Chance me for MIT

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

Plz Chance me - I dont feel too confident about my chances :(((((

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/ERBW):
ACT: 33
SAT II (subject, score): 790 Math 2, 790 Chem, 740 Bio M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Weighted GPA: 4.56
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/370 (unofficially)
AP (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (5); Macroeconomics (5); Statistics (5); US History (5); English Lang and Comp (5); Calculus BC (5); Biology (4); Physics 1 (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 2, AP Spanish, AP US Gov’t, AP CS, MV Calculus, Honors English IV
Number of other EA applicants in your school: 1 that I know of (there are probably more)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): USNCO 2x Finalist (top 1000 Nat’l); USABO Semifinalist (top 600 Nat’l); UToronto Bio Competition Ranked 87/1257 Int’l
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): Columbia University Book Award, National AP Scholar, Debate Awards, Eagle Scout

Subjective:

Extracurriculars: Science Bowl Team Captain (6th place in NE Regional Competition in 2017); Debate Team Captain, Math Team Captain, Founder and President of Science National Honors Society, Boy Scouts – earned Eagle Scout
Job/Work Experience: worked at KUMON from 9th to 11th grade
Volunteer/Community Service: 500+ w/ Boy Scouts + Tutoring kids in Math and Science + Hospital Volunteering
Summer Experience: Took Organic Chemistry I and II w/ lab, did research internship at local university –chemical/bioengineering project

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Essays:
What You Do For Pleasure: Doing Card Magic
Department at MIT: Course 10B-Chemical-Biological Engineering
World You Come From:
Significant Challenge:
Additional Essay/QB Essays: N/A

Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Teacher Recommendation #1: didn’t read, but prob (9/10) - from my AP Chem teacher from soph year and my Organic Chemistry independent study advisor; worked on a lot of Chem Olympiad stuff with her and she was my advisor for Science Honors Society; overall, I was prob one of her best students
Teacher Recommendation #2: didn’t read, but prob (6/10) – from my junior year AP Lang class; did well in class but consistently submitted stuff late; heard he writes good letters but not sure how much he liked me
Counselor Rec: didn’t read; prob generic (6/10)
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview:

Other

Date Submitted App: Right before deadline. Idk the day
U.S. State/Territory or Country: CT
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 120-140k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): lol nope

Reflection

Strengths: Olympiad stuff, EC leadership, not much
Weaknesses: ACT score is sooo bad, typical math-science kid, not a god like most ppl who apply to MIT
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I was a good applicant but not too amazing
What would you have done differently?: done better on the ACT, not sure what else I could have done honestly, I did my best
Where else did you apply? EA: UChicago, UMich, Ga Tech, Northeastern; RD: Duke, JHU, Rice, Columbia

2

I think that you have a decent chance, but of course it is a long shot for everyone.

Do you have a safety? Have you run the NPC on all of your schools and are your parents okay with the results?

3

I think you have as good a chance as many (or most of the applicants). No one is a shoe-in for MIT (or many of the others you’re applying to). I know you’re applying to a lot of schools so far, but what about Cal Tech or Harvey Mudd? Perhaps you don’t want to be so far from home? As for great state school engineering programs, Purdue and Illinois.

By the way, your ECs and academics are great. Other than being captain of your baseball team, how could you have done much better. And your ACT scores are fantastic. If you don’t get it, it won’t be because of that. Truthfully, your application will be the most important factor – as it should.

Good luck.

4

DadTwoGirls,

Thanks for the feedback. My parents understand the cost and are willing to pay if I get in. My main concern is that I will be rejected because of my low ACT score. DO you think my ACT will break my application??

5

84stag,

Are you sure that my ACT scores are good enough. I feel like that is the one thing that weakens my app.

6

Of course, a better score would make your application better. I"m not saying that. You can take the October exam and still have the scores in time for early action. Certainly, there is a non-trivial difference between a 33, 34, and 35, especially at a school like MIT. All I’m saying is your 33 won’t be a disqualifier.