Hi people reading this…
I’m 14 and an avid fan of the aerospace company SpaceX. I want to work there as a software engineer in vehicle in the future. I really want to attend a good school so I can stand out better to my potential employers, and I think I decided between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Stanford University (well, at least that’s where I WANT to go). If I attend MIT, I was planning on majoring in Astronautical Engineering and taking a few classes or even minoring in Computer Science. If I went to Stanford, it’d be the other way around.
I guess my question is, does anybody have any advice on how to get into either school, or advice on which I should pick? I’m going into 9th grade next fall and I’ve already planned out at least 14 AP classes including AP Calculus and AP Computer Science, and 9 Honors classes. I want to know if this is good enough.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks!
I know this sounds ridiculous but you don’t want to overwork yourself. If you’re really dedicated on going to these schools then I say by taking 14 AP classes (and of course doing well in ALL of them) would be a huge advantage.
My older brother who is a current sophomore at Harvard didn’t take one single AP class until junior year. He totaled around 5 AP classes (AP Physics II, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Lang and AP Micro). He got an A+ in all of those classes because they were interesting to him. He enjoyed those classes, meanwhile he averaged low As in honors history classes because he hated it.
My best advice is push yourself and challenge yourself to an extent. Find AP classes you really enjoy and take honors for ones you don’t.
Make yourself stand out. Anyone can achieve a high SAT score and GPA as well as taking AP classes.
Start clubs or small movements to show leadership. Make a difference in your community. Volunteer at a hospital or animal shelter.
Extracurriculars are very important. Keep that in mind always.
Have a plan B, because no matter your academic accomplishments, the odds are dramatically stacked against you. Both reject far more qualified candidates than they can take.
Know that most people who work at SpaceX did not get their degrees at either of those institutions. They are good engineers, or they wouldn’t get hired, but there are good engineers from LOTS of schools, and not all graduates of MIT or Stanford are great engineers.
Lastly, know that working at SpaceX is known to be a grind where workers are overworked and underpaid.
There’s no such thing as a perfect formula to follow to be guaranteed admission. Two of my friends applied to Harvard. One got in. The one that didn’t get in had a near perfect SAT, was valedictorian, and had tons of extracurriculars. Then one what was admitted had a 1420 SAT, was 11th in her class, and played one sport and a few extracurriculars. It all depends who they’re lookin for and when they read it. I’ve talked with admissions officers and one told me how they seemed to scan a profile and dump it closer to lunch time or leaving work. Its a bunch of factors, so don’t get your hopes up. Do you best, but apply to maybe 2 colleges you are CERTAIN you’ll get into, a few you have a so-so chance of getting into, and THEN apply to MIT and Stanford as reach schools.