How realistic is MIT for me?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Right now, you’re probably scoffing at yet another moonshot applicant, who wants to all-in to a top school without even a plan B sketched out in case plan A just so happens to fail spectacularly.

I am just a junior at my public high school. I take home all high As, and I’ve done so since 6th grade. I do not do this for my parents; in fact, my parents hardly monitor my performance at school. I feel as if I need to stand out in order to get attention. I guess this is just “the system” doing its work: competition, competition, and more competition, and I must play by the rules like everyone else.

Why do I want to go to MIT? I feel compelled to change the world in the field of computing and artificial intelligence. The rest of the explanation, well, I’ll save for the essays (unless anyone wants me to elaborate). But it’s definitely not the prestige.

I try to avoid direct competition at school; direct competition causes rivalry, which is always a minus and just makes my emotions less stable. Instead, I try to trudge through the “noise” of my class, which somehow led me to get an unofficial ranking of 1 out of 750 or so. I hope I can maintain 1 for senior year, but if not, that’s fine by me, since there are many more who are trying to game the system by choosing all AP classes (as it gets them a ridiculously high multiplier on their weighted GPA. That should tell you how competitive this school is!). Plus, I’ve already made a few mistakes on my course selection across the years; this year, I decided to take a regular elective rather than a second AP science class or my required credit. But enough about GPA, that’s only one factor in college admissions.

I took the ACT and I made a 33. I’m not planning to take it again; I though I’d get a 35, but the difference seems negligible to me. However, I got my PSAT scores back, and I feel absolutely disappointed by them: just a 1400, when my close friend had made a 1480! My parents tell me not to compare myself to others; but they have much lower expectations of what universities they want to go to (most people at my school just want to stay in-state, but I don’t. More on that later.), and I want to shoot high. In terms of numbers compared to my expectations, I’m an outlier. Maybe that will change in the future.

For ECs, I’m working steadily on them. The problem is that there aren’t many people in my school who want to do serious programming. The club I co-founded is faltering, as it is primarily composed of my friend’s acquaintances (and I have asked both my sponsor and my friend to begin advertising); my CyberPatriot team only has 2 active participants (we are in Platinum tier, and it’s our first year); and I grew tired of UIL CS as I wasn’t gaining anything out of answering simple Java questions other than a mountain of 2nd place and 1st place trophies on invitationals (yet I couldn’t do the same for district). Next year, I will take matters into my own hands and advertise. My summers are packed, since I’m doing a 4-summer engineering program.

I’m part of a minority ethnicity; as such, I don’t really have many roots here in Texas. I’m willing to travel anywhere in the US for college, given that what I want to study is highly advanced or even nonexistent. In fact, I don’t want to stay in Texas: to me, the colleges that “everyone” wants to go here are extremely huge, and I don’t feel like I’d take something extraordinary away from them when I graduate from them.

I love working on coding projects during my free time. School gets in the way of my time, though, so I must plan my weekends carefully to make them productive ones. Despite this, my projects have stagnated. I’m a supporter of open-source software, and my ideas for projects extend far more than mere games.

Financially speaking… I don’t care about the money. Really, I don’t. That burden should stay with my parents, because the last thing that I want to happen is for my education to be hindered by a mere lack of money.

I’ve tried SuperMatch, but much to my chagrin, the colleges that are listed there seem high-tier. Yale came up at the top of the list with 92% match. Maybe I’m not setting my parameters correctly, or maybe it’s just the truth: what I want to study, these colleges will be the most helpful.

Are my chances just the same as anyone else, 8%, like rolling a snake-eyes? My feelings swing wildly from “I’m extremely confident” to “this is utterly impossible.”

Any advice? Thanks for your attention, by the way.

2

Was willing to play along until this. Jeez. This is YOUR education that you’re foisting onto your parents as yet another thing they have to pay the entirety of? If they’re so rich that they can afford, say, $200,000 total to send you somewhere, great, this attitude is acceptable. But otherwise, what a horrible thing to do to parents. “I don’t care how much debt my parents have to go into. Really, I don’t.”

3

To sum up your post:

-Stellar grades, presumably with no lack of rigor (ranked 1st in your class).*

*What do you mean when you say your rank is “unofficial?”

-Decent test scores, but below-average for MIT (33 on the ACT). Colleges don’t care about PSAT scores - they won’t even know your score, as it isn’t included in any of the score reports the College Board sends to colleges/universities.

