so you're telling me there's a chance

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>My absolute dream school is MIT, however, I am thinking that applying there might just be unrealistic, especially after seeing some of the other posts here. So I guess I would like chances feedback for what I would consider to be an extraordinary reach for me, MIT.</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>White Male from a small rural town of less than 2000 in SW Michigan</p>

<p>ACT composite: 33
SAT: 2140 (M 780 CR 670 W 690)
GPA: 3.823 UW
Class Rank: 12/~200</p>

<p>I haven't taken the SAT II's yet; I need to sign up for those soon.</p>

<p>Schedule:</p>

<p>Freshman-Junior years I attended the County Math and Science Center, which selects 30 students from several area schools to participate in their Math and Science program that is held on the campus of Andrews University. Thus, each year I have only had six classes. My home school does not offer any type of honors classes.</p>

<p>9th Grade:</p>

<p>Algebra II
Computer Science I
Research Biology
English 9
American History
Woodworking</p>

<p>10th Grade:</p>

<p>Pre-Calc
AP Computer Science (3 on the exam)
Chemistry
English 10
Civics/Global Issues
Spanish I</p>

<p>11th Grade (tough year):</p>

<p>AP Calculus AB (4 on the exam)
Elementary Spanish I and II (Andrews University course, 7 college credits)
AP Physics B (2 on the exam)
ACP Chemistry (ACP stands for Advance College Project; it's an Indiana University class for high school students, received 7 college credits. Also foolishly decided to try the AP Chem exam after taking this, received a 1.)
English 11
Economics/Integrated Social Studies</p>

<p>12th Grade (my first year at my home school for the full day):</p>

<p>American Film Survey
AP Statistics
ACP English
Oceanography
Athletic Weight Training
Spanish IV
AP Bio</p>

<p>Sports:</p>

<p>4 years basketball (freshman, JV, and two years Varsity)
*This is a huge commitment, as the season is around five months long, not including the daily practice we have in June and July.</p>

<p>4 years tennis (one JV, three Varsity), all conference awards</p>

<p>2 years cross country (two Varsity), all conference awards</p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<p>2 years student council (junior and senior years)
1 year NHS (only for seniors at my school)
Volunteer at a bible camp in the summer as a camp counselor (two weeks/year)
Worked every summer (two summers at a manufacturing plant, one summer at a nursery)
Internship in IT this summer at a large aluminum distribution company</p>

<p>Awards:</p>

<p>Several school awards for various classes
National Merit Commendation
National English Merit Award</p>

<p>That's the gist of it. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Stats lower than yours have gotten in. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>If it's your dream school, then you have to go for it. MIT admits 0% of students who do not apply.</p>

4

<p>Hey -- I like that reply! I'm going to take your advice (even though this isn't my thread), and I will apply too!</p>

5

<p>What are your interests? Do you have an idea of what you want to major in?</p>

<p>The courses you have taken and your performance on standardized tests suggest that a technical school like MIT may not be the best place for you. You seem more like the kind of student that would interest Yale or Harvard. Do you think you have the commitment necessary of a rigorous technical school like MIT?</p>

<p>Definitely submit your ACT over your SAT score, though.</p>

6

<p>How do I go about presenting the AP scores? Is it better to just lay them out on the table, or only submit certain ones, or none?</p>

7

<p>Zissou, are you a URM by any chance? If not, you have no chance of getting into MIT. I mean, it's reality, kid. You've taken a lot of science/math APs but haven't performed too well on any of them. Seriously reconsider your goals and future career in life. Success is a mental transformation.</p>

8

<p>0.0 Ok so you are saying that success is determined by your test scores. I can tell you that i did not do hot on any of my ap exams but does that mean I don't know the subject? I believe the reason AP classes exist in high school is to show you how college courses work; the test should not be used to hurt against you into getting into college. I don't understand why some colleges believe that you bomb an AP exam it means that you are not good enough for their college. To tell one to "reconsider your goals" is equivalent to telling them to give up, which is "mentally" damaging or "transforming" his success into failure.</p>

