Do I have a chance at MIT?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>I'm legally living in MD, but not citizen or PR.
I'm attending public school(I heard top 3% in the nation..).
I came from South Korea in Jan, 2005.
I am a junior.</p>

<p>My gpa is around 3.8-3.9. I got some Bs from Korea, and straight As in US except 2Bs..(Both in English) I'm expecting to get 1 more B in English.
I took all regular but one ESOL in sophomore year.
I'm taking 1 AP, 3.5 Honors, and 2.5 regulars.
I gonna take 3 APs and 4 Honors(or 3 Honors and 1 regular) in senior year.</p>

<p>I'm going to take SAT in october and expecting cr: 650-700 math: 780-800 w: 680-730.
I took two SAT2s already(math2c: 790, japanese: 740).
I'm going to take physics in june(expecting 800)
I'm going to take 2 APs this year(stats and Physics B).
In senior year, I'm going to take Calculus BC, Physics C(both), WH, CS ab(not sure), and chemistry(not sure). </p>

<p>Here is the problem.
My EC is almost none..Math club and some prizes..that's it.
Oh, one more thing..anime club..
Also some community hours on local library and church.
Because I came here like a year ago and I am very introvert person.
Also I don't want to spend time on 'what I don't like' for pretending.
I want to do my 'job.'</p>

<p>Here is my job..I am studying college level Physics and Math...by myself. I am expecting to finish Halliday's Fundamentals of Physics 7th edition and AP Calculus by upcoming summer. And then, I'm going to study Multivariable Calculus and Analytical Mechanics. If I have more time, I'm going to study Linear Algebra, Differential Equation, and Electrodynamics.</p>

<p>I'll try to show these works in essay or other methods.</p>

<p>So..do I have a chance? At least an 1%?</p>

<p>How about in Caltech, Princeton, and Cornell?
Major is Physics.</p>

<p>If it is not zero, that's fine to me.</p>

<p>Could you do me a favor?
If I really have no chance because of lack of EC, please say so..
I'm really fine..Just I want to know if I have a chance in my dream college.</p>

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<p>Man, your test scores need to definitely be in the 700's. MIT, Caltech, and Princeton (unless you do ED) seem like long shots because of the lack of EC's. Cornell seems like a reach as well, but a much more manageable reach.</p>

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<p>From what I've seen, international applicants are given some leeway in reading and writing scores, but I agree with vu_press; if you are an international considering schools like MIT, Caltech, or Cornell you have a very slim chance. See: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=166034%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=166034&lt;/a>. Usually it takes winning an olympiad or a big science compeition to really stand out.</p>

<p>To be perfectly honest, your overall stats seem a bit low even in the domestic applicant pool for MIT or Caltech (Though you could still have a shot at Cornell). Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear. But you still have some time. Also, having a lot of ECs is not really necessary, but you should have some you are dedicated to. Unless you are exceptional, none of the top schools will accept you on academic merit alone.</p>

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<p>Hey-</p>

<p>I understand your situation very well because I am also Korean and I keep in touch with the Korean society even though I have been PR for few years now. I have heard about other Koreans/International applicants in the same position as you.</p>

<p>I think score-wise, you would be in the majority of the applicant pool, but not particularly too outstanding for MIT, Caltech, or Cornell. Your academic EC is lacking one of the main components that I think they would look for: national competitions. As an international applicant who will have to somehow outshine domestic students, you have to have more material. National competitions doesn't necessarily mean academically, either. Perhaps if you have a passion for music, robotics, anything and you've interacted with others with similar interests on a grander scale (state, national level), you would be much more competitive. </p>

<p>As for independent study - It's fine that you're studying college-level material by yourself; that is a challenging task. But, you are going to have to take those courses in college anyway, and I don't think independent study at home is much of an extracurricular activity in the eyes of admission people. From what I've seen, I think they want to see that you're willing to contribute your knowledge/talents to the world after a college education; you have to express that in your essay. </p>

<p>Right now, I have an international applicant friend who applied to MIT with similar statistics as you. He has a natural talent in math/physics as I'm sure you do, similar SAT scores (Math2c: 800, Biology: 780, Chem: 800), 4.0 GPA (he moved to U.S. in his 9th grade year), similar EC activities - minimal community service, some math club prizes such as AMC, and state science olympiad experience. He did not get in to MIT (I don't think he applied to Caltech) but he did get into Cornell. He is thinking of chemical engineering. From this, I believe that you'll have a better chance with Cornell than MIT or Caltech.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, I believe that you should try to aim high. My policy is that if you don't apply, you won't even have a smallest chance of getting accepted. Try to express yourself well, but be honest. I know that around 4 Korean International students (3 of them straight from Korea, I believe) were accepted into MIT Class of '10, although I am not aware of their accomplishments.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Thank you.</p>

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<p>I'm going to apply ED to Princeton or Cornell.
If I apply ED to Princeton, and higher SAT scores, Do I have more chance?</p>

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<p>Yes, your chances would be much greater, but I'm not exactly sure about the policies of Princeton and Cornell. Some schools don't allow intl's to apply early. ED would make it much easier though.</p>

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<p>Thank you. I know that both colleges allow ED for int'ls.</p>

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Which school did you end up at ?

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He hasn’t visited in almost 9 years.

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What do you do for fun?

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The mystery continues…

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MODERATOR’S NOTE
This thread is 9 years old; the original poster has not been active for 9 years. Sadly, we will never know the outcome. Closing thread.