Chance This Dude!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>The dude is me by the way XD.</p>

<p>SAT Scores
Math: 660
Reading: 640
Writing: 710</p>

<p>Going to re-take try to do a bit better on Math and Reading. </p>

<p>AP Classes: AP Physics B, AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Psychology, AP Human Geography, AP US History II. I couldn't take AP Physics C and AP Computer Science AB because it is not provided in my school.</p>

<p>After School Stuff: Founder of the Warriors Video Game Study Club, NHS, Student Council, Class Council, Link Leader, Big Buddy Program.</p>

<p>College Summer Camps: iD Tech Gaming Camp "Computer Programming" at Vilanova. </p>

<p>If you think MIT is a no go, recommend something similar for me? Obviously Computer Science related.</p>

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<p>no dont </p>

<p>cf: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/939227-reminder-no-one-not-even-me-can-give-you-accurate-chance-mit.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/939227-reminder-no-one-not-even-me-can-give-you-accurate-chance-mit.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>your chances are rather slim. try RIT or RPI.</p>

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<p>itsme123: </p>

<p>you are not good at following directions!!</p>

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<p>^ well at least tell him to apply to find out</p>

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<p>^Or, tell him if he doesn’t apply then he definitely will not get accepted (or some facsimile thereof). </p>

<p>MITChris, my son is applying to MIT, because of you!</p>

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<p>Yeah I sort of figured MIT was a joke for me.</p>

<p>But recommend others?
What about Carnegie Mellon?</p>

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<p>Hey, your scores aren’t terrible and you have a tough course load, don’t count yourself out. You should probably retake the SATs to try and bring math and reading above 700.</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon computer science is almost as tough to get into as MIT, it’s a great program. If the application fees aren’t a huge burden, apply to both! You never know. Just make sure you have a backup plan that you’re happy with.</p>

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<p>@theecakee - </p>

<p>why would you not apply to MIT? Listen: never, ever reject yourself from a life opportunity of any kind. Make them [us] reject you. </p>

<p>@jshain: </p>

<p>:) </p>

<p>that made me smile after a long day.</p>

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<p>

True. At least you then can have someone to blame it on, instead of hating yourself for not trying :)</p>

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<p>That’s right, pay the big bucks to get rejected. One needs to use sense to estimate the expected value of applying, not just blind hope. Of course, if MIT’s application was free, then everyone should apply despite their chances. College is a business; MITChris just puts a friendly face on that business. Sorry everyone, he’s a businessman albeit a nice businessman :)</p>

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<p>^ of course, with more ppl applying to MIT, it’ll make the institution look better, namely, by pushing down the acceptance rates etc. :P</p>

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<p>^that is true, but on the other hand… the information he’s given us doesn’t make him seem like an “auto-rejection”. The scores are relatively high, the course load is heavy, there are a couple potentially interesting ECs. Based on the information we have, it at least seems like there is a <em>chance</em> of acceptance. It also seems like he really wants to go to MIT. Yes, application fees are non-trivial. But you only apply to undergrad once, and you just went through four years of high school leading up to this point. Budgeting a few hundred dollars for unlikely dream school applications is not necessarily crazy. Don’t apply to schools that you wouldn’t enroll in, don’t apply to schools if your scores or gpa obviously disqualify you. But don’t choose this time to be overly frugal, either.</p>

<p>@theeecakee: If you really want to go here, apply. You may be doing a disservice to yourself by not taking the chance.</p>

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<p>Chris can correct me if I’m mistaken, but I don’t think MIT (or any other school) is raking in the cash from application fees – they likely just cover the administrative costs of processing the applications. (I know that’s true of graduate school application fees, which are generally higher than undergrad fees.) And fee waivers are available at MIT to anyone who needs one.</p>

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<p>@mathsciencedude - </p>

<p>If you think we turn a profit off of the application you are outside of your mind. </p>

<p>It doesn’t even come close to covering even the administrative costs. </p>

<p>And yes, fee waivers are available for anyone who can’t pay. </p>

<p>@boomshakalaka - </p>

<p>Having a lower acceptance rate may make us “look better” on the US news and world report, which, speaking for myself, I hate and wish would die in a fire. </p>

<p>I don’t think any admissions officers think of our role as “getting more people to apply”, period. I don’t enjoy a glut of applications - I already work 70+ hours a week reading them - and I definitely don’t enjoy rejecting kids (see: [MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: “It’s More Than A Job”](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/the_selection_process_application_reading_committee_and_decisions/its_more_than_a_job.shtml]MIT”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/the_selection_process_application_reading_committee_and_decisions/its_more_than_a_job.shtml))</p>

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<p>Also: </p>

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<p>I agree that it shouldn’t be blind hope. But there is this sense that there is an easily calculable expected value formula to provide an accurate cost/benefit analysis of applying to MIT. </p>

<p>Without going into my more general methodological problems with cost/benefit analyses in general, here is the thing: none of you, and none of us here in the office, know how to produce an accurate CBA. Because in order to do that, you have to be able to accurately model how decisions are made, and that cannot be done. Period. </p>

<p>I’m not saying that everyone should apply willy-nilly to MIT. </p>

<p>But as a general life principle you should always throw yourself at as many opportunities as you can. Trust me - many of the greatest things that have happened to me (my partner, this job, my position on the board of directors of a nonprofit) happened to me because I randomly did something, for which I was not necessarily expecting a benefit, and the benefit serendipitously occurred.</p>

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<p>Life advice from the old dude right up in here.</p>

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<p>You won’t be accepted unless you apply. Have you tried the ACT? Some people do better on one verses the other. </p>

<p>Thread on engineering schools that may be useful:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/984533-good-engineering-schools-generous-merit-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/984533-good-engineering-schools-generous-merit-aid.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;