<p>My son is considering applying for MIT. We have already applied to 2 major universities in our state and I am concerned that unless he has a real chance at MIT it might take away from the time he needs to apply for scholarships at the state universities. Please give your honest opinion of his chances at MIT and if its worth his time.</p>
<p>GPA 4.0
Ranking 6/519
Scored 5 on AP English and US History junior year. Taking 7 AP classed this year.
SAT Math 650; Reading 670; Writing 710</p>
<p>EC Activities:
Captain Varsity Swim Team
HHS
Job - Teaching Swimming to kids
Various hours of volunteering for local cleanup and recycling
Summer volunteer at Humane Society
Church volunteer hours</p>
<p>Honors:
First Place - Digital Art Logo Design (district)
Varsity Swim Lettering in 50 meters - Sophomore Year</p>
<p>His SATs are too low. We have a friend that got a 35 on the math part of the ACT and he was told to take it again to help his chances. He got a 36 and did get in. Had a 34 composite. Is your some good enough to swim at MIT? If so, he should contact the coach. That could help. Our friend was a recruited swimmer. Most kids only swim there one or two years because of the academics.</p>
<p>whciv01:
When I see words like “We have already applied to”, or “My son is considering applying to MIT”, I think back on the MIT information session I once attended. The topic of parents helping their sons/daughters came up. I clearly remember the director of admissions stating the more they can see an applicant standing on his/her own, the better. Be careful.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. My son is actually the one that wants to apply to MIT and I’m the one questioning the effort required if he doesn’t stand much of a chance. He has a full load his senior year with 7 AP classes, swim team captain and working part-time to boot.</p>
<p>If your son has a passion that he feels MIT would help him fulfill, he should apply, but with reasonable expectations. It would be a good idea to raise his SATs, especially his Math score. That said, if his passion is real and he can communicate it, he has as good a chance as anyone else. And, who knows, maybe they don’t need oboe players this year but rather 50 meter swimmers :-)</p>
<p>As a father myself, the one thing you don’t want to have happen is that years from now there is a question in your son’s mind that your resistance to his applying had a negative effect on his life. My wife, in her 50’s, sometimes mentions a regret that she didn’t apply to Bowdoin; our son’s applying to college have brought college choices to mind, it isn’t something that’s a consuming regret :-)</p>
<p>How old is the SAT score? If it is more than a year old, take it again. If he took it without practice take it again.</p>
<p>I think about three weeks of practice, couple of hours a day, with the College Board Blue Book can improve familiarity with the format & add 50-100 points to the Math score.</p>
<p>I would recommend not to apply. Each year, there are many, many kids with better test scores, better grades, better ECs, and MUCH better awards.</p>
<p>My sons SAT score was at the beginning of this year (his junior year). He is taking it again this October and feels much better about the math section. He missed National Merit by just a few points. </p>
<p>I think we have decided to see how he does on this next SAT. If the does well, then he may still look at MIT. My other concern is that if he happen to ‘win the lottery’ and get accepted, we are not financially prepared for MIT.</p>
<p>Who told your friend that he needed a 36? People often make outlandish claims about college admissions because they have no idea what they’re talking about. I doubt the 36 on the math section significantly increase your friend’s chances. People get accepted to MIT without perfect math scores all the time.</p>
<p>Should my son retake the SAT II because he only got a 780 in US History? I think Adcoms consider that an indication of a character flaw rather than anything positive.</p>
<p>Be forewarned: scores mean very little for places like MIT. If they wanted, they could have everyone in their class with a score of 2370 or higher on the SAT. You need to be very strong in some EC, math/science, or demonstrate some other significant passion to get into MIT. Your son doesn’t seem to have any of those, so it would literally take a miracle to be accepted.</p>
<p>^ I agree. It seems like everyone’s basis for whether or not they will get accepted is ‘if their SAT/ACT/SAT II’ is high enough.’ The honest answer should just be ‘they don’t know,’ because college admissions are just so unpredictable sometimes.</p>
<p>They will look at “the whole picture.” Of course, rigor, performance and scores matter; they can indicate your readiness for that level of challenge, academically and in terms of how you stretch yourself. But: it’s not all about stats. </p>
<p>I’m new to CC and a parent of an EA to Princeton. I don’t remember seeing my son so stressed this last 2 weeks, but his application was sent. He was also able to apply EA to 2 public schools UNC and UF. He’ll be applying regular to many other schools including Yale, Cornell, Brown, MIT, Stanford, Duke, Washington U (St. Louis), Emory, Rice, UMich and UVA. I know it’s a lot, but he must get out there to see where he can get in. Hi’s stats are:
GPA 4.0 - 4.85 W, top 1% of class (ranked 10 out of 852), AP’s: Human Geography 5, World History 5, Chemistry 5, Calculus AB 5, English Lang & Comp 5, US Hist 5. This year his classes are AP Art Hist, AP Calculus BC, AP Eng Lit comp, AP Psych, AP US Gov/Polit, Physics Honors and Spanish 4 Honors. SAT 2220 (CR 730 M 770 W 720), SAT II Math 2 790, Chemistry 770, US Hist 740. ACT composite score 32:(
His EC has been mostly swimming for the last 7 years!! grueling training and time consuming. Varsity swimming all 4 years of HS, team captain, varsity water polo 3 years, many volunteer hours with special olympics, give kids the world, surfrider foundation and relay for life.
HS Scholar-Athlete of the year 2013, Academic all american, National honor society, Mu Alpha Theta-math honor society, Rho Kappa - social studies honor society.
I know this is way too long, but I wanted to provide as much as possible for you out there. What are his chances with the schools I mentioned? I don’t know if I should mentioned he’s also hispanic. Your comments are welcome:)</p>
<p>Really ignore the parents on this blog. It’s a fun site bit one with many bitter students and parents and can really mislead you. I like reading some of the stories and thank god my parents were not like these people.</p>