Chances for MIT et al.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Please evaluate my chances at MIT (EA), University of Chicago, Princeton, Carleton College, Harvey Mudd College, Yale, Harvard, and Brandeis University.</p>

<p>I take the most challenging course load available at a competitive prep school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I am a white male and double legacy at MIT. Essays, recommendations, supplementary recommendation, and interview are all superb. School does not weight or rank.</p>

<p>I will retake the SAT I in December in time for regular admissions.</p>

<p>SAT I: 800 M, 760 W, 630 CR
SAT II: 760 Math IIC, 760 Biology M, 740 Math IC</p>

<p>GPA: 3.89 uw / 4.21 w
Decile: Top 10% (uw) in a class of 57</p>

<p>Grades:</p>

<p>English 9 A-/A-
Geometry Honors A+/A
Spanish II A-/A-
World History I A+/A
Physical Science A/A-
Jazz Band A (fall semester)
Digital Imaging A (spring semester)
Computer Science and
Information Technology (required) A+ (spring semester)
PE Contract: Ice Hockey P
Lacrosse P (received letter)
Community Service: Music Education P/P</p>

<p>English 10 A-/A
Algebra II Honors A-/B+
World History II A-/A-
Spanish III B+/A-
Biology I A-/A-
Life Drawing A+ (fall semester)
Intro to Computational Science and Modeling A (spring semester)
Health (required) A+ (spring semester)
PE Contract: Hockey P
Lacrosse P
Community Service: Immigration Rights P/P</p>

<p>Intermediate Spanish I
(Centro lingüístico conversa, Costa Rica) A</p>

<p>English 11 A/A-
Pre-Calculus Honors A+/A
US History A/A
Spanish IV AP A/A
Biology AP A-/A-
Chemistry Honors A/A-
Chamber Music A+ (spring semester)
PE Contract P
Community Service: Music on TAP P/P
Music Theory I (SF Community College) A (spring semester)</p>

<p>English 12
Calculus AB
Twentieth Century America
Spanish V Honors
Physics Honors
Studio Art History (spring semester)
The Art of Problem Solving (fall semester)
Life Drawing (spring semester)
PE Contract
Community Service
Music Theory II (SF Community College) (spring semester)</p>

<p>AP Scores:</p>

<p>Biology--5
Spanish Lang--3</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Summer of 2002:
- "Modeling Complex Systems in StarLogo"--Two-week summer workshop at the Santa Fe Institute with funding from MIT.</p>

<p>Summer of 2003:
- "Cyber Defenders Institute"--Two-week summer workshop/internship directed by Los Alamos Nat’l Labs, and held in conjunction with the 2003 Summer Teacher Institute at San Juan College.</p>

<p>2003-2004 Academic Year:
- Played guitar for the 3rd Jazz Band in the NM Jazz All-State Festival.
- Received 3rd place in the Senior Physics Division of the Northeastern NM Regional Science Fair and 2nd place in the American Junior Academy of Science Paper Competition for a project in cosmology.
- Received the American Vacuum Society Regional Science Fair Award.
- Participated in the NM Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge, achieving first-round finalist position, and winning 1st place runner-up and the Sandia Nat’l Labs prize for creativity and innovation.
- Performed post-modern music with the Santa Fe New Music Youth Ensemble for their annual "YouthFest".
- Contributed articles and poetry to school publications.</p>

<p>Summer of 2004:
- ¡Pura Vida! Prep in Costa Rica 2004--One-month summer Spanish program at the Conversa Language Institute with work/cultural immersion activities.
- Volunteered as an online computer programmer/teaching assistant for the NM Summer Teacher Institute.</p>

<p>2004-2005 Academic Year:
- Played the guitar at local venues and at the year-end Youth Fest with the Santa Fe New Music Youth Ensemble.
- Attended workshops on the performance of contemporary and avant-garde music.
- Performed with the 2nd Jazz Band in the 2005 Jazz All-State Festival.
- Participated in the UNM-PNM Statewide Mathematics Contest and organized biweekly math club meetings to study recreational mathematics problems.
- Received first place in the Senior Team Division of the Northeastern NM Regional Science Fair for a project in game theory.
- Contributed articles and poetry to school publications.</p>

