<p>Waitlisted at MIT and CalTech…waitlists suck.</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 1990 (650 math, 700 verbal, 640 writing)
[</em>]SAT II: 680 Math II, 660 physics
[<em>]ACT: N/A
[</em>]GPA: 2.99 unweighted/ 3.5 weighted
[<em>]Rank: 73/180
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):3 Ap Calc AB, 3 Ap physics B, none other that i’d care to put down lol[/ul]Subjective[ul] [<em>]Essays: Good, wrote about my life where I lived in the supposed “ghetto” and faced racism in school (used some poetic license, I live in an upper class predominantly Black suburb)
[</em>]Recs: Decent, my Chorus teacher knew me very well, and my calc teacher had a lettter that he gives to everyone, so was very good
[<em>]Supplementary Material: None
[</em>]Summer Activities: None of significance, vacationing with family mostly
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): None I guess[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Florida
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Black
[<em>]Gender: Male[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Very strong, in Math honor Society which I think really helped. Also volunteered 40 hours at the Boys and Girls Club (guidance counselor told me it would build my app)
[<em>]Awards: took AMC 10 in 9th grade (scored a 56), 92 %ile on math NRT, 4 on Math FCAT
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t know, I’m in top 50% of my class, also my essays were really good
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] I dont know if I want to go here, I’m still waiting on Harvard and the other iveys, but at least I ahve some place to go this year</p>
<p>Waitlisted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: M: 790 CR: 730 WR: 770; 2290
[</em>]SAT II: Chem: 790 Math II: 800 Bio: 740 Spanish: 700
[<em>]GPA: 4.03 W; we don’t do UW
[</em>]Rank: school doesn’t rank but I peeked once and saw that I was in the second decile
[<em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP Bio: 5 AP Chem: 5 AP Chinese: 5 IBSL Psych: 5 IBSL Spanish: 6
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[</em>]Essays: dno
[<em>]Recs: no idea never seen them
[</em>]Supplementary Material: research paper, video of rube goldberg project
[<em>]Summer Activities: biochem internship thing
[</em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): N/A[/ul]Personal[ul]
[<em>]Location: Taipei, Taiwan
[</em>]High School Type: Private
[<em>]Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>]Gender: F[/ul]Other[list]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Class Gov (Secretary), Varsity Badminton, Varsity Soccer, Varsity Touch Rugby (Captain), Toastmasters Club, SHS, NHS
[</em>]Awards: IASAS Scholar, AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist
[*]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ECs/SAT but bad-ish grades</p>
<p>Waitlisted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 740M, 730W, 710R
[</em>]SAT II: 800M2, 740USH, 710PHYS
[<em>]ACT: N/A
[</em>]GPA: 4.0 UW, 5.2 W
[<em>]Rank: 14/589
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):5 on AP Comp Sci AB, Calc BC, US History; 6 on IB Physics SL and IB Comp Sci Sl[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: O.K., talked about my iPhone work…probably could have polished more.
[</em>]Recs: I know one was good, dunno about the other one
[<em>]Supplementary Material: N/A
[</em>]Summer Activities: Nothing “official” (RSI, SSP, etc)
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): N/A[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: NC
[<em>]High School Type: Large public magnet
[</em>]Ethnicity: White
[<em>]Gender:Male[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: iPhone development, video production, Science Olympiad, service clubs
[<em>]Awards: Won a few film contests, Science Olympiad medals
[</em>]Why you think you were deferred: ECs were probably interesting, but my test scores could have been higher, essays could have been better (MIT was one of the first apps I did, later ones were written more thoroughly). I know it might not matter much but my interview was awkward. Didn’t really hit it off with the person.
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Nope. Pretty happy with the outcome, though. I had already told myself I would be denied so it was a pleasant surprise.[/ul]</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT:
[</em>]SAT II: 750 Physics, 750 Math II
[<em>]ACT:
[</em>]GPA: 100.3% (Egyptian System)
[<em>]Rank: 1st
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: donno
[</em>]Recs: normal
[<em>]Supplementary Material: none
[</em>]Summer Activities: totally unimpressive
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location:Egypt
[<em>]High School Type: Private, small
[</em>]Ethnicity: Arab/Middle Eastern
[<em>]Gender: Make[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: unimpressive
[<em>]Awards:unimpressive
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: TOTALLY USUAL APPLICANT
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul]</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 660CR 720M 680W
[</em>]SAT II: 710 Math II, 740 Physics, 710 USH
[<em>]ACT: 34E 34M 27R 30S
[</em>]GPA: 4.0W
[<em>]Rank: Top 10% at least, technically unranked
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):[/ul]Subjective[ul]US-5, Physics B-4, Stats-4, Chem-3, will take Macro, Calc BC, Physics C, English Lang., Bio.