-Extracurriculars apparently limited to:
–A club that isn’t doing all that well (in your own words, “faltering”)
–Some local CS awards
–A lot of coding in your free time

Nothing in the above profile really stands out. There’s little to suggest your chances would be any better than those of the average applicant: 8%, or maybe 7% if acceptance rates continue to decline as they have in recent years.

You say you’re a minority student. Is that one of the census-recognized minorities (black, hispanic, native american)? If so, which one. It’s the one “hook” that you seem to have, so we really could use more information.

Everything @bodangles has said about the financial aspect of college is correct. MIT’s cost of attendance is close to $60,000 a year. If you’re expecting your parents to pay $240,000 for your education, that’s far from reasonable.

4

Sorry for sounding so harsh or conclusive on this matter. Let me rewind a bit.

I have already spoken with my parents about finance. We have agreed that money should come last in terms of choice, because he does not want me to worry about affording. In fact, he does not want me to worry about the finance of my family, period. We are not poor by any means; both of my parents are well educated and work daily. They run a medical office, which yields a nice stable income. Of course though, some financial aid might be helpful, because they don’t want to work long past the point of retirement. By the way, are you implying that only the rich can afford MIT?

As for “unofficial rank,” the rank is posted as such because the rank is subject to change until the end of junior year. After the 6th semester, the official, permanent rank is placed on my transcript and that is the rank that I graduate with.

I am Hispanic. My coding projects I don’t keep to myself: after a certain amount of complexity (not necessarily completeness) I do put them on GitHub. I have to cut back on information like this though because it might make myself identifiable (as if I weren’t already identifiable enough).

Good thing this is only junior year, because if this was senior I’d be completely hopeless. There is plenty of time to improve, so how can I do so? I’ve still yet to take the SAT subject tests and, of course, the SAT. Not “where” to improve, since the obvious answer is “everywhere”.

I make my list of ECs sound short, but I run a home server, am learning my third language, am trying to learn yet another programming language (I’ve lost count), have very recently become “yet another” member of FBLA, and am in NHS.

This is my frustration: I stand out somewhat, but not enough. And because I stand out somewhat, then it’s just as bad as not standing out at all. I don’t want to do things and stretch myself for the mere sake of entering into colleges, I want to do things for the sake of enjoyment and contribution to society.

Do you think I should just give up on MIT, just live a regular life on some mid-tier college, hoping that nobody scoffs when I tell them what I want to study? Or am I even somewhat worthy of pressing on? Because I have an opportunity, right here, right now. I can apply to MIT’s summer app and see if I even stand a chance against the super-humans (who were “born that way”) of this world. Then, if I don’t happen to get curb stomped by aforementioned super-humans, I can make an informed decision of whether I should continue with my 4-year summer engineering program or try one of their programs for once.

But I will not let anyone play God and see who can crush the most dreams with one stomp. (I’m not saying any of you are, though.) I am capable of trying and I will. Many people do not try and just accept their “abilities” as how they are, but I am not one of them.

5

A few points:

  1. Nobody's implying that only the rich can afford MIT. We're implying that unless you're rich, finances should absolutely be a part of your decision. No college is worth $240,000 if you have the option of going to another academically strong school with a much more reasonable price tag.
  2. Being Hispanic will help your odds of admission some at many colleges, so it's worth noting that you should have some good options a year from now.
  3. With that said, MIT doesn't practice affirmative action. No boost there.
  4. You'll need to take SAT subject tests to apply to MIT. They require one math test (Math II if you want to get in, because that's what 95% of applicants will take) and one science (Biology E/Biology M/Physics/Chemistry).
  5. Coding is an extracurricular that'll help - to the extent that many students looking at MIT for computer science will have extensive coding experience - but unless you have some major recognition (state/national level awards) it's not liable to move the needle.
  6. Being a "member" doesn't have much of an impact - colleges know that can mean showing up to one meeting a day, or one meeting a term. Leadership positions (President/secretary/treasurer/etc. of NHS or FBLA) or major accomplishments (awards in FBLA, raising $50,000 for NHS, winning a state/national level award for a coding project) are what it takes for a generic extracurricular to boost your application.

Nobody’s telling you to “just give up,” and not going to MIT does not equate to “just live a regular life on some mid-tier college hoping that nobody scoffs when I tell them what I want to study.” That’s an absurd straw man as arguments go. An application is worthwhile so long as you’re academically qualified. But there are several hundred schools between “MIT” and “mid-tier college,” so now is not the time to develop an irrational obsession with a single college. Just as nobody is doomed to a life of hopeless mediocrity simply because they don’t get a job at Google, nobody is doomed to a “regular life” because they don’t get into MIT.

