<p>Hello, im a 15 year old kid going into his Sophmore year in high school, and i would like to shoot for the stars (literally) and try to get into MIT.</p>
<p>i know this is a VERY hard endeavor, and i will need to do a lot of work to acomplish it.</p>
<p>so, my question is, what, as a general rule, do i need to get into MIT?</p>
<p>Here is what im looking at right now:</p>
<p>all honors classes (every one, private gifted schools FTW)
5.6 GPA (straight A+s netted this GPA, one B in the entire grade sheet, in Rhetorics and Composition, everything else A+)
no ECs at the moment (advise on what i could do, i can go to the public high school and join theyre clubs, since my school doesnt have enough people for clubs)</p>
<p>what would i need, what should i change, stuff like that.</p>
<p>also, im fairly good at taking standardized tests, im thinking about a 1500+ on the SAT (out of 1600) and i dont know about the ACT, i dont know how its scored.</p>
<p>so, what do i need to do in the next 3 years to get into MIT after senior year?</p>
<p>Venturing a guess, I'd say you have to do all of that and add some kind of brilliant hook, likely a very, very good essay, or gain some very prestigious and meaningful award for dedication to a particular subject.</p>
<p>If you can manage all of the above, then all you need is to get lucky. :)</p>
<p>My best advice (I got in):</p>
<p>Try hard obviously. Take the most challenging courses and get good test scores. For your EC's, however, go for quality over quantity and DO NOT JOIN ONE BECAUSE IT LOOKS GOOD!! Only do what you want because you will do better and you can express your passion for your EC's in your essays/interview (the deciding factors).</p>
<p>I'd say explore on the EC's. If you like the arts, draw, cook, play music, try martial arts (not the americanized junk, i mean the really artistic stuff like wushu/kung fu/taijiquan... yea i'm a martial artist by). If you like math/science, just the academic competitions, maybe try to get a reseearch position or something. I can't think of much math/science stuff that is unique and not already known.</p>
<p>If you want a comparison, here was my profile: </p>
<p>admission chances.com/user.php?id=NTAzMzgyMTg0</p>
<p>no space</p>
<p>It also probably helped that I was good at interviews since I'm pretty sociable. I got a unique hook that I bet nobody has ever gotten--I went up the my interviewer and said: "Hey, you look tired" (he had red eyes), he replied: "Yes, I went biking at 5am because I couldn't sleep," I replied: "Sounds like MIT habits stuck with you, btw, where did you bike?," he said: "On such and such street.", I ask: "did you pass an orchard?", he said: "yes, I picked some oranges there.", I said: "Those were my oranges!!!"</p>
<p>Needless to stay the interview was fun since he was a boxer and I practiced martial arts. We talked for 2 solid hours. The following day he called me for a follow up interview that lasted for another 2 hours. I guess he liked talking to me =).</p>
<p>win international contests
like the olympiad... math.. physics or chem..</p>
<p>ok, so you guys are saying basically get a 1500+ on my SAT, an equivelant ACT score, a kick-ass essay, and get some ECs started up?</p>
<p>what kind of international contests, and how do i get into them :D</p>
<p>No, 1460 SAT M+V. Sadly, I stink at standardized tests that involve time limits. I've had the same math score since 7th grade (a 760). My SAT I scores ranged from 1870 (new one) to 2160 with my writing going from a 500 (6/12) to a 710 (12/12)--I didn't practice for it either. I know my math, my AMC12 and AIME score proves it, but yea.. You don't need stellar SAT's, just good ones.</p>
<p>Kick-ass essay, focus on being yourself, coming off as interesting, and ignore formalities beyond the usual grammar.</p>
<p>EC's, you got it.</p>
<p>Oh, and you really don't need international contest. You don't need contests, period.</p>
<p>did you go to lisg by any chance? just curious...</p>
<p>ok, so to clarify:
what is the score maximum for the NEW sat, and NEW ACT.</p>
<p>what ECs do you think i should go into? things i like: computers, math, science, video games (lol), basically everything geeky. i was thinking about doing these (regardless of MIT): D&D club, Robotics, Quantum Mechanics (yes theres a club for this at the pub high school, its HUGE) and maybe anything else that interests me.</p>
<p>community service is a must, if you like chem, you could do chem magic tricks for little kids, just be creative and try to apply it. also, id suggest doing independent research, i know from experience its fun if you get a project you like and can have some potential application down the road. be creative, thats all you need.</p>
<p>community service isn't a must, atleast I don't think so, but it helps a buttload. I liked tutorting so I did that. I liked teaching martial arts so I taught Tae Kwon Do for a while.</p>
<p>A lot of community service isn't a must. I got in with very little community service. It's a good idea if you enjoy it, but don't do a bunch of community service just to do it. Anyways, I seriously think that if you're 15 and on this forum, you need to go outside and do a sport or something. Yes, the scores on SAT and your grades are very important. But those just get you in the door. You need to do something that you enjoy and can excel at outside of the classroom that will make you unique. Even if it's something silly. :)</p>
<p>You need to follow your passion, be it athletics, arts, science, etc., in a creative and notable way. You need excellent, but not perfect academics. It also helps to have the recommendations of others who believe you are very special. And...to be honest...you need a little luck. Stay focused on your dream, but enjoy every minute of high school too.</p>
<p>I think the most important thing for you is to realize that there's no formula that will "get you in" to MIT...for a good shot, you need to find an ec, or two, that you are crazily passionate about that you can devote a great deal of time and energy to, and that you can really make a difference with. Do whatever you enjoy doing, but make sure you enjoy it and spend plenty of time on it. If you can do that, you're all set to get into a great college that will embrace you as a hard worker, even if it isnt MIT.</p>
<p>I'd think the way to get into MIT is to just do what you want to do. If what you want to do is naturally what MIT wants, you will have a great time there. If you spend your entire HS doing stuff you hate, and get into MIT... what are you doing to do? Spend your time at MIT doing stuff you hate to get into a job you hate?</p>
<p>I second differential</p>
<p>I think people use the word passion too lightly around here sometimes. Most people do not have a passion in something, they have a high interest. Ask yourself, if you say you are passionate about XYZ, but if you go to college ABC you have to give up XYZ forever, would you still go? That's how I think of it.</p>
<p>high interest doesnt have that same $3 word emphasis though :)</p>
<p>I don't understand how colleges can expect you to know your passion and be exemplary at it during high school. Shouldn't some aspect of college be able discovering what you want to do with your life?</p>
<p>Phate -
Matt McGann and Ben Jones, members of the admissions staff at MIT, write blogs about the admissions process. They are accessible through the MIT website. You'll find quite a bit of good information there, and you'll get a sense of the MIT culture.</p>
<p>Most sophomores start with their reach school and work down, but the most important schools in the admission process are your match schools. Keep MIT, but add 10-20 other schools to your list for consideration. The odds are that you'll end up at one of them, not MIT.</p>
<p>Doing science and math competitions is a fine EC, but unless you are among the very best in the country, it's not enough. Put your whole heart and soul into whatever you do, and you'll have something significant to offer colleges. If MIT's not buying, there is nothing you can do about it.</p>