[<em>]Essays: I thought they were pretty good. My optional was awesome.
[</em>]Recs: 2 amazing, 1 pretty good
[<em>]Supplementary Material:
[</em>]Summer Activities:
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):[/ul]Personal[ul]Not really. CTY?
[</em>]Location: NY
[<em>]High School Type: Public, average
[</em>]Ethnicity: White
[<em>]Gender:[/ul]Other[ul]Male
[</em>]Extracurriculars: A lot of different stuff. Music, film, math team, etc.
[<em>]Awards: AP scholar with honor
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: It’s just so competitive. Most applicants were definitely more qualified.
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] I love MIT so much, but this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It sucks, obviously, but I’ll be over it quick. I can honestly say I have no regrets. I wouldn’t change anything about my high school career. The best advice I can give is to do what you love. Don’t change yourself to fit a certain school. Maybe I’ll try to transfer next year, but if I’m really happy with where I am, I won’t. I think just by seeing this thread, and seeing how many amazing people are being rejected, you can get a sense of just how competitive this really is. Everyone is more than qualified for MIT. Do not think any less of yourself if you get rejected. We will change the world, no matter where we end up. Congratulations to everyone who got in and I really hope you all love it at MIT! I really want to thank everyone on this thread for all their support. Especially Mollie, thank you so much for devoting so much of your time to helping us out. I’ve met some amazing people here and I won’t forget you guys. Maybe I’ll see some of you next year. Good luck to everyone!</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2160
[</em>]SAT II: 790-bio molec 790-math 2
[<em>]ACT:
[</em>]GPA: 4
[<em>]Rank:2/350
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):[/ul] calc ab-5, lang and comp-4, lit and comp-4, bio-4, **[ul]
[<em>]Essays: they were genuine and from the heart.
[</em>]Recs: teachers: no idea. Counselor-put my resume into paragraphs
[<em>]Supplementary Material: none—wanted to submit a writing portfolio but didn’t
[</em>]Summer Activities: Arabic program in morocco; summer at choate
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):[/ul]none whatsoeverl[ul]
[</em>]Location: ct
[<em>]High School Type: public. Low-funded
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian (Bangladesh)
[<em>]Gender:[/ul]Female[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Jewish and Muslim dialogue, tennis, mu alpha theta, nhs, community garden, etc.
[<em>]Awards: bunch of writing awards—no math or science
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: didn’t do much with math and science other than take those classes; low sat scores, Asian, new England area; didn’t make a nuclear fusion reactor (WOW to the guy who did!)
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] I thought I’d feel bitter but I don’t. Congrats to all who got in and good luck to those waitlisted/waiting to hear back from other colleges. Getting in would have been AWESOME, but I’m not surprised. I wasn’t holding my breath. </p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 740V 800M 800W - 2340 Composite (single sitting)
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Chem, 720 Literature, 770 Math II
[<em>]ACT:
[</em>]GPA: 3.95 UW / 4.45 W
[<em>]Rank: NA / 35
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5 AP 5’s, 2 AP 4’s, 94.5 AMC12, 100.5 AMC12, 3 AIME[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Pretty strong I’d say
[</em>]Recs: Excellent
[<em>]Supplementary Material: Photography portfolio
[</em>]Summer Activities: Volunteering, Travel
[<em>]Hook: Initiating environmental legislation (with progress made!)[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Ohio
[<em>]High School Type: Private
[</em>]Ethnicity: White
[<em>]Gender: Male[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Generic school clubs BUT founded three of them
[<em>]Awards: AIME School winner, AP Scholar with Distinction, NMF, tons of Science Olympiad, tons of “Student of the Year” in my classes
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not a clear focus towards science, no national math/science awards, no research
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: CALTECH IS SO MUCH BETTER ANYWAY :)[/ul]</p>
<p>to Today, 02:37 PM #43<br>
IvyHopeful2014 :</p>
<p>are you serious? i’m not sure whether to believe you or not.</p>
<p>Rejected (deferred EA)</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2400
[</em>]SAT II: 800 M2, 780 USH, 730 physics
[<em>]ACT: 35
[</em>]GPA: almost a 4.0
[<em>]Rank: top 3%
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): um. I got all 5s on the APs I took.[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: I was really happy with them. 
[</em>]Recs: Eh, as they are.
[<em>]Supplementary Material: None.
[</em>]Summer Activities: SSP!
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Nothing in particular.[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: South
[<em>]High School Type: competitive
[</em>]Ethnicity: biracial
[<em>]Gender: F[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Really good, unique. I spent a semester abroad.
[<em>]Awards: A lot of little things, scholarships, etc.