Computer science majors from any decent college (a definition that includes hundreds of schools at the very least) are some of the most employable grads out there, so nobody’s going to scoff at you when you tell them you want to study CS.

And, finally, these summer programs aren’t all that meaningful. They’re not college courses, and they don’t give you any serious indication of what the learning environment is like at the host campus. Colleges like to see long-term involvement in an activity, so I’d suggest you stick with your 4-year program.

6

I don’t feel as if saying CS explains well enough what I want to study. It’s a nice major to have, but what I want to study is somewhere between CS, AI, and neuroscience.

Some people hopelessly apply to MIT yet get accepted. Some people confidently apply yet get rejected. It’s tough, but maybe I should stop worrying about it until the right time comes. If I get lucky and get accepted, then great. If not, then there are a hundred more that I could go to, with about the same rigor with a little less popularity. You’re absolutely right about that.

That said, I will take your advice and just keep doing whatever it is I’m doing.

7

Have you tried doing Topcoder, the USACO and/or any other CS competitions (e.g. PicoCTF) or taken AP CS? I think there are a few things you can do outside of school to show your proficiency. Also, I think you might want to try the ACT one more time to see if your score goes up - for the very competitive schools, although a 33 is good, it is not something that really stands out. My son also does CS stuff & through FBLA did coding of Apps and a cybersecurity test and did well. It is worth doing a bit of research to see what’s possible that can be helpful to you to show what you know. Good luck to you!

8

Going to be honest. MIT is a high reach for you. You need to develop plan B, C, and D. Also, each college has a net price calculator on their financial aid page. Have your parents run the net price calculator on MIT and the rest of the more attainable list that you come up with. It will give you an idea of your financial aid package and cost of attendance for each college. There are quite a few parents who say “don’t worry about finances”, then realize they can’t pay the expected amount after admissions. Since the calculators are available, it is silly to ignore them.

9

@NotVerySmart MIT definitely practices Affirmative Action. to OP, might as well apply, but don’t expect much.

10

Look at it this way. MIT is a very small school. Your stats are good, but not great. There are considerably more highly qualified students just in Texas, much less the rest of the world.

MIT is the type of school where everyone is top notch. If you want to get in, you need to set yourself apart by more than mere academics. Be a leader in your field. Develop something signfiicant.

What worries me is that you are comparing yourself against others from UIL, but unable to even do well enough at districts. The invitationals tend to have lesser competition as some kids are not that into them. No requirement to participate at invitational to go to District. This is just a minor quibble, but it speaks to your lack of understanding in how you compare versus your competition. They are not just winning Texas UIL, they are winning international awards, too.

Don’t expect that being a minority with a great class rank and a very good test score is going to get you into schools of this caliber.

11

“Do you think I should just give up on MIT, just live a regular life on some mid-tier college, hoping that nobody scoffs when I tell them what I want to study?”

What is that supposed to mean? Giving up MIT = just a regular life on some mid-tier college? (Ummm okay…?)

MIT is just superior or what are you implying there? You said you “feel compelled to change the world in the field of computing and artificial intelligence,” trust me, CS students all over the world may have the same ambition. Not just MIT students. So I really don’t know what’s the reason you wanna be at MIT so much.

5 last things:

  1. Your parents are not obligated to help you pursue your dreams.
  2. 1400 on PSAT is okay. Seriously, are you concerned about the 80 pts difference between you and your friend? And again, 33 is okay. Retake it and get a 35, I think you're capable of achieving a higher score. And again, not taking SAT or SAT II is okay, you're a junior. Start prepping now and try to get a 2300+
  3. MIT is not an unrealistic dream for you. Try as hard as you can. You do have a shot.
  4. Steve jobs (my hero) didn't graduate from MIT, in fact he dropped out of Reed College, some "mid-tier" college you were referring to. Yet he changed the world.
  5. Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you'll end up in the stars :)
12

I thought posting here would ease my mind and stress, but now I am overwhelmed from all the ends of the spectrum.

I took AP CS and easily got a 5 on the AP test; I was disappointed at the lack of rigor in the class (Java != computer science) and talked for a long time about this with the CS teacher, which led to my strong relationship with him. I have my gripes with UIL CS, as it seems to be highly based on the AP content with a few modifications to make it more challenging. I took a break from it, but I will return. Now that the seniors have left, I might have a chance to get past district.

