<p>Just want to bump this, that I know quite a few students who got accepted a year early, I personally am going to do the same myself, :D</p>
<p>People who did that were genius and did something incredible, no?</p>
<p>Some not all, my friend (shrig94 on CC) created a new math organization to give free lectures online and such, and he did USAJMO, but overal he’s not your stunning genius, yes he’s really really bright and high caliber.</p>
<p>As a 2015 who, like the OP, comes from an area without many opportunities, I can say it is very possible to get into MIT without research on your resume. I think they look for you to make the most of the opportunities you have, and it’s hard to participate in research when you’re self-studying physics and chemistry because your school doesn’t offer those classes.</p>
<p>Oh, and one of the bloggers, Yan Z., I believe was accepted her junior year in high school.</p>
<p>I didn’t do a research mentorship in high school even though about 95% of the people in my high school did one. It didn’t hurt me in admissions to Caltech or MIT.</p>
<p>(Incidentally, I signed up for research, and they ended up having me shadowing a doctor instead of research, but that’s another story.)</p>
<p>There are creative ways to do research and take advanced classes. My son’s a homeschooler in So. Cal. Our local schools are quite bad. We’re very middle income (below 80K) and we have been creative about finding advanced work for my son. This year as a junior, he audited a year of the hardest u/g physics class at the local state uni. He got the highest grade in class and the prof invited him to do research this summer. The school is two trolley stops away from us, too. 
My son chose not to attend full time colleg early though he did calculus I in 8th grade, cal II and III in 9th, and has taken 8 college math courses and will end up taking 8 college physics courses (community college and audits). </p>
<p>Some kids and families are ready for them to go away to college early; we were not.</p>
<p>I didn’t read through this thread carefully, but I’d recommend studying on your own through MIT’s OpenCourseWare. MIT Classes online! Professor Auroux! So legit. [Free</a> Online Course Materials | MIT OpenCourseWare](<a href=“http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm]Free”>MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials)</p>
<p>And I would apply this year. You don’t need a HS diploma to apply, so you wouldn’t have to declare at your high school that you were graduating early, if that affects anything. I was about to apply early, and regret not doing so.</p>
<p>My S really wanted to attend college early, especially during his sophomore year in high school. We looked into it. Now, looking back, I can say as a parent, that I’m absolutely glad we didn’t go that way. S is maturing and flourishing in such a way that he is very happy where he’s at (private college prep HS). He’s going into his senior year. </p>
<p>S applied for an MIT summer program during his sophomore year and was not accepted, applied again during his junior year and was… and reading the essays from the first attempt to the second attempt show a tremendous amount of growth. S is at MIT now and having the time of his life (although I suspect he’ll sleep the rest of his summer away once he gets back home in order to catch up :-)).</p>
<p>Absolutely some kids are ready for college early and do well. For my S, he has needed the time at home to truly be ready for success.</p>