<p>I am a freshman in high school and I aspire to get into MIT I just want to know what else I should be doing so I can be accepted. This year I am taking Hobors English, Honors World Studies, Honors Biology, Honors Geometry, French II, and Scripture (I am in a catholic high school), I am planning on doing at least eighty hours of community service and I ski each winter. I plan to take all honors courses and AP courses. What else should I be doing? </p>
<p>See <a href=“5 Ways to Get Into MIT - wikiHow”>http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Into-MIT</a> “How to get into MIT”</p>
<p><a href=“Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways</a></p>
<p>First, ixnay on the 80 hours of community service if it is <em>just</em> for college admissions.</p>
<p>The best way to get into any school is to be pure and authentic, and to vigorously pursue what you love, if that thing is aligned with the school’s core values. Do what you love and seek outside validation for it. Every time you embark on something, try to pursue it to closure, and have it validated/judged by a recognized authority if at all possible. Best is to enter your efforts in international competitions (then in regional, state, county, city, etc.). In this way, you will be pursuing your passions, discovering more about yourself, disciplining yourself to carry projects to completion and with excellence, and organically growing capabilities in service to your community and validating them with awards and honors.</p>
<p>In the end, you should have a passion that you are pursuing. By the time you finish high school, you can continue to pursue it and maybe going to college will be the best way, and maybe not. [For one recent example of the choice NOT to finish college, see <a href=“This Woman Invented a Way to Run 30 Lab Tests on Only One Drop of Blood | WIRED”>http://www.wired.com/2014/02/elizabeth-holmes-theranos/</a>] If it is, make the case in an application and show why it is in the best interest of you and whatever college for you to be together for awhile.</p>
<p>Something I found funny about that “applying sideways to MIT” article is that they tout denying a student who built a nuclear reactor, yet I know a kid with mediocre test scores and GPA who got in because he built a robot. </p>
<p>No one gets in to any school because of a single feat. One does not admit a student who is not up to the pace, and set the up for failure. Admissions is not thinking they are giving out prizes, they are trying to construct a community that functions well, is engaged, and flourishes. If scores are too low, the student would be an unhappy, disengaged, poor fit who is struggling to keep up.</p>
<p>@BassGuitar, there is always more to any given story.</p>
<p>Thank you for the help, the eighty hours of community service is mandatory at my high school.</p>
<p>" the eighty hours of community service is mandatory at my high school. " And this is the EXACT reason why no college gives any real weight to ANY applicant’s volunteer hours.</p>
<p>Don’t try to join a bunch of random clubs or participate in random competitions or take AP I-don’t-really-care just to get into MIT (I’m saying this as a current MIT student). Focus on what you enjoy doing, whether it be skiing or whatever it is, and join clubs that interest you. Of course, you’ll need to take some classes, for example, pre-calculus since there is no remedial math here. High school courses in calculus and the sciences can also be helpful.</p>
<p>Also, I can’t tell you what to do to get into MIT. Unless you’ve cured cancer or proven P = NP or something along those lines, the chances of you (or anyone else) getting in is not too high - previous years’ admission rates were around 7-8% if I recall correctly.</p>