Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Rising senior, attend a good NE prep-school
GPA is 5.3/6.0 UW, which places me in the top 10% (school does not rank)
My math/science GPA is 5.7/6.0 UW (to put this in perspective, if this were my overall GPA, I would probably be ranked 1 or 2)</p>

<p>Courses already taken-
Math through multivariable calculus
AP Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Introduction to Spectroscopy
AP Physics
Biology Research
French through third year (diploma requirement)
English through third year (diploma requirement)
Philosophy: Human Nature (diploma requirement)
Some other diploma requirements</p>

<p>Courses to be taken senior year-
AP Computer Science
Honors Math Seminar
Advanced Mechanics
Relativity and Quantum Mechanics
More diploma requirements</p>

<p>My counselor would probably describe my course load as very challenging. (By the way, since I’ve already taken a lot of advanced courses and since I have a bunch of requirements left, my course load next year will be a bit easier. How will this be taken?)</p>

<p>School Awards-
Maynard Prize in Analytical Geometry and Calculus
Wadsworth Prize in Advanced Physics
School Science Bowl Winner</p>

<p>EC’s-</p>

<p>Math Club (captain next year- a possibility)
126.5 on AMC, 6 on AIME
Top 20 in Massachusetts Association of Mathematics League (MAML)
Top ten in HMMT (Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament) Calculus
Eastern Mass ARML team, Division B site winner</p>

<p>Science Club
National Science Bowl – 2nd place in state
National Ocean Science Bowl – top 12 in state</p>

<p>Computer Science Club
2nd place in ACSL (American Computer Science League) competition</p>

<p>Cross Country, Track (Lettered in track, I think)</p>

<p>Testing-</p>

<p>SAT I-2270 (740V/770M/760W)
SAT II’s- 800 Math IIC, 800 Chemistry, Physics in October
APs- 5’s in BC Calc, Chemistry, Physics C</p>

<p>Other-
I think my essays will be good, if not great
My rec’s should be great (my math teacher for Calc and Multivar has already told me that I am the strongest he’s seen in ~13 years of teaching)
I think I’ll submit my Biology research paper on DNA-Based computing even though the results weren’t exactly conclusive
I know MIT doesn’t admit by major, but my fields of interest will be EECS</p>

<p>And now…. Drumroll please, ….. the question:</p>

<p>What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything? </p>

<p>The more relevant question: what are my chances at being admitted to MIT? I’ll be applying EA, so what are my chances of getting a tube for Christmas? (hah I wish)</p>

2

<p>You have a strong application, though I worry that there isnt anything incredibly unusual that you've done. Still, I got in without much being unusual, so with some kickass essays and recs you have a good shot. I would say sit tight and hope for the best, but dont have your heart set on mit or any other college- you'll probably be really happy wherever you end up.</p>

3

<p>I think you're quite strong based on this, but MIT isn't a sure thing for anyone. Don't screw up your essays...use them to show how you are a fit with MIT culture. Try not to come off as arrogant (I'm not saying you are, just that it's a mistake that many very accomplished high schoolers make). Also, find some way to demonstrate that you are emotionally resilient, that you know how to cope with setbacks and failure. No matter how awesome you are, if it sounds like you've never struggled in anything in your life, MIT will be wary of you...they'll be afraid that you'll crumble the first time you bomb a test.</p>

4

<p>Well, I bombed a test once in math class but came back from that to have my teacher call me the best student he's seen in his 11 years of teaching. Should I write about that in an essay? Or would that be more appropriate to come out in a rec? I was thinking of writing about attending a funeral: would that work?</p>

<p>And what's MIT culture like exactly? I think of myself as a friendly person who's on the geeky side. I'm pretty sure I'll fit in (of course that's assuming I get in), right?</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
Well, I bombed a test once in math class but came back from that to have my teacher call me the best student he's seen in his 11 years of teaching. Should I write about that in an essay?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>There's normally an essay question on the app that asks you to talk about a time when you failed at something. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that it's a trick question, but it's not - it's a way to gauge whether you show resilience, how you respond to failure (do you curl up and hide under a rock, or are you proactive about trying to fix your situation or learn from your mistakes?) and whether you set reasonable standards for yourself and have a reasonable understanding of what failure is (i.e. if you are claiming that the fact that you were only the 2nd chair clarinet instead of the 1st chair clarinet in all-state band is a tremendous failure, the answer is probably no). So you could write about bombing the test, but you'd want to do it in a way that shows how you coped and persevered after your failure, rather than in a way that comes off as mostly an excuse to talk about how much your teacher loved you in the end. Does that make sense?</p>

<p>On the other hand, you could leave that to come out in the rec, and discuss something else in the "failure" question. It doesn't have to be about a test. For instance, you ran cross-country and track...you must have had a race, or a string of races, that was a crushing failure before (I ran cross-country in high school, I know how it goes).</p>

6

<p>
[quote]
I was thinking of writing about attending a funeral: would that work?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Depends on what you say.</p>

<p>
[quote]
And what's MIT culture like exactly? I think of myself as a friendly person who's on the geeky side. I'm pretty sure I'll fit in (of course that's assuming I get in), right?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>There's a social niche for pretty much everyone who gets in. Check out the student blogs at <a href="http://my.mit.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://my.mit.edu&lt;/a> - especially [url="<a href="http://jessie.mitblogs.com%22%5Dmine%5B/url"&gt;http://jessie.mitblogs.com"]mine[/url&lt;/a&gt;]. ;)</p>