<p>I'm starting to realistically think about next year. I was wondering how much emphasis is placed on grades. I sort of slipped up junior year... I'm still a junior though:</p>
<p>Freshmen:
AP Statistics / A / 4
IBMYP World History / A
IBMYP English I / A
IBMYP Biology I / A
IBMYP French II / A
Programming I / A
Health & PE / A </p>
<p>Sophomore:
AP Computer Science(AB) / A / 5
AP Physics B / A / 5
IBMYP Civics & Economics / A
IBMYP French III / B
IBMYP Chemistry I / A
IBMYP English II / A
IBMYP Math Methods I(Precalculus) / A
Health & Sports / A </p>
<p>Self Studied AP Calculus AB and BC - 5 and 5</p>
<p>Junior:
AP Chemistry I: B+ (I'm shooting for an A in AP Chem II this trimester)
AP Physics C: A-
American Studies(APUSH + AP Lang): A-
Research Computer Science: A
Multivariable Calculus I(Partial Derivatives and Vector Functions): B+... WHOA... HOLY SNIPPIES!!! seriously, when things get to an 89.4... and i know they are mathematicians, but seriously... its not my fault I made an arithmetic mistake on the exam at the beginning of a huge polynomial sequence!!! :(</p>
<p>For the remainder of the year I'm predicting:
AP Chem II: B+/A-
AP Phys C II: A-/A
APUSH: B+/A-
Intro Spanish: A-
Linear Algebra: A-/B+
Adv problem solving: A
Research Chemistry: A</p>
<p>Over the Summer
Differential Equations(at Duke): A</p>
<p>I sort of slipped up while getting under stress of a lot of research projects and deadlines. I know MIT is very hard, and I can work really hard, but I guess just small coincedences(esp math, where we have a total of 6 grades, and even the smallest slip on the exam screwed me over, and I was notified at 11:50pm the night before my multivariable exam that I qualified for ISEF and had to get the papers in by 8:00am that day). I'm planning on really nailing 1st trimester senior year. </p>
<p>Western European Cultures Studies
Combinatorics
Some kinds of math from EPGY... not sure exactly what
Astrophysics
Research Comp Sci
Research Chemistry
Intermediate Spanish
AP Micro/Macro Economics
AP Biology</p>
<p>Do I still have a chance though? Does MIT take into account that if I get a 5 on the AP Chem exam my class was hard? I'm not trying to make excuses though, I know MIT will be much harder. We usually send 8-10 kids to MIT out of maybe 30-40 competetive applicants.</p>
<p>Quote by a guy named Sagar Indurkhya: "MIT looks for passion"</p>
<p>Looking good though, you're the top applicant at school.
And I'm guessing the courses you chose for next year were not random blind picks with your thumb :p</p>
<p>Reason 1: You'll be closer to home, we can take care of you...you aren't mature enough yet... you have a lot to learn</p>
<p>Reason 2: We can't afford the other schools you want, you have free rides to the state schools</p>
<p>Reason 3: It doesn't matter where you go for undergrad, as long as you get super high grades and stand out, your chances for Med school will be better</p>
<p>my dad says that if i went somewhere like MIT, knowing me I would probably take so many courses and try to do so much research i would go crazy and die at 30. lol</p>
<p>sagar<em>indurkhya: ... seeing your high scores and that you're taking those classes, shouldn't you be intelligent enough to know that you're very competitive? or do you need someone to assure you? -</em>___-;;</p>
<p>graceful_spirit: i can't really answer that question but mit really looks for passion. so if you can somehow display your passion effectively for math and science, your b's in those classes won't matter a lot.</p>
<p>Decisions are not made based on grades and test scores.</p>
<p>It's obviously going to make you feel better if you have a perfect GPA and perfect SAT scores, but in reality that is not going to help you all that terrifically. What you really want to do is be an interesting person and do interesting things and write a smashing essay and have an interview.</p>
<p>Orbis Somnio - its not that I need reassurance. I know I'm smart(not exceedingly though!), I just worry sometimes. I like to do a lot of research. However, I'm in a gutter in terms of things to do. I have a finite amount of energy and time, and I'm definetely not super human. How much time do I spend on working on my project for ISEF? Winning there is big. How much time do I spend on research projects over the summer? I'm not a genius, and especially at my school I need to study a lot (I think the transition to a school like MIT would be a lot easier coming from NCSSM, because some of the classes are directly based off the OCW curriculems). </p>
<p>The Caltech Forum is indeed what scared me. If what Ben Golub is correct in saying that you really do need to take the most difficult course load available and get all A's while still doing insane EC's, than I'm not so sure if I'm fit for caltech. </p>
