Is a 630 Chem SAT II Going to Kill Everything?

<p>Yes...it will</p>

<p>Nose eet wont</p>

<p>SOLUTION: take 2 more SATIIs. a math - Math2 is the easiest. (have you taken that already?) and take another science - physics has a great curve. GET BOOKS FROM THE LIBRARY/BOOKSTORE. study study study. do practice problems. LEARN THE MATERIAL. it isn't hard to learn the material on your own with a book even without having taken the class. I learned Honors physics by myself with a textbook without help from a single stupid person. I also got a 790 on the SAT physics. the curve is huge - 16 wrong is like an 800 (lol). "The teacher didn't teach this sht" is not excuse. there are books, and you can read. Do the problems and practice tests. Ask questions after school if you have them. Basically, it's in your hands and you've got to utilize all the materials you have to do well. There are people with less resources than you have and they do better. Those are the people who will get in.</p>

<p>To whoever asked: my reasoning test was 690 CR, 710 M, 800 W.</p>

<p>
[quote]
that is true, and what you all say is true, yet in what way are they going to see that you tried your whole life to get into MIT if your score is sub-par?

[/quote]

They can't unless you tell them. I sent them a supplementary letter after submitting my application that explained my dedication towards the sciences and my drive for knowledge. If possible, show through a creative essay your own dedication - although I wouldn't recommend being tacky enough to go the "MIT was always my dream school" route. Instead, highlight parts of your personality and interests that correspond with what MIT is looking for. I'm not telling you to lie to match the school, but emphasize the good parts of you, because that is ultimately what the application is meant to do. Admit your faults, but acknowledge that you are willing to do whatever it takes to rectify them and that you believe MIT is a good environment to help you do so and grow as a person. </p>

<p>Note that we are not -promoting- a "whatever-I-don't-care" attitude when it comes to SAT scores. Should you pay attention to them and try to figure out what went wrong during testing? Yes. Should you re-look over the material to see what you might have missed and thus try to learn it for future reference? Sure. Should you realize that it is not the -best- of scores and that you should strive to do better? Indeed. </p>

<p>Should you burn your application and convince yourself that MIT will reject you just because of one tiny fraction of the person you really are? Of course not.</p>

<p>In addition, call me biased but I actually believe that a slightly "sub-par" score, as you put it, is an excellent opportunity to touch upon qualities of perseverance and optimism. MIT, as a technological school, probably values students who do not easily give up in the face of hardship, nor throw in the towel due to just one failure. The ability to acknowledge that you could have performed better and that you plan to work harder in the future if accepted is a quality you will have to develop once you get here - all of a sudden the high scores you were used to making in high school will experience a large drop, and if the only thing you can do after getting your first chem test back with a score of 78 is sit in the corner and whine about how it's going to "kill everything", then I suggest looking at an easier college. You can't expect to get near-perfect scores in everything; knowing your limits and being humble yet open to improvement are qualities that I am sure MIT values in all their students, current and potential.</p>

<p>@Vivi,
What was your high school Gpa??(just curious)</p>

<p>Vivi... lol... lets be honest... ur a female, smart, and obviously had other stuff going for u... for people who had worse scores than 630 in chem and math 2c (i know couple who do have bad scores) what would u say about that... no being gender biased or anything... and am not saying the u got in solely on ur being female... im just stating it did play a huge role and hate to break it to ya...</p>

<p>
[quote]
im just stating it did play a huge role and hate to break it to ya...

[/quote]

I hope you have a single shred of evidence to back up this assertation.</p>

<p>My GPA was a 4.0 simply because our classes were easy as hell.</p>

<p>While you can easily say that I have better scores than those under 630 chem, etc. you must also realize that there is also a significant part of the population that far exceeds my accomplishments. In the grand scheme of things, I would go as far as to consider myself in the lower middle part of the MIT population in terms of "smartness". If MIT had blindly chosen only the students who scored above a 700 in all of their standardized tests, then I'm sure the freshman class would have well filled up before it reached my turn in line. I'm not saying SAT scores are unimportant, but I do believe that they are not how the admissions committee draws the line between who gets in and who doesn't.</p>

<p>
[quote]
for people who had worse scores than 630 in chem and math 2c (i know couple who do have bad scores) what would u say about that...

[/quote]

What would I say? I would say that it's unfortunate, just like my scores. However, I would also say that it's not the end of the line and it's certainly not the end to a dream. So you didn't do so well in standardized tests. Are you going to sit there and worry about how it's going to "kill everything" or are you going to pick yourself back up and focus on bettering your other aspects? Perhaps you just aren't brilliant at chem, or the pressure of the SAT II tests was overbearing for you. Well, find something else to dedicate yourself towards! Maybe you're amazing at physics; maybe you love ecology; maybe you're really passionate about aerospace engineering! Whatever it is, don't focus on the bad aspects of you, make sure your good aspects shine through so that they make up for those minor slip-ups. And no matter what, don't give up. No college likes a quitter ;)</p>

<p>Wow. Looking back, I am embarrassed by this thread. To be honest, I have been trying to avoid thinking about MIT since I submitted my early application. I made this thread the day that I got my scores back and was caught up in the moment. It felt like everything that I had worked for had just been slammed down. I have accepted the fact that I will probably not be accepted to MIT. While I would prefer to go to MIT, I know that I will be lucky to attend whatever college I choose. </p>

<p>Honestly, I got the score I deserved. I went into the test knowing that I did not know half of the material. I had a cram session the night before that probably raised my score 100 points. I was lucky. I am so used to doing well on everything that not doing so well hit me hard. I realize that in some ways, getting that score was a good wake-up call. How am I going to be able to handle going to one of these schools that I want to attend so badly? I always say "oh, I don't care about grades" and rely on my mind to get me an A- instead of doing the hard work that it will take to succeed somewhere like MIT. That score reminds me that I am seriously flawed.</p>

<p>Please forgive me for posting such a silly thread. I'm not sure what I wanted to hear. I wanted reassurances. But I also wanted someone to say that it was the end, that there was no possible way and that I might as well give up and go to my state school.</p>

<p>It's fine - it's good that you realise your mistakes and know how you should fix them. I was much like you, actually - I had always managed to get by without studying too much, so when I first got here to MIT, I basically sat down and said to myself, "whoa, I actually have to -work- now!" It's definitely not too late to remedy your faults - you could stil make it into MIT, and if it's truly the school you've been working towards your entire life, then there's no reason to give up hope.</p>

<p>Just another quick thing to add about the percentile (44%). Remember it's not that much of a representation because a lot of people don't even do subject tests, much less chem. It's not like SAT I where percentiles can really show how you compare so don't stress. You know your true capabilities and I'm sure admissions will see that the 630 wasn't a true representation.</p>