MIT hopes

Colleges & Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>Hi all, I'm currently a freshman in the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) at LBJ High School in Austin, TX. I've already decided that I want to join engineering and I'm looking at MIT. LASA has a magnet program where magnet is a level above pre ap/ honors. It is for the students who feel the need to advance. There is a magnet graduation system where if you have ~15 magnet credits and other stuff, you can get it. </p>

<p>I have a 4.2 GPA (I believe it is weighted).
I took an engineering class called Sci-Tech where we designed and built a prototype much like they do in MIT and tested it. We were reviewed by prof. engineers and helped.
I have taken tennis previously and am taking as an EC
I won a 2700$ scholarship prize at a Magic The Gathering nationals tournament.</p>

<p>So basically, I want to know, what am I doing good and what I need to do to have a shot at MIT. If anyone at MIT - a teacher/ student could help me, that would be great!</p>

<p>Thank you,
FNMPM</p>

2

<p>A freshman? Don't worry until Junior year PSATs. Seriously. Relax, do your work, ENJOY HIGH SCHOOL, and do what you like.</p>

3

<p>Atleast Magic totally owns Yu-Gi-Oh! in terms of coolness level.</p>

<p>I UNLEASH BIG FURRY MONSTER!!!!!!!</p>

<p>Nice job at the tournament BTW. What is your deck color/style?</p>

<p>I made a stasis artifact/decking deck with lotsa sol rings/ vaults/monoliths and millstones =)</p>

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<p>I use to have (well, still have, with a couple cards sold for money) a great counter deck which pwned everyone. 1337.</p>

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<p>where do u think my screenname comes from :)</p>

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<p>The bible.</p>

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<p>i used to be in it back in 5th grade...btw does anyone here have juzam djin?</p>

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<p>fnmpm - ask your counseolor or ask around at school and find out how many people from LBJ have been admitted to MIT in recent years and what sorts of things they did. Consider getting involved in math competitions, like the Rice tournament tomorrow. LBJ usually has a strong team.</p>

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<p>Thank you guys for the quick response, Magic is fun :). Anyway, We are taking a practice PSAT in 10th, so I'm looking forward to getting some practice. Texas, what is this Rice competetion? I've probably missed it for this year, but for next year, I'm interested. Also, I saw an AMC thread, is it something valuable that one can add to their college application? I think I made 100< on the AMC 12, so I should probably put a lot of time into studying for AIME?</p>

<p>EDIT - I went to JSS Nationals in Baltimore and I played a blazing fast red deck with Chrome Mox, Arc-Slogger, Shrapnel Blast, Slith Firewalker, Zozu the Punisher, etc.</p>

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<p>math competitions are one way to show an interest and talent for math. Unless you are prepared to drive to Houston tonight, you probably have missed Rice for this year. But the 2 big math tournaments in Texas every year are at A&M in the fall and at Rice in Feb. <a href="http://www.ruf.rice.edu/%7Eeulers/RMT.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~eulers/RMT.html&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.math.tamu.edu/teaching/undergrad/highschoolcontest/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.math.tamu.edu/teaching/undergrad/highschoolcontest/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Info on AMC exams and other nation-wide contests can be found at <a href="http://www.artofproblemsolving.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.artofproblemsolving.com&lt;/a> LBJ is involved in a lot of this stuff, but it seems to vary from year to year depending on whether or not they have an active sponsor or enthusiastic students willing to organize things. The last I knew (a couple of years ago) the math team sponsor was an English teacher. Still, your math teacher should be able to put you in contact with the LBJ math team. If that doesn't work, go to this site and see if you recognize the names of any of the kids at LBJ who are doing Texas Math League: <a href="http://www.mathleague.com/reports/2005_06/TX3.HTM%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mathleague.com/reports/2005_06/TX3.HTM&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I wish I had known about these competetions, I would have gone to them. I have another side question - Do you think winning scholarships from games like Magic have an impact? :-P</p>

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<p>Since you're only a freshmen, your best bet is just to relax and go on doing things that you enjoy. Don't go searching for everything related to math because you think it will help you get into MIT in 3 years. If you're absolutely in love with math and can't get enough of it, then by all means, find whatever ways you can to enjoy it.</p>

<p>Basically, if you prepare for college by working hard in school and nourishing your passions, you'll be prepared for whatever. Plus, your activities can help you figure out where you want to go. If 3 years from now you realize your interests led you to join a Model UN and debate team- well, maybe those aren't all the impressive math competitions you think MIT wants to see, but hey, maybe by now you've realized you're more interested in law than engineering.</p>

<p>I'm not saying that you can't be well-rounded, or that joining Mock Trial means you don't like engineering. But this early in your high school career, if you just seek out activities that you enjoy, you'll be prepared for wherever it is your life leads you.</p>

13

<p>Advice from my boyfriend's dad:
1. Get psyched.
2. Stick with it.
3. Do whatever it takes.</p>

<p>It's his answer to everything, and it works pretty well for all difficult, high-stakes situations. :)</p>