As a rural student, do I even have a shot at any selective schools like MIT?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

As of now, I’m going to a rural high school where there aren’t any particularly advanced programs that I can take (no APs, extremely limited honors options for English only, few ECs other than sports, etc.), though this coming school year, I’ll be doing Running Start, a program where I can get an Associates Degree from a community college for no tuition out of pocket (I’m hoping this will look as good as taking all APs for two years straight). I’m just worried that even with that, I won’t be able to get into any of my dream schools like MIT for studying Physics or Aerospace Engineering. I’ve been taking the hardest classes available to me, which mostly means taking senior classes (I’m a sophomore), but I still feel like it isn’t enough, especially considering my school’s poor reputation. I added a list of classes that I’ve taken, ECs, and other things that I would put on my college resume/application below, but I was just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience while going to a school with relatively few educational opportunities and had some advice or insights to give. Thanks!

So far: 4.0 GPA, (haven’t gotten around to calculating the weighted GPA…)
Classes (HS credit):
8th Grade
-Algebra 1
-Geometry
-Biomedical Science

9th Grade
-Physical Science
-Civics (1/2)
-Strength & Conditioning (1/2)
-English 9
-Art
-Algebra 2
-Physics
-Intro to Technology

10th Grade
-Basic Chemistry (the only chemistry class offered)
-World History
-Earth Science
-Environmental Science
-Honors American Literature (technically AP, though the school didn’t bother to get it set up officially)
-Information Technology Applications (semester class)
-Probability and Statistics (semester class)
-Health (1/2)
-Art Appreciation (semester class)
-P.E. (semester class)
-Biology
-Precalculus
-CLEP French Level 1 (dual credit for college, took the test for this over the summer)
-CLEP French Level 2 (same)

(also, I’m considering taking AP Chemistry and AP Calculus AB online over the summer, though I don’t know how that would work out with testing dates)

ECs:
-Varsity Soccer (2 years)
-FBLA (2 years, VP this year, 2019: 1st place regionals for Graphic Design, Global Business, 2nd place PSA, Entrepreneurship, 2018: 1st place regionals Global Business, 3rd place Entrepreneurship, 6th place Help Desk)
-National Park Service volunteer (2017-2019 2 hrs every week in local admin office)
-after school program tutor (2017-2019 2 hrs every week, math, science, reading)
-Student Council Social Chair (2018-2019)

Other:
-bilingual in French and can read and write proficiently (dual citizen)
-1st Place for school science fair (2018 and 2019)
-total community service is 200+ hrs (as of sophomore year)

Sorry for the long post, I’d add a potato, but there isn’t an option for that, so just imagine a potato.

2

Yes, you have a chance, but MIT is a high reach by almost anyone. You need to take full advantage of any and all opportunities available to you.

3

I went to a relatively lousy high school and still got accepted and went to MIT. My roommate freshman year had gone to an even worse high school (if that is even possible). The most important thing is to do as well as you possibly can in the environment where you are. You should also remember that MIT is a high reach for pretty nearly everyone.

“dual citizen”

Is this dual USA/Canada citizenship?

Note that MIT has no merit based aid, and is very expensive. If you are poor then MIT has very good need based aid. Otherwise, you will have much less expensive schools with much more predictable admissions at schools in whatever other (non-US) country you have citizenship from.

“I’d add a potato, but there isn’t an option for that,”

I am pretty sure that the technology for transmitting potatoes directly over the Internet has never been fully perfected.

4

Yes, you have a chance, but it’s a long-shot for just about everyone.

5

The son of a friend was accepted to MIT about 12 years ago, graduated, and is now working at SpaceX. Our rural high school didn’t offer AP classes at the time, and compared to many schools the offerings were/are limited. I understand that things are more competitive now. MIT is a reach for everyone, but don’t give up!

6

If you perfect that potato transmission process, it would improve your odds. ?

7

Will do.

8

Also be careful of getting an associates degree. That would possibly mean that you will be applying as a transfer instead of a freshman. And likely MIT would not accept many of those units.

9

And colleges will look at your class rigor in the context of your school, so a lack of AP/Honors is not necessarily detrimental to your application.

10

These schools often like students from rural backgrounds (diversity, often more interesting life backgrounds) especially if they are from a less well represented state.

Although your school doesn’t offer APs, that doesn’t mean you can’t self-study for some AP exams in a variety of subjects. I would highly recommend it. It will help your apps and can be a rewarding thing to do.