Do I Have a Legitimate Shot EA?

Colleges & Universities Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Location and type of school: top private school in Mississippi
Grade: Junior (as such, I have projected in my list of EC’s that I will continue with my current activities)
Ethnicity: Asian-American (Indian)
GPA: 3.95 UW (everyone seems to weight differently; I will have taken 14 AP’s upon graduation)
Rank: School does not rank, but I know that I am in the top 10%.
SAT: 2250 (790 CR, 720 M, 740 W) –> [I think I will retake it–should I?]</p>

<p>Extra-curricular activities:</p>

<p>Taekwondo (9,10,11,12) - World champion in a field of ~1000 in 2007 (~8 hours/week)</p>

<p>Forgotten Global Crises Club (11,12) - president (~15 hours/week)

  • I write a ten page weekly politics update for the school
  • Started a new library at my school that is home to volumes pertaining to political science, international relations, and economics.
  • Raise international awareness through speakers and videos</p>

<p>Student Government (10, 11, 12) - prefect of the Campus Life Committee (~2 hours/week)</p>

<p>Cross Country (9, 10, 11, 12) - Captain (~10 hours/week)</p>

<p>Speech and Debate (9, 10, 11, 12) - Public Forum Debate Team Captain & Numerous local and nat’l circuit awards (~15 hours/week)</p>

<p>Quiz Bowl (10, 11, 12) - (~2 hours/week)</p>

<p>I will have logged over 200 hours of community service upon graduation.</p>

<p>Awards:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Recipient of a $2000 global studies travel grant to work in Peru for one month.</p></li>
<li><p>National Merit Finalist (projected)</p></li>
<li><p>National Honor Society</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Prospective Majors: International Relations & Economics</p>

2

<p>Yes, you do have a legitimate chance. </p>

<p>DO NOT RETAKE THAT FREAKING SAT… I repeat: DO NOT RETAKE. It will most probably hurt more than help, even if you get a higher score. Instead, Improve your essay skills, learn you express yourself eloquently and to be honest and interesting in your essays, and you have a good fighting chance. Just don’t be disappointed if you are rejected or deferred. I can happen to anyone, and doesn’t make of you a worse person than others. Don’t stress too much about it, and have fun writing those essays (I truly mean this).</p>

<p>Just remember that. Good luck.</p>

3

<p>Faraday:</p>

<p>Your assessment is a little vague. Could you be more concrete, please?</p>

<p>By the way, might I add that Faraday filched off of Lenz back in the day!</p>

4

<p>Hey, Faraday>> Kirchoff’s… Conservative E fields are for scrubs.</p>

<p>BTW, your question was if you had a legitimate shot, and I think you do, with my definition of legitimate shot as a reasonable possibility you will get in EA. But I’m not an adcom, so I can’t be any more specific. I can just tell you I was stressing out last year like you, and it made the process much more unhealthy than it could have been.</p>

<p>So try to enjoy presenting yourself honestly and candidly (and have fun in the process), and I wish you the best of luck!</p>

<p>While you may be concerned your math score is a bit low (720), I assure you that you can remediate this by taking an SAT II math test, instead of retaking your SAT. So don’t worry. In fact, it’s much easier to get 800 on the SAT subject test level 2 anyway.</p>

5

<p>You have an average chance… and retake your SAT to get that math score up (seriously).</p>

<p>But why do you want to go to MIT if you’re going to major in international relations? That doesn’t make any sense to me.</p>

6

<p>Econ & Poli. Sci. departments are top-notch. Penn (Huntsman) is my top choice, though.</p>

7

<p>You have a reasonable chance, which is the most anyone can or should expect in MIT admissions. Good luck.</p>

<p>Don’t waste your time retaking the SAT. You’re in the 700s, so they’ll focus on the rest of your application.</p>

8

<p>Any other opinions? Is the consensus that I should not re-take the SAT to improve my math score? I’m taking the ACT in June, so I will likely submit that in lieu of my SAT I.</p>

9

<p>Seriously, you DO NOT NEED to retake the WHOLE SAT just for the freaking math score. All you need is get a decent SAT II math score, and they will understand (>750).</p>

10

<p>700s IS a decent math score. Admissions has said that time and again.</p>

11

<p>Yeah I agree. It’s only after being on the other side of the fence that we start realizing that when we say scores don’t matter as much as people make it out to be, nobody believes us. =p</p>

<p>I took the SAT 3 times; I didn’t believe the upperclassmen when they told me my scores were sufficient. ;)</p>

<p>My advice: Do what you feel justified doing, and start thinking about how you’re going to present yourself/write on the essay.</p>

12

<p>What about the Sloan School of Management? Is the application process different? Is it more selective? Can I apply for Sloan & still take political science courses in the regular college? How is recruiting? Internship opportunities?</p>

13

<p>The application process for Sloan is exactly the same. Although Sloan is a different “school,” there is no separate application process either for freshmen or undergrad students.</p>

<p>You become part of Sloan simply by declaring Course XV when you choose your major at the end of frosh year - they don’t ask for interviews or a secondary screening process. As such, there are no additional requirements or evaluation process if you intend to be course XV.</p>

<p>You don’t need to “apply to Sloan” since like I said, it’s a single application path. Sloan students, just like any other student at MIT, can take courses in whatever department they desire.</p>

<p>Internship opportunities abound no matter which department you are at in MIT. Worry about getting in first - once you’re in, you’ll find that the opportunities are truly limitless.</p>