<p>Well sorry for the Alcoholics Anonymous style title, but as an international student applying to MIT I really feel like I need some sort of group therapy.
That said I will proceed in asking my question.</p>
<p>I would like to know if it is compulsory to submit a high school transcript and if so how should I convert the grades into GPA?</p>
<p>My main problem in submitting the transcript is that in the last high school year I did not have high scores since I started working and did not have much time to study. I continued pursuing my passion for Computer Science, but did not get all of that high grades:
I got out of high school with a percentile score of 66......</p>
<p>Do I still have some chance of getting in, or is it simply a waste of time?</p>
<p>I think that my complex background would justify me in some way, and I think that I would still be a great student at MIT.</p>
<p>I have been dreaming MIT since I first entered high school, and the sole idea of going to a University where Marvin Minsky and Richard Stallman did research gets me so excited that I feel like jumping all around the room.</p>
<p>I have been studying very hard in the last couple of months for my SAT tests and am hoping in getting a competitive score.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of the people who took the time to read this thread and to the ones who answer.</p>
<p>Given that MIT admit around 130 internationals from the entire planet per year, and you are not in the top the top 30% of your only school, i’d say it would be pretty much impossible. (also heaps of people with perfect SAT get rejected every year).</p>
<p>thanks, I hope that they will read my name and just say, wow, we need to have this arturo guy at MIT, and accept my application.</p>
<p>@I lPlay Neopets
Actually I was number one in the top 5% in my school, but it was a very crappy one, so it wouldn’t rank good amongst all Italian schools, in fact I think it would probably be last…
But from what I heard, MIT doesn’t value that much grades:
Admission to MIT is all about finding the right match. First, you identify the universities you feel are best suited for you; then, we choose the students we feel are the best fit for the MIT culture. This means that MIT Admissions is much more of an art than a science. While test scores and grades are certainly evaluated, our process considers each applicant as an entire person - drive, excitement, personality, and talents.
I don’t know if I am reading what I want to hear, but from what I understand they take into account a lot of other things that are not just the grades.</p>
<p>I am also applying for UC Berkely and Caltech, what are the odds of getting admitted there?</p>
<p>I think recently Berkeley has been somewhat more lenient with internationals and out-of-state students, even though it would traditionally be very tough to make it in. One international student I talked to said he pretty much applied thinking there’s a wildly unlikely chance of making it, and somehow did and has been doing great. Not sure how much things changed now.</p>
<p>Well, don’t forget that a lot of big math and science stars (think IMO, IChO, etc.) are also trying to get into these schools. In addition to very good SAT scores, you’ll need to write an incredible essay to beat out the competition, for lack of a better term.</p>