<p>Hi. My son is interested in MIT and it is his #1 choice, but he doesn't feel like he has much of a chance of getting accepted. I think he should apply Early Action, even thought they tell you and their literature says that applying EA to MIT doesn't give you any advantage. He is at a residential math & science high school and has a grueling schedule. He is completely stressed with classes and the stress of getting apps and essays for a variety of colleges completed and submitted. He isn't feeling confident about being able to complete the MIT app and have the essays up to par by the EA deadline (Nov. 1). I think he would stand a better a chance of getting accepted by pushing it and applying EA. He thinks he might be better off to miss EA and spend more time getting the essays in the best possible shape. Does anyone know or have personal experience with MIT and their admissions process--does applying EA give any advantage?<br>
BTW, my son's stats are GPA 4.943 weighted, SAT 700 math/640 CR, 680 W, and his current high school does not rank because it is a specialty math & science school. Prior to getting into this school he was #1 out of 143. His current coursework= 7 classes at AP or above-AP level. AP physics exams=4 & 4, AP cal exam=5, AP US HIst=5, AP Comp Sci=4. Involved in some extracurrics & tutors other students in physics.
Any advice would be appreciated!</p>
<p>I disagree (I’m just a hs student though). I don’t see much of a difference if at all with the acceptance rates for EA and RD, and I think that applying early puts you in an even more competitive pool than that of applying regular since you have athletes and geniuses with INTEL and loads of research applying there as their first choice.
The only benefit I see is getting your results back this December which would alleviate the stress of having to wait months. But if he feels that he can write better essays by the regular deadline then I think that’s what he should do. </p>
<p>In any case I think the actual benefit in terms of probability of being accepted is marginal (but I might be wrong, I have no real experience with MIT). Essays do make a difference though so he should apply when comfortable with them</p>
<p>There’s no advantage to applying early.</p>
<p>However, if he’s that stressed about applications, it might make sense to get the MIT one out of the way now so there’s less to do in December.</p>
<p>I disagree with photodad and truust. If your son’s high school uses Naviance, double-check the stats. FWIW: Both my kids attended Stuyvesant High School, which does not use Naviance, but does have their own proprietary software for tracking admissions. Looking over Stuyvesant’s data, students who applied to MIT in the early round were accepted at a vastly higher rate than those students that applied in the RD round. This could be because the early round is more self-selective, or it could be because MIT seems to prefer Stuyvesant students who have a passionate interest in MIT and apply early. You have to look more closely at your school’s data to understand what is happening. It’s not a one school fits all model.</p>
<p>If he’s totally stressed now, how will he handle the workload and competitive atmosphere at MIT if he were to get in?
The odds are so low that I don’t think you should push him to go for EA. Cut him some slack.</p>
<p>Even if EA gave a boost I don’t think MIT is a reasonable match. Those scores are at or below the 25%ile for scores in every area.</p>
<p>I would apply RD. EA acceptance is super competitive that many of the brightest applicants get rejected. Also, SAT scores are pretty low (however mine weren’t much higher). Unless the rest of his application is stellar (e.g. major awards, great essays/recs) he will very likely be rejected.</p>
<p>Instead of applying EA, I would retake the SAT (aim for 750-800 in math) and polish up the essays/rest of application. Also, he should learn to cope with the stressful workload, since MIT will be even more stressful at times.</p>
<p>EA is super competitive simply because of the highly qualified applicants. If you don’t have a credential among those, your chance would be low. However, applying RD would definitely NOT give you a better chance unless you can improve your scores/GPA significantly before RD deadline.</p>
<p>OK, so how did you get in, MIT er94? His biggest problem is test anxiety when it comes to timed tests such as SAT and ACT. He can handle the rigor and workload–he took 6 AP or above-AP level classes last year, including cal-based physics and calc BC and got all A’s except for a B in Spanish. This year he’s taking multi-variate calc, discrete structures, modern physics, thermal physics, advanced comp sci 1 & 2, AP biol, AP Engl, Spanish 3, Govt/econ, and mentored research (I anticipate same grades as last year). He is taking an extra class this year and yes, it’s stressful between the 7 classes, college apps & essays, and a little time here and there for girlfriend, but I’m confident that he could handle the workload and rigor of classes at MIT. He just doesn’t do well on the timed, standardized tests and has struggled with that all his life. What else can he do, if anything, to improve his chances for MIT? Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I think my view is pretty differentiated here. You can look at all the stats and success rates you want, at the end of the day getting into highly competitive schools is a crap shoot. If MIT is his first choice, he should absolutely apply EA and produce the best application possible. This gives him two “shots on goal” instead of just one.</p>
<p>MIT could fill every class with perfect SAT students if they wanted, as long as he is within the “range” of academically qualified, the qualitative aspects are what really matters. Although his SAT scores could be improved to increase his chances some, they aren’t so bad that they are an immediate nonstarter. If he produces an application that shows passion, personality and a great story about why MIT is the place he was born to attend, he might have a shot. If he gets deferred, he can get his SAT scores up and reapply RD.</p>
<p>To illustrate my point about admissions being a crapshoot. I went to MIT with a guy who had 1580/1600 SAT, perfect SAT 2’s, top 5 recruit for baseball team, father tenured professor at Duke Medical school that got deferred. There was another guy that was 1280/1600 SAT, similar grades, same rank recruit for baseball that got in early action. On paper, the first guy should have been a shoe-in over the second but that’s not how it worked out.</p>