<p>My D. is applying next year. So we have had some conversations about why she wants to be there. The best thing she can come up with is that it's hard. She loves the idea of going somewhere where she'll be challenged to reach into herself and go beyond what she thinks is possible.</p>
<p>She's incredibly smart but she's not off curing cancer. She's not a research geek-she is involved in community activities. She takes care of her friends. She edits the newspaper and sells a lot of ads. She works on her music because she likes it, and she challenges herself to improve at something she's not really naturally good at by running distance. She took the SAT once and refuses to do it again because she thinks it's stupid to get caught up in test hysteria. She takes AP classes if she likes them; she won't take a class if she doesn't feel passionate about it. </p>
<p>She's kind of a tough customer; she'd like to go to MIT but her attitude is "here's me, here's what I think is important. Take it or leave it."</p>
<p>I'm interested in perspectives about what MIT wants. You read so much about perfect scores and incredible research experience not being enough and she is not even close to any of those metrics, but she is smart as a whip, practical and incredibly resilient. Is that a cultural/emotional fit with MIT? Of all the colleges we have visited this was one of two where she knew she'd like it. Interestingly the one other school she liked was a complete opposite in terms of strengths; the common thread seemed to be a student body who was there because they really wanted to be--not because of the school's reputation.</p>
<p>My perspective as a student is that tenacity and passion will get a student admitted any day over things like scores, although obviously scores are important too.</p>
<p>I've said this before, but tenacity is really important for anyone who wants to attend MIT; one thing you need in order to be a great scientist or engineer is to know how to fail and not let failure eat you. Persistence in the face of difficulty is critical to success at MIT, and a lot of kids come to MIT never having faced significant difficulty at anything academic. Kids who are naturally resilient (by which I mean stubborn!) do very well here.</p>
<p>I have a lot of sympathy for your daughter's position, because I also did ECs in high school (theatre, band, choir) because they made me happy and not because I wanted to be a music major. And I only took the SAT once, because standardized tests are boring. :)</p>
<p>Um, what Mollie said. Your daughter sounds a lot like me (although I did take the SATs twice), and I got in. Resilience is a huge factor. Admissions will love that, as well as passion. Lots of people are smart. Good test scores will make you competitive. After that, it's things like resilience and personality that will make the difference.</p>
<p>I have the exact list of traits and activities your daughter does - literally! Right on down to running distance (although I was never that fast) simply because it was a challenge and one of the few things I had come across that I obviously lacked any natural ability for. I made my decision because I want to be around people that are truly my peers and who are not so impressed by me that I am not expected to actually push my abilities (as opposed to "Why work harder than it takes to get an A?"). MIT is academic boot camp, and most of the kids seem to be drawn to it because of that challenge. It sounds to me like she'd fit right in :)</p>
<p>Interesting perspectives--we did not hear of a single girl accepted to MIT this year, but we don't have a statistically valid sample. Just anecdotal and they were all really stereotypical: Korean, perfect scores, orchestra, etc. The guys were a more varied lot, but I don't know the one who was accepted.</p>
<p>tonssss of girls get accepted! this year a little less than a third of all female applicants got in, if i'm not mistaken (27%, or something?)</p>
<p>Yay for girls!!!:):):)</p>
<p>Yay for math-science girls! Mombot, the results from your "sample" were interesting. Among my family friends and classmates in my area, I was the only girl who applied, and only one of two people who got in. Out of my summer science program, 5 guys and 5 girls got accepted. So it really depends =)</p>
<p>The only other people that I know personally who got in were both guys. And I was the only girl from my school/area to apply. But then again, at my school, they subconsciously stress the whole "girls are for english" thing.</p>