Very Low SAT CR Score - How Much Will it Really Hurt for MIT?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>With my very low CR SAT score, how much will it really hurt me for MIT? Keep in mind that English is not my native language, but please be honest. I love criticism :)</p>

<p>Location: Richmond, VA
School: Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male</p>

<hr>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT I: 2060 (800 M, 690 W, 570 CR) <-- Yeah, I know
SAT IIs: Math IIC - 780, Bio M - 740, Taking chem in January, expect 780-800
APs: Calculus AB (5), Statistics (5), Chemistry (4)
GPA: 3.85/4.8953 (Valedictorian has 4.908)
Rank: 6/418</p>

<hr>

<p>Senior Yr Courseload:</p>

<p>AP Biology
AP Calculus BC
AP Environmental Science
AP English
Biomedical Engineering
Advanced Math Topics
VA&US Government</p>

<p>(school doesn't offer as many APs, took most rigorous courseloads all four years)</p>

<hr>

<p>ECs on app:</p>

<p>Varsity Tennis (9, 10, 11, 12)
- 4 year varisty letter
- state championship team
- most improved award twice</p>

<p>Piano (9, 10, 11, 12)
- playing for 11 years
- 3 superior ratings in festival
- bach competition winner</p>

<p>National Honors Society (11,12)
- president of tutoring</p>

<p>Science Club (9,10,11, 12)
- co-found
- vice president
- organize activities, mentorship connections, design school projects</p>

<p>Math Honors Society, Math Modeling Team (9,10,11, 12)
- captain
- participated in contests such as Virginia Math League, Trig-Star, Math Modeling
- many first place awards</p>

<p>Awards Listed:</p>

<p>Intel ISEF Honorable Mention - international
Grand Prize Winner in International Space Olympics (science fair) - international
Math Modeling Competition - Meritorious Rating - national
Virginia State Science Fair - Grand Prize Winner - state
VJAS - 1st place multiple years - state
Top Score in National Chemistry Olympiad - regional
School Math and Science Center Scholar Excellence Award - School</p>

<hr>

<p>Summer Activities (worth noting):</p>

<p>Cancer and Engineering Research at VCU/MCV - 06/2007-current - 35 hrs/week
Volunteer at Science Museum of Virginia - 06/2006-08/2006 - 35 hours/week
Van der Meer/Nike Tennis Camps - occasional weeklong camps
Summer P.E. 9 and 10 - 20 hours/week
Travel (China, Japan, Turkey, Egypt, India)
Temple Volunteer - 6 hours/week</p>

<hr>

<p>Essays:</p>

<p>"Something for fun" - Wrote movie scripts - discussed some ideas
"Which program" - David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
"World I come from" - how India and America have influenced me (included alot, essay was good)
"Something you created" - discovered an antioxidant that will improve stem cell processes
"Anything else" - essay in 3rd person that is a personal profile of me</p>

<hr>

<p>Teacher Recs: excellent
Counselor Rec: excellent
Interview: Pretty good, think I will get a very good report
Supplementary Material: Will send in abstracts of my research projects and maybe an extra recommendation from my mentor.</p>

<p>Overall, everything was pretty decent except for the SATs obviously. I think my essays gave a good description for who I am and the passion I have for MIT. My science project record at fairs have been phenomenol, I've gotten first place in almost every fair state, regional, and local level, and got Honorable Mention at ISEF and was the grand prize winner of another science fair. These are definitely my strengths. Let me know where i stand, and don't be afraid to be honest. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>You discovered an antioxidant? Are you sure? When do I get to see you at the Nobel Prize ceremony?</p>

<p>Otherwise, that CR doesn’t count for much anyway. You have got a sparkling profile. No worries.</p>

3

<p>I’m gonna guess that it’s probably going to hurt you. However, your ECs look extremely impressive, especially the math/science awards, discoveries, and accomplishments. Hopefully that’ll make up for it :)</p>

<p>Just remember that MIT gets plenty of apps from students with outstanding math AND CR scores.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/602605-chance-small-town-rural-kid-washu-ed-notre-dame.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/602605-chance-small-town-rural-kid-washu-ed-notre-dame.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>haha, i didn’t INVENT it, but i used it on stem cells which had never been done before and found amazing results! But yeah, guitarman, I realize that there are so many other kids which just the same profile but HAVE that better CR score, so which one will MIT take, the one with the higher score, obviously. But hopefully they’ll be thoroughly impressed by the diverse extracurriculars I take part in. Any other comments?</p>

