What are my chances of getting into MIT?

In My Humble Opinion
21

if you think you want to go to MIT, why not apply? how much time and money does it take you to mail one more college application (i’m assuming that it’s not the only school you’re applying to)? if you apply and don’t get in, are you worse off than if you didn’t apply? you don’t always get what you want, but you’ve got a better shot if you at least ask for it.

on the other hand, this book may be relevant:

Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That is Best for You
by Jay Mathews

the author, a harvard grad married to a harvard grad, debunks the notion that the best undergraduate education is found in the ivy league and other “prestige” schools, and he writes about finding the best match for each particular student. he also pulls the plug on the notion that an ivy league degree catapults you effortlessly past your competition for the rest of your life.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761536957/qid=1081572433/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1_xs_stripbooks_i1_xgl14/103-2639193-0611042?v=glance&s=books

22

Moved to IMHO.

-xash
General Questions Moderator

23

You should probably apply, since the time and expense is fairly low and it’s worth it just to find out.

Being from Minnesota will mean you probably won’t mind the cold Bostonian winters and even if you do, there is an extensive network of heated underground tunnels connecting pretty much the entire campus.

As others have mentioned, there is a chance you will be turned down. (Might have helped if you were say, from Montana or North Dakota, instead. Also helps if you are female or a minority or both. But please, don’t pull a Soul Man if you can help it. :smiley: )

Good luck and let us know what happens, won’t cha?

(MIT BS '96, MEng '96)

24

I say go for it. You sound like you’ve got the qualifications they’re looking for.

On the other hand, I might recommend other schools, but not because I think your chances are poor. When I was in high school, physics was my one true love: I ate, drank, and slept physics (sort of, I was also into photography (what I considered the most ‘scientific’ of the arts) and sports. But physics was still my #1 interest). My dream was to go to MIT, but I was also looking at Harvey Mudd, Northwestern and RPI. My parents, and a few other people, got me thinking about Harvard, on the grounds that a) it had just as good a science program as MIT (I was unconvinced) and b) it would be good for me to be around people who had academic interests other than physics. I got accepted at both, and eventually decided on Harvard because it seemed like a fun, friendly place, and they had a credit exchange program where I could take classes at MIT for credit if I wanted.

In my second year, I went through some major changes, one of the results of which was that I switched my major from physics to European history. Since I was going to a school that had strong programs in both, this wasn’t a huge problem. Had I chosen a school where the focus was more exclusively on science, I may have found myself in more of a bind. As an added bonus, my parents were right about hanging around people with different interests.

Anyway, I guess my point is that I really like talking about myself. No, wait… my point is that although you may be really into biology now, you may find something down the line that really catches your heart and mind that’s in a completely different field. You should keep this possibility in mind when you choose a school, and maybe look at place with strong programs in a wide variety of fields.

Good luck whichever school you choose.

Oh, and by the way, the most valuable things I got from college were the social education, the broadening of my horizons, and a general interest in continuing to learn about the world. My actual classes (both physics and history) ended up having almost nothing to do with what I’m using now.

25

Nothing ventured…Nothing gained

26

I’d say most certainly apply. All you stand to lose is the application fee, if rejected.

When my brother was applying for his M.S., he thought of applying to Stanford as a long shot. He approached a professional counselor to seek her advice, and she just laughed it off and offered him a list of other schools.

He applied anyway. His GRE and TOEFL scores were exceptional, but his grades were just about good. When he got the acceptance letter from Stanford, we were all ecstatic. I mean, it was out of his wildest dreams. We didn’t even know anyone who knew anyone who’d ever been to such schools. And he almost didn’t apply.

I’m still not quite sure what tipped the balance in his favour, but I think the letters of recommendation and the Statement of Purpose (or essays, as the case may be) do play a significant role.

On a side note, I got to see Chelsea, Hillary and Bill Clinton when I went to attend my brother’s graduation ceremony :slight_smile: Chelsea graduated from the same batch. She was there surrounded by her huge bodyguards, all wearing black student robes and scholar hats. It was quite amusing.

27

MIT '73 here. Definitely apply. I had an 800 in Math and 763 in verbal, and 800s in what they called Achievement tests back then, but my grades weren’t anywhere near the top 10 of my graduating class of 1500. Three of us from my high school got in. I was on the debating team in high school, which was the topic of my interview. An article in Technology Review, the alumni magazine, made it sound like we were considered the dumb class - but I’m getting these vibes that the admissions office is looking for more well rounded people, and not just grades now. Some profs said that recent classes were smarter than we were, but we were more interesing.

I can’t believe anyone got turned down from MIT for not participating in sports. The only person I knew who had anything to do with sports was on the fencing team.

Definitely try. Being an MIT grad will help you throughout life. When I was there they were just starting getting undergrads involved in research, now it is standard.

One hint. Visit the campus before the decision date. It seems that some admissions offices give brownie points for this, considering that people who visit are more serious than those who don’t. It’s fun anyhow. When I visited, after I got in, I stayed with a few old phone phreaks, who called bombers flying over Vietnam using the MIT tie lines.

28

I got in. I had a lower SAT score and a ridiculously average GPA, and literally no extracurricular activities.

I did get to claim minority status, but I’m pretty sure they’ve already filled up their “Asian” quota anyway.

It’s all in the interview.

