<p>Might I just comment, while I like what all the posters here are saying, odds are against most strong students getting an acceptance at MIT for undergrad. It’s just not a predictable thing. </p>
<p>I think going to a better school simply means your academic achievements there mean more. It isn’t to say someone at a more mediocre school couldn’t have achieved the same thing, but it’s not always clear either to them or to others that they could have. </p>
<p>The reason I mention this is that I always think one should prepare the best application possible without zeroing in on what any specific admissions committee does. Schools have to admit what they do see, not what they wish they’d seen, so in some sense there really is a disadvantage if your academic achievements take place at a non-rigorous school - you have to do something to show what your true level is. How and when you do that is up to you, though there are certainly some decisions you could regret.</p>
<p>So my advice is ultimately - try not to stay in high school longer than necessary, and the real growth happens in college. If you’re at a mediocre school, take community college classes and try to find challenging ones (believe me, some community college profs were extremely strong students back in the day, are teaching at community colleges for career lifestyle purposes, and can be exceptionally effective - but you have to search for these). If you spend an extra year before going to college, make sure it’s not just repeating high school and/or spending one more year on high school math competitions, since there are math competitions later on. And if you feel you can get into a great school now, do that, and forget about spending more time, because again, that’s where the growth is.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, HMMT is NOT a contest between MIT and Harvard, but is instead a contest run by both schools for teams of high school students.</p>
<p>But yea, I agree with others that this is not such a great idea. I think the reason that math contests are such a big deal in high school is that there’s not much else to go to for math, since higher-level classes and research opportunities and stuff are very rare compared to what’s available through contests. Like, maybe you’ll a few have more opportunities transferring to another school, but you’ll have even more once you go to college.</p>
<p>While I agree with the point of don’t-just-stay-in-high-school-because, I underwent some good growth in high school :)</p>
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<p>I actually just mentioned on another post that I wish I had done this. My school was a decent school… but not in sciences.</p>
<p>Also, I second the idea that time off should /not/ be more of the same. My ideal time off would be “run off to some foreign country, living on your own, doing cool things and discovering awesome people”.</p>
<p>^ True, I should be clearer, the growth of the nature this young man or young lady desires seems to occur best in college. I certainly grew in high school too.</p>
<p>I honestly didn’t search much for classes outside my school - like you, I think it would have been nice. I spent most of my spare time and/or time I declared “spare” reading on my own which is in a way recommended, but I can tell you I got lonely - it’s nice to talk to someone about what you’re thinking about.</p>
<p>Fair point, mathboy. Might I rearrange my comment to say, “lots of the people who get into MIT are from average/mediocre high schools.”</p>
<p>The ultimate point is that not going to an awesome high school will not be held against you, even though the odds of getting in are tremendously low for everyone in general.</p>
<p>There’s nothing to rearrange in your words, Laura - they were completely true as is. </p>
<p>My comment, as you likely gathered, is that the fact it is possible to get into MIT without something is not a reason to say forget about it. Odds are you have to do a lot of things right to get in. For instance, it is not necessary to take a bunch of science community college classes to somewhat seriously supplement your coursework to get into MIT - Piper is flesh and blood proof of this, as she’s just said. But nobody should focus on exactly what’s necessary to get into X selective school, as there’s likely no formula. Do anything you can to be as strong as you can and develop yourself as best as you can, and don’t expect to be admitted to that school - but expect to have a fairly bright future. </p>
<p>So I feel the real question is if spending a year on math competitions will give one enough of a boost in terms of MIT. Odds are, no. What about forgetting MIT altogether, and just considering math/science skill development - is spending an extra year in high school great for that? Nope, your net rate of growth over time would be slowed if you delay entering college, unless you truly have as much to gain from that extra year of high school as you could from a year of college.</p>
<p>Now, let me comment - I think that this is a completely different story if you talk about college vs. grad school. If you’re at a great university, spending 5 years at it instead of 4 may not be any bad idea at all in some circumstances.</p>
<p>Ok, I got it guys. But as I want to get mature I also would love to go to a great college, I’m kind of counting on the USAMO qualification to give me a push during the admission process. I’m not utilitarian, it’s just hard to show my genuine interest in math without repeating a year at top prep school to qualify USMAO>.</p>
<p>Thecollegeboard, sorry I’m going to sound pretentious here, but I think I’ve anticipated and addressed any reasoning you could possibly give in my (tiresomely?) exhaustive writing above </p>
<p>Of course it’s not just about moving on - of course going to a great school is vital to growth. However, consider your situation:</p>
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<p>Frankly, you may be a total, utter flop at math competitions. Or you may do decently, but not so hot. Or you may qualify, like you want, but that still could get you rejected, unless you are a prodigy at competitions. There’s a long way from you to admission at great schools with your major plus point being math competitions, and putting your hopes in math competitions while delaying your growth seems like misguided idealism when they’re happy to reject these people anyway.</p>
<p>Take me as an example - I’m not half terrible at mathematics, but I’ve never taken to math competitions. You say you’ve not really done much with them either. There are people who are really hardcore about math competitions, and probably will have quite an edge over you. </p>
