<p>So I have attended a Science Technology Engineering and Math magnet high school for the last 4 years. I am the first graduating class as it is a new school, but they did not offer any ap classes. I did however take 5 years of Spanish, as well as 4 years of math (I got up to MV Calculus) and science with many math and science based electives. </p>
<p>I am an Eagle Scout who is still active in my troop. I have done piano for 10 years. I played tennis, golf, and soccer for 4 years recreationaly because my school didn't have sports. I was in ASB for all 4 years, as well as the Robotics team and Math team. I had 400 hours of community service and was active in my church youth group.</p>
<p>I didn't list my GPA or ACT/SAT for a reason. This is because I have been struggling with crohn's disease for almost all of my life and my grades and tests are not very good due to all of the school I have missed over the last several years. I plan to write my college essay about how much I have overcome and what I have learned from my condition. My goal is to attend either Stanfor or MIT to study math or computer science.</p>
<p>Will these schools give me a break because of my condition? Under the circumstances, what GPA and ACT/SAT scores would I need to be competitive for either of those schools?</p>
<p>Realistically for MiT or Stanford a competitive applicant will have a 3.9+ unweighted and a 2250+ or 32-33+ on the ACT. You are in a unique situation so it is hard to tell, but if you lack any form of number to back up your intelligence you will probably experience some issues in admissions.</p>
<p>i think u minimum need a2200</p>
<p>Actually, I don’t think that is true (but I could be wrong) because the 50th percentile of Stanford/MIT is around 2250, so 2200 definitely isn’t the “minimum”, especially for someone with a compelling life story like you. I’d say for SAT you need around 2100, and ACT a 32. Keep in mind though that for MIT at least, your Math score needs to be high. For Math I’d say 750+ is ideal, and you should be above 720 at least. I can’t really comment on GPA, since I’m not too familiar with that.</p>
<p>Hmm, I think with your situation, GPA won’t have a huge impact, as that’s easily explained by your condition which they definitely will consider. For the test scores however, I don’t believe circumstantial attendance will give you much leeway, as test scores are largely independent from schooling. However, this all depends on what you meant by ‘not very good’. On this website, anything under a 33 ACT is often looked down upon when it comes to admission to the highly selective schools, when that’s not the case. As long as your math and science is really good, and the other scores aren’t too low, that shouldn’t be a problem.</p>
<p>With all that in mind, you have a really good shot at it. You’ve shown you love the field, you’ve worked hard, you’ve overcome obstacles, and you seem like an interesting person, and all of this will increase your chanced dramatically :)</p>
<p>Lastly, although your essay topic is a good one, be careful with it. Although I don’t believe this is the case with you, essays over adversity can sometimes come across wrong and you have to take extra time to make sure it comes across in the right manner, as they don’t get to use much else to get to know you. Make sure you tie it into who you as an individual, and not just as a kid with an unfortunate illness. Sometimes essays over adversity can accidently convey a sense of pity and entitlement or they can be more focused on the adversity an less focused on the applicant. Not saying yours will, just be extra careful to make sure it doesn’t. I’d advise finding someone who doesn’t know you very well, perhaps online, to read it and see what their opinion is before submitting. </p>
<p>Best wishes! :)</p>
<p>Try Cornell for College of Engineering. Top level education, you are more likely to get in with lower scores, and it a beautiful and amazing school.</p>