Aspiring Freshman

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>I visited MIT and about half of the Ivy League last summer, and I was blown away by the atmosphere of Cambridge and the surrounding area of intellectuals.</p>

<p>I've decided that I want to shoot for MIT. Math and science have always been my favorite classes, and it's pretty obvious from my stats:</p>

<p>I'm an Asian attending a slightly competitive public school in Texas offering the IB program, which, for those people who are not familiar with it, is an extremely rigorous college-level program that not only includes a tough course load, but a huge 5000-word (I believe, if not more) essay and a large "Creativity-Action-Service" requirement.</p>

<p>Grades</p>

<p>**Class Rank<a href="as%20of%20fall%20sem">/b</a>: 7/1004</p>

<p>**9th Grade<a href="1st%20Sem%20Only;%20expect%2093-100%20in%20next%20sem">/b</a>:
Pre-AP English I: 95
Pre-AP World Geography: 98
AP Calculus BC: 97
Pre-AP Biology: 98
French II: 98
Intro to Electronics: 98
Tennis: 100
Art I: 98</p>

<p>Summer:
General College Physics I (community college)
General College Physics II ^_^</p>

<p>**10th Grade<a href="expect%2093-100%20in%20everything">/b</a>:
Pre-AP English II
AP World History
AP Statistics
AP Physics C
Pre-AP Chemistry
Pre-AP French III
AP Computer Science
Scientific Research & Design: Engineering
Differential Equations (1st Sem at Community College)
Calculus III (2nd Sem at Community College)</p>

<p>**11th Grade<a href="expect%2093-100%20in%20everything">/b</a>:
IB English SL (AP Eng Lang & Comp)
IB Regional Studies (APUSH)
IB Biology HL (AP Bio)
AP Environmental Science
Scientific Research & Design: Engineering
IB Math HL
IB French IV SL
Tennis
Discrete Mathematics (1st Sem at Community College)
Calculus IV (2nd Sem at Community College)</p>

<p>**12th Grade<a href="expect%2093-100%20in%20everything">/b</a>:
IB English HL (AP Eng Lit & Comp)
IB 20th Century Topics
IB Chemistry HL (AP Chem)
Scientific Research & Design: Engineering
IB Further Mathematics
IB French V HL
AP Micro/Macroeconomics
Tennis
Linear Algebra (1st Sem at Community College)
Complex Analysis (2nd Sem at Community College)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars<a href="pretty%20tentative%20here">/u</a>:
Poetry Club (9,10)
French Club (9,10,11,12)
Astronomy Club (9,10,11,12)
Chess Club (9,10,11,12)
Solar Car Team (9,10,11,12) (I am Vice President of Research currently, hope to become president next year)
STEM Academy Vice President (10)
STEM Academy President (11,12)
School Treasurer (11,12)
Debate Team (10,11,12)
JV Tennis (11)
Varsity Tennis (12)</p>

<br>


<br>

<p>I will create a Mu Alpha Theta chapter (an honors society with emphasis on mathematics) in my school with the help of my current Calculus teacher.</p>

<p>Will apply for RSI (at MIT FTW) and SSP.
Currently studying for the AMC 10/12 for next year, will hopefully take AIME
Will take USABO open exam, will hopefully take semifinals</p>

<p>Test Scores<a href="Not%20tentative;%20I%20took%20these%20tests%20already">/u</a>:
SAT Subject Test: Math Level II: 800
SAT Subject Test: Biology M: 760
PSAT: 183 (OMG. Didn't really prep for it, I was quite disappointed)
I'll bump up my scores. Most definitely.</p>

<p>Erm, can you guys give me a reality check? Can I keep doing what I'm doing and get into the college of my dreams?</p>

2

<p>(1) There is no formula for getting into MIT. Certainly if you do what you stated above, you’ll have a shot. Which is the most that can be said for any applicant.
(2) Junior year, you have 10 classes, 6 AP/IB and 2 community college. Why do you consider this to be realistic? I also wouldn’t put things like “I’ll be club president two years from now” on a chance thread.</p>

<p>Go actually accomplish stuff, then come back here for chancing.</p>

3

<p>to be honest, thats a beastly portfolio right there…
just make sure u dont run out of steam halfway through ur high school years… its pretty much impossible to finish so many classes in a year IMO… idk.
if u stick to it, i’d say ur chances are pretty high.</p>

4

<p>Dude, don’t worry too much about trying to build an impressive resume just for the purpose of getting into the college you want to go to.
If you really enjoy doing every activity you’ve listed above, then that’s great; by all means, go ahead.
However, take it from someone who’s tried being superhuman and taking/self-studying a bajillion classes while participating in every single extra curricular activity: it’s not worth it! At the end of the road, I ended up having to quit almost everything except for those few activities which I liked the most (I’ve quit debate, french honor society, science club, and FBLA within the last two years).
I decided not to apply for SSP, TASP, or RSI. Why? To play in a volleyball tournament, a missions trip, and attend a volleyball camp…and as I’m sure you know, despite its 30+ varsity sports teams, MIT doesn’t give athletes much of an edge in admissions.</p>

<p>And yet, look at the location underneath my username! I definitely went into high school with the faint goal of attending a top college, and couldn’t have strayed any further from my original plans than I did. Things will work out if you work hard and do what you love to do well, don’t bog yourself down by taking a ridiculous courseload, and participating in activities that you don’t care much about.</p>

5

<p>4 years of highschool- Enough to locate a passion/interest in urself . Find it and stick to it</p>

6

<p>I think you’re overdoing it with the IB program. The IB program, if not otherwise explained in this soundtrack - <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJOO8Jx8OpI[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJOO8Jx8OpI&lt;/a&gt; -, is all about procrastination, leaving everything to the last minute. The CAS program isn’t big either…</p>

7

<p>Don’t find build your resume around a college. Find what you’re good at/what you like to do, build a resume, and then find a college that fits that. The former is just way too superficial.</p>

8

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</p>

<p>Ummmm… No its not.</p>

<p>The IB organisation ([International</a> Baccalaureate](<a href=“http://www.ibo.org%5DInternational”>http://www.ibo.org)) operates in 2,828 schools in 138 countries and runs from age 3 to age 18 or 19. If you are talking specifically about the IBDP, then that is designed for kids age 16-18. It’s a high school program. A rigourous high school program to be sure, but a high school program. I have interviewed for MIT 7 kids this year who were doing an IB diploma at 5 different schools. MIT knows the IB very well and knows exactly what it is, and if you start describing your high-school curriculum as “college-level”, then I am inclined to wonder as to what else on your CV has been similarly enhanced.</p>

9

<p>^ THANK YOU. As I said, there’s nothing more to the IB than procrastination.</p>