<p>Hi, I'm a Caucasian female who will be a senior this fall. I am wondering where I stand in the applicant pool at MIT. I'd appreciate any feedback about my stats and chances; thanks!</p>
<p>Public high school
Rising senior
Prospective major: engineering
GPA: 4.0 (tied for 1st out of about 600)
ACT: 33
SAT: Didn't take
APs: Chem 5, Stats 5, Euro 3, French Lang. 4, Govt. 4, Calc BC 5
I have taken set theory, graph theory, MVC, diff eq, and some advanced French at a local state college and done pretty well.</p>
<p>EC's:
Piano -- I've been playing for about ten years and I win local competitions, but nothing spectacular.
Varsity golf -- I've been on the team since sophomore year and played at states both soph year and this past year, but I didn't get any awards.
NHS -- pretty self-explanatory
Varsity Club -- members of varsity sports getting together to help out the community
Quiz Bowl -- Team captain; we have won several matches on a TV show</p>
<p>Awards:
At least National Merit Commended
Some random school awards</p>
<p>THE ECs aren't great, and the ACT isn't amazing either for MIT. The only thing that gives you a chance from what I see here is all the math you have taken at a state college. Depending on how well you mean by "pretty well", I'd say that gives you a shot. I'd say you have a 5-10% chance.</p>
<p>I can't think of anything that would really make you stand out, but it wouldn't hurt to try the SAT once if possible. It also would help a lot if you did work on something local such as a community website or a tech project for a teacher.</p>
<p>It depends on where you live too. I know MIT actually recruits from a few states. If you are from NY or NJ, forget it. If you are from Mississippi, Tennessee, Wyoming, then you might have a shot. You definitely should try to take the SATs though. Your 33 isn't bad, but MIT is going to be suspicious.</p>
<p>I am taking the math SAT II in October and I'm pretty sure I'll get at least 780+. My ACT math was 35. I'm from a pretty average state -- not really middle-of-nowhere, but not cutthroat either. Meanwhile, my HS sends very few to top colleges -- a lot of students are smart, but opt to go the top-notch state college just a few miles from where my HS is.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Am I really that not competitive? I thought the math classes at the college would make me stand out a bit. In doing "well," by the way, i mean I've gotten at least B+ in all the classes.</p>
<p>sorry, you don't.
your math courses at college aren't that impressive, because believe it or not, there are lots of kids who apply to MIT that have learned advanced math as well. And what those kids have above you are math competition awards, like USAMO and IMO, which are impressive. </p>
<p>Your EC's are almost below average. </p>
<p>However, one thing you have going for you is that you are female. That should help you out a bit. </p>
<p>So I'd say, your chances at MIT are 10~20%, which isn't too bad, but not terrific either.</p>
<p>Getting B+ at a LOCAL college math course isn't impressive but can actually look really bad. What do you think this forebodes of how well you'll do in MIT's math courses? You should take the SAT II math to stand a chance, but even then a perfect score won't help...Idunno, maybe focus on your essays? It's probably too late to do anything more that will help you "stand out."</p>
<p>I agree with everyone above, nothing stands out. It seems to me most everybody who gets accepted has a perfect math score and participate in the math and science "olympiads"? Or things like that</p>
<p>I think everything's good and you're a cauasian girl.. but I agree everyone who says to do more EC stuff.. maybe more volunteering stuff that stands out a bit more. And, you might want to consider applying early or whatnot.</p>
<p>I dont think there is a chance - for MIT you gotta go win Intel or something. The 4.0 GPA is great, but its typical for MIT people. The EC's are the weak part i think, there isnt much leadership or science/math stuff</p>
<p>I got into MIT early action this year, and I didn't have perfect SAT math scores. I'd only taken the AMC once-- and failed completely. I've never taken a college math class. And I'm far from being an Intel or Siemens or Math Olympiad or what have you winner. Stop obsessing about your SAT scores and how you haven't done enough math and science related things. (I only started seriously considering a career in science or engineering last year!) </p>
<p>The way to get into MIT is NOT to obsess about having what you think they think is the "perfect" application. MIT is looking for people who are excited about learning, not people who have spent all of their lives taking prestigious math tests. Sherzando1, don't listen to all the jerks on this column who are writing about how you won't get in because you haven't won some Intel competition or something. Don't listen to the people who say the only thing going for you is your gender. Just write your application honestly and let your excitement about science, music, painting, history, or whatever come through. </p>