MIT, flunking out, and me!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>soooooo I am going to be a senior in HS next year, and I would absolutely love to attend MIT the year after. I love math and science yadayadayada</p>

<p>however, I am one of those kids in high school who didn't have to study for ANYTHING,or even pay attention in class and still got A's/ highest test scores, etc. I definitely have not taught myself very good study skills</p>

<p>If I got into MIT, my biggest fear would be failing out my freshmen year and losing $50,000 or however much I paid to go there...</p>

<p>Does anyone know anything that I could do to "see if I have what it takes" or even an example of classes at that level??</p>

<p>I really really really need advice, and school counselors are cluesless sooooo</p>

<p>PLEASE HALP!</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Dont worry</p>

<p>Get a palm pilot (yes nerdy but its a life saver) or a smart phone for your schedule </p>

<p>make a study schedule and STICK TO IT
also dont study in your dorm room go to the library</p>

<p>Good Luck</p>

3

<p>You could try some of MIT's OpenCourseWare videos on for size, for example:</p>

<p>MIT</a> OpenCourseWare | Physics | 8.01 Physics I: Classical Mechanics, Fall 1999 | Home</p>

4

<p>I would apply to MIT, get in, and then, and only then, worry about this.</p>

<p>If you are concerned with your study skills, then simply spend the next year studying hard for each and every one of your classes. That means, reading the relevant section of the textbook BEFORE the class that covers that material. Reading it again after the teacher presents the material. Working the sample problems in the textbook yourself. Getting study guides for your classes (Schaum's or whatever) and doing the extra problems in there. Writing your papers ahead of time, so you have time to revise. Etc.</p>

5

<p>If you get in, you can do the work. Distractions...of Boston and Cambridge..will be your biggest enemy. BTW, there are many, many people rejected from MIT that would do just fine there as well.</p>

6

<p>You'd probably won't get in then would you?</p>

<p>Worry about getting in <---This part is important.</p>

<p>EDIT: 10% of you actually getting in (no less, they accept you because your capable of handling the work) and 10% of you actually failing (thats the actual failing rate at MIT)....so its 1% of you actually getting in and failing.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

7

<p>I agree with "worry about getting in, first", but here is some advice. Most MIT students are coming in in the same position as you (I know, I've seen it in person). Most do adjust (frequently they've honed their work ethic on something non-academic - see below).</p>

<p>If you did flunk out, it doesn't mean that you're gone forever. It's obviously an unfortunate thing to have happen, but most people who flunk out of MIT eventually get back in.</p>

<p>Open CourseWare might be helpful to see what the material is like, but that still doesn't tell you whether you have the study habits. If you can't test and develop your work habit through academics, pick up a hobby, like running, that requires a work ethic. You can practice making schedules and sticking to them, persevering even when you don't want to, and so on.</p>

8

<p>There are a ton of MIT students who were exactly like you. They barely studied and kicked butt in HS. But yes, there is a facebook group that says "I was the ***** in highschool, and now I'm failing MIT" or something to that effect.</p>

<p>Its a harsh transition, but its definitely worth it.</p>

9

<p>Its not the time..I juggle around 3 varsity sports..</p>

<p>its just there hasn't been any point to trying in high school</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
its just there hasn't been any point to trying in high school

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Then maybe you should readjust your attitude and focus on learning instead of merely getting grades.</p>

11

<p>ummm ok?</p>

<p>did I ever say I only cared about getting grades?</p>

<p>learning > getting grades by far</p>

12

<p>My point is, not to scold, but to suggest that you should study way beyond the material offered in your class in high school. Whatever class you are taking, especially in math/science, go much deeper than the class requirement. If you spend a year doing that, taking it to the next level, I can't imagine you'd have a lot of trouble once you get to MIT.</p>

13

<p>i had the worst study habits in high school. i would never do math homework and just wing it on tests. for science and history i would just read the notes and book the night before the test and wing it. I had english essays I got As on that I started a few hours before class started. that effort got me good enough grades to get into Penn, so clearly I was in a similar position to you. i was able to actually start trying in college and made deans list my freshman year. some of the things that got me to change were the fact that school now costed $50k vs $0, the classes were actually challenging, i was interested in most of the classes i was taking, and i forged good study habits for the first time in my life. </p>

<p>the thing is, at MIT you'll have first semester Pass/No Record, so you have a whole semester to adjust. I didn't have that luxury. you'll have a whole semester where if you feel overwhealmed, you can get straight Cs and still have the same transcript as someone with all As (all your grades will be passes). Don't worry about doing well. If you don't believe that you will be fine at MIT you won't get in. Also, if you do get in keep in mind the classes will be a lot tougher and graded on curves so it's how well you do compared to your peers who are all very smart and hard working. You'll do fine so long as you don't overload and take a ton of hard classes.</p>

14

<p>Well, the good news is that you KNOW you have a problem. You're already half way to solving it. </p>

<p>The other good news is that the first year at MIT is pass/not pass. So the pressure for grades isn't as intense. </p>

