Early Admission Questions/Advice???

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>I am a 15yr old sophmore at my highschool and am interested in early admision either after my 10th or 11th grade year. My principal, guidance counselor, and gifted teacher said it would be in my best interests to have a more challenging workload and that my high school cannot provide it. I would like to be at MIT for its great engineering and buisness progams. </p>

<p>I have also considered going to Penn State Harrisburg campus (by where I live) for my "11th" grade year and then transfering to MIT since I will have exhausted my schools math program after this year and science after the next. How would these credits transfer to MIT, if at all?</p>

<p>4.0GPA
1910 SAT (720m, 620cr, 570w 10essay)(not the best I know, but can my course load and grades make up for it as I have the most challenging schedule of anyone my school has had for many years)
top of my class</p>

<p>9th classes: pre-calc, ap us gov, us history, honors bio, honors eng, latin II, independent study on art</p>

<p>self taught calc AB over the summer to have more challenging classes (I hope)</p>

<p>10th classes: calc BC +(possibly) calc III , ap world history, chem, physics, honor eng, latin III, independent study MIT opencourseware (possibly intro to areospace, and 2 other "fun" classes)</p>

<p>ECs: quiz bowl, science olympiad, various math competitions, boy scouts (eagle rank), several clubs, tennis team (jv), art lessons</p>

<p>Can I get the required 2 SATIIs with my classes, if not, can I transfer from PS without them?</p>

<p>What are my chances of getting in after this year? after next? after 1 year at Penn State? Is there anything else I would need?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>your sat is not good enough. =/ the only real interesting this in your ec's is your eagle status. stay in high school and work on your sat and ec's.</p>

3

<p>Do you mean that you would still be a high school student, but would take classes at Penn State for an extra challenge, or do you mean that you plan to matriculate to Penn State as a degree-seeking student, then transfer to MIT?</p>

<p>It is much more difficult to be admitted to MIT as a transfer student than it is to be admitted as a freshman, and you're required to apply as a transfer student if you've been a degree-seeking student at another college or university.</p>

4

<p>the former decision i would do if i were you</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
Can I get the required 2 SATIIs with my classes, if not, can I transfer from PS without them?

[/quote]
Two SAT II Subject Tests are required for admission, one math and one science. </p>

<p>Quote from Matt McGann, Associate Director of Admissions at MIT: </p>

<p>"We require two SAT Subject Tests: one in math (Level 1 or Level 2), and one in science (Physics, Chemistry, or Biology E/M). You can take as many as three Subject Tests in one sitting."</p>

6

<p>unless there is any advantage of being a full time student, then I guess that I would just take most of my classes there and still be in high school (I could still take my language classes at my high school)</p>

<p>If I do take classes their, would it be better to take the AP Chem and Physics at the high school or the equivalent at the college?</p>

<p>I doubt this makes a difference, but I got a 4 on the AP US Gov exam</p>

7

<p>most definitely equivalent at college, you will learn more</p>

8

<p>I wouldn't worry at this point about which classes to take where -- just take what fits into your schedule and makes you happy. :)</p>

<p>It's definitely going to be to your advantage to take classes at the college as a high school student, as you can apply to colleges as a freshman applicant rather than as a transfer student.</p>

<p>To answer your earlier question, some of your credits from college classes may transfer, and others may not. MIT grants transfer credit to freshmen on an individual basis after admission; you'd have to send the syllabus of your course and some other information to get transfer credit.</p>

9

<p>What makes me happy right now is not going to high school. I hate waking up every morning to go stare at cinder block walls and sit through classes for which I have already completed the next month of work all day, though, I do get some execlent game playing time on my TI-89. There are not even any fights or any other sources of "entertainment" at my school due to the 6 police officers with loaded 44s strapped to their belts that act as hall monitors. Whenever someone does something, they show it to the parents from 5-8 different camera angles. It is like being in a high security prison!</p>

<p>On another note, what other ECs should I be looking into that are not linked to school groups. My school has many clubs and activities that may be interesting, but if you miss 2 meetings, they kick you out. I am not able to make any meetings between Jan 1 and mid March due to my skiing. (I ski everyday for 5-6 hours) It is my life during those months, so I cant just give it up (although when I do enter college, I do realize that the everyday thing may be unrealistic :( ). </p>

<p>Thanks for your advice.</p>

10

<p>Also, I am concerned that my high school is not preparing me for college in respect to the amount of work done outside the classroom. Since the end of elementary school, I have had no homework (besides long term projects, if you could call them that (eg. 1 1/2 months for a 7-10 page research paper which should only take at most a week)(after I finished I made a card tower with the note cards and got in a lot of trouble :) needless to say I just stuck to my calc games after that)), have never studied for a test, and have not put forth any effort. I am worried that I may not know how to study for college finals or manage my time to complete projects. This concerns me the most. How can I remedy this situation before I learn the hard way?</p>

11

<p>You're so lucky, I wish I could ski 5-6 hours every day!!! I love skiing. My dad had a choice to move to SLC, UT or GA. Guess where I ended up. Curse geography.</p>

<p>And I would play up your skiing because it's something that you love to do. Write an essay about it or something. If you think skiing is awesome enough to not do anything else for three months, let the admissions people know why.</p>

