I need advice, HS junior, advice [aiming for MIT, CS , MA resident, 4.5 GPA, 3.8 unweighted GPA]

Pre-College Topics High School Life
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Hi, I am a high school junior that wants to go to a T20 or Ivy. I got a 3.8 UW and 4.3 W GPA freshman year and sophomore year, and I’m disappointed with my sophomore performance but I am on track for a 5.1 this year if I lock in on math. I have a 87 as of now and am unsure why I am doing so badly. I come from an upper-middle-class family, and my dad gets paid around $200k a year, so we’re doing pretty well financially. I’m not sure how much aid I’ll get, but I plan to do ROTC to get money or take on a little debt. I am dropping sports because of medical reasons along with being super busy, at least the winter and fall seasons. I am still very fit and do calisthenics . I got a 4 on AP Bio and was disappointed but am taking APUSH AP STATS AP LANG AND AP CSP and Physics honors and Math honors right now and am doing super great in all but math honors. I will either take AP calc AB or BC depending on scheduling next year and preferably BC. I’m applying to about 20 programs since they’re all super competitive.

I work about 18 hours a week at my local grocery store. I also am head of my JROTC unit and am the head of a robotics team that placed top 50 in internationals, which is solid for a sophomore (it was last year). I’m a Boy Scout and am working on an eagle scout project I am actually passionate about. Last year, I was staff at 2 different camps, a Boy Scouts one and a JROTC one along with helping raise 10k for 2 nonprofits as part of a philanthropy program I did in my county. I am leading a satellite design time with some friends and applying for NHS this year along with working on selling some of my custom designed electronics and working on repair work under my business moor performance, website coming soon. I am also managing my local senior communities website along with an eagle scout project website and some other small sites for community service. I am getting mentored every other weekend at MIT from the future society of engineers at MIT and I hope to help out with that or get something out of it more like an ambassador to other high schools for outreach or something. I am going to try and do USACO this year and place decently well along with working on my projects more and get involved in research based on them if I can.

I took the PSAT and got a 1430 which means i get a commended score and a sick award but not NM which is fire honestly because thats super hard in my state. I plan on taking every spring SAT until I get a 1530 plus.

I live in Massachusetts and I’m Latino. My mom has only a high school degree and is a first-generation immigrant. My dad went to William & Mary, which is a good school, but he doesn’t know much about admissions since he only applied to one place.

I really want to go to MIT, I love the atmosphere and the people and the spirit and the campus and everything about it but understand its a crap shoot.

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A lot of people want a lot of things. You can try but don’t forget - there is no perfect school. They all have flaws. Bad profs, roomies, food, etc.

If interested in MIT, you might also look at RPI. When you say MIT and Ivies, that tells me you haven’t really defined what you want in a school vs a name you think is big.

You want to find the right school for you vs just a big name school. Have you visited any ?

You have an outstanding OOS record. Congrats. But yes, you need to lock in on math, especially for top schools. I’m less concerned with your grades and more about learning the material as math goes up quickly and you have to know it.

MIT or UMASS (not an assured admit), life can be great. You will make your success.

Just ensure you have an assure school on your list.

Best of luck.

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Fine to take your shot but you really need to expand your horizons. MIT has an acceptance rate under 5% and routinely reject students with perfect GPAs and standardized tests.

IMO the whole concept of a hyper-competitive “dream school” is a terrible idea. There are tons of amazing colleges and universities where you can have a great four year experience and get where you want to go in life.

Consider why you like the school you mentioned other than being a “big name” and do the work to find a group of excellent but less competitive schools which have similar attributes.

In addition, focus on affordability. The loans you can take out as a student are limited and ROTC scholarships are competitive.

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I am wondering whether you might have jumped ahead in math. Math is an area where what you learn today is based on what you learned last year and the year before, and what you are going to be learning next year is based on what you are learning now. You want to make sure that you understand each step solidly before you go ahead to the next step. Jumping ahead in math usually does not come out well. Math is also an area where you need to understand the concepts. Definitely do not just try to apply formulae.

By the way I have a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from MIT that I earned a very long time ago. MIT is full of students who remember the one time that they got an A in math rather than their normal A+, or who remember the low A+ that they got rather than their normal high A+. These students still find MIT to be very challenging. MIT is a lot of work and the desire to work that hard needs to come from inside you, the student. MIT is not a good fit for every very strong student.

With a math degree from MIT my first full time job involved application of math and software to problems that needed computers to solve. In some cases we were using canned software programs to solve problems, and coming up with results that really did not look right. Someone (meaning the math guy, meaning me) had to figure out what was going wrong. I looked at what math the software was using and why it did not fit our problem. This was definitely an example where understanding the concepts was critical, and just understanding the formulae would not have helped at all (the programs were applying formulae correctly, they just weren’t using quite the right formulae for the problem that we were trying to solve).

