General info:
US citizen, living in India. Applying to college in 2020/21.
Academics:
Most rigorous course load
No GPA, grades only given as a percentage.
10th grade: 93%(English, Physics, Chemistry, Math, Geography, History, French, P.E)
11th grade: 98.25(Physics, Chemistry, Math, CS, English)
12th grade: Not completed
I’m additionally taking the physics and chemistry olympiad next year.
SAT: 1600, with 800’s on the three subject tests(Physics, chemistry, and math)
Recommendations: Both are from teachers who know me well and are ready to write positive, well-constructed letters.
Extra-curriculars:
Study Trips:
a) A trip in southern India to study and research water management techniques to understand and assist those in the region.
b)Trip to study sustainable living and energy sources.
c) A trip aimed at working with an organization that deals with homelessness, unemployment, poverty, minimum wage, and rights of individuals in the country.
d) A trip aimed at studying biological and ecological conservation in my home state.
Volunteer work:
a) A 2-month span where I worked with an organization that is building an online learning platform for kids in South India catering to the local curriculum and consequently teaching them to use it.
b) Work at a soup kitchen in my neighborhood.
c) Work with the ILP(India Literacy Project).
3.Sports:
a) Row club in 9th and 10th grade(No distinctions).
b) Basketball(about 8 hours a week). I’m on my school team and play in my cities league.
STEM:
a) Research under a professor at one of the top engineering schools in my country( in the Electrical Engineering department).
b) As mentioned earlier physics and chemistry olympiad, though I don't know about my performance.
Essays: I haven’t completed this portion. However, I am starting well in advance, giving myself a good 4-5 months to write them. I have many experienced teachers and acquaintances who I will consult for advice and editing tips.
I completely understand that these “chance” threads aren’t exactly productive since no one can predict changes in such an unpredictable system. I’m just looking for opinions and possibilities based on past experience and the current admission system.
Thanks
You are clearly competitive for MIT. I don’t think that we can say much more, other than of course it is a reach even for students with essentially perfect stats.
I’m impressed with your volunteer efforts. It’s the kind of work MIT looks upon favorably. Whether you’re accepted or not, you should be proud of your accomplishments. I think you’re doing the things that maximize your chances. Just continue doing what you love, and everything will work out whether at MIT or somewhere else that would be happy to have you as a student. Good luck.
Your stats are competitive, but your ECs are weak. It could just be the way you described and presented them, though.
Have you done anything all four years that can show progression, growth, challenge?
The trips you have listed are not a tip at the top universities. They’re value to admissions tends to be discounted, as they are almost always exclusive to upper-middle and upper classes and paid for by parents (in other words, they show elitism). If your trip was sponsored (free or nearly free to you and your family) and you were selected from a pool of applicants to go, then it might be viewed differently.
Two months of volunteering out of four years of high school isn’t really a significant amount. It may be better to group it with your STEM experience, because then it could help show progression in your skill set, and stretch. If you routinely worked for an extended period of time for the soup kitchen and ILP, those should be listed first as far as volunteering goes.
I know I haven’t done a great job describing the trips. I’ll clarify here:
The trips were always free, or less than $100 which was used for miscellaneous travel expenses.
I attend a well reputed private school in India. The trips were invitational from these organizations and those who showed initiative and an interest in the work were allowed to go. As far as elitism goes, these trips had very little to no “luxury” in that sense. No hotels, basic travel. The one and only one intention of the trip itself was to help and study things outside the textbook.
The trips were very close to places we live and therefore the contributions made by me and the team impacted our community directly.
That being said:
How do I make these clarifications on the application?
With the clarifications I made do you think these EC’s will be viewed favorably in my application
Also, I have begun an internship at a tech startup in my city. we build drones and robots. The duration is about 1.5 years, with more hours per day this summer. Does this improve my chances?
Also, I have begun an internship at a tech startup in my city. we build drones and robots. The duration is about 1.5 years, with more hours per day this summer. Does this improve my chances?