Chances in Chemistry

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Asian Female looking for some feedback. Not sure where my numbers/ECs/etc. put me...</p>

<p>Small, very competitive high school. Typically places students at top colleges.</p>

<p>GPA (UW) - 3.90/4.0 unweighted
GPA (W) - 4.4/4.0 weighted.</p>

<p>Class Rank - Top 15%. (One B and you're out of the top 10%)</p>

<p>SAT
Critical Reading - 770
Math - 710
Writing - 770 (12/12 on the essay)</p>

<p>SAT II
Chemistry - 750
Math I - 670</p>

<p>ACT - 31</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities
Newspaper - News editor (11th), Co-Managing editor (12th)
Literary Magazine - Editor (12th), Staff and Contributor (9th, 10th, 11th)
Tae Kwon Do (high blue belt)
National Honor Society (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) (does this even matter?)
State Science Fair (12th) (Got 4th place in 8th grade and Won States in 5th grade - should I even mention those? They were great wins but irrelevant to high school. But the were great wins! Sad...)
Latin Forum (9th, 10th, 11th)
Journalism Conference (11th and 12th)</p>

<p>Community Service - 100 hours
- Library - Conducted children's summer reading program
- Thrift Store - Organized merchandise, cashier
- Church - Ran booths at carnivals for church fund raisers</p>

<p>Talents and Awards
- National Merit Scholarship Qualifier (Anticipated Finalist based on last year's scores)
- Journalism awards (several 1st place awards for team and individual layout and writing)
- National Latin Exam - Cum Laude
- Latin awards - Several 1st and 2nd place awards at Latin Forums
- Writing - Won countywide Short Story competition
- Art - Won 1st place nationally in DAR stamp design contest</p>

<p>Other
- Duke TIP Program (I figure a lot of people have this)
- Attended the Duke Young Writers Camp</p>

<p>AP Coursework
- US History (3 on AP exam)
- Chemistry and Lab (4 on AP exam)
- English Composition (5 on AP exam)
- Psychology (12th)
- English Literature (12th)
(Our school doesn't offer a lot of AP courses.)</p>

<p>Essay - Writing in my strength. It's shaping up nicely.</p>

<p>References - I expect very strong references from my chemistry and journalism teachers.</p>

<p>ECs - I couldn't care less about spreading myself across every activity in the school, but I have great depth in Journalism and Lit Mag that I can put on the application.</p>

<p>So here's my question...</p>

<p>Do I have ANY chance?</p>

2

<p>You apply to MIT the institution, not to a major.</p>

3

<p>I’ve seen enough chance threads that look like this that I finally have to ask: if you want to be a science major at a tech school, why do none of your extracurriculars have anything to do with science? I’m not saying that this will hurt you - even after going through it, I can’t figure out the MIT admissions process - but I’m genuinely curious.</p>

4

<p>^ You’re assuming that the opportunities exist for everyone. They don’t.</p>

<p>Personally, I had one option in high school - a pretty lame Science Club. I decided to read nerdly stuff on my own and take advantage of our decent clubs in high school (community service, drama) because those were also things that interested me. I could’ve tried to beef up our Science Club, but I felt more fulfilled doing the other things and exploring science on my own.</p>

5

<p>PiperXP hit the nail on the head. My school, while it’s considered the best in the region, doesn’t offer much in the way of Chemistry ECs. I would love to do some of them, but there just aren’t any.</p>

<p>As for ECs, I’m doing science fair again this year and focusing on a chemistry project. So I’m filling it in where I can.</p>

6

<p>^^ The fact that you’re participating in a regional science fair more than one year in a row already puts you in a relatively small group of students nationwide.</p>

7

<p>Point taken. Out of curiosity, PiperXP, did you put “reading nerdly stuff” (or some variant) in the Activities section of your application?</p>

8

<p>I suggest you to take Math II, if you took precalculus before.</p>

9

<p>I think Inconclusive has a good suggestion - your Math I has a really annoying curve. Math II has a more generous curve that allows for dumb mistakes.</p>

10

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<p>Nope. I believe my five were community service, drama, horseback riding, aviation, and karate.</p>

11

<p>PiperXP, what do you think was the thing that pulled you into MIT? Did you write research papers or something? Or was it because you were genuinely smart and had an amazing attitude and work ethic?</p>

12

<p>Thanks for all the good feedback.</p>

<p>I’m giving serious consideration to re-taking the Math subject test (maybe even the 2C) and maybe AP Lit.</p>

<p>Anybody else want to throw me a chance?</p>

<p>(Regarding ranking, our school is really small - 110-115 kids - so 1 B and you’re out of the top 10%)</p>

13

<p>I think you’re fine in terms of the quantitative stats. Retake math (or take Math 2) if you think you can improve. Otherwise, no biggie.</p>

<p>I think what you really need to be thinking about now is focusing in on your passions and communicating WHY those are the things that you love doing. It doesn’t necessarily have to be science (none of my essays were about science), but I feel increasingly this is an area that colleges are really starting to look at when they admit students. They want individuals who are passionate about what they do - who dare to dream about their future - and who are not afraid of sharing these thoughts. Your interests may shift and change in college, but for now, having a clear picture of what your life has been up to this point and being able to talk about it in your application effectively and honestly will probably be your biggest asset.</p>

<p>You mentioned that your strength is writing - the essay is probably the biggest place you can make a difference now. Your stats are as good as any.</p>

<p>ps. MIT has a great Lit/Writing department! (21L and 21W) - just throwing it out there so you don’t think that MIT is purely a tech school. We have great humanities! =D</p>

14

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<p>Hah, research papers. It never occurred to me that high school students could do research. I hadn’t heard of AIME or FIRST or Siemens until I applied. I didn’t even know you could take an AP test without taking the AP class (otherwise I probably would’ve self-studied and taken more).</p>

<p>I don’t think one thing “pulled me in”. I think I had unintentionally become “The Match” in high school. (Unintentionally because until the end of junior year, my plan was to go to a decent UC. Then I heard about MIT, this wacky school where you could make toys in class and people mysteriously put cars on buildings, and decided I wanted to go there.)</p>

15

<p>You make it sound so easy to get into MIT ;)</p>

16

<p>Me? That’s certainly not my intent. But they really do take your passion and opportunities into account. Indeed, my story is a strange one.</p>