Transferring to MIT

Colleges & Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>I will be attending Cornell this fall, but I'd like to transfer to MIT.
Assume that I work hard and join activities, what is my chance?</p>

<p>My stats are
SAT 2270
SAT II 3 800s</p>

<p>200 hr volunteering in high school
tri-lingual
lived in other countries
single-parent family
father is a cancer survivor (part of my reason for transferring so I can be closeto home)</p>

<p>I am a girl planning to major in the science/engineering.</p>

<p>Also, what should I do to distinguish myself? Should I do more community service? Find a job? I am pretty lost...</p>

2

<p>Transferring is difficult for anyone; in the past few years, MIT has admitted very few transfer students. (17 were admitted from 269 applicants last year, 11 from 231 the year before that, and 6 from 302 in 2004, according to the Common</a> Data Set.)</p>

<p>If you're serious about transferring, you should try to take the Cornell equivalent of the MIT General Institute Requirements during your first year -- an MIT freshman would generally take physics (mechanics and E&M), intro chemistry, intro biology, and calculus (single- and multivariable) during the first year. Students are only eligible to transfer after completing a full year of college, so you'll have to wait to apply until your sophomore year.</p>

<p>There are some transfer FAQs on the Admissions</a> webpage.</p>

3

<p>For transferring, I don't think joining activities would help, especially for MIT. </p>

<p>Just try to do really well in your classes and get great recs...</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the information. What do you think I should emphasize as my reason for transferring on my application? (My main reason is actually wanting to be closer to home, but I don't think that will be a great reason for them to accept me...)</p>

5

<p>Hi, my name is Dan. I will also be applying this fall/winter to transfer to MIT from RPI. I planned out what courses to take freshman year to have the MIT equivalents. they are: spanish I, chemistry I, multivariable calculus with matrix algebra, intro. to differential equations, physics I and II, art/science of math I and II (1 credit each), computer science I, intro. to biology</p>

<p>some stats:
SATs 2000: 770M/550CR/680W
700 physics/780 math 1/740 math 2
calculus AB 5, calculus BC 5, physics B 4, biology 2</p>

<p>Latino male from CT, parents divorced, public high school with class size of about 300
high school GPA about 3.9
lots of honors courses and a four APs
promise to get straight As in college
applied math major
I didn't do well in my senior year but I have one big reason that I will explain in the app.
I'm passionate about learning Spanish.
I plan to do mathematical sciences club and ski club in college.</p>

<p>some h.s. activities:
BMX biking, skiing/skiblading/ski club, math team (captain), math honor society (president), math tutoring, spanish honor society, senior class treasurer, national honor society, science honor society, academic bowl final team, lawn mowing, delivering papers</p>

<p>National Hispanic Scholar, CAPT scholar, University of Rochester Bausch and Lomb Science Award, MIT MITES program 2006! (this is big), waitlisted at MIT during regular admissions, NSA stokes program semifinalist</p>

<p>any suggestions, support, ideas? Thanks. and hey! it's mollie b. formerly an MIT blogger! big fan here...</p>

6

<p>123orange...</p>

<p>I think your reasoning is fine. In fact, it shows that you are someone who cares about other people. However, I would certainly add something about why MIT appeals to you at a school. Maybe say something about MIT's greater variety of upper level course offerings. I don't know. </p>

<p>BTW, did you get accepted to MIT before? If you have, it might be a good idea to mention this.</p>

<p>To both posters planning to transfer, I think your best bet is to try to go for the top grade in your classes. Try to give your professors/advisor something to write on their recommendations.</p>