Which would help my chances more?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Which would help my chances more at MIT? Staying in my current high school where I would most probably end up being around 5/1015ish ppl?</p>

<p>Or going to this special high school called TAMS where I would earn two years of high school and college credit and would probably come out with 90 credits and math courses in diff equations/linear algebra/modern algebra/ mult. calc/ vect. calc/etc.? The TAMS high school costs like $18000 for the two years tho. I should be able to get some sort of scholarship but still.</p>

2

<p>Go to TAMS if you think you can end up in the top 15 academically...If not, stay at your public university.</p>

3

<p>The question "which would help my chances more" is the wrong question.</p>

<p>If the prospect of TAMS excites you, if you are really looking forward to the academic challenge, and the life on that campus, then go for it. If its a slog that you are doing purely to help your application, then definitely don't.</p>

<p>Going to a public high school won't hurt you. Finishing in the top half of one percent of the high school class won't hurt you. So its really a question of what do you want?</p>

4

<p>Thanks. Well there aren't rankings at TAMS, which is the only thing making me dubious that TAMS is the better option.</p>

5

<p>Medicalmania17 - From your screen name looks like you are targeting med school. There are much easier schools out there that can help you get into good med schools. Why MIT?</p>

6

<p>ya about medical... i was sure about it until this year. Now im leaning towards engineering...still not sure tho</p>

7

<p>I know there aren't rankings, but people generally know who the top people are. If you think you could make some of the academic teams and be a star in the classroom there, then go ahead.</p>

8

<p>You'll be fine at MIT if you decide to go to medical school in a few years. Engineering is challenging (at all schools). Other majors like biology or neuroscience are no more difficult than at any other top school. </p>

<p>Being ranked 5 out of a thousand is enough to convince MIT of your academic credentials. Focusing on your extracurriculars (if you haven't done so already) may give your application an extra boost.</p>

9

<p>so... u think tat I should go to Plano West?</p>

10

<p>BUMP (10 chars)</p>

11

<p>BUMP (10 chars)</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
I know there aren't rankings, but people generally know who the top people are.

[/quote]
I was in no way the top student at my HS (top private), but I stuck with what interested me (and did pretty well in very advanced classes), even if it meant getting lower grades in harder classes or not picking out the easy A's. If you're excited about TAMS, and you'll have more opportunities to really get into the stuff you're interested in (from your post it sounds like math, but they have research opportunities too, right?) then go for it. If you're going to TAMS because you think it'll help your college admission, don't.</p>

<p>The you who's applying to college is the same person wherever you choose to go. College admission departments are good at their job, they'll find the strong and dedicated applicants. Trust them realize that an exclusive math/science school is harder to rank well in, and dazzle them with the amazing opportunities you took advantage of.</p>

<p>However, think about this: MIT is to TAMS as TAMS is to your current highschool, or more so. If you're an MIT(or some other top college)-bound student, you're perfectly capable of excelling even when you've already been placed in a group of top high school students from your area. Most of the people I meet on campus a good at everything, but great at something. This sounds like an opportunity for you to really rise above the croud in a field of your choice.</p>

<p>I'm rambling, but my point is this: It'd be a shame for students to pass up on great opportunities because they're afraid of what a college admissions official would think. It would be just as much a shame for a student to leave their HS, and all of their current classmates and teachers, and spend a ton of money not because they want to pursue something, but because they want to impress a college.</p>

13

<p>I don't think what would help my chances more is the question you should be asking. You should go there bc you want to be challenged. Not because it will help your chances.</p>

14

<p>"Trust them realize that an exclusive math/science school is harder to rank well in, and dazzle them with the amazing opportunities you took advantage of."</p>

<p>MIT does know and respect TAMS... Unfortunately, they can't take admit half the school, even if they know that everyone there was the top student at their home school. They tend to take the top 10-15...You might be better in the long run going to TAMS and not getting into MIT, but you should know what the risks are. If you're confident you can be one of the top students at TAMS, then you increase your chances. If not, then they decrease. </p>

