So I really want to get into MIT.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>But then again, I assume everybody else here does too. I've been lurking the boards quite a bit, and it is extremely discomforting to see people with completely stellar records (compared to mine, ahem) get rejected. I know one kid in my senior class who got accepted to MIT with a strong but not amazing record- 2150 SAT I, 780 Math I, 740 Physics, as well as a 4.0 GPA and president/captain of like a whole bunch of clubs. I don't know him that well, though, really.</p>

<p>But, uh, my own record isn't really that amazing. </p>

<p>Currently I have a 2140 SAT, 690 CR, 750 M, 700 W from May. I took it again in June- I definitely messed up that time. My SAT II scores are 790 Math II, 760 Physics. </p>

<p>My GPA is like 3.9/4 UW, and I have no idea what it is weighted. I was never too diligent about my studies, but they remained fairly consistent throughout HS. I took the AP US History and I expect a 5 on it.</p>

<p>My ECs? Well, to tell you the truth, not much.
- 7-8 years of violin (not amazing at it)
- 4H for at least 4 years.
- Academic Team for 2 years, going to be three.
- Chess. I used to go to a Catholic school and was part of the chess club there, but when I went back to public HS there was literally nobody who was even moderately decent at it. My USCF rating is currently about 1000, mainly because I stopped playing chess completely after I switched schools.
- Member/treasurer of a student-run community club.</p>

<p>I think a huge weakness for me is my intense aversion to certain clubs and events. I could never, ever get into sports as well as many charity-ish clubs. I'm not really antisocial but introverted enough that it will probably show on my app. I completely despised NHS and NFLHS. I only attended maybe like two meetings and they were a bit dubious about my community service list. </p>

<p>Future plans:
- Possibly taking a few more Subject Tests. MIT is not the only school I plan to apply to anyway. I plan to take the Chemistry, French, and German tests.
- My school only offers Calc AB but I plan to study and take the Calc BC instead.
- I've been pining on studying for the AP Comp Sci, mainly because I'm already great at programming and I like it.
- some internship possibly, or is that too late?</p>

<p>I like to do a lot of things on my own. I really need to see how I can use these strengths to my advantage, otherwise they're completely useless.
- Mathematics. I taught myself Calculus by 8th grade and after a brief lull I ended up teaching myself differential equations and multivariable calculus. I could probably take the Calc BC right now and do okay.
- Programming. I designed my own content-management system in PHP, am proficient enough in AS2 and AS3 to create my own little applets, and have written a couple programs in C++ and C#. For example, this is something I created in my spare time. <a href="http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/110609/44571_random1.swf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/110609/44571_random1.swf&lt;/a>
<a href="http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/120609/61563_random2.swf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/120609/61563_random2.swf&lt;/a>
- Web design. I created my own website, but it's strictly for personal use. (I also hosted a password-protected web proxy so kids can go past web filters, but I don't think MIT would appreciate it if I mentioned aiding people violate school policies.)
- Lingustics. I taught myself German and a little bit of Turkish, but I've taken a wide interested in languages as a whole. My school doesn't offer it, either, but I think I know enough German to get at least a 650-700 on the SAT II.</p>

<p>As far as majors go, I think I'm probably looking into Aeronautics or Electrical Engineering. I'm amazing at writing long essays (and research papers, when I'm really into it) and I probably have enough experiences to write about, i.e., taking a trip to Turkey. My heritage is Turkish/Indian-Chinese. I'm half Turkish, and my mother is Chinese but born in India. Both of them are doctors, but my dad is a Columbia graduate who holds both a Ph.D and an M.D.</p>

<p>My main problem is that I need a couple of things to really, really make my application stand out. Everybody I know is telling me to relax (relax? relax? how can I relax?) but I don't have much time so I really need to make sure that I make it impressive, even if not for MIT.</p>

<p>Any ideas?</p>

<p>Addenda:
1. My Physics teacher is an MIT graduate. I've done generally well in her class and I always ask her physics and mathematics-related questions, so a stellar application from her may help.</p>

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<p>If you want to go MIT, you will want to take Math IIC SAT II.</p>

<p>Self-studying BC calc is much, much easier said than done. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, I’d say your app is rather common and doesn’t stand out well. You don’t seem to have much of a hook, and you don’t have sufficient stats to overcome that. </p>

<p>Look for some other schools, my friend.</p>

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<p>I did take the Math IIC. I got a 790 on it. The first set of stats were those of a senior who DID get into MIT (how he got in by taking the Math IC I don’t know). I also expect my June results to far outshine my May ones considering that I had the flu when I took it in May.</p>

<p>And is that so? I bought a review book three months ago. I’ve run through practically all of it- considering that I nailed 90% of the material years ago, it was just a matter of studying things I wasn’t particularly strong at.</p>

<p>And I know it’s not very strong. Even if I did manage to come up with something in a few months it probably won’t significantly improve my chances. But MIT is the one school that I’m really interested in and it couldn’t hurt to try.</p>

<p>I am looking at other schools too you know. I just need to think of a hook. MIT is my first choice but I still need a stronger application nonetheless wherever I apply.</p>

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<p>My bad :).</p>

<p>But it’s kinda hard to “outshine” a 790.</p>

<p>A hook isn’t really something you come up with. It’s something you have or don’t. If you think you have something that makes you really outstanding, then go ahead and try to use that. But honestly, not everybody has a hook. Not everyone is outstandingly interesting. Otherwise, it would kind of defeat the point.</p>

<p>Why do you want to go to MIT? Because it’s a good school?
I agree that it by no means hurts to try (except the pain of 60 bucks or so). I’m just saying that it’s a substantial reach.</p>