<p>Everyone has a chance to get admitted, it is if you don't apply do have no chance</p>

9

<p>No, I think he's saying that the OP didn't perform well on exams and should think about how/why this happened.</p>

<p>AP Computer Science (3 on the exam)
AP Calculus AB (4 on the exam)
AP Physics B (2 on the exam)
ACP Chemistry (...decided to try the AP Chem exam... received a 1.)</p>

<p>No matter which way you shake and bake this, it seems to come out rather burned. </p>

<p>To the OP: You had better have good grades, and good SAT II's and hopefully some stellar EC's when you apply, or at least something that sets you apart. And why are you not trying to take Calculus BC senior year (unless it's not offered of course)?</p>

<p>
[quote]
"Everyone has a chance to get admitted, it is if you don't apply do have no chance."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's not like it's some kind of random lottery. Think of it as a score system. Everyone gets X points out of 100. They take from the top and keep moving down.</p>

10

<p>For all that believe you have no chance of your dream school: ALWAYS apply there! What costs you (OK, a few dollars, but it's worth)? after all, every candidate has a very, very slight chance. Maybe you have a passion nobody from there has. Maybe you come from a place nobody else is applying. Or maybe you are chosen just in order not to have only geniuses. It sounds crazy, but it can happen, of course, with tons of luck!</p>

11

<p>Angelutza is correct - always apply to your dream school - even if your stats are way below average. In case you are rejected, you at least get the satisfaction that you tried, and the college that rejects you gets lower admitted/applied ratio. Both are satisfied.</p>

<p>EDIT: Well...if not both, then at least one...</p>

12

<p>Sorry to say this man but not everyone is cut out for MIT. Even if you somehow got into MIT, i am not so sure you could handle the rigor (neither could I). The stuff they do there is a hell of a lot harder than Physics B you know...</p>

13

<p>Everyone is cut out to get into MIT or any good college out there, it how you show it openly that they will accept you. Everyone has the same level of intelligence its how active you use it differentiates you from others. If you say it is too hard for you, your just giving up on yourself.</p>

14

<p>"so you're telling me there's a chance"</p>

<p>who's you?
did anyone actually said that?</p>

15

<p>
[quote]
Everyone has the same level of intelligence its how active you use it differentiates you from others.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I have tried for years to believe this, really I have (because in HS i liked to think i was rather smart, but not so much the case anymore). Unfortunately my life experience has revealed to me that this is not the case. While it may be a bit dream bashing, some people are just way beyond comprehension - orders of magnitude smarter than you can ever be, especially at schools like MIT. </p>

<p>It's a hard pill to swallow, especially when most kids come from schools where you can just work hard and get to the top. It takes a lot of maturity to realize you have to accept after a while you have a certain intelligence quotient (not referring to damn IQ scores), and you have to work to make use of it. Of course this can be to your advantage, since it often puts you closer to the real world so you can make huge breakthroughs in applications, etc. </p>

<p>I'm not saying don't work hard, of course you have to work hard. Just take a step back sometimes and do a realistic assessment of where and how you stand, and use that to figure out how to make the best of what you have.</p>

<p>just thoughts, not fuel for flames.</p>

16

<p>There seems to be a significant mismatch between your grades (GPA ~3.8) and your AP scores. If you don't have to report them, obviously you'd be wise to leave them out of your applications. All you can do at this point is study really, really hard for your SAT II exams, especially in the subjects with the lowest Ap scores. If you do well on the SAT II tests, you can hope that admissions officers will take it as a sign that your AP courses, while not necessarily bad courses since you were able to do well on the SAT IIs, were not appropriate preparation for the AP exams. In other words, it may look more like your school's problem then yours. If your school has a good AP score record overall and reports their average scores on your record (do any schools do this?), then that strategy won't work. In any case, however, your best chance is to do well on your SAT IIs.</p>