Hey, so I know it’s an extremely long shot, but I think I have a hook or two. Schools in my country are really nothing like US schools and clubs are not nearly as big a deal (we have 30 minutes a day for clubs at lunch, and we’re not allowed meet after school).
Demographics: Male, white, international applicant
Intended major(s): Math and CS (or maybe politics, I’ll try and work that in in my essays)
Academics:
SAT: I’m taking it this year and based on my PSAT scores I’m gonna guess I’ll get around 2300, perfect math
SAT II: Going to take Math and Physics and I’m expecting pretty good results (>750 for each)
Class rank: N/A
UW/W GPA: This doesn’t exist in my country.
Coursework:
So AP’s don’t exist where I am, but I’ve taken 4 college engineering courses and gotten 4 A’s, I’m taking the hardest classes including 2 outside school (highest level Chem, Physics, Math and highest level History + English etc.) and I’ve gotten straight A’s except in freshman year when I got a couple of B’s (3/10). I also took a couple of MIT classes on Edx and got good grades, maybe that helps demonstrate my passion or something.
Awards:
IMO silver medal (hook?)
IOI finalist (as in I got to the national final)
couple of coding competition wins/places
a whole bunch of minor academic awards in my school
a couple of regional awards for theoretical CS projects
Awards for debating/community service/essays, but nothing too major (regional/minor national level)
Extracurriculars (these may be a bit weak):
Drama outside school
Leadership position in my school’s mental health club (helped organise a bunch of events)
Active in debate club and science club
Volunteer regularly with a political party and worked with a politician during an election
Did a camp for gifted kids during the summer and got awesome evaluations (not sure if I should include them)
Some community service
I also teach myself languages as a hobby and I currently understand and speak 4 to a reasonable level, but I haven’t really “done” anything with my languages. I teach myself math for fun and I’ve done some of the undergrad curriculum (linear algebra, abstract algebra, calculus up to diff eq., a lot of number theory and a little stats). I set up a business with a teacher from my school to help people with IT issues. I have a politics blog updated semi regularly. I starred in my school musical this year.
Schools: MIT >> Harvard > Princeton = Stanford
Indicate if ED/EA/RD: EA if available
Essays+recs: I think I’ll be able to write my essays really well and I think my recs will be pretty good.
Interview: Hopefully I’m able to convey how much I want to go to MIT haha.
Questions: Is being gay a hook? My parents don’t have degrees and I’m pretty sure max. 5 people from my country will apply in the US for college. Will these things benefit me? I get that it’s a bit of a long shot. What should I do in my remaining years to improve my chances as much as possible?