Chances for MIT + Ivies

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>White Scandinavian/Native American from Minnesota. Small, poor high school, with no offered AP OR Honors classes. GPA unweighted is 3.999 (I kid you not).</p>

<p>Classes</p>

<p>Physics, Chem, Bio; Math through Calculus. Taking 2 CompSci classes through PSEO at a local college this year. Last year took online Interm Spanish and a Cultural Immersion class for which we went to Mexico for a week.</p>

<p>35 ACT (36 Reading, 35 Math, 34 Science, 33 English)</p>

<p>2180 SAT I (750 Reading, 710 Math, 720 Writing). I'm taking this again because these scores were horrible. Practice tests predicted something around 2340.</p>

<p>800 SAT Math, 770 SAT Chem, 720 SAT Lit.</p>

<p>ECs</p>

<p>Speech - no major accomplishments, veeery close to making state but no bragging rights there.</p>

<p>Math League - My team gets devoured every year by private schools</p>

<p>Knowledge Bowl - Again, veeeeery close to state, but no go. We did win JV sectionals though. Team Captain.</p>

<p>CompSci Club - Co-founded my junior year. Robotics and programming mainly.</p>

<p>Piano - won my age bracket of THE state keyboard competition in 7th grade, then quit because I didn't like the rigor, schedule, and pressure. I still play recreationally.</p>

<p>Band - Picked up the trumpet after I quit piano and play 2nd chair in my high school's Wind Ensemble. That doesn't mean I'm any good, though.</p>

<p>Tennis - Section semi-finalist, Team Captain. My summer Traveling Team won section championships. Not quite good enough to be recruited, but very, very good. Easily could play D3 for schools in my area, but doubtful about varsity anywhere near a coast.</p>

<p>Background</p>

<p>Homeschooled K-8, 9th grade was my first taste of public school. 3 siblings who did the same, 2 w/ master's degrees (Milwaukee and Honolulu - Piano Performance and Communications, respectively) and one w/ PhD (Grad School of Mayo, molecular pharmacology). All went to mediocre local colleges but excelled there and moved on.</p>

<p>Outdoors - canoeing in the Boundary Waters for 10+ years. I help my grandpa manage his trap lines (beaver, mink, muskrat, fox, otter) and occasionally go on his charter fishing trips. I've shot coyotes, skinned beaver, and knocked a timber wolf unconscious with a stick.</p>

<p>Recs will be solid and essays are my strongest point (ACT and SAT scores bear that out).</p>

<p>I keep telling myself CompSci but I might wind up in Economics. I'm eyeing MIT as a top choice, then hoping for Stanford, Brown, CMU in that order. Carleton is a fallback and local colleges are always there for me.</p>

<p>So... What do y'all say? Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>I think MIT will be a very high reach. Even though you took the two classes at the local college, they will probably be expecting more than that. It helps that your scores are good, but then your ECs are decent but nothing really stands out other than the hunting thing. Perhaps write an essay on that because that could really help distinguish you. Maybe even connect it to comp sci or some other interest to top it off.
The home schooled thing is also something unique that you could try to use to your advantage.
I think your best shot would be CMU just because they have such an amazing Comp Sci program from what I hear and I think it’s something a more manageable. That’s my 2 cents</p>

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<p>Scores are awesome. EC’s are there but nothing special except for piano i guess. Dont worry, its still fine. U dont have to retake the SAT as ur ACT score converts to ~2300. So u can just send the ACT. Applying to CMU would be good. Although they only have an 8% admit rate for their school of CS, i think they look more at stats. Which u have. MIT and ivys look more for personal qualities. </p>

<p>Dont get me wrong, u still have a huge chance at the ivys and mit. I just went off the top posts suggestion to apply to CMU as well.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the honesty!</p>

5

<p>Poor district, interesting backstory, Native American, Minnesotta? Just the sort of diversity I feel at least one of those schools will be looking for… Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Being Native American will give you a huge boost, but your case is a little out of the ordinary, so I can’t say much.</p>

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<p>Also a potential Merit Scholar, also placed 2nd in a State-wide Trig competition, and also member of NHS, hopefully officer this year. I recognize my scores are moderate and ECs are below par, but I really have no idea how my background will play out/translate. How much do top schools look for diversity, and how much do they just accept the most over-achieving students? </p>

<p>Also, how much will they understand the lack of opportunity of AP/Honors classes?</p>

<p>Also, is it true that MIT is affirmative action in admissions? I heard that somewhere and am doubtful of its accuracy.</p>

<p>Also, I just wanted to use the word ‘Also’ again. </p>

<p>Also, Thanks!</p>

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<p>The generic super reach for HYPM, the rest are mid-reach-reach. However, if you could prove you are native American then that changes everything. It would be at most reaches for all schools, low-reaches for the lower ivies.</p>

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<p>@bilnythesciguy Registration certificate, enrollment number, documented ancestry… The whole shebang.</p>

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<p>Everything looks fantastic overall. I would just say, retake your SAT if possible. See if you can possibly get a higher score. 2180 is a great score, don’t get me wrong, but getting a 2200+ may get you in. Also, the fact that you are Native American will definitely be to your advantage. Good luck!</p>