<p>before i begin-i don't wanna any comments that are not gonna help answer my question, and i am new at this blogging stuff so please e patient lol- i am a non traditional student, i didnt finish high school because my step father sent me back to my natal contry (ecuador) so when i came back i was already 18 and the school board suggested a GED, which i got a couple years later. i am 22 and will be 23 soon, i plan on completing most of my basic college courses (calc 1-3, physics, chem, bio) by fall or summer 2010, after that i wanna apply at MIT, i am fairly decent computer programmer, i like making small robots, i am good at math, i have to take the SAT but i wanna know what a decent score is, and if i should take the TOEFL isntead of the SAT and also take the math and science SAT II (i.e. if i get like a 1600-1800 because my english is not that off a born and raised kid here, will i suck?) i speak 3 languages, i play piano and guitar, and you gotta realize i been out of school for about 5 years, but i do a lot of studying and im finally getting back into the college scene. i'm not bad for a kid who had no support from his parents. i'm not bill gates but i sure am proud of my talent, i wanna do a computer engineering major.. i emailed MIT but idk if theyll answer and i cant find blogs that are helpful. so what do you guys think? should i try? i have a killer essay if that helps, i have been through hell but still wanna be an engineer, i'll appreciate your answers, thanks! </p>
<p>p.s. the reason i think of MIT is well first i love that school, second i wanan move up north i am in florida and wanna try a new life style and i love up north.</p>
<p>First, you don’t take the TOEFL instead of the SAT; you take them both.</p>
<p>Second, I strongly doubt MIT would turn you down simply because you have a GED instead of a traditional HS degree. Every college is looking for diversity and people with different backgrounds, and clearly you have something different.</p>
<p>That said, there are many schools besides MIT where you can do a computer engineering major. MIT is unbelievably difficult to get into, and once there it’s unbelievably challenging. I don’t know if you’re that type of student. (I’m not saying you aren’t; I’m saying I don’t know.) So open your eyes and your mind and look into the whole spectrum of colleges that exist.</p>
<p>no doubt. i know what you mean, i forgot to add this lol i wanna know (since i plan on moving up north) what other schools do you recommend?</p>
<p>What it’s going to come down to is what your grades are in Calc I-III, Physics, etc., what institution you’re taking these courses at, and what your SAT I and subject test scores are. These will tell you where you have a good chance. If you want to get into somewhere like MIT without going the traditional route, you’re going to have to have AMAZING near-perfect (if not perfect) grades and scores. </p>
<p>I would say look at your state schools, but you should know that its difficult to get instate financial aid after just moving to an area. Another important question is whether or not you are a US Citizen.</p>
<p>i am a permanent resident, been in florida for a lil over 5 years, and yeah i will def try to get the best grades i can on CALC I-III and SAT’s but do you think that taking this college courses would have an impact on my SAT… reason i ask is because before i entered college i scored high on my cpt so i figured well maybe since i am already in college level the SAT should not be that hard, considering the SAT is taken by high school students, am i wrong or right on that? guess i’ll know when i take the SAT haha oh and do you know how often you can take the SATs??</p>
<p>oh and btw i am currently attending indian river state college and according to the American Association of Community Colleges, The Kight Center for Emerging Technologies (kinda like the school of engineering there) is #1 in technology in the nation for mid-size colleges. it’s a pretty good school in my state at least. so the education level is a good preparation. AND IRSC has a good transfer rate to good schools (UF, NYU, Columbia, BU. i know a girl who got accepted at Harvard also) so i pressume this is a plus for me.</p>
<p>Consider the California Institute of Technology, Harvey Mudd college and Carnegie Mellon University. All great schools that are strong in the engineering department.</p>
<p>It is really tough to get into MIT as a transfer student – the acceptance rates have been as low as 3-5% in past years. Information on the transfer application process is [url=<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/admissions/transfer/]here[/url”>http://web.mit.edu/admissions/transfer/]here[/url</a>].</p>
<p>For MIT, you can indeed choose to take either the TOEFL or the SAT if English is not your native language, and taking the TOEFL will not put you at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>Having a GED will not put you at a disadvantage for admissions, either. MIT actually doesn’t require undergraduates to have a high school degree, and there are many students who come to MIT before completing high school.</p>
<p>thank you guys… i have one more queastion, i was considering my options, i have the university of florida here, i also say the university of maryland-college park was a good school, what do you guys think of these? and yeah carnegie mellon, and also cornell are some schools im looking at also, reason why is because i wanna move upnorth not out west lol all of these schools are among the best, but as many of you know CMU is very hard to get into as well… so idk what do you guys think?</p>