<p>However, going to TAMS and doing well (but maybe not spectacularly well) may make it more likely that you get into one of the ivies or Stanford.</p>

15

<p>Ugh, who cares if "everyone knows" who's in the top x percent? If a school doesn't rank, they don't rank, and MIT will ignore the concept of class rank in your application and will look at all the 400 other pieces of information they have about you.</p>

16

<p>^^doesn't matter, the point is that they only take like 10-15 people tops so you would have to beat out everyone else...and besides, if the recommendation is like it used to be, then your counselor and your teachers will have to mark whether she thinks you are the best she/he has ever seen, top 1%, top 5%, etc. They used to have a box that you could check.</p>

17

<p>I think the "top 1%/5%" box is not used much for the schools like TAMS that MIT considers. If you think a guidance counselor can just look at transcripts, or a one hour chat here and there and deduce who is the best student in the history of the school, you should think a little more carefully about why that question is there to begin with.</p>

18

<p>If you think that a counselor would need to make the determination of who the best student they had based on transcripts, then you need to think more carefully about what types of students go through TAMS. More than likely, the best student they ever had would be on the U.S. Math Olympics Team or something like that; that would be a tip-off to a counselor that the applicant is a pretty impressive person. But like I said, you don't need to be that good, more like the top 10-15% range if TAMS graduates 100 a year.</p>

<p>Look, I went to a school like TAMS and I remember who got in and who didn't. I'm sorry if some of you guys are uncomfortable with the idea of ranking the top 15 (the "ugh" comment but LauraN,) but you know that's what they're essentially doing anyway. (And by ranking I wasn't referring to strictly ranking by GPA.) I realize things have changed somewhat with Marilee Jones, but if what she said is correct than only 15% of the admittees are different now than when I applied. MIT can't take everybody from TAMS; in my experience they admit only about 15 people from TAMS. That means 13 out of 15 had the same profile as when I applied, and 1-2 people are "passion" admits with perhaps less impressive stats.</p>

<p>Despite the fact that all the students at TAMS were at the top 1-2 people in their class at their home school, it would look bad if MIT admitted everybody so they can only take like 15 or so. That means the competition is pretty difficult to get into MIT from TAMS--worse than if the people had stayed at their home school. The top people at TAMS will have national and state awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.). Even making the math and science academic teams is pretty intense--once you do, then you are probably guaranteed at least state-level awards. (Also, usually all the same people make all the teams--doing so is a pretty good indication to a counselor that you are one of the stronger candidates.) There were some very hard math/science classes there that many smart people could not get an "A" in. Unfortunately, those people didn't get into MIT because there were enough people to be able to get the "A." Basically, you still need to be the guy setting the curve (or close) even at TAMS. Plus, everyone had research and activities, so it's hard to distinguish yourself that way. </p>

<p>I recognize MIT makes some exceptions as people here on CC have said they got in getting "B's" in math/science, etc. But I think those people are disproportionately represented on the MIT blogs.</p>

<p>Going to a place like TAMS is a privelege in itself, sort of like attending MIT. But unless you do very well at TAMS, it probably won't help you get into MIT. If it makes people feel better, I'll add that Stanford didn't care at all how you did in class as long as you were an ok student ("B" student or better.) It was completely based on activities/essays.</p>

19

<p>collegealum has a point. I guess my thought was that, if you're planning to go to MIT, you should be able to excel even at a math/science academy. If you can't, it's better to find out in HS than show up at tech and be sitting on a curve with people who were all either busting the curve or doing something special at schools like TAMS, IMSA, NCSSM, Bronx Science, ect... or doing something even more extraordinary at their respective high schools.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if you aren't the top student there, but you're doing some cool research... maybe getting in contact an MIT professor doing similar work up here, you can definitely have a strong app without being the top student in a school full of valedictorians.</p>

