What are my chances?

<p>What do you think?</p>

<p>Sex: Male
Ethnicity: Asian
School: Public, Wisconsin</p>

<p>Academics:
ACT: 34
SAT Subject: Math 2: 800, Physics: 800 Bio E: 690 (will take U.S. History)
AP: U.S. Government 4, APUSH 3 Self-studied: Psychology 5 Calc BC 5 Biology 5 Micro 5 Macro 4 Human Geography 4
Rank: 4/250
GPA: 3.945 Unweighted
Took hardest classes, should've graduated early, but school didn't allow
Senior first semester classes:
AP English
Rest will be from UW-Milwaukee:
3rd Semester Calc 234
Physiology 202
Chemistry 102
Physics with Calc 205 and 209 (lab)
18 credits
second semester will be just as rigorous</p>

<p>EC:
Marching Band 2 years
Symphonic Band 2 years
Pep Band 2 years
NHS: Treasurer
Tri-M music society
Orchaestra
WSMA (state music competition): Got 1's since freshman year (Trumpet, Violin, Piano)
MYSO (milwaukee youth symphony orchaestra): 1 year
AMC 12 school winner
Track 1 year jv 1 year varsity
Soccer 2 year jv 1 year varsity
Math team varisty since sophmore year, have placed in top 5 in conference since.
Volunteered a lot at church: translator (Korean to English), babysitting, tutoring, usher, liturgist, acolyte, etc...
Volunteered in community: project concern, elderly breakfasts/lunch, and more through NHS</p>

<p>Thanks for your time!</p>

<p>DUDE!! i know someone called Tim Kim at my school!!! except he is like opposite of you, flunks classes >.<</p>

<p>you are definitely above average applicant and should have a good chance. However, good chance for MIT is... like... pretty low.</p>

<p>just wondering what score on the AMC 12 got you the school winner thing?</p>

<p>92.5... 1 question away from qualifying</p>

<p>Wow, your school is weak sauce...but you are hot sauce!</p>

<p>adsfjk;!! DUDE i wanna go to your school! sigh.... no fair
for us no 140+ don't even think about 1st place(no USAMO, don't even think about math club president or VP and no AIME, don't think about ANY other math club positions, basically)... last 2 years school winners been reserved for 150s. Last year we had four 150s for AMC10, it was pretty crazy. This year a 150 for 12. ( i got 120.5 on AMC 10 in 8th grade , the highest i ranked at school.. like 7th or something in my middle school, but never got even close to the top 5 in my high school for AMC scores)</p>

<p>don't you get like a medal or pin or something for 1st at school? I only got boring certificates in middle school. High school gave up on giving everyone AMC10/AMC12/AIME/USAMO certificates, since 700+ people took it and most did pretty well.</p>

<p>sucky for me, i have to compete with RSI, MOsP, USAMO, other USA(insert science initial)O qualifiers for spots at MIT.</p>

<p>wait wasn't 100+ enough to get qualified for something?
I don't know, but I remember being 1 question away from qualifying.</p>

<p>100+ gets into AIME if you are taking AMC12, 120+ gets into AIME if you are taking AMC10
This year my school got 57 people into AIME (8000 in the country this year)
putting school winner with 92.5 shows that your school is pretty weak in math. I don't know if that is good or not . Our school winner is always 150 or like 144.</p>

<p>is your school competitive at all in other subjects? how is the school districts around you?</p>

<p>so what do you think is your strong point that MIT should pick you over other students?</p>

<p>you don't have to put your score down. Just say school AMC 12 winner.</p>

<p>MIT has a space on its application for AMC and AIME scores. I think it's best to be honest -- in your context, it won't hurt.</p>

<p>is it better to be a part/ to be secretary of a math team that got # 2 in the country for AMC and #1 California Math Olympiad (CAML) , Mandelbrot and other math contests or some school that doesn't get anyone into AIME and got #1 for AMC?</p>

<p>i know secretary is like... not math related, but one has to be one of the top members in the math club and placed at competitions to get voted</p>

<p>Does it matter? I mean, is it really your choice to go to Lynbrook vs. "some school that doesn't get anyone into AIME"?</p>

<p>You have to do the best with your circumstances. That's all that matters. Just like some random person from Alaska (nothing state-ist, just an example) where there's maybe 4 AP classes total won't be compared on the same level as someone from Exeter or Groton or something. </p>

<p>And no, you don't have to be good at math to get elected to an officer position. Tube tops and miniskirts.</p>

