Hey! I got into MIT early and while I’m happy that I’m in, I’m still a little scared about my background. I come from a very disadvantaged high school with only three APs (that too ones poorly taught), so I’m worried that I’ll have a really hard time in college and won’t stack up against my peers:(. Does anyone have any advice for me?
seriously?
Attend professors’ office hours. Visit peer tutors. Ask your advisor or the dean’s office about resources available to students from less advantaged backgrounds or students who need extra help. Take advantage of every opportunity MIT offers.
The thing to remember is that colleges of this caliber are invested in your success. They want a high graduation rate. The college will be willing to help you, and has the resources to provide all sorts of support. You just need to not be shy about looking into and taking advantage of this help.
Do not wait until something becomes overwhelming (potentially). Be proactive in figuring out what you need to learn and finding people who can teach it to you.
And remember that MIT is challenging for lots of people, not just you. You are not alone! The resources are there for all who need them, whenever they need them.
Congratulations and enjoy!
@Center, I don’t know why you would doubt this poster (except that they are new). People from disadvantages high schools do get into top schools!
OP, one of my kids went to a top tech school (not MIT) from a HS that also didn’t offer any science APs, and only math through AP Calc AB. Not gonna lie. She worked HARD, especially her first 3 semesters. Little time for anything but classes, homework, tutoring sessions, office hours, etc.
I’d suggest you take some time this summer to do some online work in math for sure. Get yourself completely solid through the Calc BC material if you aren’t already. See if you can get the textbooks for the classes you are most worried about and start on those, too.
Take a fairly light load first semester if you can.
Don’t plan on many ECs first semester (maybe one to blow off some steam, but assume you will be studying a lot).
If they offer any chance to get to campus early to settle in (pre-orientation session, etc), think about doing that – it is good be past some of that early settling in when classes start.
If you can get along without a part time job first semester, try to avoid that – you will want to have all the time you can for coursework. (Maybe try to work extra this summer to earn some money so you can keep work hours down or non-existent in the fall).
Pay a lot of attention right when you get there to the supports they explain on campus – stuff like writing center, free tutoring, etc. Take full advantage of them starting right away when your classes start.
My kid did struggle, but she found her footing and graduated on time. She never had to drop a class and never failed anything, unlike many of her peers who did both! You’ve got this. They don’t admit students they think can’t do the work, and there are supports available if you take advantage of them.
Thank you so much @TheGreyKing and @intparent :). I am definitely planning on getting ahead on some subjects and hopefully I can do the precollege program to make the transition a bit easier. I’ll make sure to reach out for help, as well!
Yes, go to tutoring from Week 1, especially for science classes. It’s not a sign of weakness or poor self-confidence. It’s just smart. You are at college to get an education. What better way than to have one-on-one teaching with someone who know the subject you are studying? A college education is expensive; one might as well take advantage of all the resources that are offered for the $$$$$.
We attended a pre-med advising session at a top school. The prof who ran the program said it was pretty simple. Almost all the students who did very well in the very challenging first-year chem and bio courses were the ones who went for tutoring (help with problem sets, writing, etc.) from the beginning. It was most difficult for students who did not do well on the first round of tests (the vast majority) and then showed up en masse at the tutoring center and then had to take an overwhelmed tutor.
Also very important, at the most rigorous schools it is very common for students who’ve done great all through high school to get lower grades as they adjust to classes where the expectations are high and they have to prepare much more outside the classroom. If that happens, don’t just give up or feel defeated or inadequate. Resilience is actually one of the greatest predictors of success in college (and life). Buckle down, work hard, and try to figure out how you can improve your approach to studying to fit a different type of education, with different expectations. Making a C or D or F on the first test does not mean a student will make a C or D or F for their final grade. Profs generally understand that new students will also be learning how to be students and will give some degree of opportunity for students to make up some ground. Good luck!
First, BIG CONGRATS!! If my DS decides to go to pharmacy school he is going to take organic chem this summer at a local community college so he will be more prepared. he attends a very small rural public HS that had its challenges with its curriculum.
Great advice from above. Hard to believe now, but once you do well on your first test you’ll know you belong (and I’m sure you do). Congratulations!
They let you in – they know what they are doing and believe you will thrive there. You should too!
And congrats!
@LynchSmith Be sure the four year college agrees to this before he does it.
OP, it is possible that you may end up with a lower grade than you want overall in a course or two in spite of all of this. Do not give up. You can still do better in subsequent courses, and can still graduate in spite of a few low grades. My kid found that the playing field with students with stronger prep leveled out after a few semesters. Many of them had taken classes that covered a lot of the intro course material while in HS – that meant she was working harder in those first few semesters. But after the coursework passed that work some had taken in HS, it was more equal.
A silver lining is that her work ethic has carried over into grad school. She just told me about a required class in her program last semester where a good number of her first year grad school cohorts got very low grades, and quite a few may lose their funding for next semester because it has pushed their GPA below the minimum level to retain funding. She wasn’t very impressed with the prof and found the class to be struggle (it is her least favorite topic in her major), but applied all those things discussed above and got a pretty good grade. She credits that challenging first few semesters in undergrad for setting her up for success now.
@TheGreyKing wrote: “The thing to remember is that colleges of this caliber are invested in your success.”