<p>I have been, I think, a little more lenient in my assessment than other posters. If you want to spend an extra year and really do something with it that is different and has a very high chance of success, and you really think will get you into a great school (and that you are <em>very</em> sure you cannot get into any great schools now), then go ahead with something like that.</p>
<p>But college admissions is not predictable stuff. I have posted things to this effect many places. What you should do should be for your benefit, not for admissions, because it’s very easy for admissions at various schools to toss your application out at their whim.</p>
<p>^ Furthermore, my guess is that any college you can get accepted to and want to go to will offer you far more in the way of mathematical maturity than this high school. Show your general interest in math by pushing yourself in math, not by holding yourself back.</p>
<p>This is getting intense… I’m not saying I’m going to do so, it’s just a thought. Now I’m quite sure to abandon this alternative route and maybe take a gap year after high school to do some more meaningful stuff. But I saw a stas that 500 out of the 900 of the academic stars(equivalent to USAMO qualification) were accepted at MIT, and I bet the 400 who didn’t get in are international students because MIT doesn’t have enough visa to accommodate all the international superstars. So for domestic student the stats might even be like 400 out of 600 students got accepted? Anyways, thank you so much for all the suggestions! I’m certain that I would repeat a year, nevertheless I will still do tons of AMC stuff over the summer and hopefully I can qualify USAMO next year.</p>
<p>I’m not meaning to be harsh in any way, I’m just keeping things honest. If you repeat a year, qualify, and get into MIT, and that’s what truly makes you happy, more power to you.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that frequently, people who get far in math competitions may have trained for a while, say even more than you, and that they may thus be able to do much more <em>aside</em> from qualifying at high levels. Correlation between having a star accomplishment and admission does not mean everyone should drastically modify their approaches in high school and obsess over that one achievement. That is, academic stars would have had many other plus points too, and your obsessing over that one achievement may be jumping to conclusions on how much it will help you far too soon. All I’m saying is starting off entering junior year, not having known much about math competitions, going “I really want to redo things and ace this math competition, because I see a high percentage of those who do so get into MIT” is probably a little crazy and may not be realistic, and that you can do lots of other things with your time, so it may indeed make you unhappy.</p>
<p>All said, I’m glad you’re dedicated to developing skills. Just always stay realistic and look towards the long term, and you’ll do fine.</p>
<p>^ Sure. It’s not morally reprehensible or something. Though it seems to indicate a desire to not move ahead, and I don’t see why someone who doesn’t want to move ahead would want to go to MIT. (Note that I don’t think of taking time off as “not moving ahead” - it depends on what you make of that time.)</p>
<p>^ I doubt if a student can repeat a year in a public high school. Taxpayer money subsidizes the education of students in public schools, and to ask for a “redo” would be a fairly frivolous use of money. I have no idea how a private school would regard this.</p>
<p>I believe repeating a year would raise a red flag on the transcript. It would have to be carefully explained, and even then, I’m not sure all colleges and universities would accept the explanation as reasonable.</p>
<p>While CalAlum’s comment works independent of this thread, I’ll just remind us all for sanity’s sake that this is about a transition of schools, not just doing the same thing over again - </p>
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<p>People do transfer schools and do fine afterwords. Of course, starting off back in junior year is a decision to be explained, but perhaps more justifiable if going to another school, in order to get the full benefit from that school.</p>
<p>I don’t think the OP’s idea of transferring schools is reprehensible, and I don’t think taking an extra year is either. It’s all a matter of the goals stated, *the practicality, and the ideal road to growth. *</p>
<p>If you’re thinking about making USAMO just to impress a college, even if it’s MIT, as well as repeat a year in high school, then forget it. Look, USAMO, like any other thing (such as music, and whatever) is because you like math, not because it looks good for a college. If you come with that attitude and that motivation, you have no chance of making it. I come out with this at the bottom of the heart, because I’m a USAJMO qualifier in 9th grade, from my 88.5 on AMC 10 last year. I just loved math, and that’s what kept me going. I thought about college, I would never have made it. Plus, for the weight of USAMO and repeating high school, it’s infinitely more important that you DON’T repeat high school. I know it’s a late reply, but this is also to any other person wanting to do stuff like this.</p>
<p>Your analysis is flawed. You can’t assume that USAMO alone will give you anywhere near a 66% admission chance to MIT. MIT in an average year recruits over half the US IMO team as well as many of the top international IMO contestants and medalists. MIT is such a magnet for top math talent worldwide that USAMO qualification by itself is not especially impressive. You just need to scroll through the MIT admission thread to find quite a few USAMO qualifiers who were rejected or wait-listed. Math talent is probably the largest pool of “superstar” candidates and hence the most selective. if you are “Putnam Fellow” caliber, MIT will put down the red carpet to recruit you, otherwise don’t count on math talent giving you a huge edge. MIT’s math talent is already so deep it will take extraordinary qualities to get you noticed. Frankly, you have a better shot of admission by doing well at the Intel or Siemens science competitions because the contestants cover all areas of science not just mathematics.</p>
I should be clearer, the growth of the nature this young man or young lady desires seems to occur best in college. I certainly grew in high school too.</p>
which is in a way recommended, but I can tell you I got lonely - it’s nice to talk to someone about what you’re thinking about.</p>