Hey guys, right now I’m a high school sophomore from Chicago who’s already researching lots of stuff regarding college and admissions. My two dream schools are MIT and Caltech. I’m sure you all know the degree of difficulty it takes just to be admitted. So right now, I’m highly advanced due to being admitted into my college prep’s academic center (7th & 8th grade program). Right now, my GPA is around 3.79 unweighted, 4.8 weighted. Due to the very large class (around 1000 in sophomore year), I will probably not be valedictorian. Some classes I have took that would be relevant are Robotics, Physics, Geometry, Algebra I, Telescopic (which is pre-calculus and algebra II in one year), Chemistry, bio (even though i got a b and c in it), and unless otherwise stated they are honors and I have aced them without any trouble. Right now, in my math class, I’m already very far ahead and my teacher lets me go and teach myself calculus while everyone reviews. Physics I easily aced with >100%, and Chemistry I aced although i never had the book for one whole semester. For my biggest extra-curricular activity I would mention academic decathlon. As a first year competitor, I easily took 1st overall in regionals, 5th in my division in City, and move up to 4th in my Division throughout the whole state (only to be beaten by veterans from the school, Whitney Young, that always take first in state).Also, for the past two years I have been a mentor for incoming 7th graders, and participated dancing for an ethnic club. Upcoming classes during my junior year are AP Physics C, Honors engineering and design, AP Calculus BC, and AP Seminar (part of the AP capstone program). For the ACT, if I were to take it right now, I would probably be able to score >30, and while doing a practice exam for the Math portion i was able to get a 33-34 depending on which curve it is based on. So right now i’ve had to do a college research project for my English III class and it really got me into searching for colleges and finding out my chances. So I ask for someone to give me a good idea of what I could be doing to improve, what am I doing well, and how it weighs up to MIT and Caltech’s standards for their freshmen. I know admissions to both is holistic, and I’ve included the majority of things that I have done (besides English stuff, but I’m pretty ok at that).
Your chances are the same as other fine students ---- tiny. IMO it is a mistake to place your hopes in any particular school(s) – especially such hyper-competitive ones – there are tons of great colleges and universities out there and if you keep doing well you will have great choices and opportunities.
Yeah, I understand the your opinion regarding placing my hopes in these schools. I already see that in one of my (former) classmates who was rejected into MIT. Former, being that he was boosted up into senior year from sophomore year, and he’s gone onto I believe nationals in science fair, and the past week he’s working to cure leukemia in some animal (pig?). I’m very pragmatic regarding this and my more realistic goals are to get into like U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U of Chicago, and U of California Berkeley. If I were to apply to MIT/Caltech, I would prepare for failure as the odds are not in my favor. Also, I do also know denial to these schools isn’t the end of the world and can open new doors (i.e. my High School selection process). But I would like to ask for an opinion regarding my other choices and more input on MIT/Caltech.
You need to get that GPA up.
UChicago is hardly a more realistic goal with an 8.4% acceptance rate.
bodangles, still is more realistic, but I meant more so on UIUC and to a lesser extent Berkeley. But I feel as if my chances are decent, or more than that of MIT and Caltech, obviously. But any more criticism to be told? And JustOneDad, yeah I actually do need to do that, but the highest my unweighted will go would be around the neighborhood of 3.83.
Also, the low acceptance rates in U of C is lower due to the great surge in applications, but the amount of Chicagoans accepted generally remains close to 100
Hey, another Decathlete! Whitney Young beat our team at nationals last year after rising up two ranks hahaha. I think that with a higher GPA, and of course an ACT of 34-36, you’d definitely be competitive, but that’s all. These two colleges are especially random. You’re competing against an incredibly competitive and qualified applicant pool, what makes your application stand out? Ask yourself, why should MIT/Caltech choose you over someone else?
"So I ask for someone to give me a good idea of what I could be doing to improve . . . . "
My son is a freshman at Caltech and, after meeting some of the current students, as well as their parents, I have been impressed by their well-rounded abilities. The current students seem to have the ability to express themselves well.
I really suggest that you work on polishing up your grammar; it will impact all of your essays no matter where you apply.
"Some classes I have took that would be relevant are . . . . "
“I already see that in one of my (former) classmates who was rejected into MIT.” (this could be misinterpreted as an incomplete thought)
“But I feel as if my chances are decent, or more than that of MIT and Caltech, obviously.”
“Also, I do also know denial to these schools isn’t the end of the world and can open new doors (i.e. my High School selection process).
But I would like to ask for an opinion regarding my other choices and more input on MIT/Caltech.”
These sentences are confusing to read; I know what you meant to say based on context, but they are contradictory statements.
Try to up that GPA, and continue relevant science extracurriculars. If possible, get exposure to research at a university and join a lab.
And if you like those schools, there are tons of other great ones out there…my daughter’s friend who didn’t get into MIT loves Johns Hopkins, others are happy at places like Cornell engineering & GA Tech…just apply wisely and you will be fine.
Your unweighted GPA honestly seems low for those schools… Honestly, try to get all A’s from now on. MIT and Caltech are rigorous and they want students that are able to breeze through high school and succeed in their classes. Academic competitions are rather unimpressive for those schools unless you reach the national level. Don’t set your hopes high on MIT/Caltech. People with higher GPA and national awards get rejected… You mentioned UChicago/Berkeley too. UChicago is also really hard to get into and OOS into Berkeley is also really competitive.
Hey Wilguen! Awesome to see another decathlete and I absolutely understand what you’re trying to say, as I’m already thinking about what makes me unique, what makes me different, “outstanding” if we’re gonna go literally. Aunt Bea, I have noticed my horrible grammar re-reading the post. In my defense, I did type the OP up within a few minutes at the same time as trying to do an APUSH outline, and same goes for my the majority of my replies, so I promise you, my English skills are not as bad as they are here and I normally would take the time to review whatever I type up, but now is not one of those times. I do appreciate that you pointed it out, as I do agree, I’ve used some less that stellar grammar and writing conventions. phospholipase, good suggestion, I will try and find something like that which will suit my interests. dlcor1026, yeah I understand, as I do realize that I would be happy if I were to get into another school which would allow me to reach my goals.
Shinpachi Yeah, I see that many people with some of the highest merits get rejected into these schools. As of now, both my Freshman and Sophomore year have pulled me in all A’s and only the other years in 7th and 8th grade have affected my GPA. Honestly, I’m not exactly sure if both those GPA’s take my strictly Academic Center classes (which would not be taken in HS), but I’m sure that the mistake is on my end.
Also, I would like to point out I always get home at around 5:30 at the earliest, spend hours on homework, eat, more homework, then sleep. I would love to be able to live 5 minutes from my school but alas, it’s on the opposite side of the city. So it’s not a fact on that I don’t breeze through HS, I feel though as I am, but it’s the homework load that gets me. No matter how much of a genius you are, homework will always take up a good portion of your time and little can be done there is little I could do to change that
@DerpDerpson Colleges usually do not take into consideration 7th and 8th grade GPA unless certain classes count for high school and are on your high school transcript. For possibly doing research in a university lab, my advice is try to do something over the summer, and start contacting professors now if that’s what you’re interested in.