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I must not be a good fit for MIT. I’ll trust their judgment, I think – I’m not nearly as science-oriented as many people.
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Just don’t be that upset. I mean, I wouldn’t change anything about what I did in high school, and I think my application was really strong. If that didn’t get me in, well, there’s nothing I could have (or would have) done. There are other fish in the sea, people.[/ul]</p>
<p>@trf1021: gotta hand it to you man…love your attitude…</p>
<p>@Thoss91 - me?</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2300 (thought the 730 math would kill me)
[</em>]SAT II: 800math 800 physics
[<em>]ACT:
[</em>]GPA: 3.999
[<em>]Rank: 5/200 ish
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: they were very geeky
[</em>]Recs: my calculus teacher went to town!
[<em>]Supplementary Material: none
[</em>]Summer Activities: robotics, engineering stuff
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: under representated states ftw
[<em>]High School Type: public
[</em>]Ethnicity: over representated
[<em>]Gender: F[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: math tutoring, robotics, honor society, track, gymnastics
[<em>]Awards: ap scholar, nothing noteworthy
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: god exists
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul]</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: M: 790 CR: 740 W: 800 Total: 2330
[</em>]SAT II: Math II: 800 Chem: 800 US History: 790
[<em>]ACT: N/A
[</em>]GPA: 95
[<em>]Rank: N/A
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP Chem: 5 APUSH: 5</p>
<p>[/ul]</p>
<p>Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: They were okay, I guess. pretty weird stuff happenin in my essays.
[</em>]Recs: Good
[<em>]Supplementary Material: NASA Internship Abstract + Rec from Chess Coach
[</em>]Summer Activities: Camp, Camp Counselor, Chess Camp Counselor, NASA Internship</p>
<p>[li]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Personal[ul]
[<em>]Location: NYC
[</em>]High School Type: Specialized
[<em>]Ethnicity: Half Filipino, Half Jewish
[</em>]Gender:[/ul] Female</p>
<p>Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Chess, Fashion Design (lulz), NASA Internship, Writing,
[</em>]Awards: Chess awards and a writing award</p>
<p>[li]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: chess player, nasa internship? sewing? i tied my seemingly random extracurriculars together by talking about how i like to design things and how i want to combine science and design to be an engineer… and stuff. i’m not very eloquent right now because i am OFF THE WALL CRAZY WOOHOO HAPPY!</p>[/li]
<p>[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] i must be the luckiest ■■■■ in the entire world!!! congrats and good luck to everyone!!!</p>
<p>@thoss91</p>
<p>Yes, I was suprised too, I mean after looking at the people who got rejected, I have no clue why I got in. I think it was because of my essays, but I dont even know anymore.</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: TOEFL 111
[</em>]SAT II: 800 MathI, 790 MathII, 780 Physics
[<em>]ACT: -
[</em>]GPA: 93.8
[<em>]Rank: 3/30
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Pretty good, I guess
[</em>]Recs: Very good
[<em>]Supplementary Material: Music Portfolio (Played Chopin’s 4th Ballade, damn it! I guess I need to record Islamey, Scarbo, Rach3 or something)
[</em>]Summer Activities: Some academic camps etc.
[li]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Personal[ul]
[<em>]Location: Turkey
[</em>]High School Type: Private
[<em>]Ethnicity: Turkish (White)
[</em>]Gender:Male[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Piano for 13 years (and concerts, exams, awards etc)
Rubik’s Cube competitions (National record holder in every category I participated, co-owner of the Turkish speedcubing website and founder of the Rubik’s Cube Club)
Building Robots & Web/Computer Programming
Aikido
Swimming
Unicycling
[</em>]Awards: 2nd place in regional Innovation Project Competition
Finished ABRSM grade 8 in 7th grade, and grade 6 theory in 10th grade
National Records in Rubik’s Cubes (2x2,3x3,4x4,5x5,3x3 BLD, FMC)
1st place in Composition Category in Regional Popular Music Contest</p>
<p>[<em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Maybe nationality, maybe not enough Math awards (which I had JUST before high school (bronze medal in national math olympiads) but I would have had in high school if our school trained us to them). Maybe not sending an SAT I score.
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] After seeing the applications of the people who got rejected, I don’t feel so bad :D</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2400 (single sitting)
[</em>]SAT II: MathII: 800, Chem: 760, Bio-E: 760, USH: 770, Lit: 790
[<em>]ACT: didn’t take
[</em>]GPA: 96.5/100 UW
[<em>]Rank: 1/115
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): APs: BC Calc (5; w/ AB Subscore of 5), Bio (5), USH (5), English Lang (5)… taking Chem, Environmental Science, Stats, English Lit, & Comp Gov this year
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: don’t really remember what I wrote about…probably not a good sign
[</em>]Recs: didn’t see them, but I know my teachers really well, so probably good
[<em>]Supplementary Material: 1 extra rec (couldn’t choose between my bio & calc ones, so I sent them both)
[</em>]Summer Activities: worked on a local farm!
