Applying to MIT with Alevel+SAT results

Samuelee
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 05:12:18 +0000

Hey Guys, Im an international student who took Alevel exam and wish to apply to MIT.
So Im gonna be applying next year cuz my alevel is not over yet-it’ll end in this Dec and hence will be taking a gap year to prepare for the application to MIT.
As an Alevel student I do not really have any outstanding EC which im worried abou the most currently. Those EC I have is like : Prefect during secondary school, Music performances, Class rep in current college, student council comitte member, several MUN conference certs, Leo Club, Inter College futsal competition 2nd place.

So I would definitely need an outstanding EC, great SAT l,ll and TOEFL score in order get in to MIT. And for that, here I have two options of where I would stay and prepare all those stuffs during my gap year and those are US and Australia.

Choosing between those two countries is the biggest concern that im worrying about.
I got Aussie into my option becuz I thought it would be a good experience to go there with working holliday visa and work in a farm and earn money for my Uni tuition fee. Furthermore I’ve found that there’s a lot of opportunities for conservative volunteer works such as CVA.
Those experiences may get me advantageous when Im applying.
However, it’ll be kinda unstable as I will not be staying more than 3 months in a farm and hence may affect my SAT preparation and other EC that I’ll be preparing such as thesis.

If I get to choose to go to US, I’ll be staying with my uncle’s family. And I’ll be able to concentrate on my Uni preparation. i.e. studying for my SATl,ll,TOEFL, and all those.
It’ll be a safe & stable gap year in US. However,because it’s safe & stable, I think it’s rather too common.

I want to have a challenging and worthwhile gap year that MIT will be attracted and I wonder if I can have that in US.Can I? If it’ll be better than spending my gap year in Assuie, what are the things I could do for my EC? Furthermore, does MIT accept EC that is not done during my high school year? If it doesnt,what should I do? Plus what about my recommendation letter? Should I get it in my current college before I leave even though Im not applying this year?

Please give me your advise. This is very very important to me. Thank you.