5

<p>MIT will take the kids who are passionate about what they do, who bring about a change, who take initiatives. If people on CC haven’t figured it out yet, 800 CRs get rejected in droves by the top colleges, but kids with a genuine passion get in.</p>

<p>And I am just curious, what amazing things did your stem cell do?</p>

6

<p>Well, this is just my 2 cents, and I honestly have no idea of how MIT goes about making these decisions, but I’d say that your dedication to extracurriculars especially in the math/science areas is much more impressive than a high CR score.</p>

7

<p>Well, my research was titled the effect of Resveratrol on Adipose Stem Cell Growth, Differentiation, Survival, and Genomic Stability. The first major breakthrough was learning how to derive stem cells from adult body tissue and having almost the same capabilities as embryonic stem cells, but without the ethical issues, of course. Next, I used Resveratrol (which has been the backbone of the French Paradox Theory since it comes from wine) and administered them at different concentrations and conditions to the adipose stem cells. I found that stem cell differentiation and transplantation into various differentiated pathways (I differentiated them into neurogenic, adipogenic, and myogenic cells) was improved and found to be healthier WITH Resveratrol treatment. I also examined survivability which proved to be significantly higher with Resveratrol treatment. Finally, I examined the cell’s DNA under deliberate damage with oxidizers and used staining, etc, to determine if Resveratrol protected against these oxidizers and free radicals in the cells’ nuclei, which I found it did. It was a pretty extensive project but it’s something I’ve spent hours on and that I’m proud of. I also mentioned in my application my current project, which is using drug-loaded nanoparticles to treat prostate cancer. It tied in very well with MIT since it’s using engineering as medical treatments.</p>

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<p>Any other comments please?</p>

9

<p>Other comments please! I’ll chance back!</p>

10

<p>Someone on CC said her husband had really CR like yours and was admitted to MIT. But I’m sure the rest of your application must be outstanding.</p>

11

<p>MIT is a science school. their predictors of success lie elsewhere. passage reading and sentence completions often can’t predict your success on an engineering or science major can they? it’s common sense. the only reason they may care is to raise their average incoming class stats. but in this case, you’re fine. don’t worry about it.</p>

12

<p>MIT admissions are extremely competitive. The reality is, contrary to what everyone is telling you, your CR score could hurt you a lot, and even be the cause of your rejection. Did you sign up for the Dec SAT? If not, take it as a standby. I suggest you really work to improve your score. Because if you do, you will improve your chances a lot.</p>

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<p>I think your ECs clearly communicate the passion you have for science. MIT, despite it’s extreme competitivenss, is a match for you, and you’re a match for it. Cliche as it may sound, you are the sort of applicant they crave, if you communicated who you are to them as well as you have to us. PS: I have a post in this forum I would ask you to respond to.</p>

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<p>@ adrivit</p>

<p>Sure, all universities like students who are passionate about something like this OP obviously is. And to an extent, yes they do realize that there are more important aspects to an application than a stupid SAT score. However, to say that a 570 CR won’t hurt him at all more than likely is not true. I think the OP has a good chance of getting in because of his ECs, but he’d have an even better chance imo if had a much better CR score.</p>

<p>The 570 CR is really the only con that stands out in his impressive profile, so it’ll probably hurt at least a little.</p>

15

<p>Here’s a link to the latest common data set. The 25th percentile CR score is 660.</p>

<p>[MIT</a> Office of the Provost, Institutional Research](<a href=“Home - MIT Institutional Research”>Home - MIT Institutional Research)</p>

16

<p>Ah crap, according to that link MIT requires SAT II Subject Tests? Shoot, looks like I’m not applying then. I probably should’ve looked that up a long, long time ago.</p>

17

<p>I agree with the people that are saying that CR will hurt me, because I know it will. But I wasn’t sure how MUCH it would along with all my extracurriculars and most importantly, science research. Obviously, if I raised my CR score I’d be in any school pretty easy, but I was wondering how much the 570 would hurt in this scenario. Thanks for all the comments! Please leave more opinions!</p>

18

<p>I don’t think raising your CR score would put you in any school easily. It would help, but it wouldn’t make MIT easy to get into.</p>

19

<p>Yeah, I guess your right, but it would certainly increase my chances drastically. Any other comments please?</p>

20

<p>Anymore comments?</p>