Questions Regarding Admissions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Hey, I'm a sophomore and attend a relatively competitive public high school in CA. I know this is rather premature, but I was wondering if you people with MIT admissions experience have any advice for me with regard to bettering my chances at being accepted to the college when the time comes.</p>

<p>Freshmen Year:</p>

<p>Adv. Orchestra: A+
Spanish IV (Honors): A+
AP Calculus AB: A+
Modern World History (Honors): A+
P.E.: A+
English II (Honors): A
Chemistry (Honors): A+
Physics (Honors): A+</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:</p>

<p>AP Calculus BC
AP Biology
AP Physics B&C
Science Research
History (Honors)
English (Honors)
Spanish V-VI (Honors)
P.E.
Leadership</p>

<p>Some EC's:</p>

<p>Leadership:</p>

<p>Elected Freshmen Class President by 460 students 2007-2008
Elected Sophomore Class President by 460 students 2008-present
Appointed Math Club President by Mathematics Department 2007-present
One of only two student members selected to be on the School Site Council 2007-present
Elected to the city's Youth Advisory Council 2007-present</p>

<p>Mathematics:
Founder and President of school math club
Qualified for United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) 2008
USAMO Index of 235.5
American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) I score of 9
AMC 10A score of 145.5/150
AMC 10A School Winner
AMC 10A National Distinction
First freshman in history of district to qualify for an Olympiad
Second person in history of district to qualify for an Olympiad
Selected by the Mathematics **Department and the **Science Department as the top student in the grade and received the CSF Honor Award in Mathematics 2008
Member of the highly competitive, San Francisco Bay Area ARML A Team 2008-present
Member of SFBA(A) Team that ranked** 4th place **inter/nationally (only 5 or 6 teams outside of the US) at the ARML contest
MATHCOUNTS 2007 - Chapter (Tied 2nd), State (Tied 5th)
Creating an Annual Math Competition for Middle Schools in the Area (10-20 schools(loosely based on AMC/ MATHCOUNTS))</p>

<p>Speech, Debate, and Politics:</p>

<p>Selected by the High School History Department as the top student in the grade and received the CSF Honor Award in Social Studies 2008
Selected by the High School English Department as the top student in the grade and received the School CSF Honor Award in English 2008
Received an Honorable Mention award at the Stanford Model United Nations Conference 2007 - International Monetary Fund Executive Board
Received a Distinguished Delegate Award at the Davis Model United Nations Conference 2008- Security Council
Selected to represent the Surgeon General at Harvard Model Congress - San Francisco 2008 in the highest level committee, the Presidential Cabinet
One of the six students and only freshmen to be selected Attorney of the Mock Trial Team 2007-present (Also Co-Head Attorney)
Member of Model United Nations Club 2007-present
Member of Harvard Model Congress Club 2007-present</p>

<p>Athletics:</p>

<p>Member of Varsity Water Polo Team 2007-present
Member of Varsity Swim Team 2007-present
Qualified for the Peninsula Athletics League Finals in the 50 Breast (2nd Place), 100 Breast (3rd Place), 50 Free (2nd Place), and 100 Free (3rd Place)
Awarded Most Valuable Player <a href="MVP">/B</a>
Member of Track and Field Team 2005-2007
Received Athletic Award for outstanding accomplishment on Track Team
Qualified for Northern California Finals in Shotput and Discus
Received **3rd Place for Discus at the Northern California Finals
Member of a competitive swim team 2000-2008</p>

<p>Volunteer/ Community Service:</p>

<p>Over 150 hours volunteering in libraries and tutoring socioeconomically disadvantaged children
**Designed and executed a two week day program to educate orphans in rural villages in India<a href="Am%20currently%20fundraising%20for%20the%20orphanage">/B</a></p>

<p>Music:</p>

<p>Violist in the Advanced Orchestra 2007-present</p>

<p>I would greatly appreaciate your feedback, thanks for your time!</p>

2

<p>you have no chance</p>

3

<p>i suggest introspection. who are you?</p>

4

<p>Thank you for the suggestions, seriously introspection? wow lol</p>

5

<p>You seem to be on the right track academically. I suggest that you go read this:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/205635-problem-looking-stats-alone.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/205635-problem-looking-stats-alone.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

6

<p>Thanks for the advice. I was also wondering if there is anything I should do/ focus on more to raise my chances of being accepted when the time comes</p>

7

<p>A very impressive resume, definitely better than mine going into MIT a few years ago. However, I would caution that while you're engaged in and successful with a wide range of activities, water polo, like math, debate, and student government, is there any underlying passion that unites them all or one that particularly stands out? The AIME and AMC stand out to me as being indicators that you're exceptionally talented at math, so an EC like me would want to know what you have already done and want to do in the future with that talent. Did you take higher level math classes (multivariable calc, differential equations, linear algebra, etc.) at a local college because you maxed out all the opportunities at your high school? Did you start a tutoring program for other students? Did you seek out a local researcher or professor for an internship or mentoring in mathematics research? Being able to weave a story about what drives you to do the things you do is far more compelling that simply providing a list of things you do. Basically, it's obvious you have the "prerequisite" breadth, but I'd like to see some depth where you really went outside of the comfort zone of "things you should do" into "things it takes guts to go for".</p>

8

<p>And to expand further, I think that if it's math for example that really drives you, but to take local college classes would mean sacrificing the time you devote to debate or orchestra, that's a hard trade-off to consider, but again, consider whether or not you would rather explain why you did 5 activities well at your HS vs. doing 2-3 HS activities well, a college class, and a research internship. I can tell you which one ultimately comes across as more impressive. If you're still playing water polo senior year, I would also be certain to contact the MIT coach or recruiter because MIT always needs players.</p>

9

<p>Thank you so much for all of the advice LambdaPrime. Actually, I am planning on taking Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra next year at a community college and then Differential Equations at Stanford senior year. Furthermore, I have gotten in contact with some local researchers and will either be attending Ross next summer or researching locally. Along with that I am spearheading a middle school math competition this year to encourage development of mathematical abilities in middle school students that will involve approximately 100-150 students from 10-12 middle schools in my area. I have been planning it for about a year and hope to make it a state wide event by the time I graduate. I will be playing water polo throughout high school and will be certain to contact the MIT coach for possible recruitment.</p>

10

<p>Also, I'm currently in WOOT (worldwide Olympiad training program) if that helps demonstrate my passion in mathematics.</p>

11

<p>wow you are really smart :)</p>

12

<p>lol, thx :D</p>