Chances at MIT

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

*Pretty long post but if you could read all of it I would be really thankful!

Hey everyone I was wondering if any of you could chance me on getting into MIT as it is my #1 university and getting into it would be a dream come true, that being said I know my chances are low and getting into it will be difficult.

So I’ve taken the SAT three times (1940 - 2050 - 2070) but my super score is 2100

CR: 710
W: 710
M: 680

I will also be taking the ACT April 2016 and have not taken any SAT II’s yet but I will take them if my ACT doesn’t go well.

The high school I go to is a 2015 Blue Ribbon School (won this award several times in past years as well) that was ranked the #5 top high school in NJ and #47 top high school in the US in 2014. It was ranked #3 in NJ and #31 in the US in 2015. Getting into this school requires a test consisting of math, reading, and essay writing, as well as an interview with the school itself. Around 600-700 students in all four grades in the school, at least a thousand people apply to it each year and only around 150 are chosen.

The school doesn’t give out rankings or class positions of any students to any school.

UW GPA up to 2nd marking period of junior year: 3.366/4 (upward trend)

GPA will probably be the weakest part of my application next year although my counselor said that schools will know that our high school is very rigorous and top-ranked and judge the GPA accordingly.

Another thing our school does is when you apply you have to pick one of several programs they offer (fashion, law & justice, computer science, digital media, etc) and then take classes on it throughout your four years of high school like a college major, the program I chose and got accepted to was computer science.

We also have projects (kind of like electives: microcontrollers, 911 cooking, documentaries, SAT prep, etc) every Wednesday for 1.5 hours where you take a class on your chosen project and do activities focusing on it.

Freshman year schedule:

Algebra 1 Honors (93 average)
English 1 Honors (90 average)
Geometry Honors (85 average)
Intro to Object-Orientated Design (96 average)
Physical Education (99 average)
Physics Honors (89 average - all my marking period grades were A- or A, the final brought it down to 89)
Social Issues (93 average)
Spanish 1 (83 average)
World Cultures Honors (90 average)
Project School Climate (100 average)
Project Microcontrollers (98 average)

  • Our school offers no AP classes for freshmen

Sophomore year schedule:

Chemistry Honors (82 average)
Drivers Ed (93 average)
English II Honors (83 average - you need a 90 minimum in this class to take AP Lang junior year but my english teacher wrote me a recommendation to get into AP Lang since she believed I would be a good match for that class)
Intermediate Programming (94 average)
Math Analysis 1 Honors (basically pre-calc, 79 average)
Networking 1 (92 average)
Physical Education (99 average)
AP Physics 1 (79 average + 1 on the AP Exam)
Spanish II (77 average)
Project Spanish (95 average)
Project Cooking (95 average)

  • The only AP you could take sophomore year was AP Physics 1 if you postponed US History (which I did) and AP Government if you were in the Law & Justice program (I wasn't).
  • Sophomore year was my weakest year ever since I was required to take Spanish II (I can't do well in this class no matter how much I study) and all the time I spent studying for AP Physics 1 which ended up being a waste anyways. This year my GPA dropped to between 3.1 - 3.2 average for the two years and I've been using junior (and hopefully senior) year to bring it back up.

Junior year schedule (current year):

AP Lang (86 average so far)
US History 1 Honors (89 average so far)
AP Environmental Science (90 average so far)
Networking II (96 average so far)
Advanced Programming (97 average so far)
Math Analysis II Honors (88 average so far)
Biology Honors (92 average so far)
Physical Education (100 average so far)
First Aid (98 average)
Project Documentaries (95 average)
Project Documentaries 2 (95 average so far)

Senior year projected schedule:
AP Lit
AP US History
Cloud Computing
*Computer science class that hasn’t been determined yet
AP Calculus AB or AP Statistics
AP Biology
Physical Education
Family Planning
Entrepreneurship (easy boast to GPA) or Spanish III or Art (required to graduate)

  • Senior year we are also required to get an internship so I will be interning as well, on Wednesdays we go to our internships instead of school.

Extra Curriculars:
-JV Bowling (Varsity next year)
-Chemistry Club (10th grade)
-Physics Club (10,11)
-Computer Club (9,10,11)
-Turkish Cultural Center Tutor (6,7,8,9,10)
-Founding Member of Lemon Club (our schools chapter of the ALS Foundation)

Leadership Positions:
-Founder and President of C3 Club (11) - We’ve collected over 1000 books for students in low-income areas so far and over the summer we hope to turn it into a non-profit organization or open a chapter of it in another school.
-Founder of a neighborhood book club (10,11) - Weekly meetings with kids in the neighborhood where we read books together and I help them with their hw and classes
-Founder, Owner, and Editor of a book blog (9,10,11) - Started a book blog back in freshman year where I review books and interact with the book community, over 15,000 pageviews and thousands of followers in total over the blog and social media. I talk regularly with book publishers and get sent copies of books to read and review for them and I have attended multiple book events in three different states as well as BEA 2015.

