<p>On the Secondary school report form there’s a section about the record not indicating the true index of the student’s ability. One of the listed reasons is “excessive involvement in extracurricular activities”.</p>
<p>If my guidance counselor mentioned this in her recommendation, would it make me seem like I don’t contribute well to all my clubs? (I did contribute very well to all). </p>
<p>Or would it actually help me in my application because to be honest, they are the reason why my 2nd and 3rd quarter grades are usually lower than my 1st and 4th (for example, I always miss about two weeks of school just because of robotics competitions)?</p>
<p>It seems as though your guidance counselor is best suited to answer this question.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what your actual question is. Are you saying you have low grades due to extracurriculars?</p>
<p>I could imagine this not hurting you terribly under some circumstances - but, alternatively, it could hurt you very much. In the end, this is about different sacrifices. If you’re failing some classes because you’re too busy with robots, Admissions might think you have your priorities in the wrong place. If you get a B in couple of classes because you were out doing some awesome robotics competition, I think Admissions would look favorably on your hard work elsewhere, and not let some B’s keep you out of MIT.</p>
<p>This is pure speculation :)</p>
<p>Hahaha, it’s definitely just B’s. I’ve gotten 7 B’s in high school in general (89, 89, 89, 88, 88, 85, and 85). Sadly, they’ve been in science and math, because they’re a lot harder in my school than the other classes. However I got 760 on Math II, 770 on Chem, and a 5 on the AP Chem exam. Plus I do Science Olympiad (co-founder), Math Team (president), and Robotics (head programmer), so hopefully they’ll counteract them.</p>
<p>Any ideas Piper?</p>
<p>I personally wouldn’t be worried (meaning, I don’t think you need to “explain” these grades). You’ve shown that you can handle the schoolwork with your SATs/AP, you haven’t failed classes so you’ve shown that you will work (ability without willingness to work means ~nothing), and you’ve shown that you’ll do interesting things in your spare time (as opposed to just coast in your classes and watch TV all day). I think you’re fine :)</p>
<p>Again, this is only my opinion - and I’m not saying you’ll get in, either. But nothing you’ve said so far has indicated that you are unqualified/don’t fit the Match.</p>
<p>Ok, nice. Just personally, I think I am a perfect fit for MIT, and my interviewer thought so too. Thanks for the help! Now just to finish the app and cross the fingers, haha</p>