<p>does it matter? can't i ask?
does it matter what anyone's chance is to any college? NO! only their final decision that matters
does it matter whether or not one got into RSI matter? YES, it DOES matter for college
does it matter what SAT you get? YES it does matter
why shouldn't being part of a high ranking competitive math club matter?</p>

<p>in math club you do have to be good at math, and have the time and responsibility to grade 400 contests every 2 weeks and do other stuff, such as club reports to the school .etc School Class officer positions is another story. Iono about other schools, but people in our math club is smart enough to vote base on qualification.</p>

<p>being in Lynbrook, or Monta Vista or Mission San Jose or Gunn or some expensive private schools doesn't make ANYONE "smart, or good at math". The individuals in the school work hard to win their achievements. Just because someone goes to Exeter doesn't mean he is automatically going to get into this and that, they had to work for it. Shouldn't standing out amongst outstanding students mean something more? Many of Lynbrook teacher aren't even good cuz Lynbrook pay them soo little that they move to teach at other schools. A Chem teacher that doesn't have any degree in chem, and makes mistakes on EVERY SINGLE test's answer key, tells student false info in class, and can't answer student's questions doesn't stop most her students get 750+ and lots of 800s on SAT 2 Chem, because her students choose to study outside of class to learn the material. 2 of our teachers are in like rehab or something. Lynbrook doesn't have enough money to open any more math classes so at least 1/5 of the senior class next year will be left with NO math classes. Going to a competitive school or some school that doesn't get anyone into AIME doesn't matter. But does choosing to work hard and do well on contests and standing out among other brilliant students matter? Right now there are so much info on the internet and other sources that being in a not as competitive school has nothing to do with how well one does on the math contests. It's whether or not one uses those info and sources. </p>

<p>and no, it wasn't my choice to come to this school district; it was my parents' choice.</p>

<p>I get offended when people say anything like " you are Asian, of course you are smart" It's like all my hard work is totally overlooked JUST because I am ASIAN?
Should one's accomplishment be overlooked just because they go to a competitive school?</p>

<p>(KnightMair- please reply, your points are really interesting, and I'll keep an open mind to read them get an better picture i guess. It's always pretty interesting to hear other's opinions.)</p>

<p>btw KnightMair, you can PM me , so i can stop stealing TimKim's thread</p>

<p>ok rainynightstarz your school is good at math. we get it.</p>

<p>is there anything wrong with being proud of being part of something amazing?
sorry if I offended anyone.
Every time I move to a new place,I always had to start at the bottom. I had to work and study my way up, getting people's acknowledgment and trust. I am proud of every improvement that I make, so sometimes the better achievements gets out of proportion. Sometimes, even my friends get a lil annoyed, but they know I am happy and I worked for whatever the achievement is.</p>

<p>Whoa whoa rainynightstarz! </p>

<p>
[quote]
Being in Lynbrook, or Monta Vista or Mission San Jose or Gunn or some expensive private schools doesn't make ANYONE "smart, or good at math". The individuals in the school work hard to win their achievements. Just because someone goes to Exeter doesn't mean he is automatically going to get into this and that, they had to work for it. Shouldn't standing out amongst outstanding students mean something more?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes and no. Yes people will applaud your and other's hard work at these top tier schools. But being surrounded by talented students helps tremendously. Notice how your school is producing, year after year, top scores in various mathematics competitions. Coincidence? </p>

<p>
[quote]
Many of Lynbrook teacher aren't even good cuz Lynbrook pay them soo little that they move to teach at other schools. A Chem teacher that doesn't have any degree in chem, and makes mistakes on EVERY SINGLE test's answer key, tells student false info in class, and can't answer student's questions doesn't stop most her students get 750+ and lots of 800s on SAT 2 Chem, because her students choose to study outside of class to learn the material.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Many schools around the country are like this. The fact that so many of your friends and classmates choose to study for the SAT Chem outside of class is important. Don't you think as a starry eyed 9th grader you looked up to see how the older kids did it? If your friends are busy studying at home, it will subtly pressure you to do the same.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Going to a competitive school or some school that doesn't get anyone into AIME doesn't matter. But does choosing to work hard and do well on contests and standing out among other brilliant students matter? Right now there are so much info on the internet and other sources that being in a not as competitive school has nothing to do with how well one does on the math contests. It's whether or not one uses those info and sources.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Of course working hard matters. But you are wrong on two points (or at least I see things slightly differently). </p>

