Chance me for MIT Computer Science EA???

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):N/A
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34: 35/36/32/34
ACT superscore (breakdown):
SAT II (subject, score):MathII 800/Physics 800/Chem 800/ Chinese 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
AP (place score in parentheses): 5 on calc ab/CS A/Macro/Mandarin/Chem 4 on Human Geo
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable/ AP BC/AP Physics mechanic/E&M/US history/ English / Honors Bio
Number of other EA applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): USAMO qualifier, AMC 12: 139.5, AMC 12: 138, AIME: 90, school merit roll, Ross participant
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): Highest Honor through out all high school years, Math award, physics award, AP scholar, Alumni Award

[ b]Subjective:**

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Student Government(Vice President)
Math Team(founder, captain, coach)
Local middle school math competition(test maker, organizer, founder)
Global Scholar(merit based program at school)
Robotics team (captain)
Computer science club(founder, president)

Job/Work Experience: Work as a editor of AP calculus AB/BC book
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteered at hospital
Summer Experience: Ross Mathematic Program, python project, research papers(2 math related)

[ b]Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):**

Essays:
What You Do For Pleasure:
Department at MIT:
Trait Most Proud Of:
World You Come From:
Significant Challenge:
Additional Essay/QB Essays:
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1:
Teacher Recommendation #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview:
Art Supplement:

[ b]Other**

Date Submitted App:
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Korea
School Type: Boarding school
Ethnicity:Asian
Gender:Male
Income Bracket Range: High enough to study in the US
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):

2

I want to point out that you do not apply to MIT computer science, or any particular department or major… You apply to MIT.

3

I would think they would defer you to RD, which isn’t a bad thing as they take relatively few EA.

4

Not enough. You need usamo + something stronger than usamo.

5

^ Not sure I agree with this. Top AMC 12 scores + AIME + Ross + 2 publications seems pretty strong to me. I don’t believe that MIT Admissions is so narrow-minded that “you need USAMO + something stronger tha n usamo”. It all depends on the overall application.

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[QUOTE=""]

I would think they would defer you to RD, which isn’t a bad thing as they take relatively few EA.
…
Not enough. You need usamo + something stronger than usamo.

[/QUOTE]

@DavidColeman17:
You’re starting to see why chance-me threads have such a bad reputation.

When a longtime experienced MIT admissions counselor repeatedly stresses that neither he nor anyone else can predict chances of admission, [1],[2], it makes you wonder how much weight to put in random replies.

[1] http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/no_chance
[2] http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/939227-reminder-no-one-not-even-me-can-give-you-an-accurate-chance-at-mit-p1.html

7

@renaissancedad: It looks strong to YOU , I understand. Do you know how many USAMO qualifiers apply MIT?
You have to think about this. Nowaday, Even some summer campers were rejected from MIT.
I know how hard to be qualified to usamo.
There is NO formula for college . I agree however Usamo alone is not that much impressive to others.
My dd is 2 time usamo qualifier(3 time qualifier if included usajmo) too. But it is not enough nowdays. I have seen that umsao qualifiers go to top public universities. Something strong doesn’t mean only some awards but something very impressive. Usamo alone is no more hook to some elite colleges.

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^ You misunderstand me.

I agree, USAMO alone is “not enough” to get you in to MIT. There is no formula, and awards alone are not enough. No one in MIT admissions (or admissions at any other top place) is going to say “this kids qualified for USAMO, we’ve got to have him.”

Where I disagree is the assertion that the applicant needs “more”. “More” alone won’t necessarily guarantee anything, either. Math Olympiads are not the only path to showing math proficiency, and Ross + publications shows good progress along the math research track to go along with USAMO qualification on the Olympiad track.

The are lots of USAMO kids (and beyond) who get rejected from top schools, and lots of kids with less impressive awards who get in. It’s a question of looking at the entire application and the entire kid, not just a set of awards and achievements in one area.

9

Nothing stands out enough to get MIT’s attention except the 2 publications. If they are highly regarded journals and you are listed as an author, you have a decent chance.

10

[QUOTE=""]

My dd is 2 time usamo qualifier(3 time qualifier if included usajmo) too.

[/QUOTE]

Usually due to affirmative action for girls (out of 500 usa(j)mo qualifiers a year, assume 200 are applying to college at a time, at most 50 of them are girls (there are probably barely 50 girls making usa(j)mo total, so probably wayyy less than 50 in one year), I can’t imagine that a 3 time usa(j)mo qualifier would get rejected unless there was a major negative (bad grades, absolutely no extra-curriculars, etc.). I don’t know all the usa(j)mo girls, but I’ve know all the MOPpers since 2015, and unless I’m forgetting someone, all of them have been accepted to at least one of MIT/Harvard/Princeton. I’ve also known quite a few girls who have just qualified for AIME, and with a few decent extra-curriculars, they got accepted to MIT (not the same with Harvard/pton though).


[QUOTE=""]

Even some summer campers were rejected from MIT.

[/QUOTE]

I know all the MOPpers personally, and I believe that there is only 1 person within the past three years who got rejected from all the top colleges. This was due to (really) bad grades, from what I’ve heard, and a couple MOPpers have been accepted to MIT with B’s/C’s.

Usually, USA(J)MO alone isn’t enough to get anyone in, but the kids who qualify for USA(J)MO are passionate enough to do other math-related things (be it PRIMES, RSI, local research, cs/other science competitions, etc.). I don’t think I know any MOPper who has only qualified for MOP with no other major achievements.