Working 18 hours per week in a grocery store is a lot to do alongside high school and multiple AP classes plus filling out university applications and taking standardized tests. One of the key skills in life is to find things to NOT do. There are lots of things that we want to do. We each need to figure out what the priority is and focus our efforts. Working a job is by the way a good EC (as is robotics), and if you spend a lot of time working a job you might as one option think about reducing time spent on other ECs.

And yes, Massachusetts is a tough state for the national merit exam.

And @tsbna44 is entirely correct that there is no perfect school. There are plusses and minuses of every school. Finding a university that is a good fit for you is very important. Attending a highly ranked university is not.

When I see someone say “Top 20 or Ivy” I get nervous. One reason that I get nervous is that the top 20 universities and Ivy League schools are not all the same. They are not all going to be a good fit for any one particular strong student. You should be thinking about which schools would be a good fit for you. Also, if you are at some point interested in any graduate program, in general the students at the highest ranked graduate programs come from a huge range of undergraduate colleges and universities, and definitely not just from “top 20” nor even “top 50” schools. I have also found consistently throughout my career that graduates from highly ranked universities routinely work alongside graduates from a huge range of schools and in most cases no one cares where anyone got their degree(s).

And the other reason that “top 20 or Ivy” makes me nervous is that none of them are safeties for pretty nearly any student. You definitely also need to be finding safeties to apply to that you would be happy attending.

And only do ROTC if you want to serve in the military.

Best wishes.

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It is essential that you find a sure thing for admission, that you like, that is affordable. I will suggest UMass-Amherst which has excellent programs in your intended majors, and will likely be affordable for your family. I’m not sure it’s a sure thing…but apply in the early round to maximize your chances.

Please read this thread I am going to link. The student in this thread was a NMF, top HS student, excellent course rigor, excellent LOR and essays, excellent ECs. No one expected he would be rejected everywhere he applied his senior year of high school, but that is what happened. He did land well on his feet…after a well crafted gap year. But his senior year in high school was not a happy time. You don’t want to be in the same position. It’s an old thread…but admissions have become more competitive.

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So it is premature at this point to assess exactly where it will make sense for you to apply. Keep doing your reasonable best in your classes, same with the SAT, make sure to leave time for your most valued activities as well as your social, emotional, physical, and ethical development, and next summer/early fall we can help you understand your general competitiveness.

I would also suggest you devote some additional time now to exploring all the many different great college options in the US. If you can visit a reasonable sampling of schools in person, even just locally (there are certainly a lot in MA), you may find that helpful in terms of helping you focus on what really matters most to you. You can definitely explore them online as well, digging into things like departmental pages, activities pages, scholarship pages, and so on.

Again if you would like help generating leads to explore, this community is great for that. Like if you explain more abut what you like about MIT, we can help you find more colleges to explore that have at least some similar strengths. It can help if you give us an idea of your budget, which is a conversation you should be having with your parents.

I’m confident if you do your reasonable best academically, keep developing holistically, and then explore your college options with an open mind, you will end up with a well-balanced list of colleges that all make a lot of sense for you in light of your academic interests, budget as relevant, and other preferences and goals for a four-year college experience. Then you should end up with multiple interesting offers to consider, and you can choose the offer you find most exciting, and you are off to college.

As a final thought, many people here don’t think much of generic lists like “T20” or “Ivy”. That includes me. It is possible that a great list for you will include some such colleges. I doubt it will include all of them, and it will definitely include a lot of other colleges not on those lists. To be very blunt, I think people use those sorts of generic lists because they just don’t know that much about colleges in the US, and they lean on such lists to try to simplify things.

Fortunately, with the help of communities like this one, you have plenty of time to learn everything you will need to know to have a much more sophisticated list, one that actually makes sense for you as an individual. And not only does that prevent you from wasting time applying to colleges that don’t make sense for you, and missing great colleges that do make sense for you, it also means when it comes time to do things like write “Why us?” essays, you are not going to be one of the kids who doesn’t know what to say, or feels like they have to try to make up something the college wants to hear. You’ll already have a great answer ready to go, because your process will have been about that sort of reflection all along.

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So you’ve gotten a lot of “It’s really hard to get into MIT even if you have the perfect grades and test scores.”

I’ll contribute “There are people with your profile who do get into MIT with the right story/application.”

However I will also contribute that MIT can be a grim place if you do happen to get in and find out later that it’s not a great fit. It ain’t the Future Society of Engineers, which is a far happy-clappier experience, I would bet: its a very tough very academic grind. It’s a special place, but again, nobody’s skipping up and down the Infinite Corridor singing a happy tune. No way my kid goes there for undergrad.