<p>I'm really glad the hard part of my HS career is coming to a close. My dad suggested going to a State school so I could just cruze through w/o working way to hard... (obviously I'm against this path).</p>
<p>Sagar needs lots of reassurance... And I think he's trying to show off his transcript :). I got a B in bio junior year, and I made it into Caltech just fine (And a few other nice schools). Seriously though, and I think Sagar already knows this, getting a B or two at NCSSM will not destroy your chances at any of the top schools.</p>
<p>Pfft, anyway what am I doing on this looser forum? ;)
(Mit rejectee!)</p>
<p>David!!!!! AHAD:lhj;aihtew;jasdglk why do ppl from my school give me advice on this forum!!! If i wanted your advice, i'd pull up trillian and IM you or just knock on your door!</p>
<p>PS: David, tell that to the number of kids who got into HYP this year... yeah I can count them on one hand. 5th place at state science olympiad? One siemens regional finalist? Senior class this year isn't performing. ;) Guess us Juniors have to pick up the slack.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Is MIT harsh on B's in the math or sciences? I read in the Caltech forum that it would hurt you if you have B's in those classes.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I get B+ to an A- in every math and science course I have and I got in. My problem is not that I do not understand material, but I overlook minor details that lead to mistakes. My SAT scores, AMC12 score, AIME score, and math/science awards helped me though.</p>
<p>URM really doesn't do much to be honest. My friend who is a valedictorian, URM, with NMSF, good EC's, etc was rejected.</p>
<p>Also, if you look at decision threads you will see that all races get in with low stats sometimes w/o hooks, while some outstanding URM's get flat out rejected.</p>
I get B+ to an A- in every math and science course I have and I got in. My problem is not that I do not understand material, but I overlook minor details that lead to mistakes. My SAT scores, AMC12 score, AIME score, and math/science awards helped me though.
[/Quote]
</p>
<p>What are good scores on these? I have had several slip-ups in math/science, but my AMC-12 (126.5) and AIME (6) scores show that I know what I'm doing. I'm guessing this will make up for some slightly lower grades in math and science...</p>
<p>
[quote]
URM really doesn't do much to be honest. My friend who is a valedictorian, URM, with NMSF, good EC's, etc was rejected.</p>
<p>Also, if you look at decision threads you will see that all races get in with low stats sometimes w/o hooks, while some outstanding URM's get flat out rejected.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm not going to debate whether affirmative action is right or wrong, but I do need to point out that URM helps incredible amounts. Sure, your URM valedictorian didn't get in, but how many non-minoirty valedictorians didn't get in? A much much higher ratio I'd wager.</p>
<p>From my school alone (It's a competitive boarding school where approximately the top 10+% get into HYMPSCD), I've seen many cases of URMs getting in on the race card. Two URMs getting into Columbia EA, while my friend (Harder classes, better scores, great essays, likely from Cornel) gets deferred then rejected. The only Harvard acceptee this year was URM (RSI guy was rejected, siemens winners rejected, and some other amazing people). Same situation with Princeton. Same with a few scholarships.</p>
<p>Now I am not saying these URMs aren't qualified (They are), however for those at my school who know these people, the situation is clear. The URMs generally had fewer accomplishments, and lower stats then some of the rejected. Had they left the race box unchecked, the results would have been different. Only the UC system and Caltech seem to practice true race blind admissions.</p>
<p>I agree that race plays a role, but it is not as significant as you may think. Personality and character is important--MIT rates it equal to GPA, scores, etc. Also, there are many fewer URM valedictorians so that argument cannot be substantiated.</p>
<p>Simply put, stats after a certain point don't add much. It boils down to the individual and how they come off in their essays. Also, a good essay can be bad because structure, grammar, etc don't mean a damn thing if they don't say anything about the person.</p>
<p>It is hard to come up with a definite answer, but I feel that the average applicant with amazing stats lacks substance. He/she is merely numbers, but those that are imperfect have developed character by, generally, overcoming them and maturing, etc.</p>