<p>GPA: 4.83 W (school is not very competitive though)
Class rank: Top 2%
SAT Score: Math: 630 Reading: 660 Writing: 710(I am very bad at taking tests, especially the SAT)
SAT Subject Tests: Math 2: 650 US History: 750 (very proud of this score at least)
ACT Score: 31 (I feel much better about this score)
I have taken AP US History, AP Lang, and AP World History and this year I am taking AP US Government and Politics, AP Psychology, AP Literature, and AP Art History. I got a 4 in AP Lang and 5 in US History and World History.
I want to major in History and minor in Anthropology.
I am also African American, so will that help me get in? I am out of state, too, I live in Texas.
I know that this is a very large reach, but is there ANY chance of me getting in for a noncompetitive major? I want to go to MIT because my older brother goes there. </p>
<p>Edit: My essays and recommendation letters will be great.</p>
<p>Unless the fact that your brother goes and that pulls weight,I can’t believe you have a chance with those scores. It also really depends on your course rigor. What’s your UNweighted GPA? that will make a difference.</p>
<p>I posted this for a friend, I will ask him and then edit the post. He told me that he took the SAT Math 1 as well and did better, he got a 710, but I told him that it’s not good enough for MIT. I was telling him to only send his ACT and US History subject test, maybe the Math 1, do you think that will increase his chances? He got a subscore of 30 on the ACT math and science. I also forgot to mention his ECs. He participates in a debate and liberal arts club and is a member of NHS and NArtHS. He is also part of the robotics and math club, which sort of matches with MIT’s identity, maybe? I don’t know what they might want in a student. Do you think that the AP courses are not rigorous enough for MIT? They match what he wants to do as well.</p>
<p>Your friend’s application won’t be considered without a science subject test. He can take the biology, chemistry, or physics exam. The 710 on math 1 is fine. I can’t tell from your post why your friend would be interested in MIT, his essays must make that come through. Also, MIT does not choose students based on major that makes sense because many students end up changing their major anyway. </p>
<p>Yes he has taken Biology and he is waiting for the scores. He is also on the basketball and soccer teams, by the way. His major reason is because of his brother, and he also thinks that it is a good university in general. I told him to try to apply to a liberal arts college in Massachusetts, so that he can be close to his brother, but he’s pretty stubborn about applying to MIT, and I can’t blame him for at least wanting to try.</p>
<p>I think he has a shot if he can demonstrate that he can handle the core requirements. They are tough-2 physics, chem, bio and some math. I also agree that he should consider his path- what kind of curriculum is he interested in? He’ll need to figure out a potential path.</p>
<p>With competitive admissions where tons of highly-well-aligned applicants with strong scores are routinely rejected simply because there are not enough spaces to accept them all (without growing the school and changing its character, why would a school accept an applicant with sub-par scores and a goal not aligned with the institutional mission?</p>
<p>This makes no sense. It would make more sense to go a mile down the road, to Harvard, which has similar acceptance rates, but at least has majors that align with his goals. Yes, I do understand that MIT does offer a history major. I think it would be hard for this applicant to sell his story.</p>
<p>Just an opinion, and chance threads ARE pretty worthless. By all means, he should apply if his heart is set on it, but I have a hard time imagining the story that would justify his acceptance, not absolutely, but against the backdrop of fellow applicants.</p>
<p>I agree. I showed him your responses and he seems to have backed away from MIT and decided to apply to other unis in MA. He doesn’t think he can get into Harvard, though.</p>