Volunteering:
-At least 200-300 hours of volunteering already
-Volunteered at two relief foundations (9,10,11)
-Traveled to Haiti as a Relief Volunteer (10)
-Volunteered at local library (10,11)
-Volunteered in several cities in Turkey with a relief foundation

Work Experience:
-Working at Kumon since October 2015 (11) - tutoring and grading
-Possibly going to work at MEK starting in April

Other:
-Accepted to Harvard Summer School for the summer of 2016

Awards:
-Lots of awards in middle school but only a couple of minor ones in high school

*My family is Turkish (mom and dad graduated from Turkish universities for mining engineering and chemical engineering and came to America in 1998)
*I speak two languages: English and Turkish although I can read Arabic as well
*Dual citizenship (America and Turkey)
*Religion (Islam)
*Income: Between $60,000 and $95,000 yearly (not sure of exact number)

Recommendations:

  • Guidance Counselor (expecting a really good one, I’ve been constantly talking with him since freshman year and I feel like he has gotten to know me pretty well and has helped me a lot)
  • AP Environmental Science teacher (Bachelors at Swarthmore College and Masters at Columbia University)
  • AP Lang teacher (not sure about what school she went to but she’s been pretty involved in the club I made)

Next Year Goals:

By the time I apply to schools my UW GPA will be up to 3.4-3.5/4, I will hopefully have a higher ACT than my 2100 SAT, get into National Honor Society, possibly turn my school club into a non-profit organization (already working on this with several people who said they can help)/start chapters of it in other schools, and travel to at least one more country for volunteering (South America most likely). Additionally, I have the option of going to Rutgers/NYU and taking a Turkish course there for school credits - as I already know Turkish this would be easy enough to pass but would it add anything to my application?

Thank you so much for reading guys! Please tell me what you think my chances are, things I should improve/focus on, my strengths/weaknesses, etc

2

You must have two subject tests (Math and Science) in order to apply to MIT.
Someone has to tell you this, so I will: Your moderate SAT and GPA will force MIT to ask, “Is this student actually qualified?” Your short-essay responses and recommendations will need to be extremely convincing.

3

I am aware of the subject test requirement but I thought that if you took the ACT they were not required since ACT has science? I’m pretty sure I can get really good recommendations and write really good essays but its everything else I’m worried about.

4

@bayramf Incorrect.

I agree with @1golfer1, the combination of your GPA and test scores is a bit low (esp. the math). It doesn’t mean you’ll automatically get rejected, but you’ll need a way to show them whether you’re qualified and able to do well at MIT.

5

zero

6

@lostaccount False.

7

MITer94. is right, you must take one math subject test, either level 1 or level 2, and you must take one science subject test too, either biology, chemistry, or physics. These tests are nothing like the ACT science section. They test you on your knowledge of the subject. The ACT tests your comprehension and analytical skills. You don’t need to study for the ACT science section, reviewing a practice test to become familiar with the type of questions is sufficient. You must either take a very good and thorough science class in one of the 3 subjects, or self study a decent amount of material in order to do well.

8

Sorry-I said zero when I encountered many identical posts-which lacks efficiency and thus my zero. It wasn’t based on the profile but on the 20 threads. I take it back-which isn’t to say that it is incorrect-can’t say.

9

MIT is almost a reach for everyone. They have accepted people with really low scores, and people with really high scores. It’s hard to say what they want just by looking at their average SAT/ACT, GPA, etc.

Since you’re a junior, just try to make your GPA go towards the upward trend. Maybe take the new SAT, take 2 SAT subject tests, and also try out the ACT to see if the ACT is easier in a sense. If you truly love MIT, try your best to show it in your application and interview. Trust me, interviewers know when you LOVE, LIKE, or DON’T CARE.

10

@rothstem @lostaccount @terrible I was already planning on taking the subject tests for math 1 or 2 and biology, history sometime this year so I’ll definitely go through with that now.

  • My GPA is currently on an upward trend and I intend to keep it that way so maybe that'll help a bit?
  • I definitely LOVE MIT and it has been my dream school for years which is why I'm applying there even though I have low chances. The campus itself, the energy there, and the city of Boston are all amazing and I fell in love when I first visited.

Thank you everyone!

11

MIT is the dream school for many. Getting admitted to MIT is not the end goal but many of these types of “chance me” or “am I good enough” posts have the tone that MIT is indeed their end goal.

To make yourself a better sounding candidate, IMHO, think of MIT as a stepping stone toward your real goal, whatever career path that interests you. By thinking that way you accomplish a couple of things; 1) you actually start thinking about your career goals and what you want to do, 2) if MIT is just a stepping stone, then getting in is great but not getting in isn’t the end of the world, just means you will be taking a different path toward you ultimate goal. and 3) you actually become a more “interesting” candidate for MIT, you are actually bring more ambition, thoughts, ideas, etc. to the table.

With your track record so far, I’d say that your chances are slim to get into MIT, but who knows!!! Work toward improving your skills and bring those grades and scores up. It will benefit you wherever you end up.

12

Sorry @Bayramf, but I just don’t think MIT would be a good fit for you, and I think your energy would be better off directed elsewhere.

I believe you would find the General Institute Requirements very unpleasant, let alone your classes in your major. I hate to pick on your score of 1 on AP Physics 1, but that really means you did not comprehend the material. Some of your math grades were on the low side, and 680 would be an anomalously low Math SAT score for MIT. 3/4’s of the students score above 750. I think your typical MIT student tends to just be able to glide through these things.

You have cool ECs and are a very interesting person. So please ask yourself, why MIT? From my perspective, it just does not seem like a good match for you - I just don’t think you would be happy there.