<p>Sorry for asking too much : 
</p>
<p>What was your SAT and SAT 2 Score? How many leadership positions did you have? How were your teacher’s recommendations? How many volunter hours did you have? What was your class rank?</p>
<p>Also… Do you think having Physical Science in 10th grade will disqualify me from getting top colleges? I have taken Bio freshmanyear, Physical Science Sophomore year, AP Physics and Honors Chemsitry during junior year. I’m very anxious. I need youuu</p>
<p>Is it luck? In a word, ‘yes’. It seems a professor of statistics thought it would be interesting to see how admissions would work if they simply rolled percentage dice to match their target admission percentage. The admissions at MIT are literally the luck of the roll. Now I am going to have to go into hiding for exposing this. don’t tell anyone where you heard about it.</p>
<p>@qpsodiduwjan : you’ve been mercilessly mocked for your one-dimensional questions such as "How many leadership positions did you have? How many volunter hours did you have? "</p>
<p>Will you finally learn that THERE IS NO FINITE NUMBER for these things? </p>
<p>“I’m very anxious” Yes and this anxiety has made you appear to be absolutely insane. Please step back. In the TWO days since you joined CC, you’ve had one frantic post after frantic post. You won’t have to worry about college b/c you’ll be in a hospital with ulcers. Really – the world will no split open the day some college rejects you.</p>
<p>Haha you are so mean</p>
<p>@qpsodiduwjan:
Listening to @T26E4’s suggestions will serve you well. Top schools, like MIT, aren’t looking to see that you followed some magic recipe that you’re looking for. </p>
<p>There is an MIT admissions blog post titled “Applying Sideways”. It’s written for those in your category who are anxious about the exact things they think they must do and accomplish in order to maximize their chances for MIT. You better read it.</p>
<p>@qpsodiduwjan - I’m not going to rehash my application. It would not be useful to you, I promise. You need ot make your application about your life 
</p>
<p>Why would taking physical science kill your app? I… am confused as to where this is coming from.</p>
<p>As snarky as @T26E4 is being, (s)he is right. You need to focus on what you’re doing, not try to redo your history - let your app stand on its own merits. And accept the fact that you are far more likely to be rejected than accepted (as is everyone who applies to MIT!) and have a plan B. People can have fantastic lives without attending MIT, so all I can say is try not to sweat it too much (and I know how much easier that is to say than do).</p>
<p>tl;dr - BREATHE. </p>
<p>Thank you bro very helpful!</p>
<p>Not a bro, bro </p>
<p>One more thing to add - I was chatting with some friends about whether they took physical science, and one said that he <em>failed</em> physical science in high school. He graduated from MIT. While I don’t advise failing any courses, realize that Admissions is looking for context - and context can overcome quite a bit.</p>
<p>Wow hahahaha. I really would like to appriciate to you!
I don’t know why I am being so anxious lately…It’s probably because I truly want to make my parents proud of me. To be honest, I had been very a bad, undutiful son…now I am regretting a lot… :(( I hope I get great score on SATs and keep playing soccer (I’m dying for soccer;I sleep with soccer ball lol)
So I don’t need to worry anymore :D. I will try my best as much as I can in hopes of getting accepted to MIT.</p>
<p>@qpsodiduwjan - Well, “getting into MIT” isn’t a good plan for trying to make your parents proud. Many very dutiful students get rejected every year. No one can say whether or not you’ll get in, but you can’t expect it.</p>
<p>If you want to be a good son, then start being that now. Do awesome things at whatever college you end up going to. Hinging hopes on a longshot like MIT doesn’t make sense and isn’t necessary </p>
<p>“Hey Chris, do you think students must take AMC and at least qualify for AIME to get into MIT?”</p>
<p>Absolutely not. </p>
<p>“Is it luck? In a word, ‘yes’. It seems a professor of statistics thought it would be interesting to see how admissions would work if they simply rolled percentage dice to match their target admission percentage.”</p>
<p>If this were true I’d just call random.choice(Applicant) and my job would be so much easier. </p>
<p>How do you guys weigh on rigor of class? </p>
<p>You’re still asking those questions. Have you taken a hard look at the MIT blogs? Maybe the best, imo.</p>
<p>The idea is that kids who can take on challenges in college (academic, social, in activities, whatever,) are taking them on now, one way or another, often in a nice variety of contexts. It can show their drives and often their ability to rebound when there’s a hurdle, the range of their interests, what they can give. And, between the lines, shows their judgment and some other good things. </p>
<p>The Blogs are the best resource for students applying to MIT! They’re very helpful.</p>
<p>There is always some element of luck. If the person reading your application stepped in a pile of dog droppings with their new sandals and then had to sit down to read your application, it might have a different effect than if they sat next to someone wonderful on the subway ride in who started a conversation and agreed to a lunch date. </p>
<p>There is only so much that you can control!</p>
<p>qpsodiduwjan , the last thing MIT needs is another student who feels that their parents’ world will collapse if they fail in school. The last thing MIT needs is another student who gets good grades to please parents. The last thing MIT needs is another student who attends MIT to please parents. If there was some way to weed them out, I’d advise MIT to put it in place.</p>
<p>I think the best thing in MIT applications, reading what I have so far, is to
<p>MIT isn’t looking for numbers. They are looking for <em>people</em>. Of course they want good stats, but they are not the end-all of your application. They are looking for people that find what they like to do, what they are passionate about, and do it. </p>
<p>Getting in MIT, like many top schools, is based on merit and sprinkled with a bit of luck.</p>
<p>You obviously have to be well qualified and have enough quality extracurriculars and/or activities and awards to impress the admissions board. But it is ultimately up to the admissions committee to deem you worthy of an acceptance. And that could be entirely based on whether or not your application is reviewed before 600 others who are like you or whether you’re viewed right before or after lunch. </p>
<p>The people on the committee are humans and will be influenced by trivial things like that. It is what it is. </p>
<p>@Gallory
<em>Starts epic plan to travel to Massachusetts, hack into the system, and send everybody lunch when my application is brought up for review</em></p>
<p>I would say that the role of luck depends on your merit level. If you’re insane, like my friend who got a perfect on USA(J)MO + has an insane amount of extracurriculars, then luck probably won’t matter, since you’ll get accepted anyways (and he did). If you’re more borderline (i.e. maybe near-perfect test scores, insane extracurriculars, but maybe not too many major awards), then luck will probably matter much more. If you’re completely unqualified… well, you might get lucky? lol</p>