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<p>It’s okay.</p>

<p>Well, an 800 could outshine a 790 but I think it’ll make me look obsessive if I take it again simply to get the perfect score.</p>

<p>I’m not sure what exactly makes me stand out. I’m the kind of person who likes not to stand out. And looking at rejected/accepted applicants it doesn’t seem like being the captain of 12 academic and sports teams is really a hook. The only thing that I really have going for me is perhaps a talent in programming/scripting as well as mathematics. What would be your idea of an ideal hook, apart from ideal things like winning a Nobel Prize or a cure for cancer?</p>

<p>And well, yes, everybody wants to go there because it’s good, but not solely for the prestige. It’s an amazing place, and it presents opportunities well beyond its own name. And I like Boston, at least enough to stand the winters there.</p>

<p>I know it’s a reach. It was a huge reach for that other guy who actually got in. Then again, what top school isn’t?</p>

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<p>MIT is a very selective institution. They can accept anyone they want. For any reason they want.</p>

<p>Admission there is not earned. It is granted.</p>

<p>Why is MIT so amazing for you?</p>

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<p>I can tell. I would imagine they even reject perfect scorers on the SAT or ACT. With tens of thousands of applicants and only around 1500 spots, give or take, they must be.</p>

<p>And why is MIT so amazing for me?</p>

<p>I couldn’t give you a single concrete answer. It’s the top research university in America and I would die for a chance to study and possibly do research there because I know that doing it there would make the most impact upon the world. On a more personal level, it seems like an enchanting, entrancing place.</p>

<p>Sorry if that’s a bit dramatic.</p>

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<p>well, it should be :)</p>

<p>do you know about the campus environment and such?</p>

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<p>Well, naturally, yeah, to some extent, but I wouldn’t really know unless I’ve really been living there.</p>

<p>It has an academic environment, but being a top college, it’s extremely competitive. The stress and pace of things there is like drinking water from a fire hose. I’m familiar with certain aspects of the campus culture, like hacks, but I admit that it’s only because I had the good fortune to spend hours on the internet looking them up after finding the [“smoot</a>” option for Google Earth’s ruler function.](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot]"smoot”>Smoot - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>I plan to visit this summer. I’ve seen the campus before but only fleetingly and when I was younger.</p>

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<p>You say that in your future plans, you want to take more SAT IIs.</p>

<p>I think MIT only requires 2 SAT IIs and both of your scores are in MIT’s range. So I dont know how much it will help you even if you take additional ones. However, you should try to get that internship this summer because that will help you.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I know. I took mine early so I’d have already fulfilled the requirements, but MIT probably isn’t the only school I want to apply to, and I guess it shouldn’t really hurt if I decide to take a few more. </p>

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<p>I’m currently trying to find an internship right now. </p>

<p>Also, is it wise to send them a resume, or is that just padding?</p>

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<p>The fact that she’s an MIT grad won’t make much of a difference.</p>

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<p>They don’t have a preference for math II, and a 780 math I is good considering how harsh the curve is.</p>

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<p>As long as you’re not just reiterating what’s on the app, sending a resume is fine.</p>

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<p>I’m not thinking about just the fact that she’s an MIT alumna, but a strong recommendation from a science teacher, especially one from MIT, would definitely help.</p>

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<p>Come to think of it, that’s true. I took the Math II though, that was the other guy who actually got in. A bunch of my classmates studied for the Math I and decided in the last minute they were going to take the Math II instead.</p>

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<p>All in all, it doesn’t really matter right? They say they don’t want a laundry list.</p>

<p>But to be honest, it’s not like being in a dozen honor societies that don’t really mean anything or clubs I can hardly care less about will really make my application stand out, and whatever work experience I have isn’t really what they’re looking for in the first place.</p>

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<p>^Ya I hate the math curves…I missed one on the PSAT last year and I got a 75 on it. But for reading, lots of times, -2 is 800 on the SAT or 78+ on the PSAT.</p>

<p>And yea you can send a resume…I dont think I will when I apply, but if you have tons of good things to say (not just fluff things) then send a resume.</p>

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<p>I personally don’t mind the Math II curve. If it were steeper it would hurt my score considerably. As far as the regular SAT goes, have you noticed how steep the Math curve is compared to the Reading? I got 3 wrong on the math and I got a 750.</p>

<p>I really don’t have anything that great to say. If I think it’s too much fluff for me to mention even here, I’m not going to send a resume. Besides, I’ll bet they consider a lot of things fluff anyway.</p>

<p>Then again, a resume could just reinforce what you’ve done, aside from the five things you put down…</p>

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<p>what grade are you currently in kemcab?</p>

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<p>I’m a junior.</p>

<p>On a related note, it’s way too late for an internship proper. I’ve had jobs before, but an internship has always been out of the question for me. I started searching last year but even though I found a couple I wasn’t really sure about it, plus my family had already organized a series of trips for the summer which conflicted with almost all of them.</p>

<p>The cool thing is I’ve been to Turkey, but I doubt that will be anything more than the center of a somewhat decent to maybe outstanding essay.</p>

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<p>Also, bump and a bit of an update. I got a 2160 on the June SAT.</p>

<p>740 CR, 710 M, 710 W. For some odd reason I did worse on the math section even though I tend to be a lot better on it, and I did a lot better on the CR section this time. Writing is about the same, but it wasn’t the essay- it was mainly a much higher multiple choice score. </p>

<p>I’m not taking this again. This is quite frustrating- especially for math- because the curve for that tends to be a lot steeper than the others. If I really need to for MIT, I will, but I’m thinking about just giving the ACT a shot. The 790 on the Math II will suffice as a replacement for the SAT I Math.</p>