As has been implied in the other posts, do a deep dive on other places and identify specific reasons they appeal to you and vice versa besides being “Top 20.” You have a lot to offer and its important that you get the undergrad experience right. It’s a special time. Choose wisely.

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This is incorrect. For many kids, the Infinite Corridor is their happy place– and although they may not be able to carry a tune, they are indeed singing as they walk (stroll, skip or hop).

For kids that want to be there for the prestige- I imagine it can be quite grim. For kids that are there and have found their “peeps”- socially, academically, engagement with one or more meaningful volunteer projects- the happy tune writes itself.

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This is incorrect?

How is someone’s experience incorrect?

That your experience may differ does not make someone else’s incorrect.

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You posted “nobody”. Not “in my experience”, or “in my opinion”. You can’t possibly speak for everybody and therefore your post is incorrect…many MIT students are as joyful and excited about their experiences as college students elsewhere.

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I found this my thread sort of poorly written because I did it in a pinch but I plan on writing something more representative of myself, interests and capabilities and I will respond to comments at some point, things are just sort of piling up now as far as ECs go, I am running a summer camp and planning for 80+ people is sort of a big commitment. I will also go further into my current steps to increase my odds specifically for MIT but for others aswell, I understand its a crap shoot but If I don’t believe in myself I would have a lower chance and I am a man of many risks. From what I heard from students there I spoke to they said many people can apply to mit, a reasonable amount are qualified, a slightly smaller amount deserve it, some amount can pay for it or qualify for aid, but a small percentage of applicants come off as genuine people versus walking resume control freaks vs those who are passionate in their craft, i hope to make that shine.

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You said MIT or Ivies - that’s why people are questioning are these even right vs just big names.

Do the EC or two you enjoy.

Yes, MIT can probably fill 3 classes from its applicants. It’s not a crapshoot but there’s no magic pill like you think.

With a 3.8, you’re probably in a tough position. But who knows? But be you and not something you aren’t. And you’ll see.

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You are shooting high, very high. CS at MIT and similar schools comes with expectations beyond extracurriculars. Note the application asks for only 4, and not the common app’s 10. To receive serious consideration, your 3.8 needs to be almost all A-’s and A’s IMO, you will need to be a 1500+ with a 750+ math and a 700+ verbal IMO, you need to take the hardest math and science offered at your school each year with never once a B IMO, and finally, all of your AP tests will get sent and probably matter more than at other schools IMO; you got your 4 and you want all 5’s from here.

If you achieve what I outlined, you will have a 5% chance, similar to the average applicant - becasue that is what you would be IMO. From what you have written, your odds are currently lower than the 5% IMO.

Don’t give up, but this is likely where you stand right now IMO.

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The SAT math 25th percentile is 780. The 50th percentile is 800.

That’s a reality.

btw - if you go through the Brown Open Source rankings, UMASS is #22, ahead of other Ivies.

It’s great to shoot for the stars OP but be the best you and you’ll see where you fall. But even UMASS CS is a tough get.

It’s great to shoot for the stars and prep for it but don’t over strain yourself.

And figure out what you truly want in a school - so you can find other like MIT or the ivies - but you can’t possible like such a disparate list.

Hopefully your family can take you to visit some schools, MIT included - and see what starts to feel comfortable.

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@Ben_V, welcome to CC!

You are obviously a strong student. You’ve got really good grades, great ECs (working 18 hours a week, leading JROTC and robotics, and working on your Eagle Scout, among others), and are clearly a strong tester. A 1430 PSAT will usually lead to a higher SAT than that, but even a 1430 SAT is at the 98th percentile nationally, or 95th percentile amongst user group percentiles (source). Having a score better than 95-98% of folks is amazing!

Since you mentioned a crap shoot in both of your posts, I decided to look up the odds in craps (source). In the event that CC blocks the link because it could be considered gambling related, here’s a snip of the relevant chart:

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Many of the odds are 2:1 or 3:2 or 5:6. With a 5% admission rate at MIT, at best that would mean odds of 20:1, assuming that everyone was equally qualified. According to this chart, that would be the second hardest option (with the hardest two being 35:1 and 17:1). So an admission to MIT would be one of the hardest bets to make in a craps game.

But with admissions to MIT, not everyone is equally qualified. If I was going to choose one of the craps set of odds from this chart, my guess is that your odds are probably closest to that 35:1 category. That does not mean it’s impossible for you to get into MIT, but the odds are very much not in your favor.

