Is MIT a reasonable goal for someone in my position?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello everyone and thanks for taking the time to read my post.

I graduated high-school at 16 and I am currently 17 years old. And I wish to go to MIT for mechanical or electrical engineering. But my current situation feels a bit hopeless.

I graduated high-school with a 3.9 GPA, 2300 SAT, but my school did not offer any AP courses or weighted programs of any kind. In fact I went to one lowest rated high-schools in my state. If I had the opportunity I would have gone to a better school, but my family (which consists of just me and my mother) is really poor. Until recently we have been on welfare. While in high-school I wanted to go out of state to take courses at a university, but I couldn’t afford the long commute which would have to be taken pretty often. There are also no science, math or engineering related competitions held in my area so most of the “extracurricular activities” I have done have been of my own initiative outside of school.

  • In middleschool age 13-14 I made real world physics simulations in Unity3D coded in c#
  • I am currently taking foreign language classes (Japanese). I am also volunteering in a Japanese community not far from were I live.
  • When I was 14 I started volunteering at a convention center maintaining A/V and cleaning equipment. I still volunteer there but now as a Programmer and Assistant to the technical department lead.
  • Was the spokesperson in high school for a local youth improvement program that was held in my area for 3 years, I gave speeches throughout the year at our district's schools and at our mayors office.
  • Lots and lots of EdX courses.
  • Started working as a freelance web application developer when i was 15 to finance some of my projects and help out with bills. This is now my full-time job. I am starting also get into rapid prototyping for inventions that people come up with but don't have the skills to develop.
  • A bunch of engineering projects that have piled up over the years. Mostly 3D printed.
  • I played the piano at many formal events ages 12-14

Compared to most of the applicant pool it feels like I am behind the curve by quite a bit. Most applicants have already won some kind of academic completion relating to their field and also took numerous weighted courses in high-school (some even in middle-school), they also seem to have all gone to highly acclaimed high-schools where a higher GPA means much more. I would have done these things if I had the chance but I didn’t have the money or the opportunity.

Engineering is my passion and the only thing I want to do with my life (personal reasons), and MIT is the school I have always believed will help me achieve the goals I have set out for myself. I am confident in my own abilities so wont be completely crushed if I don’t get in, but it does feel like it would be a massive setback if I don’t. However seeing as other applications have much more impressive resumes and better formal education, do I even have a chance?

2

Seems like you are the kind of applicant that MIT takes very seriously. Unlike more traditional schools, they seem to be less constricted by typical indices of achievement and more interested in students who, while they depart from the typical, have obvious signs of extreme aptitude coupled with motivation. both seem true about you. I’d think MIT would be very interested in you as a candidate.

3

What do you do now?

So many kids with a dream seem to have not explored what their college targets value and are looking for. MIT is very open about this.

4

I agree with @lostaccount that MIT would take yo seriously as an applicant. You seem to have the initiative, drive, passion for engineering, and intellectual curiosity/abiity that MIT would appreciate. Your GPA and SAT suggest that you can handle the work. Your circumstances and the resources to which you have had access would factor in to any evaluation of your application. MIT admissions is very challenging and there are no guarantees, but I certainly don’t see any reason why your application would not be considered competitive.

It sounds like you have graduated already. What are you doing this year, and why did you choose not to attend college this year?

5

I love the first posts with these mystical stories and SAT scores.

Bravo and best of luck.

6

I agree with above posters that you are an interesting and appealing applicant. The only thing I would caution is not yo whine about you lack of opportunities over and over again like you did in your post. You or your GC can mention it but move on. Adcoms get the picture.

7

If you are as smart and driven and goal-focused as you say in your post, how is it that you haven’t scoured the MIT site and admissions blogs by now? Go look for the Applying Sideways post to get started.