<p>Major: computer engineering
GPA: 3.8/4.0
SAT: 750 math, 600 verbal
AP calculus BC: 5
Good EC's, reccomendations, ect.</p>
<p>how many APs do the top 10% students at your school take?</p>
<p>0% chance. You haven't met the requirements. You need to take three SAT II subject tests, one in math, one in a science, and one in a third subject of your choice (another science is okay).</p>
<p>Assuming you get those done, you still need to put things in context. As it is, you don't look very good right now. 750 math is a competitive score, but 600 verbal is pretty ich. Might want to retake that SAT. The exception would be if you were an international student, in which case you should take the TOEFL.</p>
<p>Along the lines of the previous poster, how many APs does your school offer? Did you take the hardest classes you could? The most classes you could? A 5 in Calculus BC is nice, but I'd venture to say that most of MIT students have that. If people from your school typically take many AP classes per year, that's going to look really bad for you.</p>
<p>"Good ECs, recommendations" are also nothing. Almost everyone applying to MIT has those qualifications. Some have gold medals at national olympiads, some have letters from research professors they worked with. When you apply to schools like MIT, you can't depend on getting in because you're "good." Everyone is "good." You have to show them why you're better than the next guy with impressive scores and activities.</p>
<p>I'll be applying for class of 2010, as well. Best of luck to you,
- Timur S.</p>
<p>The stats are for an international student, been in USA for 3 years. And I heard MIT don't care about the SAT verbal scores?</p>
<p>Ah, then some important things to consider:</p>
<p>MIT -does- care about the verbal score, unless you take the TOEFL, in which case they will ignore your SAT completely (unless your TOEFL is bad. They look at whichever makes you look better). You still need to take the SAT II subject tests as detailed on <a href="http://my.mit.edu%5B/url%5D">http://my.mit.edu</a>.</p>
<p>MIT also has a "quota" for International students, that hovers at around 5% of all international applicants, so you're going to be in a far more competitive pool. Be sure to write unique essays to make yourself stand out.</p>
<p>Some important statistics for you:
~5% of international applicants are accepted each year.
~7.5% of incoming freshmen last year at MIT were international students.
~There is a student group for almost every ethnicity/race at MIT</p>
<p>Good luck!
- Timur S.</p>
<p>"750 math is a competitive score"</p>
<p>competitive? not at all. you need like 790 or 800</p>
<p>790 is not enough,, there are so freakin many people getting 800...
i took SAT 3 times and got 800 on math everytime...</p>
<p>But getting an 800 isn't going to give you a better shot than someone who got a 750. </p>
<p>Realistically, once you get close to/into the 99th percentile, the SAT isn't accurately discriminating between ability levels anymore; it's not statistically accurate to say that someone with an 800 is "better" at math than someone with a 790, and MIT recognizes this.</p>
<p>750 on anything (SAT I verbal, SAT I math, SAT II) is fine. We wouldn't look at that any differently from an 800. Past a certain point, it's obvious that you're qualified academically to be here... after that, it's what you'll contribute to MIT's culture and community that gets you in.</p>
<p>Thank you, Ben!</p>
<p>I find a lot of people asking me questions about MIT down here considering that I have so many friends who are currently there or have graduated, and know a lot of stuff about the school. People here don't believe me when I tell them things like this about MIT. "Dude, your SAT scores are fine, focus on your extra curriculars." My school atmosphere is so competitive that they think I'm downright <em>lying</em> to them so they'll have worse SATs, and that I'm trying to reduce competition for myself. </p>
<p>... I hate what my school has become. I tell them that their chances aren't reduced because there are other people from your school applying (our school sent more applicants last year, and got a higher % accepted than ever before!), but people just don't believe me.</p>
<p>I think this is a myth you should really emphasize in the regional meetings. I saw that Matt even has a "number of SAT scores questions asked" counter going on. :/.</p>
<p>SATs can prove you can work with numbers, words, and concepts, (which is certainly something important to prove) but they can't show that you're capable of using those things to do anything worthwhile for MIT, the community, or the world.</p>
<ul>
<li>Timur S.</li>
</ul>
<p>EDIT: changed a word.</p>
<p>790 is not enough,, there are so freakin many people getting 800...
i took SAT 3 times and got 800 on math everytime...</p>
<p>why did you take it three times if you got an 800 on it the first time?</p>
<p>Goldfish: I'd venture to guess to raise his verbal score. Or even to take the new SAT.</p>
<p>Obviously, it's important to note that the importance of SAT scores as a deciding admissions is going down, especially among elite universities. A lot now has to do with what Ben said about "you'll contribute to MIT's culture and community".</p>
<p>That's why the essay and recommendations generally are viewed as materials of more depth than a score report from the Collegeboard.</p>
<p>Exactly. Ben has said in the past that while poor scores and grades will hurt you, the converse is not true. Great scores and great grades don't exactly help you. So many people have those.</p>
<p>If you have poor scores/grades, you can make up for it with oustanding achievements, but it still puts you at a great disadvantage as compared to the student who had great scores/grades <em>and</em> outstanding achievements.</p>
<p>"after that, it's what you'll contribute to MIT's culture and community that gets you in." </p>
<p>What do you mean by that? Do I have to like goto MIT and do community service or something???</p>
<p>It means "what do you have to offer, in terms of personality and interest, to the student body at MIT"</p>
<p>Is MIT a good school for medicine?</p>
<p>MIT is a good school for everything. It's true that other schools may have higher percentage acceptance into medical schools, but I strongly doubt they can give you a better education.</p>
<p>About 10% of the students at MIT consider themselves "pre-med", and about 82% of those students who apply to medical school during their senior year are accepted.</p>
<p>The downside is that it's harder to get straight A's at MIT than it is to get straight A's at many grade-inflated schools, and medical schools are particularly infamous for preferring straight A's regardless of source.</p>
<p>...freakin nerds freaking out about 790 and 800 math scores. zzz</p>