Frankly, I don’t view the chance threads on this site with much veracity, but at the very least this seemed intriguing/entertaining, so I decided to give it a whirl…
I’m a white male and an incoming senior this year
My top choice for college is MIT, I also am applying to CalTech, Cornell, U Chicago, Michigan and UC Santa Barbara + safety schools.
GPA: 4.0
I’m a full IB diploma candidate.
SAT: Have not taken and probably never will
ACT: 34 composite
English: 36
Math: 35
Reading: 36
Science: 28
Writing: 11
SAT Subject Tests:
Math II: 800
Physics: 660 (Retaking it)
IB Tests:
Spanish Language B SL: 7
Psychology SL: 7
Extracurriculars:
Mathletes (Junior-Present)- I am the current president elect, last year I competed in the state finals
Student Ambassadors (Junior-Present)- Club involved with new/foreign exchange students
Ninja Competitions (it’s a real thing, I swear)- Competed in obstacle ninja competitions (sort of like the show American
Ninja Warrior) under the UNAA organization and went to the World Finals
MUN (Sophomore-Present)
Band (Freshman-Present)
Rock Climbing (Freshman-Present)- It’s not a varsity sport or anything, but I have been on a club climbing team
throughout high school
Summer Activities
Post-Freshman: I volunteered at the local zoo, ~100 hrs. total
Post-Sophomore: I worked at the rock climbing gym I go to
Post-Junior: I worked at an internship at a power utilities company + created a research project during the internship (I’m
not sure if I should send it to colleges, but I know MIT and CalTech have optional sections for it)
I plan on majoring in physics.
So, what are my chances?
You have some very cool EC’s. What stands out to me, however, is that you want to major in physics, but your weakest test scores are in science and physics. I’d say you’d be a very competitive candidate in any other major (sports psychology?). Retake the tests. Even a bit of improvement may help so that disconnect isn’t so obvious.
Yeah, I know that my standardized test scores in science are not great. I have been debating about retaking the ACT for a long time now, my other scores are great so I was never quite sure if it was worth retaking (especially considering that many colleges do not weight the science section very heavily). I was pretty naive going into the SAT subject tests, I hadn’t studied, and little did I know that one year of physics at my school only covers half of the material on the subject tests. Hopefully when I retake it, I’ll score higher. However, I am certainly going to major in physics, it’s the whole reason I wanted to go to these schools in the first place. I would rather study physics in community college than something else at one of these schools I’m applying for.
In state for UCSB? And if you’re in-state for UCs and interested in Physics add UC Davis and Irvine to your list.
Not in state, I’m from Oregon
Can you afford the OOS costs for UCs?
You look like a good candidate for MIT except that your science ACT score stands out like a sore thumb. I’d definitely study and retake.
But do remember that MIT and some of the other colleges you mention have absolutely horrible admit rates for even highly qualified applicants. No matter where you end up, it looks like you have the ability to do well. College is just a means to an end, keep up the good work and you’ll do well wherever you end up.
ACT science if I understand correctly merely involves an ability to extrapolate data from graphs and doesn’t involve real science. I wouldn’t judge harshly on that subscore.
The more worrisome issue is a potential Physics major with a relatively low SAT subject score.
You got some explaining to do on your application yes about the science/physics score. I know about Michigan more so. My son with 34 Act but 35 in science and math with an “A” in AP physics C found even beginning engineering physics 1 and 2 very tough. His worst subject at Michigan. Michigan is known for very tough science and Math. Applying liberal arts and picking your major in sophomore year will help. Cornell, MIT and Uchicago will have the same concerns. Have safeties. The schools might realize this part of your application doesn’t really add up to your whole profile. I would be reaching out to the regional counselors for each of these schools and start asking questions and letting them know about this /your school situation. If you take physics C and ace the first semester… This would go a long way to prove to them that you can do this. Also not sure why you stated these schools don’t put weight on science scores… This is incorrect.
I would suggest retaking the Physics SAT II and the ACT (the latter is not really necessary, but the former definitely is). Otherwise, your EC’s sound cool and you have solid activities done over the summer. As for the research paper, I would say submit it only if it is either formatted like a legitimate piece (Abstract, Intro, Methods and Materials, etc.) or if the topic is cool and engaging to you. Overall, you’re a fairly good applicant (you just need to boost those scores).
@Knowsstuff This is a direct quote from MITChris.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/1900611-does-mit-care-about-the-act-science.html
“It’s not strongly weighted in our process because it’s not as predictive as e,g. the math section.”
Don’t worry too much about the science score. Did you know that many of the questions on that section can be answered correctly without actually reading the texts, just by going straight to the questions? You can save a lot of time on that section by doing that which can help your score. But only retake if you have nothing better to do on test day that can help your application more.
And don’t worry about you physics test score since you plan on retaking it anyway. If you got a 660 without even studying, you’ll do a lot better with some effort.
Your physics score will not stick out at MIT admissions because you want to major in physics. They might ask on your application what you want to major in, but only because they want to learn about you and your interests. You do not actually apply to a specific major, and you have time to decide once you finish you Freshman year. The only reason this score might be worrisome is because there are 2 required physics courses at MIT in order to graduate, no matter what you choose to major in, and admissions wants to be confident that all their admits will succeed.
@UglyMom I am just going off the people I actually know that have been accepted over the last few years. All had more then adequate test scores in all subjects. The ones that didn’t… Aren’t going to MIT today. I only which him the best of luck. Anything is possible with hard work.
@Knowsstuff My daughter just graduated from MIT. Her scores were not her strength. It was her essays and teacher recommendations that I believe won over the admission staff.
@UglyMom congrats on your daughter. I wish her much success.