Bioengineering Chance Me [4.0 GPA in IB, 800RW/750M SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Please keep this space positive and encouraging! I a writing this because I am kind of lost in college apps, but if you’re also going through it I hope you are taking care of yourself and remember how amazing you are. :slight_smile:

Demographic: Large public high school, upper middle class, White/Asian

Intended Major: Bioengineering or Neuroscience

GPA: 4.0 UW (Full IB)
SAT: 800 V, 750 M (DSAT)

Higher level science: IB Physics, IB Bio, BC Calc, Linear Algebra (online, not for credit), going to take discrete math over summer before college (will submit placement test score in additional info)

Awards: Grand award/society award at ISEF, accepted to NIH conference, national poetry contest, Regeneron Biomedical Sciences Award (state-level)

Main Extracurriculars: Research project lead (designed novel drug and won at ISEF), research project lead (position at graduate level computing lab), author of full-length/published poetry book (won a national award), run science journal for kids that was given a competitive grant by the county, shadowed for 2 summers in surgery departments, part-time job at bakery

LOR: Bio teacher, English teacher, research mentor

Top Schools: MIT, UChicago, Yale, Caltech

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I think you are a well qualified candidate applying to the most selective schools in the country.

You are worthy of applying.

Will you get in ? No one can say.

But you need safer schools as well.

Good luck.

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To OP, given your outstanding profile, I think you actually have a chance (5-10%) at getting admitted to any of the schools you listed. But make sure to add plenty of less selective schools to your list since the odds are so low with the schools you named for any student no matter their profile. Good luck!

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Please know that these definitely aren’t my only schools, just my top choices :slight_smile:

I’d be interested if anyone knows what MIT’s “cutoff” is for math SAT. I’ve heard that at 750+, they stop looking at it, but I’ve heard different things.

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If you believe them, they will not ‘not consider you’ based on a score.

But yes theur 25th percentile is 780. But then again up to 25% of folks have less.

We do not have cut off or recommended scores for the ACT or SAT as scores are evaluated within an applicant’s context. To view test score statistics from the most recent admissions year, visit our admissions statistics page.

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I may be misunderstanding, but will they not consider you for admission if you are outside of their range?

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No - I’m saying according to them, your SAT score will not eliminate you from having your app read.

Apply. Knjw that at 4.5% admittance amongst the best and brightest it’s highly unlikely but take your shot. You’ll be reviewed.

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Of course, thank you! I understand that MIT is a reach for anyone, but I just want to make sure that I will pass their first review that makes sure I wouldn’t fail out of MIT.

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I don’t know if you’ll pass first review. You and I don’t decide.

But you will be reviewed.

If you want to go there, apply. If you don’t apply, you can’t get in.

Have a balanced list with two safeties you’d be happy to attend. There’s a lot of fine bio engineering schools.

Don’t worry about what you can’t control.

Take your shot - if you pass muster great. If not, oh well. It’s why you apply to schools of varying selectivity.

Good luck.

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Just to add my two cents, MIT is definitely mostly looking for what I would call Math Outliers, people who have very unusually strong interests and abilities in math.

When they have discussed why they don’t have some hard requirement for SAT Math scores or such despite their observably high SAT Math ranges, if you look closely at what they have said, it is not because they don’t care about Math Outliers. It is because normally the sorts of people who are Math Outliers get very high SAT Math scores.

OK, so basically, I would not worry about your SAT Math score, but hopefully the rest of your Math-related qualifications will be enough to convince them you are the sort of Math Outlier they are looking for. And they may well be enough. But we can’t say that for sure, that will be up to them.

By the way, that is not necessarily the list I would come up with if I was naming the top few undergrads in the US for a combination of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, and it is also not a list that has any other obvious common denominators in terms of size, focus, region, or so on.

Of course that is entirely up to you, but I just thought it was worth noting.

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Yes - I’d add, if large ok, Pitt and Va Tech, which actually has a college of Neuroscience.

Of course one’s list might look different if they were one major for sure - as well - vs both.

Agreed - the student should decide on preferences ahd not just big names for sake of big names.

You will be somewhere four years, day after day. You want to be happy.

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I am also going to submit a placement test for a discrete math community college course (which tests on similar content to the SAT but isn’t curved) and my research which is heavy in computation. Is this what you mean by showing that I am a Math Outlier? Thanks!

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Probably, yes!

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Thank you so much for your help!

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Congratulations on your achievements, you have an amazing profile.

You will likely be a competitive applicant at any school you apply to. Are you applying ED or restricted EA to any school? Make sure you apply to any school in their EA round that you can (that ability depends on whether you apply to any restricted EA schools and the nature of the restrictions.)

Make sure you have at least one affordable high probability school that you would be happy to attend. Maybe consider a rolling admission school for that, maybe Pitt? Good luck to you.

The second part of this was a nice thing to write. But, why are you feeling lost? I know it’s a stressful time, but please take your own advice :blush:

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I have applied rolling admission to Pitt, which is a school I love. Also I am applying to Virginia Tech early because I work at a lab there so I have a faculty rec letter.

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Two great schools for both majors.

See all will end up great regardless - assuming you can afford.

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