Chances for MIT/Yale/Stanford

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

There are a lot of people posting their stats so I wanted to see where I rank among everyone.

Major Focus: Mech Engineering with an emphasis on robotics and entrepreneurship
Demographic: While Male
State: Arizona
Family Income: >150k

GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.85 weighted
Rank: 1/475 apart of a selective Engineering and Science program
ACT: 34 Composite - (34 Science, 34, Math, 34 English, 34 Reading)
SAT: Math II 800 - Physics 760 (only took one sem of physics because of the teacher leaving the district and a few other school caused issues)

Classes:
AP Physics 1, AP Chem, AP Euro, AP Lit, AP Macroecon, AP CompSci, APUSH, AP Gov, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Lang (all 5s and 4s)
4 Years of Honors Engineering and Computer Science course through specialized school

University Courses: (enrolled at state university as a non degree student):
-Linear Alegrbra
-Calculus with Analytic Geometry
-200 level object oriented computer science course

Activities:
FIRST Robotics - Serve as outreach lead and CAD Captain
Internship - Working out of ASU doing superconductor research for quantum computing Josephson junctions
Start Up - founded my own start up working with Bluetooth to Hardware solutions
SkillsUSA - VP of Compsci Chapter
AZFTOC - Serve as the president of the Arizona group of FIRST Robotics High School Teams
MIT Launch - Participated over the summer
Work as a programmer for FIRST on many international robotics courses and programs

Awards:
FIRST Robotics Dean’s List Award Winner
ISEF Category Award 4th place
Edson Entrepreneurial Award
Patent Pending for my start ups product
Coolidge Scholarship Distinction
National Merit Semifinalist

Letters of Rec:
APUSH Teacher who I have had many talks after school about (I’m super passionate about history)
Engineering Teacher who I have worked with to start up 15 Robotics teams in our school district
Internship Professor, Stanford Alumni who has given me grad level work to do on my own at the lab
Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST Robotics wrote me a letter of Rec

Schools I’m applying to:
MIT
Yale
Stanford
Columbia
Northwestern
Harvard
CalTech
Georgia Tech

2

Relative to most others who apply to these schools, you have great chances. Your overall chances are still low as these are reaches for everyone but your stats are nearly perfect and your ECs show your skill and passion for technology.

3

I agree with @doorrealthe: You are in the range of students that attend the universities on your list. However, you need to run the NPC and see whether these schools are likely to be affordable, and you also need to think carefully about some safeties (unless your in-state flagship is a good choice and a safety, in which case you need to apply but you might not need to agonize over it).

4

@DadTwoGirls I just listed my reach schools. I’ve already been offered a few scholarships to my two state schools (ASU and U Arizona) so if need be, I have those as my back ups.

5

"(ASU and U Arizona) so if need be, I have those as my back ups. "

Great back ups! I think that you will do well where ever you end up.

6

OMG!!! another Launchie!! id say u have a really good chance at all of those school.

7

Wow another FIRST FRC member, with Dean’s List Award winner that’s gotten at Einstein’s? I’d say you have an extremely high chance to get into MIT and Yale based on your profile, although Stanford might be tough as that’s a reach for most people. Dean Kamen’s recommendation letter is pretty good on your profile when applying to colleges.

8

Update: Accepted MIT EA

9

@TheRolf Congrats! Are you going to apply to Stanford RD or are you going to commit to MIT now?

10

@Penn95 I’m going to apply to Stanford and Yale but not the others… but I am not going to be as worried since MIT is by far my top choice

11

If MIT is by far your top choice why would you apply to others?

12

@Rivet2000 I got a private tour from Yale so I want to apply as a thank you, as well as I love Stanford as well. In reality, I’ll choose the school that helps me out the most with financial aid

13

Great stats and accomplishments, but the reality is you had a 5% chance like every other unhooked applicant that gets admitted to HYPS - so feel proud and lucky!

14

@TheRolf Given your extensive interest and background in engineering, why Yale? Just curious. I get applying to Stanford, maybe Caltech too but do you really feel you would ever turn down MIT or Stanford for Yale given your academic/professional interests? If the answer is no (which it is for most people in your position), consider not applying, it will free up a spot for a person who really wants to go there. If however, you would seriously consider it then of course apply.

15

@Penn95 Yale is really working on their engineering program. Their engineering Dean is a huge supporter of FIRST Robotics (on the board) which is something that I dedicate 90% of my time to. He invited me for a personal tour and really wanted me to come to Yale to help grow robotics and engineering at Yale since it is young and growing. I want to apply as a thank you for the effort he put into setting up the tour and showing Yale to me

16

@TheRolf Ok, given this backstory it makes sense applying. Yale definitely goes to great lengths to recruit top STEM talent through the YES-W program and other outreach, precisely because they know STEM is their relatively weak spot. Attracting an MIT/Stanford/Caltech-worthy engineering student would be very high on their priority list I imagine, hence the extensive attention and courting. Just make sure you weigh things objectively and don’t get overly seduced by the extra attention Yale is showing (it happens quite often with students). Yale is an amazing place but Imo being at a nascent and growing department is good if you are a faculty member thinking about your long-term career progression. for your actual training as a student, the tippy top programs are a better choice. I m sure you are incredibly bright and will make the decision that is best for you, but just sharing some wisdom haha.

17

@Penn95 thank you man for the great advice. My ECs are a bit misleading since I am more of a “social” engineer where I like a lot of the STEM Advocacy and more people side of STEM. Yale is one of the best LACs and I am still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life, and I want to keep my options open

18

I don’t think applying to Yale, then declining the offer is the best way to show courtesy. You certainly should write a letter to the people who have gone the extra mile to thank them for their time, effort, and attention. Actually applying doesn’t do anybody any good.

Deciding between MIT and Stanford is the challenge. Kidding aside, weather plays not an insignificant role, but I hope you look beyond that to see what each school offers. Did you watch the 2.009 presentations? MIT is planning to convert a huge building on campus to maker space to add to its existing infrastructure that will satisfy the most avid mechanical engineering majors. There is a dorm that attracts a lot of them. Don’t miss it when you’re there for CPW. Probably the biggest difference between MIT and Stanford is the curriculum. At its core, Stanford is a liberal arts college. You’ll spend quite a bit of time writing and taking philosophy classes. MIT at its core is an engineering school. You’ll take one humanities class per semester, spending the remainder of the time on math and science. It’s nerd heaven for the right type of student.

19

I posted without reading #16. I’m guessing you might pursue an MBA eventually because it isn’t clear to me what STEM advocacy is.

20

@TheRolf