san2chi

Bartleby007--I completely agree with everything you said. Awesome advice.
Totally right about the STAR thing; the ACT is a crumby test. (Almost everyone agrees that it doesn't actually test how much you know; it just measures how well you can take the ACT.)

But thanks again to everybody! CC is awesome! I actually had an old account to discuss AMC's (forgot all my account info), and even then, you all were extremely helpful.

cellardweller

You frankly have a profile that is a better fit for MIT than either Harvard or Yale. If you are seriously interested in engineering, there is just no contest. You will be very lonely as an engineer at either Harvard or Yale. In terms of math, around 40 of the top 100 at the Putnam come from MIT every year. The depth of talent is simply unmatched. As far as premed goes, MIT grads do very well. Maintaining a reasonably high GPA is definitely feasible especially since research work can be performed for credit and very late drop dates. Pretty much all the premed requirements are part of the GIRs which means you can be done with them by the end of sophomore year and take the MCAT then. My D graduated a year ago from MIT and is now in med school. Pretty much all premeds who applied in her year were admitted.

You should pick the school where you have the best fit and not second guess where you think you may have the best shot for grad school. You only attend college once. At the top level, it is the student that makes the difference, not the school.

goldenboy8784

Harvard's Math 55 is more challenging than any MIT course.

san2chi

cellardweller--This is what I was really looking for: personal experience. It sounds like your daughter was satisfied with her experience at MIT as a pre-med.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that I like programming. I never advanced beyond writing calculator games (self-taught), but I think, with some instruction, I might get interested in serious computer programming. So for that too, MIT would be much better...

cellardweller

She loved her experience at MIT and did not feel it hurt her as a premed. She did research all years after freshman year in the BCS Department which houses the largest neuroscience center in the world. Her lab even has a dedicated fMRI system to work with. She is actually continuing doing research while in medical school and now working on neural implants for Parkinson's. She also took lots of humanities classes which are some the hidden gems at MIT. She learned some programming mostly using Matlab and some python as part of her experimental design work. She did get great premed advising: her advisor was a Professor at Harvard Med with which MIT has a joint graduate program. She also volunteered at Mass General.

Sure, she needed to watch her GPA but as long as she did not overload on classes, she was fine. She felt the classes were challenging but also graded fairly. There is no grading on a curve, so you don't get penalized by taking classes with grad students for instance which my D sometimes did. You have fairly constant reviews so you know pretty quickly how you are doing. You can even take a class as Exploratory if you are not sure how well you will do and can drop it after the final if you don't like your grade.

There could be very legitimate reasons why somebody may not want to attend MIT, if you hate math or want to major in history for instance, but being a premed should not be one of them.

san2chi

Whoa. I want to take that Math 55 class. Sounds like a GPA killer for sure--assuming you got in and didn't drop out.

Darthpwner

Your stats are fantastic, it's really up to you to choose based on best fit, but it seems like you've got an excellent shot for both.

just2help

your statement about applying ED to Harvard because they seem to accept a higher % of their ED applicants is a fallacy. the % is higher because well qualified and confident students
usually apply ED. Also, Harvard is better ranked than Yale and more prestigious so top applicants shoot for Harvard ED, and Harvard just picks the good ones early. They don't predetermine the % that they will take in.

You have incredible stats, even better then mine! However, you are lacking in your focus in EC. Sure, you have a very diverse and lengthy EC but you have no focus. I personally wouldn't know where your interests lies at all. I hope that you are able to shift focus more onto your interest ( I heard it was engineering?) because colleges know that all your other skills and involvements will become useless once you pick a major. Rather, it's more important that you focus on achieving much on a singular interest!

jennieling

I disagree with GiveMe Reason saying that a candidate from CA with the same stats would be more prestigious than you. Actually, I think it would be the opposite. The Adcoms will be more impressed with a student from Mississipi who can achieve such stellar scores. (This may be due to incorrect stereotypes on their part--ie that all of Mississipi, or our home state of Missouri, is "podunk, not intellectual, etc). They will see you as a student who had to struggle through the adversity to achieve, and achieve you did--with scores as high as those California kids that GiveMe Reason mentions. They will be MORE impressed by you. Also, colleges want geographic diversity, so you are very lucky to be from Mississippi with those stats. Harvard will not have as many Mississipians as Californians with your scores, so you are more likely to get in.

jennieling

Just to add to your comments on how teachable the ACT is, I would totally agree, but I'd add that the SAT is equally teachable. That was not true with the old SAT, which had analogies and other more intuitive questions, but now it is quite similar to the ACT. Granted, the ACT has Science and SAT does not, but everyone knows that the ACT Science can be done with very little knowledge of science; it is more of a reading test, but testing the comprehension of scientific literature (reading graphs, etc). Bottom line, the SAT is just as teachable as the ACT.

Cedardog

For pre-med and research opportunities I'd think Harvard would give you the upper hand. Both are obviously the best in the country, so you can't go wrong.

lacrossemom

Go with gut and apply early to one. It isn't binding, so you can apply RD to the other along with some other schools. Visit the colleges you get into in April and decide.

I assume you have done the financial numbers to determine which schools your parents can afford. Your credentials will also garner a ton of full tuition awards at some wonderful schools.

ImSoAmbitious

I hope you realize that Yale and Harvard are both High Reaches, as they are for any applicant. You have a great application, but still, you are a unhooked applicant, and it is still a high reach. Good Luck, you will go somewhere awesome.

cellardweller

I second the above poster.

You ned to be realistic about your chances and not get ahead of yourself.

If you talk about Harvard you have about 15% legacies, 15% URMs and 15% recruited athletes. There is some overlap between the categoris, especially URMs and athletes, so you can assume around 40% of admitted students are hooked one way or another. You also have around 10% internationals.

According to admissions around 25-30% of admitted students are so-called 'superstars', mostly with notable academic achievements such as IMO, IPhO) and Intel/Siemens awards, but also musicians/artists/writers..

That leaves only around 20-25% of the admission spots for unhooked, BWRK applicants such as you, including thousands of valedictorians.

The percentage of unhooked/non-star applicants is fairly similar at Yale. It is slightly higher at MIT which gives no preference to athletes or legacies but on the other hand has smaller admitted class and puts greater emphasis on math/science ECs. The greater gender imbalance at MIT 55/45 M/F may give you a slight additional edge.

Whatever top school you apply early to, you need to work on what would make you stand out in a crowd of high scoring valedictorians. As another poster stated, it is impossible to tell from your description what makes you unique. Frankly, the last thing they need is another smart premed.

goldfox

I second the poster above. Regardless of how great your stats are, getting admited as an unhooked is very difficult at top schools. However, you do have great stats. Apply to EA to the school you like better and write great essays. You'll go somewhere that is perfect.