Chances for a Math Major

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Im a Junior, and I hope to apply to MIT EA next year as a math major. Can anyone tell me my chances, and what I can do to improve them. Thanks!</p>

<p>White male from MD</p>

<p>4.00 GPA
12/520 Rank
3 APs this year (Calc I+II, USH, English 11)
6 APs next year (CALC III, Stat, Chem, Physics B, English 12, Economics)</p>

<p>Tests:</p>

<p>SAT- 2310
Critical Reading- 720
Math- 800
writing- 790</p>

<p>SAT IIs
Math Level 2- 800
USH- ~770 (predicted)
Physics~750 (predicted)</p>

<p>PSAT- 226</p>

<p>Extracurriculars, current and predicted</p>

<p>4 Years Cross Country, co-captain next year
3 Years Indoor Track, co-captain next year
3 Years Outdoor Track, co-captain next year
4 Years Marching Band
2 Years Academic Team, T.V. Team, Captain
4 Years Maryland Math League, Class of 2007 Champion as a Freshman, Sophmore, and Hopefully Junior and Senior</p>

<p>Awards</p>

<p>Hopefully NMSF, with a 226 in MD
Hopefully AP Scholar
Lots of Varsity Letters
Various running awards
Various miniature Painting awards</p>

2

<p>B.u.m.p...</p>

3

<p>calc III isnt an ap. and why do people say "english 11+12"? its lang and lit.</p>

4

<p>Darkruler, you have solid chances for MIT. btw, do you have any AMC or AIME scores?</p>

5

<p>Dont post it here, though.
Because GracieLegend (from the asiaknight's thread) will tell you that they won't do any good to you (or probably even hurt you) ;) jk</p>

6

<p>Uh... actually it kinda is. Its just not called Calc BC. Just like French 5 is AP, but its called French 5. And my school calls it AP English 11. I don't know why. i don't think it should matter at all.</p>

7

<p>Look at college stats. Find the 50th percentile, see if you match it.</p>

<p>You do, and you have a good chance, but stats only go so far.....</p>

8

<p>I figured as much. Anything I can do to help in the more subjective areas?</p>

9

<p>Be unique (it sounds cliche....)</p>

<p>Nail the essays and interview, and by nail I mean</p>

<p>-Convey what your passions are.
-Talk about who you are, and why you love learning.
-Include interesting and poignant life experiences
-Be honest, and don't worry about sounding corny, trite, cliche, etc because of your essay topic.
-Least important is grammar/structure. I stress least because it can be easily fixed, and EVERYONE that applies to a top school (pretty much) can write a perfect English paper, but few can show who they are.</p>

<p>-Interview. DO GREAT! For MIT, interview is just as important as SAT, GPA, etc. Talk to the interviewer casually, and come off as interesting and caring--not desperate. Don't say crap like: "I really love MIT because it has such a great faculty," or "MIT is a great school." You haven't gone there yet, and the interview is not about MIT, it is about yourself. My interviewer and I talked for 3 solid hours, about 30 minutes included jokes and stuff (he would bike past my orchard apparently and take my oranges and I never knew it was him lol), talking about martial arts (I do it, and he was a boxer), what I wanna be (I don't know, I love too much but inventing was one I said), etc.</p>

<p>The ABSOLUTE most important thing is to depict yourself clearly and effectively in your essays.</p>

10

<p>I would say that your chances are approximately 31.4159265 percent</p>

11

<p>I agree with Sephiroth226</p>

12

<p>Will a 720 CR hold me back at all?</p>

13

<p>
[QUOTE]
Dont post it here, though.
Because GracieLegend (from the asiaknight's thread) will tell you that they won't do any good to you (or probably even hurt you) jk

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>Ha ha, they'll help you alright, just not enough to give you a large competitive advantage over anyone else.</p>

14

<p>no, >700 should do just fine</p>

15

<p>B.u.m.p...</p>

16

<p>If by Calc III you mean Calc BC, using the term Calc III is misleading since the term is usually used to denote multivariable calculus. </p>

<p>Your chances are pretty good, but there's nothing eye-catching (by MIT standards, of course).</p>

17

<p>Play up the ECs that make you different. Are you interested in running in college? If so, you should contact the coach(es) and let them know about your application. Miniature painting also sounds interesting - any way to make it the focus of one of your essays?</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
-Interview. DO GREAT! For MIT, interview is just as important as SAT, GPA, etc. Talk to the interviewer casually, and come off as interesting and caring--not desperate. Don't say crap like: "I really love MIT because it has such a great faculty," or "MIT is a great school." You haven't gone there yet, and the interview is not about MIT, it is about yourself. My interviewer and I talked for 3 solid hours, about 30 minutes included jokes and stuff (he would bike past my orchard apparently and take my oranges and I never knew it was him lol), talking about martial arts (I do it, and he was a boxer), what I wanna be (I don't know, I love too much but inventing was one I said), etc.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Where did you hear this--are you a current MIT student?</p>

<p>I had sort of imagined that the interview could help a bit, but wasn't considered "just as important as SAT, GPA, etc." unless it was exceptionally good (or perhaps bad). Now I'm worried... my interviewer was really nice, but I had trouble getting a word in edgewise during his discussion of MIT! (And I was reasonably agressive after I realized that just waiting for a natural opening wouldn't work, but still no success!)</p>

19

<p>Thanx everyone! BTW, Calc III is Multivariable at my school; we just take the BC test as well.</p>

20

<p>Would the "what do you do for fun" essay be a good outlet for the miniature painting?</p>