I feel like I am way in over my head. I m applying to about 15 schools this year & I m only certain that I ll get in to 4 of them. I planning to study computer science since I have always loved technology & after taking AP computer science & attending many comp sci camps, I realized that it is the path for me.
In terms of #s:
I m in the top 10% of my class
GPA: 3.7
SAT: 1580
ACT: 24
Bio Subject Test: 500
Math Lv 1: 500
Math Lv 2: 520
AP Classes: 5
Dual Credit: 6
I know that these scores are low and in ask honesty, I m a horrible test taker. However, I am planning to retake all of these. I know the statistics on MIT and ivies, and I don t fit the numbers.
A bit more about me:
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Hispanic, Mexican
1st Generation College Student
1st Generation American
EC: Orchestra
SkillsUSA
Volunteer Work(100+ hours)
Key Club-officer
School News Show Executive Producer & Editor
soccer
Swimming. {The things I love to do are the volunteer work, music, and producing the news show.}
As I mentioned earlier, I know these scores are low and I plan to bring out who I AM in my applications. I want to bring out how I have overcome lots of obstacles in my life. For example, poverty, depression, foreclosure, etc. I plan to talk about these things in my essays. I just hope schools will see that behind my numbers, I am a passionate person. Oh, since I have editing experience I plan to submit some of the news shows I did, hopefully that can show more of me.
The problem for your focusing on top-notch schools is that GPA and test scores plays a huge part in admissions.
Your scores, to me, indicate that you would have difficulty keeping up with future courses at high reach schools. These are top schools for a reason. Your ECs and compelling story, might help at some private schools, that need diversity for schools in the Midwest and southern schools, but top school choices just appear to be out of reach.
You would need to bring up your SAT to over 2100+ or ACT to 34. Additionally, you need to take some SAT subject tests.
I empathize because as a Mexican-American-mama, of three kids, who have gone through this process, I get it. You want to try. But, realistically, you need to have your backups.
Google the Common Data Sets for each of the schools you are thinking of applying to. Look at how many students they have accepted with your stats.
Rather than worrying about things which are out of your control, you should focus on identifying colleges that you have a good chance of getting into, and can afford. MIT is way, way out of reach. Are you a CA resident? If so, you might qualify for admission to a UC under “local context” admissions if you are in top 9% of your class. What is your state of residence? You might want to look at some Catholic colleges, or small liberal arts colleges. Many of them are test-optional, and will extend themselves to admit underrepresented, disadvantaged students. You can find a Computer Science major at most four-year colleges.
The problem is that even if by some miracle you were able to get into MIT, your academics show that you are woefully underprepared to handle a such a school. Even the best and brightest kids in the country have to work their tails off just to keep their heads above water. Schools like MIT and Caltech are not for the faint of heart.
@Falcon1 indeed. 6.046 was quite a challenge for me (granted, I did not do computing competitions in HS) even though I had some math olympiad background and got 800s on math.
@MITer@woogzmama@Crystal9ucla@Falcon1 @“aunt bea” Thank you for the replies guys! But yeah, I’ve realized a lot of times that MIT and other schools are probably out of my reach because of my test scores, but then I get confused. MIT says, on their website, that scores are not even the most important thing to the admission process. Their website states that they care about who you are, not what your numbers are.
They may not be the most important thing, but they are still important. And as @Falcon1 pointed out you still need to be prepared for the rigor at a school like MIT and your scores don’t reflect that. You want to go to a school where you can succeed.
@ClaremontMom I do believe that I am prepared for higher level courses since all I have ever taken are advanced classes. I’ve taken 5 AP classes, inclduding Computer Science and I’ve passed them all. But I definitely get what you’re saying about how my scores don’t reflect that.
@typicalhobbit AP classes tend to pale in comparison with the corresponding courses at MIT and other top schools, at least from my experience.
My suggestion would be to retake the SAT or ACT, as well as the subject tests and try to work on your weaknesses in order to get into the 2000+ range or so. Also, apply to back-up schools, but I think you have that taken care of.
My son had a near perfect score on his SAT, great GPA, 5s on all 11 of his AP tests, but that in no way prepared him for how tough his college classes are now. (He was waitlisted at MIT.)
Your current scores would already place you at a disadvantage. I don’t see how you could bring up your SAT another 600 points to be competitive with those admitted students.
The university does not want you to fail in your coursework and it wouldn’t be fair to you, to admit you and then have you flail in those courses.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter how many APs you take in high school. You could strap on all 30 or so of them and then charge straight into college, and you could still be blown out of the water. Lots of people at my school who took numerous (9+ out of the 15 we have) AP courses almost flunked out of Berkeley (which is child’s play compared to MIT). I don’t see how your GPA is even top 10%, considering that GPA is top 40% at my school. Your test scores and GPA are too low for any school as competitive as MIT. You can get a good education in Texas, especially within the UT system. College isn’t all about name hunting.