How can I make myself more attractive to MIT?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

I’m a junior in my first semester and I’d really like to attend MIT in the future. What are some things that I can do to improve my application? The main reason I’m asking is because getting into top colleges with my demographic (Asian male) is quite difficult.

Here are some stats:

Weighted GPA: 4.00 / 4.00 (I don’t see myself losing this GPA in the future)
Unweighted GPA: 6.40 / 7.00 (This will rise as I’m taking some dual enrollment classes at a local community college)
Class Rank: 4 / 472 (This will rise as well, but I’m not sure by how much)

SAT: 1460 - 750 R, 710 M (I realize this is quite bad, and so I’ve focused my efforts more on preparing for the ACT, which I haven’t taken yet.) I also haven’t taken any subject tests yet but am preparing for Math 2 and Biology E.

AP: Human Geography (5), World History (5), Psychology (5), Calculus AB (4)

Course Load:

  • 9th: All Pre-IB (Honors) with 1 AP
  • 10th: All Pre-IB (Honors) with 3 APs
  • 11th: Full IB (Math HL, English HL, History HL, Biology HL, Physics SL, Spanish SL, Theory of Knowledge) with 2 APs (English Literature and Computer Science A)
  • 12th: Full IB (same as above, except instead of Spanish, I’ll take AP Environmental Science)

Awards:

  • 3rd place at ISWEEEP (an international science fair)
  • 5th place at state science fair in 9th grade, 4th place in 10th
  • I’m going to compete at the Genius Olympiad in June (another international science fair)
  • 2nd place at Mobicom App Contest (an app competition run at a prestigious technology conference with a <15% acceptance rate for manuscripts submitted to their journal)
  • My representative gave a speech to the House of Representatives about my research

I’m hoping to compete at ISEF this year.

Activities:

  • MIT Launch Club (an entrepreneurship club run by MIT, 9 - 11, Vice President)
  • Math Club (made the primary effort in creating a Mu Alpha Theta chapter out of the existing club, 9 - 11, Junior Officer)
  • Quiz Bowl (competed in a lot of regional competitions, 10 - 11, Co-Captain)
  • FRC Robotics (team is internationally ranked and won the championships a few years ago, 9 - 11, Programming Team (hopefully a leader in programming next year))
  • Science Olympiad (might be captain next year, 11)

I’ve volunteered for about 100 hours at my local library teaching STEM classes to educate both kids and adults about programming. I know five languages, and am learning two more (kind of a hook?) I’ve also already applied or am planning on applying to 5 - 7 summer research programs (RSI, MITES, SSTP, etc). I already have about 7 or 8 other science competitions that I plan to enter this year as well.

2

MIT is very upfront about what they look for

http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways
http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/highschool
http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/enrichment
http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/many_ways_to_define_the_best

You should build a well-balanced college list of safety, match, and reach schools. No one can count on getting admission to MIT.

3

Keep pursuing the international competitions if that is where your passions lie. You want to stand out from the pool of other qualified students.

4

Think about whether your ECs are a bit lopsided, all stem related. I know that’s the urge, but there must be some other hs experiences (cubs or other) and vol work, that could stretch you a bit, show adcoms you have some broad interests, can climb out and try other things. That matters. 5-7 languages is not a tip.

5

RSI is very hard for admissions, but will give you a great idea about research in a field. What field
are you thinking about? . Good luck to you!!
Another summer program idea for you: Hampshire Math program, if you are interested in majoring in physics, math, CS or EE, or any other mathematical field like meteorology or bioinformatics, this will help you a LOT to expand your understanding of mathematics:

http://hcssim.org

Keep your eye on what you want to learn, and expanding what you learn. Don’t worry too much about getting into MIT, Either it will happen for you, or it will not.
but just keep learning. There are lots of great colleges where you can major in a STEM field out there. Have fun !