Chances at MIT?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello, I'm a junior at TAMS, the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. This is a program in the University of North Texas where high school students complete their junior and senior years taking UNT courses.</p>

<p>My "dream school", so to speak, is MIT. I plan on applying early decision there. Other schools I will apply to are CalTech, Stanford, Rice, Digipen, and UT Austin.</p>

<p>Whenever I ask for advice it's always the same "you're on the right track", but that's what they told my brother, and he has his valedictorian plaque flanked by rejection letters from every Ivy League school he applied to.</p>

<p>So, based on this profile, what chance do I have of being accepted at MIT?</p>

<p>Schools
Texas</a> Academy of Mathematics and Science, class of '09
Current GPA: 4.0 (school does not rank)</p>

<p>Central</a> High School
Former class rank: 6 / 728</p>

<p>I took AP and honors courses whenever avaliable in high school: notably, I was a sophomore in the otherwise senior Calculus BC class. At TAMS I am taking the standard Biology, Chemistry, and English courses, however, for math I took Multivariable Calculus last semester and Linear Algebra this semester instead of the standard calculus.</p>

<p>Standardized tests:
[ul][<em>]SAT (November '06): 2300 (Reading: 710, Math: 800, Writing: 790)
[</em>]PSAT (October '07): 226 (This should make National Merit.)
[<em>]AP Biology: 4
[</em>]AP Music Theory: 4
[<em>]AP World History: 4
[</em>]AP Chinese: 5
[li]AP Calculus: 5[/li][/ul]
I will be taking SAT II's in May: Math 2, Biology, and Chemistry. I've heard that SAT scores are applicable for two years only. Is this true (in which case I will have to take it again soon)?</p>

<p>I'm worried about my extracurricular activities, as they are heavily centered on art and piano (I'm asian, male (this also explains the AP Chinese score)) and I don't have any math-related activities. How much is this going to be a problem?</p>

<p>Activities
[ul][<em>]Piano: 11 years.
[</em>]MAO (math club) member at TAMS, named next year's club officer: publicist
[<em>]Made a bad Harry Potter parody movie for the school film festival. Nevertheless, this raised about a thousand dollars. (100+ hours' community service)
[</em>]School show choir accompanist in 2007
[<em>]National Art Honor Society inductee, 2007 (I did not participate, since I left high school for TAMS junior year.)
[/ul]
Awards
[ul][</em>]CHS Top Ten (rank 6, I think),
[<em>]"Joule" awards</em> in Biology and Chemistry
[<em>]Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE) state finalist in 9th and 10th grade,
[</em>]Wyson-Joplin Young Artist Competition finalist,
[<em>]TMTA Student Affiliate State Performance Contest, 9-10 piano solo 3rd place,
[</em>]Many other various minor piano competition awards.
[/ul]
Other
My dad's English is sub-par, so for the last two months I corrected his 870 page book (about RF/RFIC design) for grammatical errors.</p>

<p>This summer I have an internship at the UTPB HT3R project thanks to a TAMS research scholarship. What I do there might turn into a Siemens or Intel project later, but I am not sure of this.</p>

<p>Thanks for reading.</p>

<hr>

<ul>
<li>Joule awards in my high school were awarded to the best students in each course (i.e. one for all Biology pre-AP students in the year) and were named after the supposedly large amount of energy needed to achieve said award.</li>
</ul>

2

<p>Speaking as an accepted MIT applicant for the class of 2012, there's nothing objectively insufficient about your credentials that will you keep you out of MIT. But my BEST advice would be to not worry so much about the scores, grades, and awards. You have those covered already. What you need to focus on now is explaining to MIT why you'll take advantage of what they have to offer you.</p>

<p>And what does MIT have to offer you? Primarily, the opportunity for you to explore your own personal creative initiative. From my campus visit, readings, interview, and personal guesses, MIT is really looking for applicants who are going to treat their undergraduate years like a big experiment. Show MIT that you're not afraid to take risks, that you're not afraid to break out of the mold, and that you're not afraid to run with something YOU find personally interesting. Joining the math club and skipping two years of math is GREAT, especially for MIT, but contrary to popular conception, MIT isn't just looking for human computers. They're looking for people who are going to apply their talents uniquely and creatively. </p>

<p>So, again, objectively, I dont see any reason you shouldn't be accepted by MIT. But with an 11.6% acceptance rate this year, that ain't good enough. You have to give them a reason to WANT you. And, honestly, my best advice would be to do something that shows you've got creativity and initiative of your own. And if this means designing an experiment or a personal project that TOTALLY FLOPS, thats okay! Tell them about it! MIT isn't looking for a laundry list of awards, they're looking for ingenuity.</p>

3

<p>i second "skysk". As an accepted international applicatnt at MIT I have seen students with SAT scores much higher than mine get rejected. I would pay close attention to what MIT exactly wants in a student. Check out their website MIT</a> Admissions and read it carefully. </p>

<p>If you consider the MIT's applicant pool, you will realise that MOST students are top ranked, & have necessary SATs and GPAs. So what do they use to select their class? I honestly believe that MIT looks for PASSION in its students. </p>

<p>Once again, I advise you not to dwell ur time in things that might appear as amazing resume material. The admission team will look right through it. Instead do the things your passionate about. </p>

<p>I know its a long time away, but if u need help with essays or the application, u can contact me thru CC or email me at <a href="mailto:sidforeva@hotmail.com">sidforeva@hotmail.com</a>
I ll be more than happy to help with MIT and Stanford. I got waitlisted at Caltech, so there isn't much advice i can give you for their application.</p>

<p>Seriously dude, stop worrying coz u will end up at a brilliant university.</p>