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): absolutely nothing
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: CT
[<em>]High School Type: private prep (boarding) school (where few people apply to MIT & no one’s been accepted in at least 10 years haha)
[</em>]Ethnicity: white
[<em>]Gender: female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: president of my school’s community service organization, co-captain of varsity cross country, literary editor of my school’s lit mag, prefect (student gov’t/mentor)
[<em>]Awards: nothing major, just AP scholar w/ honor, National Merit Finalist, & Presidential Scholars Candidate, & a bunch of school awards (mostly academic, but also a few athletic & a regional community service award)
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: my parents think I was rejected because I’m “too normal” honestly, it’s has some truth to it: I don’t know if MIT really would’ve been a good fit
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] Congrats to everyone who did get in; I hope you love MIT or wherever you chose to go!! To everyone else who was rejected along with me, don’t worry, everything will work out fine in a few weeks. As for me, I guess I am now officially headed for the Ivy League: I’m in at Yale with an amazing finaid package, and waiting on Harvard & Brown…don’t really have anything to complain about!</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 680/800/710
[</em>]SAT II: 780 mathII/770 chem/760 phys
[<em>]ACT:
[</em>]GPA: 3.96
[<em>]Rank: Doesn’t rank
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Good
[</em>]Recs: Great
[<em>]Supplementary Material:
[</em>]Summer Activities: Got turned down from 7 seperate jobs/internships last summer…
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location:
[<em>]High School Type: Highly competitive small private school
[</em>]Ethnicity: white
[<em>]Gender: male
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: 4yr jv/v soccer, other random stuff
[<em>]Awards: Nothing special… no one at my school does those awards things though
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Too many applicants, not enough spots haha
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I don’t really want to sound like a poor sport or anything, but MIT was not my first choice. I really want to go to a smaller place. Also, I know this is false, but, to me, MIT seems too focused, and I would like to take a lot of different types of classes. Congrats to those who got in and are attending, though![/ul]</p>
<p>Waitlisted</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<pre><code>* SAT: 800M, 770W, 700R
- SAT II: 800M2, 780 Bio-M
- ACT: 33
- GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.785 W
- Rank: 1/879
- Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):5 on AP eng lit, AP us gov, AP comp gov, AP bio, AP calc BC, 4 on span lang. AMC 12 2009-87.5 and AMC 12 2010-85.5
</code></pre>
<p>Subjective</p>
<pre><code>* Essays: Pretty sarcastic, i took a chance you could say
- Recs: didnt read
- Supplementary Material: portfolio about my business. i thought it was pretty good considering i have made $25,000 doing it.
- Summer Activities: mainly my business and volunteering at Children’s hospital
- Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): IPPF, multiple awards, number 1 in class, taking math at UCCS, successful business
</code></pre>
<p>Personal</p>
<pre><code>* Location: CO
- High School Type: Large public
- Ethnicity: White
- Gender:Male
</code></pre>
<p>Other</p>
<pre><code>* Extracurriculars: Excalibur, NHS, SHS, Math Club, Physics Club, Speech and Debate.
- Awards: Caltech signature award, debate awards, elite 8 for IPPF
- Why you think you were deferred: im not sure. i thought that being the number 1 at the best public school in colorado would get me in if i had good ECS and good supplementary material. I have also taken college math and took Calc BC as a sophomore
- Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Hell no. I am jealous of those of you who got in. I hope you choose to go because i do feel that MIT offers the best education of any school in the US.
</code></pre>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2330 (didn’t send)
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chemisty, 790 Biology, 780 Physics
[<em>]ACT: 36 (one sitting)
[</em>]GPA: 4.635 w/ 4.0 uw
[<em>]Rank:2/540
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):AP Bio 5, Physics B 5, Chem 5 , English Lang 5 , Calculus AB 5, US Gov 5, World History 4[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: great
[</em>]Recs: didn’t see, but should be good
[<em>]Supplementary Material: 1 extra rec, reserach paper, art
[</em>]Summer Activities: research, camps, volunteer, etc
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: MO
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>]Gender:Female[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Math/Science clubs/tutoring, NHS Pres, School leadership positions, art
[<em>]Awards: research award, school awards
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: well-rounded + passion + good essays
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: OMG I can’t believe it. I didn’t think I standed any kind of change against everyone with all these IMO USABO, etc awards. This just goes to show that you don’t have to win competitions to show passion.[/ul]</p>