Math in High School at MIT

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>On CC, I see a lot of people in the chance threads saying that they were in Calculus BC in Sophomore, Junior, or Senior year of high school, and a lot of these students have their sights set on MIT. I am not one of those students. In my high school, it is extremely difficult to place ahead for your freshman year, so not many students end up on the advanced track that you see kids doing on CC. In fact, the most advanced students at my school are doing Calculus BC in senior year.</p>

<p>I feel worried that because I am probably going to be in Calculus AB senior year, that my interest in Math and Physics will pale in comparison to other applicants, even though Math and Physics are what I think about 50% of the time.</p>

<p>Also, until recently, I have never heard about these competitions such as USAMO or the Physics Olympiad, and I am unsure if I will be able to join one of them independently in the coming years. I see many chance threads on CC where applicants have made it as semi-finalists or finalists in the Olympiads or the Intel competitions.</p>

<p>If I am in AP Calculus AB and AP Physics in Senior year(I am not sure which kind, they are changing the AP curriculum for Physics, soon), and I self study for the AP Calculus BC exam, how would I compare to the typical CC MIT applicant?</p>

<p>Also, next Summer I am thinking of interning at the Museum of Natural History in NYC, and if I have enough math under my belt I might do a research paper in Physics.</p>

<p>My goal in life as of now is to become a Cosmologist or Particle Physicist who starts out in industry or research who maybe later on can become a professor in Physics. Other than that sentence, I am sorry if my thread seems unenthusiastic, but it is night time and I am very tired.</p>

<p>As a disclaimer, I don't want to be one of those kids who worries about what APs they are taking, I want to show through as someone who really cares about the subject of Physics and wants to share knowledge with everyone around him. However, for right now, I am asking this question to see how important what level of Math I was in during high school to get into MIT.</p>

<p>Also, online I am preparing for the Calculus One course given for free by Ohio State University on August 23rd. After that I hope to teach myself Calc 2, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra, which can help me with MIT OpenCourseWare Physics courses or the course on Coursera I am ultimately interested in taking, which is Caltech's Cosmology course.</p>

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<p>You can not take calc ab and bc test in the same year</p>

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<p>Can I not self study for the BC Exam in Senior year if I am taking Calculus AB? From what I have heard, some say it is difficult, but some say it is not that hard if you really care about it. You can take an AP Exam regardless if you are in the course or not.</p>

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<p>Yes you can self study for the BC exam. As a matter of fact I will be doing that very thing.What RbPb is referring to is that you cannot take the AB exam and the BC exam separately in the same year. However, when you take the BC exam there is an AB sub score. Good luck!</p>

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<p>

This wouldn’t be an unusual situation for an MIT applicant – don’t let the self-selected nature of CC applicants mislead you.</p>

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<p>I took Calc AB senior year. I didn’t know self-study for APs was an option. I didn’t even have AP Physics. I also didn’t know about things like the USAMO until I started applying.</p>

<p>I got in (early action, even). MIT won’t hold your background against you. It only cares about what you’ve done with what you were given.</p>

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<p>JSYK, MIT does not accept the AB subscore for placing into 18.02.</p>

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<p>But AB doesn’t cover all of 18.01 anyways? I’m pretty sure that the AB subscore is enough to place into 18.01A.</p>

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<p>AB is enough to place into 18.01A (I did this). If you know enough, you can always ASE out of 18.01.</p>

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<p>Making the semis of physics Olympiad (or chem or bio) is roughly equivalent to acing a good AP class IMO (>99% average). So if you just do that you be viewed as having similar credentials. Making the finals of a physics Olympiad, or making USAMO, is rare enough that numbers-wise, it would be impossible for MIT to require such a thing even if they wanted to. There are about 100 people graduating per year who have made USAMO. MIT admits 1500 people per year. </p>

<p>It’s been said many times, but I’ll repeat it, MIT knows that not everybody is exposed to these things. And even winning the whole Olympiad doesn’t mean you won’t get rejected in favor of someone with no impressive competitions or awards.</p>

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<p>I can’t find much relevant information online. Can I join a Physics Olympiad independently, or does my school have to have a team? Also, if I do join the Physics Olympiad, what kind of Math should I know?</p>

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<p>This website has information about registering - [2013</a> U.S. Physics Team - Registration Page](<a href=“http://aapt.org/physicsteam/2013/registration.cfm]2013”>2013 U.S. Physics Team - Registration Page). It seems that your school doesn’t have to offer it, and that you can make arrangements on your own.</p>

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<p>OP, </p>

<p>Yes, you can do the f=ma. My son did both the f=ma and the physics bowl independently his freshman year in high school. Be patient with the AAPT, though. They are a little slow moving. In subsequent years, he was able to take the exams with a local math circle.</p>