29

MIT is so freaking selective! I have a friend who had a 33 ACT, a something SAT (I don’t know what), >4.4 GPA (Weighted, unweighted is 4.0 with almost as many AP classes as it’s possible to take), fives on 5 or 6 AP tests, and then a 790 SAT II chemistry. He didn’t get in. But, yeah, it will only take 30 minutes or so to fill out the application, so why not?

30

DON’T end up at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. Although they have some lovely biology programs, the school is a large and overwhelming nightmare - and their emphasis is on their graduate programs.

If you are interested in the “small liberal arts school” my husband is a Macalester grad. I know they offer a biology program. I know that they have a lot of people who go on to grad school (which in something like biology - you really just want to get set up for a good grad school). I don’t know how good the biology program is. The school itself has a good reputation. The aforementioned Carleton is the best respected college in the state.

(Unrelated advice, think long and hard about a school like MIT. You may be very bright in your small pond, you will need to work very hard when everyone is as smart or smarter than you. I’d think more at this point about what sort of atmosphere you want out of college. i.e. West Point, MIT, Berkely, Winona State all have very different cultures, and there will be correlation between your fit with the culture and success. Then make sure the colleges in your set have a good enough reputation to get you to a good grad school).

31

0, if you don’t try.

32

You can always attend like me and my friends do - MIT except it’s free.

33

How about this? Apply, get accepted, then turn THEM down. Now that’s gratification. :slight_smile:

34

It’s 18 years since I applied to go to university - in the UK - so my advice is both out of date and for the wrong country but I think the same principles apply.

Ring their admissions department and see if there are any alumni near you who are willing to talk. Arrange a visit - don’t turn up unannounced - and see where and what you’ll be studying. When I was doing this, they took us in groups. Remember that not only are you trying to sell yourself to them but they’re also trying to sell MIT to you. They won’t want a stellar student going elsewhere. Put yourself in the place of the senior Professor of Biology, who’s going to either accept you or reject you. If you’ve made a good impression, it could tip the balance your way.

Good luck.

35

Don’t worry about working hard. You will, but if they’ll let you in, you can do it. Most profs assume you can do the work, and the people I know who got into trouble did so from slacking off, not from not being able to keep up. You can also change majors and make deals. When I was there drop date was very late. One of my friends, who became a lawyer, got a pass in Calculus after promising the secretary of the Math department that he’d never take another math class - something he was quite happy to promise. So, the reality is somewhat easier than the myth.

36

MIT has an extremely active alumini organization. I was involved with running the Princeton chapter when I lived there, and the Bay Area chapter is so large that it is intimidating. If you interview locally, it is almost certainly a member of the local alumni association. When I got in, an upperclassman had a party for new students who were local. Local alums who don’t interview can answer questions, but they won’t have any clout. The admissions office or the alumni office can certainly give you names.

As I said before, you should definitely visit.

37

I’ve resurrected this thread because I have more information and more questions. I got an application in the mail a few days ago and I started filling it out. My GPA at the end of eleventh grade is about 3.67. I did well on the SAT II, getting 800 on Math IIC, 800 on Biology M and 780 on Writing. I’ll be taking the SAT I again in October. I also got fives on the AP tests I took this year, French Language and Comparative Government. I’ll be taking six AP classes this year and UMTYMP (Calc III) which is equivalent to a University of Minnesota Honors course. I also have more questions:

How important is the interview?
When should I schedule the interview? Should I wait until I’ve taken the SAT again?
What sort of questions should I expect?
Where are interviews usually held?
Would it help to get one of my teacher recommendations from a math teacher at the University of MN, or would it be better to get one from a high school teacher?

I’ll probably have more questions later, but I can’t think of any right now.

38

MIT '77 here. I’d say definitely apply (you already have). Your SAT scores are slightly higher than mine were, and my score wasn’t among the highest few in the class (even after I corrected the Guidance Counselor’s lousy math). God knows how they select their freshmen.

Things have probably changed enormously since my day, but my interview was held in the living room of an MIT alum, and was pretty relaxed. I don’t recall the questions – I think they wanted to get a sense of me, how I thought, and if I’d fit in. I don’t see any point in waiting for your new SATs before talking to them.

If you can get a personal recommendation from a professor at a University, I think that woukld be more impressive than one from another high sdchool teacher.
I agree with what ENugent said. I found MIT challenging (I advance placed out of the first term of Calculus – 18.01 – but just barely. I’d been top of the class in every problem set and test in Physics, though, and still had to go to the help sessions every week at first), but worthwhile, and not beyond my abilities.

There’s also a great deal of creativity there, and a willingness to go farther in pursuing even off-the-wall extracurricular goals. Witness the quality of MIT “hacks”. You’ll also find out that there is a vast variety to “nerd” culture – I did Musical Theater and Fencing my first year, in addition to core subjects and dorm life.

39

If you are interested in MIT, you should also apply to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. It’s in Terre Haute, Indiana, but it’s one of the best, and it’s a lot smaller and less welll-known than MIT. I know that I’ll be applying there (although I probably won’t go due to the cost), and that I’d probably rather go there than to MIT.

40

I’m going to quote this because it’s very good advice.
I do think you should apply, (in fact, apply to a lot of places, visit everywhere you can, track down students and ask them about their schools) it really isn’t that expensive and it won’t hurt to go for it.
But fit with the school is incredibly important … if I knew then what I know now, I might not be typing:

amarinth MIT BS '96. (Controvert, do I know you?)