<p>legacy does not help @ mit.</p>
<p>mit admissions is just a lot more subjective than it used to be...</p>
<p>I think you have many strengths and long to explain yourself in light of your drive, and not just be judged by numbers alone. Therefore, I echo an above poster who encouraged you to think of "Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore" to which I'd add: "Oberlin, Carleton, Grinnell, Earlham" and other LAC's where you will get a great education that will prepare you extremely well and position you for graduate school, if that's what you want.
The way you connect with your professors, your unusual major re: your ethnicity, etc. all scream "unique" to me.
The LAC applications are read very carefully for the essays. They look for the whole person, and override the statistical cutoffs more often. They are all about "right-fit."
I'm not saying "don't" apply to Ivies. I think you should apply to a few Ivies. In addition, surely add in some top universities (Rice, Duke, etc.). You'd also be a great niche student at Brandeis U, which has good offerings in your major interests. In addition, open your mind to the elite and top-choice LAC's you like (look at Newsweeks' top l00 and research them, starting from #1 on down). </p>
<p>Just open your mind to that option, and I think you migth get into some "better" schools (in LAC terms) than restricting your search to universities.
Remember, too, that you grades have gone up. On an LAC application, you could write an interesting essay about why you prefer the learning at a private school with great teaching, even if it means B's, and they'll appreciate your love of learning.
Normally, high scores + low GPA can be a red-flag for "slacker" but you are not that. Use your essay or short-answers to explore the meaning of this in your life. Don't whine or apologize, but state your priorities in the essay: you value Learning most of all. An LAC will see a chance to develop you, because you sound like someone who could flourish on the campus. </p>
<p>SAT's in the 1400's are improvable. Please click on my name for "see other posts by" and look up some old posts in the SAT prep section. Around Dec. or Jan last, I
counselled some students about the Writing section on the essay, how to get from an 8 to a 10 or 12. These might help. That said, it's the Multiple Choice that is the heavy-weight for the SAT-I Writing score. Still, it's not hard to get a 10-12 on the essay once you understand the structure they're looking for. I see your syntax, etc. are beautiful. So you might just need to understand the system they want for that essay (opening thesis, two examples that tie back to thesis, brief conclusion) and the role vocabulary does and doesn't play (no phony words, "myriad", "plethora" etc. but instead write clear, strong sentences with a well-chosen word that packs power). </p>
<p>Hey, I'm a dual citizen, Canada and U.S. What about York U? </p>
<p>Best of luck to you!!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help. I will not go to an LAC, I know that's stubborn but I just won't do it. All I really want to know is if improvement 2nd semester of junior year and 1st semester senior year would help. For 2nd sem. junior year, i dropped piano and debate , just ran track and I improved a lot. Unfortunately, since most of my classes were year long courses, that probably won't shot up on my transcript. Also, I feel that I overcame the adjustment period that came with my school (it's residential) and I feel that I can make straight A's next year. Assumming that the A's do not affect my GPA, will this help colleges, i don't know, better "understand and show more compassion" toward my situation? People have always told me that 1st semester senior year barely matters, but I'm wondering if I may be an exception? I know I'm probably out of reach for HYP, but maybe something like Duke, UChicago, or NU?</p>
<p>^^
I definitely feel those 3 could be matches (though nothing's guaranteed) considering your scores and the difficulty of your school.</p>
<p>Also, I'm not sure whether why you won't consider LAC...Do you just not want to go to a small school? Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore are probably as pretigious as NU, UChicago, and Duke.
The other LAC mentioned in this thread are not quite on par with those 3, although I'm sure the education itself is great too.</p>
<p>afruff23 - I’m confused about his SAT scores as well. If it’s on a 2400 scale, then your scores are actually a bit BELOW the national average (~1500), which certainly would hurt you. </p>
<p>OP - Clarify about your SAT scores. If they are indeed out of 1600 keep in mind that writing matters too…so post your score out of 2400 as well. Also, I sympathize with you about the grades 
It’s unfortunate. As far as I can see, the BEST student at a school like yours has an advantage over the BEST student at a less rigorous school…but sadly, the BEST student at a less rigorous school has an advantage over a GOOD student (like you) from your school. It sucks, because good students at challenging schools could well be the BEST at an easier school…and that combined with good test scores would put those students in a great position for college admissions.
Agreed with everyone who said look at LACs. I’m not saying don’t apply to Ivies, but LACs might be great because there’d probably be less competition among your classmates, and their admissions are also more holistic.
Good luck!</p>
<p>He got into duke, and you have similar stats as him, so I wouldn’t worry, obviously if he got a 1470/2400 he would’ve been denied from Duke in a matter of seconds. LOL, have common sense.</p>
<p>Wow necro much?</p>
<p>I think most of the selective colleges are familiar with the countries best private schools and do take rigor into account. People keep saying that you still have to be in the “top” of your class no matter where you go to school. That is simply not true…you could be in the top half at schools like Exeter and Andover and still go to an Ivy unhooked. Also, many of these schools neither rank nor weight grades, so there is really no way to tell where a student is in relation to his or her classmates. My son’s school sends out a class profile of GPA’s, but from that profile there is no way to tell who took honors and AP courses. Our local public has many kids with very high GPA’s and low test scores and the college matriculation is pretty miserable. Kids who thought they were in the top of the class are routinely denied admission to highly selective schools, whereas at my son’s prep school, it is very possible to gain admission to these schools with a relatively low GPA. Naviance does bear this out.</p>