The best advice I’d give has already been provided:

  1. To improve your odds of admission, follow the advice from their admissions blog.

And if you follow that advice, then you’ll be in a great place whether you’re accepted to MIT or not.

  1. Think about what kind of college experience you want, find out what your budget is from your parents, and then investigate schools that would provide the kind of experience you want at a price that your family can afford. Additionally, make sure there’s at least one (and preferably at least two) schools on your list that are extremely likely to admit you that you would be happy to attend and that your family can pay for. There are new rules being instituted about educational loans, so I would be very wary of planning to use that as a pathway to affordability.
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Hi, I am a high school junior that wants to go to a strong engineering school, and I want to major in either EE or Mech with CS. I don’t have preferences as far as location but will take into account OOS tuition. I also slightly prefer urban schools.

I got a 94.5/100 UW and 4.3 W GPA freshman year and sophomore year, and I’m disappointed with my sophomore performance, but I am on track for a 5.1 this year if I lock in on math. I have an 87 as of now and am unsure why I am doing so badly.

I come from an upper-middle-class family, and my dad gets paid around $200k a year, so we’re doing pretty well financially. I’m not sure how much aid I’ll get, but I plan to do ROTC, though after speaking to some folks involved I would need to do a gap year or CC year because of medical paperwork. I have a nut allergy and treatment would end my senior summer, and the scholarship’s medical paperwork is due before that. I may also just accept whatever I get with aid for that year if I am confident.

I am dropping sports because of medical reasons along with being super busy, at least the winter and fall seasons. I am still very fit and do calisthenics. I got a 4 on AP Bio and was disappointed, but I am taking APUSH, AP Stats, AP Lang, and AP CSP, and Physics honors and Math honors right now, and am doing super great in all but Math honors. I will either take AP Calc AB or BC depending on scheduling next year, and preferably BC. I’m applying to about ~15 programs since they’re all super competitive.

My early list (I am not sure how good my rankings are):

Safety:

UMASS A (honors?)

UMASS L

Match:

WPI

UCONN

Rutgers

Villanova (not legacy but lots of family)

CWRU

RPI

VT

Lower reaches:

William and Mary

Northeastern

GT

U Maryland

U Toronto (only if scholarship)

UC Davis

Reaches:

MIT

Harvard

UC Berk

USMA

Upenn M and T and regular.

I needed to clarify from last thread if I get a ROTC scholarship I would serve.

I work about 18 hours a week at my local grocery store. I also am head of my JROTC unit and am the head of a robotics team that placed top 50 in internationals, which is solid for a sophomore (it was last year). I’m a Boy Scout and am working on an Eagle Scout project I am actually passionate about. Last year, I was staff at 2 different camps, a Boy Scouts one and a JROTC one, along with helping raise 10k for 2 nonprofits as part of a philanthropy program I did in my county.

I am leading a satellite design team with some friends and applying for NHS this year, along with working on selling some of my custom-designed electronics and working on repair work under my business, website coming soon. I am also managing my local senior community’s website along with an Eagle Scout project website and some other small sites for community service. I am getting mentored every other weekend at MIT from the Future Society of Engineers at MIT, and I hope to help out with that or get something out of it more like an ambassador to other high schools for outreach or something.

I am going to try and do USACO this year and place decently well, along with working on my projects more and getting involved in research based on them if I can. I have a solid project idea that I will pursue regardless of if I get any assistance or recognition. I also plan on competing in a few hackathons and studying hard and working on more fun projects. I am also applying to NSLI and MITES and HSF YLI, I hope I can get the opportunity through that to learn more and network and get deeper in what I am interested in. if you have any advice for those summer programs please share.

I took the PSAT and got a 1430, which means I get a commended score and a sick award but not NM, which is fire honestly because that’s super hard in my state. I plan on taking every spring SAT until I get a 1530 plus.

I live in Massachusetts and I’m Latino. My mom has only a high school degree and is a first-generation immigrant. My dad went to William & Mary, which is a good school, but he doesn’t know much about admissions since he only applied to one place.

I really want to go to MIT, I love the atmosphere and the people and the spirit and the campus and everything about it, but understand it’s a crap shoot.

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I copied and pasted my thread from a while back in and just updated relevant info and that’s when I was still pretty naive and just set on a ivy or something, thanks for the advice! my new thread that’s updated is I need advice, HS junior, advice [aiming for MIT, EE+CS , MA resident, 4.5 GPA, 94.5/100 unweighted GPA]

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Thanks for the advice as a Beaver, I am finding ways to cut back on things I don’t find I should be doing anymore and focusing more on what matters, I made a new thread if you want to check it out.

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thanks for the honesty I know thats a lot to work on but I will try my best.

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I like Umass a ton and will be applying, can you shed some light on the cs program?

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