Suggestions/chances for MIT (and others)

Applying to College
1

<p>Im currently a sophomore, and my dream school is MIT, although any very prestigious school would be great. Any advice or suggestions about what i can do to improve my resume would be appreciated. Heres some information:</p>

<p>Courses:
9th: Honors World History, Latin III, Honors English 11, Precalculus, Chemistry, Art (1 semester) and Business Fundamentals (1 semester) , Study Hall
10th: Calculus, Physics, Honors English 12, Honors American History, Latin IV, Health (1 semester) and Speech (1 semester), Study Hall
My 11th year should look like: Calculus III and IV at the University Level, AP English, AP Chemistry, AP US History, Independent Latin V Study (should parallel an AP level course), Gym (1 semester) and Creative Cooking (1 semester), Study Hall
12th should be: More Advanced Post-secondary Math, AP Physics, AP Biology, AP Government, AP Economics (i think), Gym and another elective, Study Hall.</p>

<p>I have a 4.0 right now, and plan to raise it with AP's.
As far as rigor goes, my upperclassmen schedules are completely unheard of at my school.</p>

<p>Tests:
ACT: Composite 35; Math 36, English 36, Reading 36, Science 36
SAT: Composite 2210; Math 770, Reading 740, Writing 700</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (pretty weak compared to others, it seems):
Cross Country and Track for both years so far, and I plan too continue
Latin Club
Should have National Honors Society next year and some Volunteering
Thats about it...</p>

<p>Im also considering a intensive Summer Mathematics program, but dont know if i want to do it, advice would be great.</p>

<p>Hook (or maybe demise): Im 13 right now, ill be 16 when I graduate. Im not quite sure how elite schools will take that, but thats how it is.</p>

<p>Any suggestions, advice, chances, etc would be great for my situation. Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>Do searches on early HS graduation. Top colleges have some biases against super young freshmen. I recall hearing a Yale rep saying they don’t admit people who don’t turn eighteen sometime during the freshman year. Plz dbl check on this fact, however. It’s only from memory.</p>

3

<p>Why do you have to take Honors English 11 and 12? The name of these two courses seems to suggest that they are for juniors and seniors, which makes me think that you already have credit for the 9th and 10th grade English courses. It seems odd to me that you shouldn’t just go ahead and start with AP English unless your school has the provision that you have to be good enough to pass out of a “standard” English class to take AP English.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t take Calculus III and IV at the university level in the same year, unless it happens to be something like multivariable calculus + linear algebra. If you can, separate them out. It seems that you are fairly good at math (always a good thing for MIT), so you may consider testing out of precalculus if you can, as its mostly a repeat of algebra and some trigonometry. </p>

<p>At this point, I get the impression that you want to major in mathematics or a related major. If that’s true, you definitely need to get your Math SAT score up. There is no reason for you to be taking all those Calculus courses and not have a 800 Math score. Make sure to take the SAT IIs as well. More ECs would be nice as well.</p>

<p>It seems like you are on the right track. I agree with T26E4 in that you may want to look up or even call the universities you are interested in about their age policies.</p>

4

<p>Take a good look at the CC thread showing the qualifications of the people that MIT rejected this week. Perfect standardized test scores and a #1 class rank won’t get you in nowadays (unless you’re female or URM), without something substantial in addition to those mere “starter details”: you’ll need to win regional/national math or science competitions, co-author peer-reviewed journal articles, or otherwise complete something grand that shows that math and science is your LIFE, not just something you happen to be good at.</p>

<p>Getting into MIT is brutal, tougher than a top med school. And getting in at 16 would be even more difficult. Build those math and science ECs in a major way if you hope to have a chance!</p>