12

<p>jamesgig, have you looked into online/distance education courses like EPGY or CTY that will <em>require</em> homework in order to pass? They are usually challenging, and assuming you qualify for them, you'll be working with a mentor/instructor who will usually make sure you put in the effort you seem to be missing at school now. </p>

<p>You might also look into USAMO[/url</a>] or other online competitions, or a local [url=<a href="http://www.themathcircle.org/%5DMath">www.themathcircle.org/]Math</a> Circle if one exists. There are many ways to stretch your brain and apply yourself while still in high school... and as you seem to realize, if you "never studied for a test, and have not put forth any effort", it's possible that schools like MIT will be more than you can handle comfortably. MIT is a hard place even for the strongest of students who have the best work ethic and study habits; those who don't have strong study and time management skills seem to have the most difficulty adjusting. So you may be right that this could be a problem area for you in a couple years. All the more reason to make it a goal to challenge yourself in ways that will require you to learn these skills, if your school won't provide opportunities for this. Is there a guidance or acadmic counselor at your school with whom you could talk about this?</p>

<p>I can definitely understand how 6 hours of skiing every day would be preferable to school in a restrictive environment such as you describe. If you're serious about giving yourself more challenges and learning to work harder to achieve an academic stretch goal, this might be the time to balance the skiing with a demonstrated drive to do something about the malaise you feel at school. If you only skied for, say, 3 hours a day and spent the other 3 working towards a tough academic challenge, it might give you a fresh outlook on life, AND a good start towards success in college.</p>

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<p>Since I will probably not get much financial aid for college (if any at all)*, my parents are reluctant to spend $x(x),000 on classes from CTY or other online "school" in addition to the $xxx,000 that I will need at a real college. The only reason that Penn State is an option is that my district will give you up to $3500 a year to take classes at a local college (finally, something usefull out of all those tax dollars). </p>

<ul>
<li>From what I have read and done on online aid calculators, after your household income exceeds $180,000 it becomes more difficult to get aid especially since I will not have any siblings in college for several years. Also, the amount our house has increased by since we bought it will not help. Do these factors play a role at a school like MIT?</li>
</ul>

<p>Last year I competed in the Thirty-Third Professor John Steiner Gold Mathematical Competition at Bucknell University where I did very well, so I plan to take the test again this year. (36 problems, of which I got 8 correct. the average for seniors is around 5) The questions seem to be similar (maybe a little easier, but same concept) to the ones in the USAMO. So I will look into that. </p>

<p>Remember, it was my guidance counselor who suggested going to MIT 2 years early, so it seems like she is not willing to help too much.</p>

14

<p>You should stay in high school until at least your junior year (and graduate a year early if you really feel that strongly about it), and take some classes at a nearby college, which in your case seems to be Penn State. </p>

<p>How about some tougher English classes? Since it seems to be your weak point it can strengthen your study skills, providing that they require you to do a significant amount of homework every day.</p>

15

<p>Jamesgig... do you actually think u have chance to get into MIT...
Your SAT is very poor
No SAT IIs are u on crack...
do u know what kind of qualifications people who get accepted to MIT have...</p>

16

<p>i hate to say this but i agree with ptang69
your sats are not even average for people applying to MIT
you have not taken any SATIIs
have you gotten a hundred on every test, quiz etc. that you have ever taken,
i am guessing the answer is no, so hit the books
and also, getting 8 problems on a 36 problem test is not impressive at all sorry,
the best math student at my school got a 115 last year on the AMC 12 without studying and the average score for people accepted to MIT on the AMC12 was 108and only the top 5% of the people taking the test break a 100
so no offense, but you are nowhere near ready to apply to MIT
so try as an undergraduate.</p>

17

<p>^Tough. Harsh. But true.</p>

18

<p>The original poster also doesn't seem to possess the basic maturity level needed to thrive in a college environment.</p>

19

<p>I agree. The OP may have some potentials but I am sorry to say they are not that special to warrant an early entrance to MIT.</p>

20

<p>Wait, hold on. This kid exhausted all of the classes at his high school as a "sophomore". According to the admissions statistics, 10% of people with his SAT critical reading are admitted, and 15% with his math score. Additionally, he's taking Calc now, and has a 4.0. I'm not going to question months of demonstrated skill in his Calc class for a silly SAT score.</p>

<p>Also, just so you understand, jamesgig, (yes, I'm probably going to get flamed for this) the posters that tend to frequent Collegeconfidential are obsessed with test scores. Frankly, the MIT admissions office doesn't care very much. According to an admissions blogger, they just "glance at the test scores to get a sense of them, and then move on to the more important parts."</p>

<p>I'd say you've got an EXCELLENT chance, james. Your ECs are a little weak, though, and I don't see much of a personality in your post. Don't hide your personality underneath a layer of formality. That's fine for English essays, but the admissions office will think you're a typical overachiever with no 'passion', and toss you right into the reject pile. That is true no matter how good your SAT is.</p>

<p>As for your ECs, what do you love doing? I don't see any common thread, which worries me that you're joining clubs just for a college app. Either cut down on your ECs and do something outstanding in one of them, or make sure you explain to them why your EC choices are significant.</p>

<p>Don't let the other posters discourage you, you seem to have as good a chance as anyone else. Just make sure your personality shows.</p>