl, several state medals and reasonable national placings in Science Olympiad, individual top-5 and top-10 placings at the state academic championship, four years as a varsity cross-country runner. Plus things that I did for fun (12 years of summer-league swimming, 6 of summer-league diving, volunteering as a diving judge), so it was clear enough that I didn't choose activities primarily to look good on a resume.</p></li>
<li><p>I think my essays were more of winners than I realized at the time, to the extent that it might have been a tip factor for me.</p></li>
<li><p>Not that I saw the recs, but given the particular teachers I chose and what they were likely to have written, they were probably golden. I mean, I had a lot of teachers who would have written what they <em>thought</em> were golden recs, but, knowing the particular ones I picked to do my MIT recs, I (largely accidentally) picked the ones who were likely to have written what I know now would be really outstanding recs <em>from MIT's perspective</em>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Well for Harvard, everyone from my school who got in had 2400, 4.0 UW with the highest number of APs etc or at least most of them
Anyone who "only" had a 2350+ and/or 1 B was waitlisted even if they are internationally ranked for some sport or had crazy research things.
Most people from my school who got into MIT didn't have perfect SATs nor GPAs but had amazing achievements in more of the Extracurricular things and really showed their passion in math and science.
Maybe that is just the trend at my school.</p>
<p>I was basically 100% sure that a friend of mine would get into MIT. He was on one of IMO/IBO/IOI/ICO/IPO US teams.</p>
<p>I was not sure If I had any chance given that the previous summer
the MIT WTP program had told me I was "overqualified". Caltech became
an important choice for EA, so I decided to apply to MIT as well.</p>
<p>I think my interview made a major positive contribution to my application
for admittance to MIT. </p>
<p>rainynightstarz, interestingly at my school for the first time this year
the top students were waitlisted and the next tier were accepted to
H (usually it is the other way around 2-3 top tier 1/2 wait listees)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Basically, I took all kinds of risks with my schedule, even though it meant that I got lower grades, because I wanted to learn things. Everyone thought I was mad, when I could have gotten a 4.0 easily had I chosen differently. I think MIT respected that.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>jessiehl,
S1 did the same thing. Less than perfect GPA (< 3.8 UW), but major academic risk-taking. Test scores were stellar. Spent more time daydreaming up projects and doing research than homework sometimes, but he had several substantial things to show for it. MIT was his super-reach and he got in EA. I think they saw the passion and fit, plus the awards. Was waitlisted at Caltech and rejected at H -- feel fairly certain it was the grades.</p>
<p>rainynight,</p>
<p>The case is pretty much exactly the same at my school, I think...</p>
<p>
[quote]
I was not sure If I had any chance given that the previous summer
the MIT WTP program had told me I was "overqualified".
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Heh. WTP looks for different things than MIT. I have a bunch of friends who have been staff for MIT, so I have heard about this. WTP is targeted at smart girls who might be on the fence about a technical career, or don't have much prior exposure to EECS - the point is to teach them something they don't know, expose them to something they might not have considered otherwise. Someone with too much prior EECS expertise can easily be overqualified for WTP.</p>
<p>I never thought that I would get in. My SAT scores are near the 700's, but a lot of people are like that too. I don't have any research or big awards (my school isn't very big on those kind of things, but I do have some minor awards that don't relate to science/math). I'm kind of your run-of-the-mill high school student. Maybe I got in because started the engineering club at my school. My essays stood out because I wrote them in a story format and I also ended them with science metaphors :)</p>
<p>No really sciencey background, no big awards or competitions (I hadn't even HEARD of FIRST or AMC's or stuff like that), no research, nothin'. My SAT II's were all in the 600s, I had one B every semester. </p>
<p>... still NO idea how this happened O.O</p>