<p>I'm a freshman in high school. I need someone to show me a bit of direction on what to take, and EC to join, etc. to maximize my chance at MIT. </p>
<p>This year, I'm not taking any impressive classes...other then all the required classes, I'm taking Geometry and Chinese 1. No AP classes, yet. What classes should i choose to maximize my MIT chance? </p>
<p>Second, about EC. At the moment, I'm in my schools robotic club. I'm joining the chess club soon. But other then that I'm not in any thing else...</p>
<p>Looking to maximize your chances of going to MIT is the wrong way to go.</p>
<p>Right now, you need to find your way. If you lack direction, try everything within reach, find what you like. When you find something you like, stick to it, push through the hard times. (Many ECs will challenge you, sometimes to the point of wanting to give up - these are not the times to quit. Boredom is the time to quit.) If after all that, you decide that MIT fits you, then apply. </p>
<p>But don’t try to fit MIT. I’m not just being a hopeless romantic - I’m being practical. The likelihood is that you will be rejected from MIT. Most qualified applicants are. But if you spend that time in high school finding and doing what you really love, then it wasn’t a waste of time. On the other hand, if you hate your high school years because you’ve been doing stuff you don’t like to get into MIT and then don’t… that’s really, really pointless. Or, say you do force yourself into what MIT wants, and you do get in - you’re going to hate your 4 years here, too.</p>
<p>Seriously, right now, you need to explore :)</p>
<p>^^^ Piper is right, but im going to be more harsh and say that none of my friends who got into mit every thought about how to maximize their chances by changing their lives… they might of took specific ap’s and subject tests for mit, but they didnt really change any of their ec’s or life. so as far as i know, by asking this question, ur changes for mit are already low ;D</p>
<p>If you do something that makes everyone say “Whoa! that’s really impressive” then that activity will maximize your chances of getting in. Here are some things that I came up with off the top of my head:</p>
<ul>
<li>Be involved in scientific research. (Perhaps even participate in the Siemens or Intel sience competitions)</li>
<li>Participate in one of the International Science Olympiads</li>
<li>Start your own company</li>
<li>Do a service project abroad</li>
<li>Take advanced classes at a nearby university</li>
<li>Publish a book</li>
<li>Become a renown athlete, actor, musician</li>
</ul>
<p>The sane thing to do is not to force yourself to do something that you hate just for the sake of getting in. There are a lot of really impressive things that high school students can do, so find your interest, excel at it, and hopefully that will lead to some interesting opportunities. Look around a lot (use the internet!) to find activities that you think are really cool (I know that I regret not knowing about a lot of opportunities when I was in high school)</p>
<p>Huh, come to think of it, that’s true of my friends as well. (As for me, I didn’t know what MIT was until the end of my junior year. Go figure.)</p>
<p>I’ll second (or third or . . ) what PiperXP said to do what you like and then see if you fit MIT. </p>
<p>In my case, living in the Boston area, I found out about MIT around the 6th grade and thought it was a great place to go to college. I don’t remember doing anything specific just to make myself a better candidate. I did, however, use MIT as a goal and the rationale to push myself to do my best at what I liked, which was almost everything math and science related. I was also in Boy Scouts, serving in several leadership roles within the troop. I also was able to participate in a high school studies program at MIT taking classes that allowed me to expand my interests beyond those I could in my high school (such a one on lasers, another in space technologies, etc). Those classes had no grades, they were just for fun. Suggest you might follow a similar path.</p>
<p>^Sounds like me too! (fellow Boston area person)</p>
<p>Used MIT as a goal, but never used it to actually choose the things I like to do. I learned about those on my own and loved them all. Plus I also was in HSSP and Splash programs which were just for fun as HPuck said, no grades what so ever.</p>