<p>It is important to analyze why you like MIT. Is it just for it's overall name, or is it for the culture? If it's for the first, there's many schools that offer a solid math/science/engineering education. If it's for the latter, then you probably have a good reason to apply.</p>
<p>Other than that, I have only two words:
Do Research</p>
<p>not to be pessimistic, but are your GPAs weighted or unweighted? And how will finding a Chinese friend guarantee you a 4.0?
Financial aid is also a factor. Are you paying or going scholarships?</p>
<p>i am again an indian..only difference im still in india ..i in my grade 12...will apply for admission in 2009
i gave the new SAT an scored 2030...math 770...cr...640..writing 620 and got 10 in the essay...apart from that i have participated in many competitions and hold the 3 yr scholarship from PHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY...its a prestigious scholarship down here ..im planning to giv SAT math 2....im a decent football(soccer) player too......im worried about my chances of getting into an institution like mit or caltech....ive also decided thata 2030 isnt good enuf ...aiming at a 2250+ score ....presently what are my chances????</p>
<p>Me and him have similar goals so it basically motivates us. Anyway I am applying for financial aid and hopefully few scholarships on the way.</p>
<p>Hmm, so I think actually going through high school with MIT in mind might hurt your "chances", so to speak. Scores are important, yes, but I am POSITIVE that MIT would rather you spend your summer doing something you enjoy more than just studying for a test!</p>
<p>Follow your passions by getting involved! Whether it's with research, competitions, community service/outreach, or something totally CRAZY and different, rather than looking for something prestigious to do, look for something that you think is AWESOME to do. I think That will increase your chances more than anything. </p>
<p>You like physics in math? Me too! So, I started a math team in my city, kept a middle school math team alive, designed some really interesting experiments and simulations in counterterrorism and in fluid dynamics (which, by the way, got me few awards but many ideas for future research - which I wrote about in my essays), took many classes outside of school, and generally just had a great time doing it all! By the way, I started getting really serious about most of this stuff in 10th grade, so you have time. I got into MIT EA. Sure, I had good scores and grades, but English is my first language and I've loved to read for as long as I can remember. I know someone who is an immigrant who had scores just over 2000 and got into MIT - because she did really cool research, and got over some amazing obstacles to be where she was. Basically, what you've done and who you are are and whether these things match with MIT's mission are the most important things in MIT admissions, it seems.</p>
<p>So, yeah, MIT admissions is all about your match with MIT - which is about SO much more than test scores and grades. Yes you have to work hard, but working hard on things you find interesting and rewarding will reward you much more than studying for the SAT, scores that admissions officers basically glance at, so that you can get into MIT, which is never guaranteed. You can read more at the admissions site, mitadmissions.org, but all I can say is, my advice would be this: think of something awesome to do that you will enjoy doing, then do it. Immerse yourself in your passions, look for opportunities, create opportunities, work hard even when you think you are failing at your lowest, and write about these things in your essays. After that, have good grades and scores, etc. But use high school as an opportunity to grow into the person you hope to be, not into the person you think MIT wants you to be, as MIT admissions is NEVER guaranteed.</p>
<p>Good luck! You have lots of time as a sophomore. Focus on making your high school worthwhile -that way, you'll have a great time doing awesome things, whether or not you get into MIT (while at the same time, those awesome things might just be the things that get you in).</p>
<p>Sorry if I rambled! But I hope that's a helpful perspective on things. And you're probably already doing many of these things. I just hope you don't stress out too much about scores, because they're WAY less important than what you actually do with your life.</p>
<p>Ok thank you for your reply. I understand what you are saying. What kind of research could I do? I have yet to take any physics class except I was planning on doing it however it turned out I need to take physics 1-2 first and they don't offer ap physics 1-2 so i just went for ap chemistry. My consoler told me that since I will have one more year of math experience I may be able to skip psychics 1-2 and go for ap but if they bring in stuff from physics 1-2 it would make it a bit hard to keep up. So the question is should i go with ap chemistry which does look appealing or regular physics? I always try to take the high available science class. </p>
<p>Also I am interested in doing some sort of research in Physics however I have no idea where to start and I haven't taken a physics class yet so should I take that first?</p>