<p>To prepare for MIT - or any other selective school - try working on your study skills now. If you don't know how, get a book on the subject. There are about a million, all of them will give you tips on study & organizational habits. </p>

<p>And let's say you get into MIT. As soon as you move into the campus, check out tutoring options, try to form/join study groups. Use the tip from the books you checked out this year. Ask successful students you meet how they prepare. </p>

<p>It's all doable. I think if you're smart enough to see you have a study skills problem and smart enough to get into MIT, you'll figure it all out. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

15

<p>
[quote]
The other good news is that the first year at MIT is pass/not pass. So the pressure for grades isn't as intense.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Only the first semester is pass/fail. The second semester is A/B/C/NR.</p>

<p>While it is not uncommon to flunk a class it would be very hard to flunk every class. After all, MIT believes you can handle the work when they admitted you. In addition, there are several safety nets:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>MIT freshmen are carefully monitored throughout the year, precisely because students come with a variety of math/science backgrounds. There are constant tests and homework, and if you fall behind you will get a tutor assigned at no charge by MIT to help you. </p></li>
<li><p>You can't take more than 4 classes pe semester freshman year in addition to a freshman seminar, so MIT won't let you overload.</p></li>
<li><p>MIT offers several teaching styles to many freshmen classes ranging from bigger lecture style to small groups of 10 or less (ESG) to highly interactive teaching (TEAL). Students can pick the approach that suits them best. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>The main reasons for flunking classes would be:</p>

<p>-Taking on more than you can chew such as signing up for a more advanced math or science classes than you are qualified for. Students may mistakenly believe that because they got a 5 on AP Calc BC or did some multi-variable calculus in HS that they will breeze through the intro math classes. They won't! Physics, chem and bio also have different level intro. classes. The standard versions are tough enough, the advanced ones are brutally hard.</p>

<p>-Not taking your psets and assignments seriously. MIT tests are very different from tests at most colleges. You are not expected to memorize formulas. They will actually be provided at exam time. Stating the problem and understanding how to solve it is the real challenge. This generally requires a lot of practice. </p>

<p>-Not joining a study group. Everybody studies in groups for a good reason: most assignments are just too intricate and lengthy to be done individually. MIT expects you to work and solve probems as teams even if each person writes his own anwers. </p>

<p>-Not organizing your time effectively between study, fun and rest. No matter how good you are, the work load is intense. Most students are also involved in sports and other extra-curricular activities. There is also time to party and have fun. But don't lose track of the ball.</p>

<p>In summary, I would not worry too much about making it at MIT. Nearly all admitted students eventually graduate. Very few students will ace all their classes and the grading curves can sometimes be brutal. Just getting a B can often be a challenge. But again, MIT doesn't rank and has no latin honors, so there is little competition between students for grades. </p>

<p>The workload is intense and the pace doesn't let down after freshman year. But this is largely because MIT students like it that way. An MIT education has been compared to drinking from a firehose and I think the analogy has some merit. If you don't expect to work hard in college don't go to MIT. But if you are driven and are ready for a challenge there is probably no better place to be. Our D just finished her freshman year at MIT and she has never worked as hard in her life. Even though some of her friends at other selective schools seem to have a much easier time, she does not regret her choice. She has learned more in one year than over her four previous years in HS. She also had time to do research, be involved in the arts and volunteer at Mass General. She can't wait to go back.</p>

16

<p>Hi!
I got into MIT this year. I'll be attending in the fall. I definitely had and still have the same worry as you. It's something many people worry about. The workload is something that the individual students have to learn to adjust to.</p>

<p>If you want to challenge yourself and your school is not doing a good job, then take community college classes. OCW might not be the best since you are not actually taking it and getting credit for it, so there is no stress for the tests exams. Another ways is to look at how well people form your hs have done at MIT. For example, everyone I know from my school that goes /went to MIT either have like done EECS masters in 4 years, double majoring, or double major with another minor, and get very very few Bs. In mine mind , i know those people are A LOT smarter than I am ( I am like the dumbest person to have gotten into MIT from my hs), but it comforts me a little to know that my hs has prepped most people pretty well.</p>

<p>If you have time to worry about flunking out, you better spend more time on your application.</p>

17

<p>

Let's try this one more time. First semester is pass/no record. Second semester is ABC/no record, unless you take early sophomore standing.</p>

18

<p>Getting back to what I see as your real issue which is very valid concern. It does not sound as though you have "failed" at anything. Being smart is one thing but knowing how to weather a storm is another. </p>

<p>I know two young men who never failed at anything with top grades etc etc ... everything came easily and they always won the awards. Both dropped out of school with depression. They had never really been challenged before. One was at Stanford and the other was at Williams. </p>

<p>One is ok now. He did eventually graduated from Stanford and the other is drifting.</p>

<p>My recommendation is get in to MIT, ask to defer your start for one year and go test yourself for a year ... and not with academics. Go to another country for a year and learn a new language ... find something that would really push you beyond your comfort level. Find out who you really are.</p>

<p>Do not waste $50,000.</p>