<p>I'm currently a freshman at my high school. Right now I'm taking Chemistry Honors, Health (PE in second semester), Orchestra, English 1 Honors, PreCalculus Honors, and Spanish 1. I have mostly A's (B+/A- in English) and I was on the JV Boys Tennis team this year. I participate in math and chess club, where I usually rank highly in local math competitions and I plan on passing AMC 10 this year as well. My biggest concern right now (even though it's only 2nd quarter) is what classes I'm going to take next year as a sophomore. I plan on taking AP Physics B and AP Calculus AB, Spanish 2, English 2 Honors for sure, but I don't know what else I should do. Would taking Orchestra for all 4 years of high school be important for MIT? I'm a very strong suit to areas of math, and plan on finishing high school with every math class available (up to Statistics and Calculus BC). With 2 classes left, I have several option: AP World History, Honors World History, PE, Orchestra, AP Chemistry. I just don't know how I should plan out my high school to make it look "refined" for my college admission. All help would be appreciated! Thank you, in advance.</p>
<p>MIT admission is pretty holistic, so they’ll look at other areas as well. The classes you take are pretty important though.</p>
<p>You can take orchestra for all 4 years if you wish, just make sure it doesn’t interfere with other required courses for graduation. Not sure how MIT values an orchestra class…I was only in my HS’s orchestra for one year, and our school didn’t have orchestra as a stand-alone “class.” But if you enjoy playing in it, and can balance orchestra with other areas of your life, go for it!</p>
<p>Taking the classes and getting the grades is a necessary but NOT sufficient part of getting admitted to MIT. From reading “The Tech” articles about admissions, about 95% of the applicants have the classes and the grades necessary for admission. But 90% of those don’t get offered admission. </p>
<p>Taking advantage of the opportunities offered to you is probably one of the biggest deciscion factors. After all, MIT is one big opportunity and they want students that will take advantage of what MIT offers. Those with proven track records have the inside track.</p>
<p>Passion in what you do is also key IMHO. Even after college, that passion is necessary. Your professional career will be decades long and that passion will help make your life fun and productive.</p>
<p>It looks like you don’t really have to worry about classes. I mean, you’re a high school freshman, you don’t really need to worry about anything yet. Follow your passion.</p>
<p>^^ Just do what you want and try your best… The worst thing you can do, is not try, or do something just to try and impress a school. Your best bet (according to everything i’ve heard) is to do what you are passionate about and try your best! :)</p>
<p>IME, everyone at MIT plays a musical instrument. If you love orchestra, keep it up.</p>