<pre><code>I am a 14 year old freshman in high school and looking to be accepted into MIT. I would like to go there as an undergraduate in Computer science/ engineering. I have straight A's currently and a weighted GPA of around 4.7 or 4.8. Im currently in a Finance Magnet at my highschool and its very nationally recognized as a great program.
Basically my question is what should be my focus for the next few years? Should I go for the highest GPA I can get, or aim for good SAT scores?
* As a side question I was wondering if I can get accepted at the end of my junior year or at the beginning of my senior year? and what are the recommended extracurricular activities I should have on my resume? I do Young Republicans and Math club, should I play a sport or do a ton of community service and clubs?
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<p>@dominique2375 “Basically my question is what should be my focus for the next few years? Should I go for the highest GPA I can get, or aim for good SAT scores?”</p>
<p>Both - MIT looks for good stats across the board. Focus mostly on passing classes though :)</p>
<p>As for EC’s and clubs and such, realize that there is no set of EC’s that will guarantee admission. The best I can say, based off of reading other peoples posts on this topic, is to be involved. Find a few clubs that you really enjoy and get involved in them. Any college, including MIT, loves leadership. </p>
<p>Get in top 5% rank, get 2250+ on SAT, 800 math and 800 subject test math 2. Have good relationships with teachers junior year. Enter and do well in math and CS competitions. Do open source projects. Enjoy yourself. Work on essays and fit. Take AP courses. Finish calc BC by senior year. </p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>You can get accepted early/mid senior year if you apply EA</p>
<p>I have to disagree slightly with @XCjunior2016, as a current MIT student. Not everyone at MIT has done math/CS competitions, not everyone has 2300 SAT (mine was ~2100) or a bunch of AP classes, although those can certainly help your application. I can’t recommend a set of ECs other than, do what you enjoy doing and make something of yourself, whether it’s through volunteering, participating in math/science competitions, investigating an open problem, playing in your city’s orchestra, whatever it is. Of course, solid grades and test scores are virtually a must, but the best schools look for a bit more than that.</p>
<p>Ok thank you all. And last question, in terms of ap classes. What is more important? Passing them with an a or passing the exam? I put a lot of work into my ap human geography class but I’m not so sure if I will pass the exam. Is it really that important? (Aphg isn’t even recognized in many places outside of Florida)</p>
<p>APHG is a freshman course for a reason, how on earth could you fail it? </p>
<p>Read what MIT has to say about all this. It’s surprising how many people don’t.</p>
<p>Yes ive read what MIT has said about all of this but what they say isn’t always completely true. and what I mean by fail is get like a 3. So would a 3 look bad on my resume? In terms of MIT</p>
<p>You don’t have to report your AP scores. If your score is bad, just don’t report it. In the meantime, don’t obsess about getting into any particular college. That would be a waste of your high school years, and high school is a lot more than a stepping stone to college. </p>
<p>Sorry, but why-oh-why do we get so many hs kids who tell us that what colleges like MIT and Harvard say isn’t true? I know there’s adcom-speak, but you keep digging and pull it together. Until you don’t need to ask, do you “go for the highest GPA I can get, or aim for good SAT scores?” It’s so much more than that. It’s important to plan well, through hs. </p>
<p>@dominique2375 what has the MIT admissions blog said about their admissions that isn’t true?</p>
<p>You don’t have to report AP scores either, and I believe MIT only accepts 4’s or 5’s on some AP tests.</p>
<p>Volunteering, a job…show where you have had continuous leadership roles in whatever you do. So many bright students. Frankly you need something else!</p>
<p>There is a great blog about this very question (<a href=“Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions”>a | MIT Admissions). Involve yourself fully in what you view as important. If you are 14, you should be doing that regardless of what college you intend on applying to. </p>
<p>OP: Listen to what lostaccount said ^^^.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean that they lied @miter94 and @lookingfoward what I meant is that they kind of give generic answers with no specifics and I’d rather hear it from other people with experience</p>
<p>Their answers are far from generic! They really mean it when they say pursue your passions to the fullest extent that you’re able to. There are many students at MIT that got in without perfect scores. People ask what you need but don’t believe the answers. Believe me when I tell you that from all the schools I had looked into, MIT was by far the most open and honest about what they’re looking for. The reason they can’t be more specific is that there is not only one type of student that the’re looking for. They absolutely don’t want a bunch of cookie cutter kids. They’re looking for a group that is so much stronger as a whole than they are individually. They try to bring students together that will complement each other. And I think they do a great job at that!</p>