Awkward HS situation, do i stand any chance?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Im having a bit unusual situation. Im gonna apply to MIT, Stanford and some other schools (HYPS, ivy league in general, etc) but S and M are my favourites. My interests are business, management and government studies. Biggest problem at the moment are HS grades. I live in eastern europe, small non-EU country. My GPA will be about 3.7/3.8 out of 5.0 . This acutally wouldnt be strange situation (being average or bad student isnt something uncommonly :D) if i didnt have some very cool ECs (worked on professional movies, being camera assistent, organising team operator, had small role in a tv sitcom, being politicaly involved etc (serious stuff, not youth clubs or something like that)..., so im gonna get excellent recs from very competent people) and i actually fought against depressia (real depressia, not teenage revolt stuff...although im quite ok now, and im not nuts ;)</p>

<p>Could I acutally get accepted? I wont apply for f. aid</p>

<p>I know that my gpa sound horrible, and a lot of you guys think that im an idiot, but i really am prospective student for a school such as MIT...i talked to someone who had an ivy experience and I was told that i should apply and go there because im material for that.</p>

<p>I want to notice that our school system is waaaaay diferent that yours, it is quite hard but schools have different program which dicourages smart students.</p>

<p>Our HSs unofficial best student has IQ literally 80 or 85, cant remember at the moment...</p>

2

<p>MIT is used to the grading systems of many different countries. They will understand that your system is not the same as the US system, and will judge your grades based on your own system. So if your grades are considered good within your own system, you should be fine.</p>

<p>If, on the other hand, your grades are average or bad even within your system, you might have more of a problem. MIT doesn’t expect you to have perfect grades, but they need to be good enough not to raise doubts about your ability to handle the work.</p>

3

<p>Those grades are…mediocre. I have actually improved my grades since freshman and sophomore year (im junior at the moment) although at my place ECs are non existent. Most of the straight As students doesnt have any worthy ECs (greatest achievement is like playing an instrument, or some activities within school). At that point i stand out but i just didnt participate in school. How could someone love school which gives a student non A grade in math just because teacher isnt competent enough to realize how I solved a problem on a different way or did a lot of calculation in my head?</p>

<p>So, major question is…could I get in with mediocre grades but great ECs, and SAT results?</p>

4

<p>Depends on the level of mediocrity. As Jessie said above, if they’re mediocre enough to raise doubts, you probably won’t get in. They will, however, see improvement if there’s a general trend upwards.</p>