<p>Summer of 2005:
- Santa Fe Institute Summer Internship Mentorship Program--Six-week summer internship doing research with SFI scientists.
- Volunteered as a personal teaching assistant at the NM Summer Teacher Institute, teaching computer programming, modeling, and science to NM teachers.</p>

<p>2005-2006 Academic Year:
- Contributed to school publication.
- Volunteered as a teaching assistant at the NM Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge Kickoff.
- Performed with the Santa Fe New Music Youth Ensemble.
- Assisted local contemporary music organization with educational workshops and concert production.
- Raised money to commission and premier a new work of music.
- Participated in a school-sponsored math club.
- Attended the “New Mexico Young Researchers Banquet.”
- Participated in the NM Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge.</p>

<p>All Years:
- Took weekly lessons in classical, contemporary, and jazz guitar.
- Participated in a guitar/fiddle trio, performing music at the Santa Fe Farmers Market and other local venues.</p>

<p>Employment:
- Musical Performance, June-August, 2002-2005
- Software Testing at Flow Science, Inc., October 26, 2005-present</p>

<p>Scholastic Distinctions:
- Honor Roll (all years)
- New Mexico State Scholar (’05)
- University of New Mexico Star Scholar (‘05)
- AP Scholar (‘05)
- Award for excellence in advanced Spanish classes (‘05)</p>

2

<p>Does anyone have any suggestions?</p>

3

<p>This nonresponse tells me one of two things: (1) my chances are excellent, or (2) my stats are a joke. Please tell me where I stand. I would really appreciate a second opinion.</p>

4

<p>Your chances at MIT will depend on its policy regarding legacies. Some schools place more weight on it than others do. Check MIT's web site for a FAQ list and see if they place emphasis on legacy status.</p>

<p>Regardless of your legacy status, MIT is not a guaranteed school for you. As far as your other schools go, U Chicago, Princeton, Harvey Mudd, Yale, and Harvard all seem on the reach side of the scale, although you seem to have some solid EC's that may tip the scale in your favor...that will all depend on the admissions committees. Brandeis and Carleton seem like good matches. Again, I like those EC's. They show some initiative, and they're fairly unique. Good luck to you :)</p>

5

<p>I think you've got a much better chance than the guy above thinks since you're from New Mexico, where there are less applicants to MIT. It's like with the PSAT scores: location matters a lot. Good luck Also, try to raise the SAT (that's really important for you) and take the math IIC, not the IC the IIC isn't that much harder, and it's scaled much more generously (i'm really positive about it cuz i just found out today that i got an 800 on it i thought the october sunday one was unusually easy)</p>

6

<p>Just as an FYI, MIT doesn't consider legacy status in the application. But it's awesome that your parents went here -- I suspect there may be more double-legacies floating around than single-legacies, because there are lots and lots of MIT couples around this joint :)</p>

<p>Best of luck in your application.</p>

7

<p>Sorry, no Princeton. That's tough....it's your CR score, lack of APs, and ECs that are non-stand-outish enough. Perhaps if you're top in your school, maybe.</p>

8

<p>Does a lack of AP's hurt if my school only offers three AP courses? (The third course is AP French IV.)</p>

9

<p>Colleges say that they're looking for how you do in the context of your school; they realize that not all schools offer many AP courses. That's the way I understand it; it explains why so many people with 5-10 AP classes get rejected routinely from these selective schools, whereas there are still plenty of people with only two or three AP classes who are accepted. An interesting point.</p>

10

<p>Their Calculus AB isnt AP?</p>

11

<p>Oh! You're right. We have four AP's, and I'm taking AB.</p>

12

<p>Does anyone have another opinion given the opportunities at my school?</p>

13

<p>Well, they say that they will consider your application in the context of your opportunities, etc, and taking 75% of the APs available at your school is pretty good, especially since the last AP is probably not applicable.</p>

14

<p>Your chance at MIT around average because I cannot see how you are strong in science and/or math in your high school career. MIT strongly focuses on recruitting top science and math students.</p>