How Are My Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>I apologize for repeating a chance post that I've posted in a few other college's forums, I'm trying to get a feel for the difficulty of admissions for the top schools (meaning the ones I want to go to most not necessarily the most selective) on my list.
I'll be applying RD so here goes:</p>

<p>Scores:
SAT: 2290
math: 780
reading: 800
writing: 710
essay: 8
ACT: 33 (I'm taking the ACT a second time in a week so this may come up)
English: 35
Math: 32
Reading: 32
Science: 34
Writing: 8</p>

<p>No Subjects Tests yet (but I will take Math II and Chem)</p>

<p>AP
BC Calc: 5 (AB subscore 5)
AP Bio: 5
Ap Microeconomics: 5</p>

<p>GPA: 3.88 weighted</p>

<p>Now I'm interested to know how much you think the next part will help me.
I took BC Calc as a sophmore so junior year I took Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra at Harvard's Extension School (I live in Boston about 20 minutes away from Harvard by T)
I got a B in Multivariable and an B+ in Linear Algebra. Both courses were taught on Harvard's campus by a Harvard faculty member.
Senior year I am taking General Chemistry I and II at Harvard's Extension School.</p>

<p>My Recs are great and my ECs include leader of my church's youth group, several community service positions (such as two trips with my church to Bulgaria and Kenya for community service) club soccer and model united nations.</p>

<p>I know this sometimes is a factor, I'm a caucasian MA resident.</p>

<p>If it makes a big difference, I go to a small private school in Boston and am first or second in my class. (my school does not actively publish rankings but they can be requested)</p>

<p>What do you think?</p>

2

<p>[Reminder:No</a> one, not even me can give you an accurate chance at MIT](<a href=“http://http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/939227-reminder-no-one-not-even-me-can-give-you-accurate-chance-mit.html%5DReminder:No”>http://http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/939227-reminder-no-one-not-even-me-can-give-you-accurate-chance-mit.html)</p>

3

<p>the link isn’t working for me but I would like to read the article. I’ve heard that at the highest level of selectivity (Harvard, MIT, Princeton, etc.) so many applicants are qualified that accurate foresight of admission is impossible and there is a degree of luck or chance. Is this what you’re talking about?</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/939227-reminder-no-one-not-even-me-can-give-you-accurate-chance-mit.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/939227-reminder-no-one-not-even-me-can-give-you-accurate-chance-mit.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Fixed link, haha</p>

5

<p>^The link, in general, tries to convey the point that these chance posts aren’t very good determinants of one’s likelihood of being accepted.</p>

<p>Think about it like this: if people’s applications to colleges were simply a list of basic credentials like you posted above, do you think MIT would really be able to weigh which of us are more suited for their school? No, that’s why there are essays, boxes to describe your interests and activities, and the ability to send supplemental materials.</p>

<p>Too, too, toooooo many factors are disregarded in chance posts, and decisions posts too for that matter. It may feel descriptive to put “Teacher rec 1: Super duper good, Teacher rec 2: Great”, but that’s true for about 10 thousand other applicants; none of us lowly forumers have any idea what that really translates to in terms of your personal qualities- after all, we are strangers. As you can tell by the title of that link, its equally useless EVEN if MITChris (an MIT admissions office representative) is the one “chancing” you.</p>

<p>To answer your initial question though: you have a chance of acceptance. Your SAT scores are over 2100, which is the 700-700-700 breakdown that MIT “likes” to see. There are people with worse quantifiable credentials that are accepted, as are there people with 2400s/36’s that get rejected. There are also people with bad AP science scores that are accepted, and people who have built nuclear reactors in their garage that are denied; true story, and food for thought). </p>

<p>It is not a matter of “chance” (though I’m sure you didn’t mean it that bluntly ;P) A lot of colleges say they choose students holistically, but after a year of seriously looking at MIT, I can tell you with confidence and with my hand on a copy of the Origin of Species that they in particular stay true to that assertion; BUHLEEEV ME. What it will come down to is not necessarily solely how great/interesting/intelligent you are, but how well they think you’ll mesh with the culture, and thats true for just about any upper tier, uber-selective school. The myth that its a “crap-shoot” which ones you get in to is ultimately rooted in the fact different schools are looking for different chaps, nawmsayin?</p>

<p>Seeing that you have challenged yourself academically with college level coursework and done well, I would say your chance is good enough to apply, the rest will have to be left to the MIT adcom :stuck_out_tongue: Good luck though in applying, and sorry for making you read this lengthy post; its just an accumulation of everything I’ve learned in the past year, and I thought a smart youngin’ like you might find it useful, haha.</p>

6

<p>I didn’t mind the long post since it made sense and was helpful haha. I think I understand what you’re saying about “Chance Me” threads often being meaningless since the list of scores we give doesn’t give you the holistic view of me on which admissions officers really make a decision. </p>

<p>I didn’t need this thread to tell me that I had a chance of admittance with my scores. I’ve looked at the average test scores for MIT so I knew I was “on the playing field” for admittance. I was just hoping the thread would give me some consolation from the nerves that naturally come with applying to schools whose acceptance rates hover around 10%. </p>

<p>In the end I guess all I can do is present the most honest and complete picture of myself that I can through my application and then hope that I really am a good fit for the MIT community.</p>

<p>Thanks for your response!</p>

7

<p>Some advice when you are taking chemistry. Try to pull of the “A” first semester at least, not so much for MIT but for other schools. I think it would be particularly helpful for schools outside the top 6. </p>

<p>To answer your question as to how much taking the Harvard classes helps your app, it is actually quite common. Many people take the Harvard classes as high school students as part of the summer school session, and they pull off “A’s.” A lot of people who I met at MIT had been at Harvard Summer School the summer before applying.</p>

<p>In terms of MIT, I have a few theories as to why they are so “chill” of late about grades and being holistic. To be blunt, I feel at least part of it is they don’t want to create a perfectionist culture where people want to jump off buildings in response to perceived flaws. I mean that literally, because it used to happen frequently. So don’t write your essays like you are apologizing for perceived flaws.</p>