<p>Prospective junior here. I've gone through the MIT website a ton and want to try as hard as I can to at least not make a fool of myself in the admissions process. My main concern is extracurricular activities... At my school, the science olympiads aren't offered, and all clubs meet infrequently at best. I really want to do research, except I'm surrounded by high-tier universities that are only willing to give intern positions to grad students. What can I do to keep myself on par with other students? Is individual, informal research and data modeling OK? It seems pretty lackluster to me.</p>
<p>Thanks...</p>
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Is individual, informal research and data modeling OK?
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<p>Yes. Just try to do it with as much rigor as you can.</p>
<p>Also, I would be somewhat surprised if none of those grad students that you refer to would be willing to take on a volunteer research minion.</p>
<p>Are there any community organizations, not connected to your school, that do science activities or other activities that you would be interested in? I did some great ECs at my high school, but some of my most interesting ones (e.g. being a certified springboard diving judge and judging in a kids' league, working on outreach efforts for a lobbying/activist group whose philosophies I agree with) came from elsewhere.</p>
<p>Look into RSI but i recommend MITES genomics research = )</p>
<p>EC's do not have to be in science/math, though if that's what you're passionate about then that does make sense. My best EC's were in music and I'm fairly sure that it was central to my admission. Remember that EC's are not only important in the actual application, but also in the interview. Typically, your interviewer will ask about ECs to some extent and you should be passionate about whatever you do to sound like it.</p>