module9

I'm just wondering what kind of school MIT is, from the student perspective and not the historical/other perspective you find online at their website and in the news etc. Also, what kind of students does the university look for, and what should one do if he or she wants to get into MIT? Thank you guys!

Do I have any chance for MIT?
I'm currently a sophomore with a 3.67 unweighted GPA. This will be 3.83 by senior year. I scored 2000 on the PSAT (600 reading 600 writing 800 math) and expect to receive 2250-2300 on the SAT. I took the SAT Math IIC and got an 800 on my first try. I plan on majoring in either engineering (possibly mechanical) or mathematics (to become an actuary? truthfully not sure yet). I'm playing no sports this year, but will next year. I ran xc, track, played tennis, and wrestled last year. I will most likely attend Harvard's SSP Summer Program this summer and Oxford's Summer Program next summer. I'm attending the HOBY leadership conference this summer and plan on attending West Point's Leadership Seminar and Boys State next summer.

This year's classes: Chem Honors, World History Honors, Precalc Honors, English 2, Leadership, Korean 4, Leadership
Next year's classes: Physics AP, Calc AB AP, English 3 Honors, US History AP, Korean 5, XC/Track, Leadership

Who I Am: Vice-President of Sophomore Class, Vice-President of church Student Council, Secretary of District's Youth & Government [state-wide club that is recognized by the government (the governor of CA comes to our last convention)], Short-term missionary (I went to Kenya for a month for missions), Music Volunteer for Kaiser Permanente (200+ hours), Snowboarder (started when I was 7 years old)

I don't have a ton of leadership positions yet, but in the next two years I plan on being...
Junior Year: Junior Class President, CSF Secretary, Youth & Government Secretary/President
Senior Year: Student Council President, Youth & Government President, Officer in Civil Air Patrol, CSF President/Vice-President

Please tell me what I need to work on. I'm not yet sure which college I want to go to so I'm trying to be as well rounded as possible.

la montagne

For help on seeing what MIT is looking for, check out this page:
MIT Admissions: The Match Between You And MIT

As far as your chances go, you look like a very bright and promising individual. Keep up the hard work... that's really all I can tell you. College admissions seems like a really random process sometimes, but if you do your best then, wherever you do or don't get in, you'll end up at some great school where you'll succeed and be happy.

module9

la montagne: Thank you very much for your encouraging words and your help. I really hope that I will be able to stay on top of things and "give it everything I've got."

PiperXP

As a warning....

Cool, you have numbers. Cool, you have positions. But those are empty without passion. Think about what you're passionate about and work off that - because there are lots of people who apply with the stats that don't get in. Then you have people like me who got decent grades and SATs, didn't really have positions in school and stuff, but loved community service, flying planes, and riding horses. Those were my passions, and that's what made me stand out as a person. That's where my essays came from. I just worry that you simply list things that you've done because it seems like the wrong approach to take.

module9

PiperXP: I completely understand what you're saying. Lots of people have told me to find something I'm passionate about, and I can think of two things: snowboarding and being in student council. Even if it may seem like it, I'm really not in student council just to put it on my college apps. It's an extremely rewarding experience that I wouldn't ever give up. Snowboarding, on the other hand, is simply my favorite. I have been snowboarding for over half of my life (started when I was 7 or 8 years old), and get a rush that I can't get through any other means. Thanks for the post!