<p>Can taking too many AP classes or being valedictorian actually hurt your application even if you have many extracurricular activities and/or sports? My question has been answered in other threads, but I felt the need to start a new thread in the MIT forum since I would like an answer to be specific to MIT please.</p>
<p>My S2 is Val, took 14 APs, is Pres of 2 clubs, involved in many others, and worked last two summers. He was accepted last week to MIT Class of 2016 :)</p>
<p>Your question makes no sense. It’s like asking: Does having too much money hurt my ability to buy a BMW?</p>
<p><sarcasm>Yeah, because that would make you overqualified for MIT.</sarcasm></p>
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<p>Almost, only there are about ten times as many BMWs as people who want and can afford them, so they’re selling BMWs to the people they think will do the coolest things with them.</p>
<p>@tripletime
Did he have any special extracurricular activities or interests? How could he get in with just the basics?!?! Sure, he was president of two clubs and worked, but a lot of rejected applicants had that too! What was his secret?</p>
<p>@iceui2
It makes perfect sense after taking a quick tour through the decisions thread. Many valedictorians with perfect grades, perfect SAT scores, and many AP classes got rejected. Some of them even had a lot of extracurricular activities to back their statistics up. Plus, lidusha is right; many people have these attributes.</p>
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<p>And many more non-vals with worse grades and SATs got rejected.</p>
<p>Good point zach12. I guess the best advice is excel at everything and enroll in every opportunity that is offered to you! Am I right?</p>
<p>Well yes, do your best… But also chill out and dont over think this.</p>
<p>@MITobsession… URM/Hispanic</p>
<p>He had outstanding rec letters and I thought his essays were incredibly good. </p>
<p>Also, he played sports 4 years with leadership and championships, invloved in UIL (2nd in state), and involved in NASA program. I would hardly call his stats basic but also know he is very comparable to most applicants. Don’t know why he got in but grateful that he did. His older brother is at Stanford so we are lucky.</p>
<p>I am a URM/Hispanic too! I am fairly accomplished at writing, so my essays should be pretty good. I also hope for excellent recs, but we will see how much my teachers like me when the time comes… You left out considerable information in your first post 
your son is VERY talented! I will be on the badminton team and rowing team for the next three years, and I hope to excel at those. Which NASA program did he participate in? That sounds like something I would like to do (I love astronomy). I am sure you are very appreciative of having two sons at such prestigious schools. That is quite a privilege to have!</p>
<p>By the way, bad choice of words on my behalf, my apologies. What I was trying to convey is that his stats are comparable to many MIT applicants (like you said).</p>
<p>MITobsession… NASA Inspire program is a great program. you have to apply during the summer but it is a good program to apply to and you might also qualify for a free laptop The also have a program for high school Juniors… you apply summer after sophomore year and compete for a summer program. S1 applied, got in, and secured a spot in the summer program after junior year. They paid for the entire summer program including airfare. It’s a great program if you are into engineering and/or aerospace… I think it might be in Texas only though so check it out. NASA does have regional programs so check into programs in your area. Good luck.</p>
<p>@MITobsession: I can assure you that they did NOT get rejected because they of their high SAT scores or valedictorian status. If they had worse stats they still wouldn’t have gotten in. Same applies to people who got in - if they had better stats they still would’ve been accepted. I can’t believe I have to actually type that out.</p>
<p>@tripletime</p>
<p>That seems like an exciting program! Congrats to your son getting in! I will look into programs in my area, but the only problem is that my summers are already pretty packed with activities… I will just have to see what happens.</p>
<p>@iceui2</p>
<p>Perhaps it wasn’t the fact that they were valedictorians and had excellent grades. Perhaps because of devoting so much time to academics, they couldn’t focus on activities they loved so they didn’t get in. No need to be rude about it by the way. It’s a harmless question to ask if it hurts your application. Do not think you are superior to anyone because of a question I asked.</p>
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This is putting it a bit too simply.</p>
<p>The MIT admission process is one of active selection, not active rejection, so the most one can say about those who were not accepted is that the sum of factors in their applications was not sufficient for them to stand out of the pool and be accepted.</p>
<p>I agree mollie. Thank you for your extra input!</p>
<p>Although, honestly, I think there’s a large number of applicants where that somewhat simplistic description might be very close to the reality. Not true for everyone of course.</p>