MIT/Caltech Chance Thread

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

36 ACT
2400 SAT
1480 PSAT
AP Stats, all 4 Physics, Calc BC, Bio, Chem, APUSH, World, English, Computer Science A and B, Chinese, Euro, Spanish Lit, Spanish Lang

Extracurriculars: President of Mock Trial, Captain of Science Olympiad, Founder of Astronomy Club, President of 3-D Printing Club, President of Robotics, Relay for Life Committee President, Dorm Proctor, Carnegie Hall 2011

Sports: Football, Fencing, Tennis

Summer Programs: Summer Science Program, Lab internship at Northwestern, Kitt Peak Research, Internship at Stamford Observatory, Interlochen Concertmaster, Play Tuba, Jazz Sax, Piano

Student at Phillips Academy at Andover, Top Tier NE Boarding School, does not rank in class, 5.8 GPA (out of 6.0, got a 5 in Fluid Dynamics and Orgo-Chem)

I’m worried about my PSAT scores, will they hurt my chances at getting into the school of my dreams? Do I need to have community service or something similar under my belt?

2

Colleges will not even look at your PSAT. There’s nowhere on the application to list it either. Stats wise you are good with the max ACT/SAT and high GPA. It’ll come down to your presentation through essays.

3

Your PSAT seems a bit low, but hopefully you still have a chance at getting National Merit. Also I’d be worried about that GPA… Most top schools accept people with like 3.95-4.0, so for your school you should be looking at a 5.9 or 6.0. MIT and Caltech are reach schools tbh, you should be looking at schools like Cornell and Dartmouth. You also might want to hurry and do some research for STS or Siemens, I heard top schools really like awards there

4

@CiteYourSources Thanks for your supportive reply but I’m a little worried because PSAT National Merit Scholarship cutoff is so high in NE and I am also an Asian male so I feel like I need to have the best stats possible.

5

@CaptainMalick Yes that highlights my insecurities perfectly, I’m glad you gave an honest response. Tbh the Ivies are so overrated so I’d like to stay away from there. I’ve tried Intel ISEF in the past but I entered in Bioinformatics which is especially competitive in New England. I honestly feel like I can’t pursue a huge research project because I spend so much time working to make USFA Nationals this year.

6

you don’t have to mention PSAT scores. I would be more worried about the fact that nothing in your description shows you care about your community & take initiative to improve it. Colleges may see you as self-absorbed. This could appeal to Harvard, but not anywhere else.

7

@rustydreams But I am Relay for Life Committee President which is a very community-oriented imo

8

I think you have to come to terms with the odds of admission as an asian male to these top tech institutions in the first place. I strongly doubt being a national merit SF will make a difference. At schools that love to give merit aid to national merit winners like USC, of course it will give you a boost! But at schools like MIT/Caltech it will not make a tangible difference.

9

PSAT doesn’t matter. NMF can qualify you for scholarships at match/safeties but won’t matter if you get into your reach schools. On paper your stats look perfect. I’m not an admissions officer, but I’ve talked to enough people at various admit weekends to know that a 0.2 GPA flaw won’t be the deciding factor anywhere and that admissions officers don’t have a checkbox for ‘community’ extracurriculars. The most important thing at both MIT and Caltech is to make yourself into a 3 dimensional person and tell your story in your application: what makes your eyes light up, how do you interact with your community, what makes you quirky, etc. Also, props to you for not burning out with that schedule. I read it a few times and am still not sure one person can do all that :slight_smile: