Questions From a Naive High Schooler...

<li>What ultimately got YOU into MIT?</li>
<li>How important are APs? SAT IIs? Taking wayyy more tests than required?</li>
<li>How important is a AIME level math and RSI level science background? What if you’re majoring in Business?</li>
<li>Do you like MIT? Is it the food? campus? dorms? professors?</li>
<li>How easy is it to get a job after college?</li>
<li>When did YOU start preparing for MIT?</li>
</ol>

<p>I'll answer what I can.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>A great combination of things. I think at least 12 people read an application before a student is admitted. Each of them has to find something they like about the person! That said, I was deferred EA, so it was probably the essay and recommendation I sent in as supplementary material.</p></li>
<li><p>APs are more important than SAT IIs, in my opinion. SAT IIs only allow you to APPLY to MIT, whereas APs may give you course credit. I don't think extra SAT IIs help you at all. On the other hand, APs aren't required at all; taking them shows the rigor of your coursework, which is an important factor in admission. :)</p></li>
<li><p>If you can and you enjoy it, do it! Even if you're majoring in business. You don't declare your major until the end of Freshman year.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>4 and 5. DUNNO. </p>

<ol>
<li>I didn't specifically start preparing for college at all, but I started doing above-and-beyond things in 8th grade. It seems like a good time to start being super-motivated. In fact, I don't personally know anyone who prepared specifically for MIT. But maybe what you're asking is when I started preparing for the MIT application... that would be Aug/Sept last fall.</li>
</ol>

<p>Good luck! :)</p>

<p>"1. What ultimately got YOU into MIT?
2. How important are APs? SAT IIs? Taking wayyy more tests than required?
3. How important is a AIME level math and RSI level science background? What if you're majoring in Business?
4. Do you like MIT? Is it the food? campus? dorms? professors?
5. How easy is it to get a job after college?
6. When did YOU start preparing for MIT?"</p>

<h1>1 -- My daughter would say that her 3 letters of recommendation and digital art portfolio did the trick. But I think it was probably the entire package. See the thread that discusses factors considered in admission.</h1>

<h1>2 -- I believe applicants must demonstrate that they can do the work. The work is intense. High SAT scores, AP courses, GPA etc. will provide some of this evidence.</h1>

<h1>3 -- Any indication of math/science interest is good, but evidence of sustained intellectual curiosity/passion for math/science/engineering is far better. By itself, a good AIME score belongs in category #2, in my opinion. However, a student who has participated successfully in math competitions over a period of several years is demonstrating sustained interest/passion in mathematics, which fits in category #3. I know some RSI participants who were deferred, and I know some RSI rejects who were accepted. By and large though, RSI will help, because most RSI participants are very, very interested in math/science/engineering research. If you state that you want to major in business, then you should demonstrate some sort of sustained interest/passion in business (on top of strong math/science skills).</h1>

<h1>4 -- My daughter loves MIT. She's a freshman. Having finished up the General Institute Requirements in the first semester, she says the second semester is quite a bit tougher. But she wouldn't be anywhere else in the world. I think it's a mountain-top experience.</h1>

<h1>5 -- MIT's statistics on placement of graduates is really impressive.</h1>

<h1>6 -- If you mean the application, my daughter started work on this the summer before her senior year, and she sent it in 3 weeks before the deadline. I REALLY RECOMMEND THIS. She didn't want her parents to help at all. She asked her AP English teacher to proofread her essays and asked for feedback from other teachers who had come to know her.</h1>

<p>I agree with CalAlum. However, my son (accepted EA for next year) pursued no regional or national math or science competitions; these are encouraged by some high schools, but AIME, RSI, Seimens, etc. are not known at all in our local public schools. However, his interests in math and physics were clearly demonstrated in other ways. He did take 16 AP's (some without the course), five SAT-II's.
However, I believe admitted students usually have an intense interest in something else that is useful in creating a well-rounded class (even if the student is not well-rounded). My son plays nine instruments and has written a classical composition to be performed by his Symphonic Orchestra at his graduation. Music is not only a passion for him, but is also a way to destress. The application should somehow show how the student can cope with stress and failure in life.
Every parent like me thinks his admitted child deserved to be admitted, but MIT, it is said, could fill four or five classes with amazing applicants.
He started working on essays last July, and submitted the application in September (11/1 deadline).</p>

<p>i agree with aurora on all of his/her answers.</p>

<p>I attended MIT 30 years ago, so anything I say about your questions 1, 2, and 3 will be based on obsolete information. I do, however, think I can say something meaningful to your questions 4, 5, and 6:</p>

<ol>
<li>Do you like MIT? Is it the food? campus? dorms? professors?</li>
</ol>

<p>MIT is a great place to go to school, as is Boston. Food is food - although I lived in a fraternity, so any lousy meals were our own fault! There are plenty of student budget eateries for when you get tired of the regular fare. There are a huge variety of housing options, and as far as I can tell from the perspective of an alum, the greek system is NOTHING like the stereotypical college fraternity scene. </p>

<p>Professors and instructors will range from grad students working as TAs (some of them quite good), to internationally-recognized faculty who still enjoy teaching. And everything in between. There are many opportunities to participate in research as an undergrad, compete in student design competitions, pursue internships and co-op programs, and doing your own thing. </p>

<ol>
<li>How easy is it to get a job after college?</li>
</ol>

<p>Depends on your major, how well you present yourself, and the state of the industry. I graduated into an industry downturn, and I am certain the MIT degree helped get me in the door. It still helps 30 years later, and MIT has a tremendous alumni network you can take advantage of. As an undergrad, taking advantage of undergraduate research programs, internships, and co-op are well worthwile (this applies to ANY school you attend). In my case, the co-op experience taught me what I did not want to be doing, where, and for whom, which may be more valuable than anything else I did.</p>

<ol>
<li>When did YOU start preparing for MIT?</li>
</ol>

<p>About a week or 2 into my freshman year, when I called home and told my parents "<em>EVERYONE</em> here is SMART!" :) (Obviously I survived). The other responders' advice is probably as good as any. If you can speak with an alumni interviewer in your area (and these folks' input is taken seriously in the process), ask them for their opinion.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Good scores on the SAT and SAT IIs are necessary, but not sufficient, for MIT admission. Extra tests don't help because they're not considered -- MIT looks at the best scores that fulfill the testing requirements, which are [url=<a href="http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/standardized_test_requirements/testing_requirements_faq_1.shtml%5Dhere%5B/url"&gt;http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/standardized_test_requirements/testing_requirements_faq_1.shtml]here[/url&lt;/a&gt;].&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li>
<li><p>Math and science contests research are a great plus in admissions, but most people who get in didn't participate in research or contests. Your intended major, however, isn't factored into the decision-making process -- prospective management majors aren't cut a break just because they say they're majoring in management.</p></li>
<li><p>I loved MIT (graduated in 2006) for all of those factors. (Even food, because I lived in a dorm with kitchens and mostly cooked for myself.) Mostly, I loved the great community I lived and worked in, and I loved that I could work extra super crazy hard and get a great result in the end.</p></li>
<li><p>The MIT Career Office's last six graduating student surveys are [url=<a href="http://web.mit.edu/career/www/infostats/graduation.html%5Dhere%5B/url"&gt;http://web.mit.edu/career/www/infostats/graduation.html]here[/url&lt;/a&gt;]. I personally got into the top five PhD programs in my field quite easily, and my husband was offered several great jobs.</p></li>
<li><p>I never started preparing for MIT. I lived my life in high school doing what I wanted to do, not what I thought any college would want out of me.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I'm an alum and an EC, so again my advice is more dated but here goes:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>What ultimately got YOU into MIT?
Who knows? I enjoyed MIT and did well there, but there isn't really a "secret sauce" that can get you in. I had not cured cancer, nor published extensively, but I was very active in HS, and somehow it came through. As an EC, I can sometimes recognise a student as a clear rejection, but I can almost never recognise a student as a clear admit, and I see a significant number of candidates each year. The best I can do is "well, they have got a good chance".</p></li>
<li><p>How important are APs? SAT IIs? Taking wayyy more tests than required?
Demonstrating that you can do the academic work is VERY VERY important. Once you have demonstrated that, then a few more AP tests isn't going to do very much. Actually tests, as a rule, don't do very much. Taking a bunch of AP COURSES, if your school offers them, suggests that you seek out the most challenging material that your secondary school offers. That is good. Taking wayyy more tests than required does not necessarily demonstrate anything.</p></li>
<li><p>How important is a AIME level math and RSI level science background? What if you're majoring in Business?
Firstly, you are admitted to the INSTITUTE, regardless of major. The admissions requirements are absolutely identical regardless of whether you are intending to study Electrical Engineering or Philosophy. A strong RSI background demonstrates a certain scientific curiousity that can only help. Not having it does not hurt you though. You need to have something somewhere but RSI/AIME/Intel/Siemens is not necessary AT ALL.</p></li>
<li><p>Do you like MIT? Is it the food? campus? dorms? professors?
Loved it. Enjoyed the food, campus, professors (and lived in a frat). I still see my fraternity brothers from MIT regularly (and I have been out of the institute for some time now). I kept in contact with some of the faculty well after graduation as well. For a school that is so definitively NOT acting in loco parentis, MIT creates a very strong and very supportive community.</p></li>
<li><p>How easy is it to get a job after college?
I didn't have any problems, and I did not use the campus recruiting office. I just opened the paper and had a job within a week.</p></li>
<li><p>When did YOU start preparing for MIT?
You cannot really truly prepare specifically for MIT. The two most obviously correct answers are "I never prepared" (specifically for MIT) and "I started preparing when I was an infant" in that the things that I pursued made MIT a reasonable extension of what I was already doing. The whole "MATCH" thing really is how decisions are made. I have met very bright students for whom MIT is a poor match. If you match strongly, there is no additional preparation required. If you do not, then it is hard to think of any additional preparation that might overcome that problem.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Based on my S's experience (EA '12):</p>