<p>collegealum, I don't know about you, but I really don't know much about how admissions picks students. All I know is, I'd rather live and work with someone who actively pursues knowledge and opportunities, even if it means taking a risk, than someone who acts solely based on a guess at what some people they don't know wants to see them doing. To me, it sounds like the OP wants to take advantage of what TAMS has to offer, but is nervous about how it will affect their college admissions. Everyone in TAMS gets into a good college, and they get a lot of extra opportunities before they head out. And any ways, MIT rejects enough perfect SAT scores and valedictorians as it is, even at the top of your class, you still have to stand out.</p>

20

<p>
[quote]
If you think that a counselor would need to make the determination of who the best student they had based on transcripts, then you need to think more carefully about what types of students go through TAMS. More than likely, the best student they ever had would be on the U.S. Math Olympics Team or something like that; that would be a tip-off to a counselor that the applicant is a pretty impressive person. But like I said, you don't need to be that good, more like the top 10-15% range if TAMS graduates 100 a year.</p>

<p>Look, I went to a school like TAMS and I remember who got in and who didn't. I'm sorry if some of you guys are uncomfortable with the idea of ranking the top 15 (the "ugh" comment but LauraN,) but you know that's what they're essentially doing anyway. (And by ranking I wasn't referring to strictly ranking by GPA.) I realize things have changed somewhat with Marilee Jones, but if what she said is correct than only 15% of the admittees are different now than when I applied. MIT can't take everybody from TAMS; in my experience they admit only about 15 people from TAMS. That means 13 out of 15 had the same profile as when I applied, and 1-2 people are "passion" admits with perhaps less impressive stats.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Look, I went to a school like TAMS as well (NCSSM), which also sends 10-15 per year, and I remember very clearly who got in and who didn't. A lot of people who got in weren't people I would rank as the top 15% academically in terms of grades and transcripts. Also, not all of the top 15% even applied to MIT. And a lot more than 15% of our students were passion admits.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Despite the fact that all the students at TAMS were at the top 1-2 people in their class at their home school, it would look bad if MIT admitted everybody so they can only take like 15 or so. That means the competition is pretty difficult to get into MIT from TAMS--worse than if the people had stayed at their home school. The top people at TAMS will have national and state awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.). Even making the math and science academic teams is pretty intense--once you do, then you are probably guaranteed at least state-level awards. (Also, usually all the same people make all the teams--doing so is a pretty good indication to a counselor that you are one of the stronger candidates.) There were some very hard math/science classes there that many smart people could not get an "A" in. Unfortunately, those people didn't get into MIT because there were enough people to be able to get the "A." Basically, you still need to be the guy setting the curve (or close) even at TAMS. Plus, everyone had research and activities, so it's hard to distinguish yourself that way.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>MIT deferred and then rejected our curve setter (who literally set the curve in every class, made USAMO, nearly made physics camp, etc) and took others who got B's here and there. Our school did very well for Siemens, and the two students who made the nationals this year did not have straight A's, and did not set the curve in every class. </p>

<p>
[quote]
I recognize MIT makes some exceptions as people here on CC have said they got in getting "B's" in math/science, etc. But I think those people are disproportionately represented on the MIT blogs.</p>

<p>Going to a place like TAMS is a privelege in itself, sort of like attending MIT. But unless you do very well at TAMS, it probably won't help you get into MIT. If it makes people feel better, I'll add that Stanford didn't care at all how you did in class as long as you were an ok student ("B" student or better.) It was completely based on activities/essays.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, if you are applying to MIT, you need to in some way show that you do have raised the bar for science and mathematics. But grades are decieving. Often times the classes that our "curve setters" were taking in 12th I took in 10th or 9th, and I remember tutoring them my last year there. Also, sometimes people find things that are more important to pursue than grades. </p>

<p>To the OP, I was in your shoes two years ago, and I decided to go to NCSSM, and now I am happily packing up to head to MIT. I suggest you go to TAMS, and regardless of whether you get into MIT, I think you will learn more important things. Sure you can take the Feynman approach, and ace every class, win every competition, etc, but you can also take the Einstein approach: do pretty well in many classes, not so well in others, read up on things that interest you and then do your own thing, and learn to ignore the comments of others. That's what Marilee Jones "passion" subset is for: for those who have realized already that there are more important things than grades.</p>