<p>Assuming good EC's, SATs, etc., how much would self studying a bunch of APs look on app? My current AP classes are Envi Sci, Eng Lang, Chem, and US Hist, and gonna self study Comp Sci and US Gov (only 6 classes at my school, including sport). I also kinda wanna self-study some/all of the following: Calc AB or BC, Bio, Psych, Comparative Gov, Macroecon, Microecon, and Stats. If I do self study these, I want only 5s, a couple 4s at most.
1. Would self-studying these help very much, or should I try to focus on one subject and go beyond AP? If the latter, how can I become involved in that subject, my school/city doesn't offer big competitions/clubs/etc. that I know of or could access?
2. Which/how many of those 8 are most important? I'm most interested in Calc and Bio, but they're also the toughest and require the most time.
3. Hypothetically, if I took 15 APs (self-studying 10) in one year and got 5s on all of them, still with good ECs/etc., would that give suuuuper good chances? I know APs aren't everything, but wouldn't that be impressive?</p>
<p>Doing something for no other reason than to pad your resume is a bad idea in an application to MIT.</p>
<p>The typical MIT student has taken an average of around 6-7 APs. I don’t believe taking many more than that will really help in admission. Some APs can give you elective credits or even allow you to skip one or two GIRs (AP Calc BC and AP Physics). You would get more mileage taking something like the AMC and possible the AIME if you qualify. In general, MIT is more interested in quality rather than quantity so focus on a few areas and do well at them. Not every activity requires belonging to a club. Showing some initiative goes a long way.</p>
<p>@cgarcia: I’m not really trying to “pad my resume,” I’m interested in all of those subjects. I just wanna know if it would mean much if I went so far as to take the AP test.</p>
<p>@cellardweller: How do I focus on a few areas and show initiative without clubs and competitions?</p>
<p>Several people have asked variants of this question recently.</p>
<p>I think the best answer any of us can give is that yes, it certainly helps to self-study and go beyond what your school is able to offer. Although it’s not necessary to self-study and take the AP test in a subject, it is probably helpful in terms of assessing how much you have learned, and certainly is useful for credit purposes at MIT and other schools once you’re in college. I would not consider broad study of a number of subjects to be better or worse than deep study in a narrower subject of interest, but I could be wrong.</p>
<p>At any rate, it’s not uncommon in the MIT applicant pool to self-study a subject and take an AP test in that subject, and I wouldn’t consider self-study, even of a fairly large number of subjects, to be a “hook” at MIT.</p>
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<p>As I interview applicants for MIT, I am always amazed at the various ways they demonstrate their interests for science and technology. One of the students I interviewed from a small private high school with limited on campus resources had been working on his own on new materials to cool microprocessors. He googled to find out what research universities in his area were involved in developing new materials he could use. He sent emails to a number of the professors discussing his interests and whether any would be willing to guide him in his research. He found a Professor at Yale willing to assist him. Based on his preliminary work, he was then invited to work at the Professor’s lab over the summer as an intern and the Professor recommended him to MIT where he was admitted the following year. This is just one example. Another one asked his chemistry teacher to help develop and supervise some research project outside of school. My daughter volunteered at a cardiac imaging clinic while in high school. She ended up doing advanced analysis work for the main physician for over two years that was part of a clinical research project. She became one of the authors for a paper in a major medical journal. </p>
<p>You would be surprised how many people may be willing to assist a budding engineer or scientist on some project. A lot of things happen once you get the ball rolling. If you are especially interested in MIT, you may want to look up what alumni live in your area. Many are involved as Educational Counselors or take interns and are eager to help students interested in engineering and science.</p>