Exactly. @kookycookiegirl, MIT Admissions would not have admitted you if they weren’t convinced that you have what it takes to succeed in the challenging environment of MIT. They judged that you would thrive when exposed to their opportunities and resources available at MIT, and that you would be tempered - rather than overwhelmed - by the rigors and challenges. They don’t expect everyone to start at an even level.
I also wouldn’t think of it in terms of how you “stack up against my peers” - MIT is a highly collaborative environment, and even the brightest can’t do it all alone. It’s designed that way. The first semester is Pass/Fail with credit limits on purpose to prevent entering Frosh from being overwhelmed. Take advantage of the support resources available - other students, TAs and office hours, etc. MIT wants you to succeed, and believes you have what it takes to succeed.
Look into Interphase Edge. That program will allow you to spend the summer learning freshman courses before the fall semester starts so you’ll know most of the concepts. As a participant, you get extra support during the first two years.
Lots of good advice in previous posts. I suggest you enjoy the rest of senior year, but do invest time to studying calculus, physics, chem, and bio. You don’t want to risk falling behind.
Congratulations and best of luck at MIT!
^^^^^ that’s the answer
http://ome.mit.edu/programs-services/interphase-edge-empowering-discovery-gateway-excellence
Agree with the above posts. If you get ahead a bit that is great. And if you find you need help be sure to ask for it quickly (from professors, any tutoring center, writing center etc. on campus).
Also you should recognize that it is the job of the admissions department to bring in students who they believe have the necessary tools to succeed and thrive at the college. MIT has an acceptance rate of well under 10% so admissions has many candidates to choose from for the spots in the class. By admitting you the admissions officers must feel confident that you belong at MIT, that you can do the work, and that you can have a great experience there.
what a bunch of the above posters said about study skills; +1 to we wouldn’t have admitted you if we weren’t confident you would not only survive but thrive at MIT
I would add that you should take stock of what you have to offer as well. I think that students from less-privileged backgrounds often have a practical skill set that more privileged kids lack. I know that growing up, for instance, I had to do practical things–clean, garden, help my dad build stuff, learn how to check the oil in our crappy car–that, when I got to college, I realized a lot of my peers didn’t know how to do. I remember a friend seeing a picture of me at 8 years old painting a shed in our backyard, and she still talks about how amazing that was to her to see. That practical knowledge is extremely useful in helping you think creatively. Don’t discount whatever you bring to the table.
Thank you @TTG @LynchSmith @rickle1 @Postmodern @intparent @renaissancedad @cocofan @AroundHere @happy1 @MITChris and @ccprofandmomof2 for all of the helpful advice. 
I already feel much better because of all of your words! 
Congratulations, on MIT ! Its a great school. But do try to bone up on math this year as much as possible.
Here is my personal story, of how I caught up with a poor high school math background, at MIT.
I came from a smaller public high school,with subpar mathematics training. It was not an inner city school,
and I had good chemistry and physics prep, but much to my disappointment, my calculus background was
weaker than almost all my MIT freshman classmates.
I made a mistake in freshman year at MIT,
in taking a faster calculus than I was ready for.(accelerated 18.01 and 18.02 because I had some high school calculus) I got a C in 18.02, then a D in 18.03 and thought I had ruined my chances at a physics major. My MIT advisor advised against physics, but I did get an effective minor in it, even after getting some bad grades in mathematics.
I was able to learn the calculus again by taking 18.075 and 18.076 which were well taught MIT graduate math classes
designed for students who had not had the MIT undergrad curriculum, using Frances Hildebrand’s book. Its a good book to review, see this link. Lots of undergrads took these classes to review, so its not the end of the world
if you do earn a few low grades at MIT.
Here is the excellent review book on calculus, which was a graduate class years ago.
https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Calculus-Engineers-Francis-Hildebrand/dp/1614273987
I majored in Course 3, and still took a lot of physics classes to learn physics,
and eventually earned a masters in materials science in the MIT co op program
and then did a year of research abroad through an MIT program,
Then I got into three graduate programs and eventually earned a PhD from MIT, so I did make a “comeback” from my poor freshman year.
Some hints ( you don’t have to do all of this, but see what fits your schedule )
- don't accelerate at MIT, start at the very beginning, with 18.01 for math, 8.01 for physics etc.
- Use Khan Academy over the summer to review or learn for the first time, Calculus BC:
- Take 18.01 over the summer at your leisure using MIT Open Course. Its the recorded lectures, and you will find it covers a bit more than Calculus BC. The HW sets and tests with answers are included so you can test your knowledge.
- Then repeat 18.01 when you get to campus. You will be much more confident if you take the time to review mathematics like this. Even if you get through half of the 18.01 lectures it will be very very helpful.
It will be fun, and you are lucky to be born at a time when you can take the MIT classes on line, at your leisure,
on your own to catch up. This was not available until recently.
Good luck.
Thanks for such amazing and detailed advice@Coloradomama! I’ll definitely try to complete Calc BC beforehand!
MIT offers 3 levels of most freshman classes. Classes with an L at the end allow you to cover the material at a slower pace, consider those. You could also review basic Calculus by taking 18.01. It goes over BC material in 1 semester or a semester + 1 month if you take 18.01L. Also, take Seminar XL for extra help.