<p>Hi, I am a freshman at a small private school wanting to go to MIT. I am currently in pre-calculus, and am the only freshman in my school to do so. By my senior year I would have finished AP Calculus AB and BC and I will most likely be in a one-person class in Calculus 3. I am currently in 2 science classes, Biology and CHAOS (Chemistry and other Sciences, which we mostly do labs and learn about everything from chemistry to physics, in seemingly random order). I plan on taking Chemistry in my sophomore year and AP Chemistry/Physics/Bio in my junior and senior year.</p>
<p>for EC, I have been playing the flute for 6 or 7 years, but I am not currently in any organization, just taking private lessons. I plan on volunteering at a library, and help teach little kids Korean at a korean church (maybe if I can). I play tennis, but am not very good but our varsity tennis team is a no cut team so I can play if I want to.</p>
<p>So I was wonering if you guys could give me some advice as to what more I can do and if I might even have the slightest chance of getting into MIT, which has been my DREAM. Thanks!! :D</p>
<p>You need to think about why MIT is your dream school? What about the school interests you? You must have something that is your passion that fits in with MIT for it to be your dream school. Pursue that passion and keep up your grades to have the best chance of getting admitted to the school of your choice.</p>
<p>Remember that the applicant pool for MIT kind of preselects themselves with something like 95% having “the grades” to get in. So just doing well in your classes doesn’t set you apart. It is pursuing your passion and demonstrating your leadership skills (with some kind of paper trail for each to refer to) that will set you apart.</p>
<p>Also remember that getting into MIT is kind of a crap shoot and be sure to have alternate plans. There are many good schools out there.</p>
<p>Seems like you’re on the “right” track. But, as some have mentioned and many more on this site will tell you, you should not be so certain at this point that you love MIT enough to attend it…it’s one thing to “dream” of it and its prestige, and another to actually dedicate at least 4 years of your life to it. I don’t mean to discourage you, its an amazing place in which you may very well fit…but you should definitely keep an eye open to many other schools.</p>
<p>Another thing, since you’re lucky (or wise, perhaps) enough to be on this site so early, you know about SAT subject tests (believe it or not, these are unheard of at some schools). So make sure you take the tests immediately after taking their corresponding class, preferrably wait for an AP/IB version of it since most “regular/honors/advanced” high school courses do not cover the material to the extent needed for a high score on the SAT IIs. Many of these tests are relatively “easy,” they just need some studying. I don’t mean to over-emphasize test scores, because they probably won’t alone get you into the most selective universities, including MIT, but they are necessary (to some limit) and helpful in complementing whatever else that would be making your app unique. </p>
<p>As for SAT Reasoning and/or ACT, these things are not as “studyable” as are the SAT II tests, but you should absolutely well-prepare yourself for taking them. Since you’re still young, I would recommend buying some review books now and going through the content, only to complement what you will learn in your years to come. This may sound crazy and obsessive, but I don’t mean for you by any means to spend an excessive amount of time going through these books. Take it easy, and it will, in the long run, be helpful as it will give a more “natural and genuine” study than would cramming in facts/rules/formulas a few weeks before test date.</p>
<p>My apologies for such a wordy post, but I hope this helps!</p>
<p>This is the standard B.S which you’ll get for a Chance Me / How-to-Get-In thread.</p>
<p>Why MIT is your dream school ?
I mean *** - It has one of the most popular brand names in us education & worldwide, who doesn’t want to be in MIT ? Every student wants to be there. </p>
<p>Follow your passion & …
Seriously MIT adoffs want students in their most raw forms so that filtering them becomes easier. They don’t want stars everywhr on their stack, so that when they reject they have some good base. Every unv has student requirements which they will never reveal but rather reject some random stars to make a strong standpoint of how tough & dynamic getting in is. And as far as real passion is concerned you may have that but if its not of MIT-type that’s rather killing your app anyways(Yes most ppl will say if your passionate abt something u will stand-out - Not necessarily true for everyone!).</p>
<p>Not applying is the easiest way of not getting in…
This is true for mostly all universities, seriously why would MIT want to lose their app fee by simply saying you aren’t qualified enough to apply even.</p>
<p>I love MIT very much but I had to post this.
I know after this flame post I’m bound to receive some pretty harsh comments, but I just did what MIT says - do what you really want.</p>
<p>And as far as the usefulness of this post - I would say take up the toughest courses possible, try to make yourself as competitive as possible. And just for the sake of that edge try have a hook somewhere. You may never know your hook might be MIT’s requirement for that yr.
Good Luck!</p>