I will look at finance again and see if that changes my stance.

As I had perhaps mentioned before, I dislike competition; I prefer collaboration instead. A huge setback has been just the lack of people interested in serious coding at my school. One of my friends even dropped out outright because he felt bored at school. But maybe competition is the best way to find people just as good as me to work with?

Again, guys, I’m not ready to apply for any college today. I still have plenty of time to work out what I want to do, fix my scores, fulfill my prerequisites, etc. Haven’t even taken my SAT yet. Given this, however, am I on the right track?

13

MIT isn’t “realistic” for anyone really.

14

Yes you are on the right track.
(Although you WERE asking if you could get into MIT in the first place. If you had asked if you were “on the right track”, it would’ve been a really different thread)

Just a FYI, if you dislike competition, schools like MIT/Harvard aren’t really a good match for your personality. “New England” Ivies value competition highly. If you’re really not a competitive kind of person, try schools like Duke, Notre Dame, Stanford, etc., students there are more chill. Btw though, competitive doesn’t mean not collaborative; uncompetitive doesn’t mean unmotivated.

Also, you said “I thought posting here wild ease my mind and stress.” If you’re looking for pure encouragement, maybe go talk to your friends/counselor, CC is not the right place. People here are usually brutally honest and realistic with you.

15

You literally need to take SAT 2’s to be even considered for MIT admissions…

Ok, here’s what I’m seeing, OP. You have good grades, but ok test scores. Go and retake the ACT, the difference between 33 and 35 is HUGE. Your parents can supposedly pay for MIT, but go and run the NPC, just to be safe. Remember, your parents could simply just ditch you and force you to pay for college on your own. After you turn 18, they are NOT obligated to help you. Going to (and being able to pay) for college is a privilege, NOT A RIGHT. Your extracurriculars lack depth, nothing even close to the people who have been admitted to MIT from my school. And please, “OH NO! IF I DON’T GET INTO MIT I HAVE TO LIVE MY LIFE IN MEDIOCRITY AT SOME MIDDLE CLASS SCHOOL!1!!!1”. What if I told you, high tech companies in my area hire equal amounts of graduates from SJSU and SCU as they do from Stanford and Berkeley? Some of my teachers have graduated from the most prestigious schools in the country (Duke, Stanford, UPenn, Cornell, just to name a few), how do you think they feel working next to people who graduated from state schools? Let me tell you something, they don’t give a damn. The label of the school(s) you attended wears off after one or two jobs (or after a few years on a single job), then they care about your experience.

When fall rolls around, do apply to MIT, but have backups: UT’s, other easier privates in Texas. You sound like a great student, don’t get me wrong OP. Go and take that chance, And even if it fails, 90% of the schools in the country would love to have you walk through their front gates. Best of luck!

16

Oh and by the way, I love coding too. Didn’t take AP CS since I wasn’t into Java stuff. I prefer Python, and I’m learning HTML and swift now.

“Maybe competition is the best way to find people as good as me to work with?” Not necessarily. You just have to find people with the same interest, and in college, there’ll be plenty. So no need to worry about that :slight_smile:

17

OP don’t worry too much. I’m currently a freshman in college and Princeton was my dream. My life felt like Princeton or bust well, along with the 90%+ applicants i got rejected but you know what? Life moves on! Although I’m not at Princeton im at a instituion and i am enjoying my college years.

At the same time though it seems to me you need to open up to reality a bit more and understand the college process but dont get discouraged

18

Well, thanks all for your advice. When the time comes I’ll do my best in the admissions, and if I don’t get into MIT et al, I’ll just move on. My family members have faith in me that I will do my best to try to get in, and they support me more than I support myself (when people ask me what college I want to go to, I timidly respond “MIT,” but my dad will just blurt it out). Many people who have left MIT doing great stuff, but many more that didn’t go to MIT and still left a huge impact where I want to study.

I wanted to take this time to look back at my high school career (I did many things in middle school too and took a couple of leadership positions, but they are somewhat irrelevant now). There are a number of things that I forgot to include in my list of ECs, but instead of adding them to the list I will save them for my applications.

Having other people judge my life is often discouraging, but I felt that it had to be done. Now that I have evaluated myself, I will go back to real life and make a difference as I had done before, but this time with a slightly more confident attitude.