<ol>
<li>What ultimately got YOU into MIT?
Depth of interests -- he has been doing things in his area of interest since late elementary school, whether it's teaching himself, doing online curricula, science fairs (as a vehicle for producing some of his work), or just playing around with programs or proofs at home. These interests, which were very narrow at the beginning of HS, blossomed into other, non-math/science ECs and substantial leadership opportunities.<br></li>
</ol>

<p>He wrote terrific essays. He had a job interview yesterday and the first thing the recruiting coordinator noticed was that he had journalism experience. Math and computer science people who write well get noticed. People who can explain their work with enthusiasm and in such a way that folks not familiar with the subject matter can understand get noticed even more.</p>

<p>Don't be afraid to be multidimensional!</p>

<ol>
<li>How important are APs? SAT IIs? Taking wayyy more tests than required?
APs and SAT IIs were anticlimactic. They were just verification. He did not go crazy taking every AP known to humankind (six by end of junior year, three more this year). Took SAT and three SAT-IIs. Once. No tutoring, minimal prep w/review book. Did not take a science AP until senior year!</li>
</ol>

<p>What <em>was</em> important was that he had substantial work beyond AP courses. He is not grade-centric and does not hesitate to take a class because it's interesting, even though it's tough. His grades, while quite good, were not as stellar as those of many others here. However, he put any concerns about being a "slacker" to rest by doing some serious work elsewhere (see bleow).</p>

<ol>
<li>How important is a AIME level math and RSI level science background?
S is going to major in math. Has never made USAMO. Doesn't care. Made SF or better in two other Olympiads. OTOH, he did extraordinarily well with his research, which he did for pure love and passion, and happened to get an interesting result.<br></li>
</ol>

<p>Thirty-six of the forty Intel STS finalists this year did NOT attend RSI. If you want to do research, find someone who will help you. Local profs are HAPPY to work with talented, motivated students. Don't do it for the awards -- by the time Siemens and Intel start announcing, your applications are already due or submitted. Siemens and Intel are just the icing on the cake -- you've got to have a pretty solid app before that.</p>

<ol>
<li> When did you start preparing for MIT?
He didn't. He just did his thing, lived his life, and did what he loves. Those things happened to make him an attractive candidate to MIT and other fine schools.</li>
</ol>