What do I still need to do to get into a top tier college?

Hi. My dream school is MIT. I know that posting this probably won’t reassure me, but I want some guidance. I’m currently a junior, however I skipped the eight grade and my sophomore year, meaning I am only 14. Next year I will be applying to colleges. What is my application missing?

I would like to study economics and computer science. I am white and a girl from an upper middle class college educated family, living in a diverse but generally very wealthy county outside of NY.

Grades
All As (lots in the 95+ range) with the exception of AP Physics and English 10, which were A-s.
Freshman:

  • Algebra 2 Honors
  • Pre-calculus
  • English 9 honors
  • English 10 honors
  • Biology honors
  • Psychology (1/2 year)
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Spanish 3
  • Early American History
    Junior:
  • AP Physics 1
  • AP UNited States History
  • Spanish 4
  • AP English Lang
  • Chemistry
  • AP Calculus BC
  • P.E.
  • AP Computer Science Principles
  • Microeconomics (at local university)
    Predicted Courses for senior year:
  • calc 3&4 at local community college (I know these aren’t the real names but just the next ones in sequence)
  • AP English lit
  • AP Comp sci A
  • Mandarin 1
  • AP European History
  • Civics
  • Macroeconomics (AP)
  • Scientific research or AP Physics 2 (not sure which to take)

Test scores:
SAT 1 (new) 790 math, 750 reading
SAT 2 math 2 & Physics (haven’t taken)
AP tests (haven’t taken yet)

Extracurriculars:

  • varsity debate team member (Uber involved with this)
  • I do a steam competition called Odyssey of the Mind and have for five+ years, three-time state champion, multi-year world finalist, one time 6th place world finals. I also volunteer to coach younger teams.
  • Volunteering at a local elderly home (minimum 3 hours per week)
  • Research in theoretical comp sci at local university
  • Entrepreneurial mentor ship program
  • Summer: all last summer I participated in the NYU Center for Mathematical Talent summer program
  • I’m fluent in English and Spanish and can read French and Norwegian, I take mandarin
  • I can write in Python, html&css, scheme, Php, JavaScript, (although I am definitely not any kind of coding genius)
    Big project I will probably write an essay about:
    I am developing an app for my local Alzheimer’s facility (where I volunteer) to help the patients communicate with family and with the nurses.

****school is a decent-good public magnet

**** also I competed In the National Computational Linguistics Olympiad but did not place.
**** I was a JHU CTY member in middle school
**** I will not be a National Merit Scholar (I did unusually poorly at my PSAT)

Great stats as a Junior!
I feel like you lack leadership positions.

There’s not much you’re missing here.

Think about
– how will you show maturity and being ready to handle a school like MIT at a younger age
– how you will balance your list with match and safety schools, not just reaches

You’re basically only missing high AP scores, which based on past performance, you should do exceedingly well on, so really grind on those, as those will give colleges an idea as to how prepared you are for college level courses. You’re also going to need a leadership position too, especially because your applying at such a young age (congratulations, by the way). Without leadership or high AP scores, colleges will have no way of gauging if you will thrive in a college environment. Top schools want academically superior students who are ready for the rigors of challenging courses and have a penchant for leadership. If you can prove this via AP scores and an extra-circular, you will stand a good chance at getting into some of the top tier schools. Good luck!

Alright. Next year I’ll be debate team captain, and I’m my grades student government rep. Any advice on how to get my AP test grades up? Study resources, tips, etc.?

Use Khan Academy or the AP study books.

SAT2’s are either mandatory or “recommended” by most of the highly selective colleges, so in terms of relative importance, I’d rank them higher than AP tests which are self reported and optional. There are various good commercial study guides for those. Also make sure you have your letter of recommendation teachers lined up. Note that MIT wants 1 LoR from a math or science teacher and 1 from a humanities/social science/language teacher. Use this summer to get ahead on various portions of your application. Note MIT is not a Common App school. Essays and short questions may vary from year to year, but they usually follow common themes. You definitely should gather and fill in the various background info required in the Common App and other application forms. In terms of match/safety schools, a good option will be state flagship honors programs. Many of those operate on a rolling admissions basis, and scholarships are also usually granted on a rolling basis. Have those ready to fire off in the late summer/early fall when applications can be submitted. Consider if you want to ED or EA any schools on your list. There are pluses and minuses to both, but I would definitely do one of those. ED usually provides some admission boost (varies by school, MIT not so much) but it limits your choices especially if FA is important. EA/SCEA little or no boost, but you retain flexibility. Both ED and EA can either narrow the number of apps you will have to submit and can allow you a stress free second half of senior year (if you get in) or can provide you some feedback on the strength of your app if you are deferred or rejected.

Take AP Physics 2 , if MIT is your goal, because you have to pass year of physics for any MIT degree.
If you can do some research in high school, on top of that, see if you can arrange that, but a strength in physics will help you a lot at MIT (and most engineering colleges)
because physics is a required course even for econ or CS at MIT.
Its better if the research work has a PhD scientist as the mentor, so it all depends on what you mean by “scientific research” class. If its a high school teacher, perhaps skip that. If its an activity at a local college, try to squeeze that in. But ask other students about the content and qualify of the “scientific research” class you mention.

Practice in physics problems is likely to prepare you better for freshman year at MIT.

Thanks so much!