<p>First, studying math, chemistry, etc after school is not hard. Not when you have direction. Not when you have a rough idea of what to do. Your classmates all qualifying for the AIME and USAMO inevitably pass on to their juniors how it can be done. Studying for chemistry or physics, while grueling, is not cutting edge stuff. The book is there, you study it, you work at it. But you don't face a brick wall, where you don't even know how to start. In fact sometimes this brick wall extends such that people don't know what the hell the USAMO or AIME is. Sometimes this brick wall gets so big that your peers discourage you to be smart... it's not the "in" thing to be. </p>

<p>Sometimes, coming from a top notch school can hurt you, if you haven't faced this brick wall. Because in the real world, problems are not found in textbooks, and you often start not knowing whether you should apply equations or just approximate. And when you face those situations, there will be massive brick wall, and you have to learn how to get through it, or when its right to look for another way around. </p>

<p>Second, learning from the internet is not easy. Remember that you already have a mountain of background behind you when start looking around. Other's don't always have that. Sometimes people don't have internet access. What about when your family doesn't support you studying for abstract math contests because they want you to pursue more useful learning that will have more immediate practical results? Looking things up on the internet is one thing, but being able to discuss and share your excitement with others is very important as well.</p>

<p>Consider these points carefully. </p>

<p>
[quote]
I get offended when people say anything like " you are Asian, of course you are smart" It's like all my hard work is totally overlooked JUST because I am ASIAN?
Should one's accomplishment be overlooked just because they go to a competitive school?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You should be grateful that you are considered smart and have accomplishments as a result of your hard work. If you keep up the attitude now of "It's like all my hard work is totally overlooked JUST because I (am ASIAN)/(GO TO A GOOD SCHOOL)," you will find it harder and harder to continue the higher up your accomplishments rank.</p>

<p>I'm not mollie or ben or matt or any of the mit adcoms, but in my opinion, getting into MIT is not about math and science scores (although they serve as an indicator that you have the basic ability to get through MIT). It's about what you have faced, how you reacted when you are hit with a brick wall, how much you are persevere, your joy for something beyond just getting to the top of the class. Yes this is not a definite straight forward process. But it is extraordinarily naive to think that real world problems are definite and straight forward. This is not a math problem, this is a human problem. </p>

<p>So relax, take it easy, do what you enjoy and just keep plugging. Don't worry too much about how unfair such and such is right now, it won't help. When you've grown older and have many more years of experience, then it will be your turn to make a judgement on how such things are run.</p>

<p>Thanks for your feedback! I'll keep things in mind.</p>

<p>Not to be racist at all, but my school is 70% Asian, resulting from parents thinking their kid will get a good education by going to a top school. The school population is very much self-selected. Of course there is peer pressure to do well, but students generally are already pretty determined to do well and get fair amount of pressure from parents before they even came to the school. But your points does make a lot of sense. I love to see my friends do well, and I would always be welling to help them with any sort of math or science with my free time because I enjoy seeing my friends understand more about subjects that I like. I also get advice from others on how to do better in English.</p>

<p>What's funny is that, anyone you ask about AIME or USAMO they respond: a) just do old tests, b) i didn't study c) got lucky. I found Art of Problem Solving much helpful for that. Anyone can have access to AoPS as long as they have internet. </p>

<p>Sure, I get offended when people when people attributes my accomplishments to being Asian or going to a good school. That doesn't stop me from keep working harder. I learned to fill my academic surroundings with people that also worked hard and people with even better achievements so I am always motivating myself to do better.</p>

<p>But I definitely know what you mean by brick wall. My mom came from a very rural part of China where basically no one get into college because they were taught now to make bricks (literally) and plant vegetables in high school. Despite now uncommon it is to choose college over growing farms and how impossible to get into college(especially for women), she got into one of the top universities in China, and is now a research professor in the US. My father loved electronics when he was little, but there was almost no way and no money to buy parts in China back then. He collected scrap metals from all over the place and sold the scraps in order to by electronics parts. Some parts that are impossible to find, so he had to improvise and find other ways to make things. My brick walls are much much lower and more common, such as learning English, cooking for myself because the parent I live with comes home late, no one to give me rides so I biked to school for the last 5 years.</p>

<p>Sorry guys! =\
I finally got to changing my password. Hopefully no more posts that people would find offensive. I should seriously consider using different passwords for different accounts.</p>

<p>In my school i got school high scorer on AMC 12 with a 78...so....my school's gotta be really bad!</p>

<p>And agreed...you have a good chance at getting in. but then most people who apply to MIT are qualified, acceptances and admissions people are weird though, but you'll get in somewhere really good! (as opposed to no chance like I have)</p>

<p>OMG! At least you know you were the best at your school... :)</p>