MIT

It's almost never about the numbers. As long as they are decent, other activities are more important. They want somebody unique who will actually contribute to the school and has energy, not somebody who sits in their room memorizing facts. The essay really shows what kind of person you are too.

 

Oh come on. "I got accepted to MIT! Dammit, now I can't apply anywhere else!" Are you serious?

 

MIT and Caltech exist to produce the best scientists/engineers in the world. Students who are going to be able to do well at MIT/Caltech are often not the same ones that would do well at Princeton/Harvard/Yale. In fact the top rank schools know this and if they think that you're more suited to one of those, you may not ever make the first screen for their admission list, even with perfect scores, because they will drop you to raise their "yield" (% of students accepting admission offers). Same thing happens in reverse.

If you're the MIT/Caltech type, you will tend to be able to talk about participating in things like Intel Science Fair and robotics competitions versus being on the football team and president of the honor society. Your essays will also be about exploring the origins of the cosmos versus being a CEO by 30. It sounds a bit stereotyped and it really is more complex than that, but they do know what they're looking for and it's more than GPA and SAT. Of course you have to have high scores to be able to get through the school, but they also are looking for evidence of passion and commitment to science and technology.

 

You do have to attend, although if you didn't, hmmm, I don't know. Maybe you were 17 when you signed it? Anyhow, if MIT is 1st choice apply early and pray.

My bro had a 4.4 (IB classes), 2350 and didn't get in w/lots of science awards.

I was about the same and won state science fair and the same project being flown on the space shuttle for a NASA competition, didn't get in.

Do not assume you'll get in, there are tons and tons of kids with the same stats and achievements.

I think they use a random number generator.

Also, if you go to MIT the only people I know who major in business (and I have several friends there) are the ones who can't hack it in engineering.

Best of luck, stay positive and I'm sure you'll get into one of your excellent choices.

 

Agreed. Who really knows what goes on inside of the admissions department during the selection process? I really wanted to go to Columbia in NYC all during high school (I had the typical high numbers and a good amount of extracurricular), but got denied there. Yea I'm still slightly bitter about it, but things really aren't that bad. If you do pursue your Master's or PhD (as I am doing), the school you received your BS or BA from will not be of much concern.

My biggest mistake BY FAR was not pursuing internships during my undergrad. Even if it pays crap (or if it doesn't pay anything at all), the experience will be worth much more. A school such at MIT or Stanford might afford you better internship opportunities at the big name companies (Google, Morgan Stanley, GE, etc) but even smaller schools will still have some hook-ups. State school will have the biggest alumni base which might help in this area too. Real world industry experience will be a huge advantage upon graduation.

So in summary, I wouldn't stress so much on what school you want to attend. Rather think about what you want to be and do after college, and also prepare yourself mentally for college. Even though you may be getting a 4.0 in high school, just wait until you get that professor who doesn't care about his students and is only teaching so he can use the research facilities, the professor who don't speak much English, the professor who is NEVER available for help, the professor who thinks that his course is THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE EVER and expects you to devote all your time to it (regardless of how many other courses you may be taking). When you have those professors, your 4.0 in high school, your class ranking, your extra-curriculars mean nothing; your determination means everything. If you really are as motivated and inspired and hard-working as you say you are, the name on the top of the tuition bill shouldn't matter that much.

Then again, maybe I'm just being naive.

 

Oh yea word of advice: if you don't get in it's not the end of the world. Success in life doesn't mean attending the best college possible (although it does help when applying to jobs ). A few of my college buddies are Harvard drop outs, but they are some of the nicent and funnest people to be with that I know (they party hard :X), also most of them have already started or joined various businesses and companies and are on the road to success (and not only them, many of the people that I know from High School who were deemed "failures at life" have made it big time after going to acommunity college for a few years and then moving on to bigger and better places).

 

your list doesn't really seem to be in line with your interests.

if you are looking for an excellent mixture of architecture, industrial design, engineering, and business.... there is only one answer

Carnegie Mellon University








(fyi, I didn't get into MIT)

 

wow, dont know how i never saw this... ever think of taking a year off? study and travel? i did last year and got me where i wanted to go to... lots of harvard freshman take a year off then into harvard. on the program i did last year there were 12 or so who were freshman there... if you have the chance to i would take a year off, see everything, then go into school

 

John, I'd surf the web looking at the major Architectural firms and see what kind of work they have done, or are doing, but also, most of them have a 'careers' section, just kinda look and see what they seem to be looking for in an employee.
Most will say 'BA/BS', and after that most will say certifications in something, see what those are, and how to get them.

www.dlrgoup.com is one, I know there are dozens of other 'big' ones.
www.leodaly.com

As far as schools, apply 'everywhere', CALL some of the larger firms and ask them if they have a preference in schools, some might, most probably don't. Ask them for any advice. DO the internships no matter what, do ANYTHING that will set you apart from another person going for the same job - this means anything 'extra' you can do while in college. A friend of mine got a BS from NU, then went to RPI in Troy NY and got a Master's degree and he has been in Phoenix for 20+ years designing.

Stanford - I know a few years ago Stanford had new student applications from 15,000 class valedictorians across the country, so DO apply 'everywhere', even where you might not want to go. What cities are having a building boom ? Apply at the colleges near those areas, it might provide you with a summer internship or temp job.

Do everything you can education-wise now, for the next 4-5 years - you have the rest of your life to benefit from it.

Seth - most folks I know that take 'a year off' never go to school, or back to school, for 20 years. They find decent paying but dead-end jobs where they can't move up - because they don't have the education to be considered for promotion. And these guys and gals are happy with $15-18 an hour.

 

Don't get too hung up on any of these schools. You'll have more than one shot at it if you later on go for a masters degree. Don't know about the others but MIT has actually more grad and PhD students than college students.

In any case, MIT grad schools rather take a top student from a reputable state college than a good/average student from an ivy league school. Good luck!

 

i guess i meant to say take a "study" year off, courses that you study on, but to a minimum, while still being able to travel around. i did a course in oxford last year and learned more than i probably will in the next 2 years, it was probably the best thing that i have ever done. one of my teachers had 8 degrees from oxford alone, and could explain anything in perfect detail... and it got me into the school i wanted now, which is essentially #1 in the world for automotive engineering

 

Hey John I was in your shoes this time last year (Although not applying to all those great schools, good on you for that part). My advice you for right now it may seem tough but try not to get too stressed out by all that is happening. Remember that the college selection process is mostly all a crapshoot so if you dont get into your dream school dont take it to hard. I gurantee you will be happy ANYWHERE you go. After you finish that last SAT question take a deep breath and start to relax, its out of your hands now. Keep up with your work in school, but only just enough to get by and most importantly hang out with your buddies, believe it or not those are the guys that will probably be by your side your whole life. Senior year will slip by so fast and then you will want it back, so enjoy the second half of it.

Cliff Notes version:
1) Dont get too stressed
2) Dont take rejection to hard
3) You will be happy at any school
4) Relax but keep up with the work
5) Hang with your friends

 

NO NO NO - *DO* set high goals - keep reaching, but have a good backup plan, and it sounds like you do.

We can't tell you where to apply - you have to do some research and figure out what you want to be doing in 4-6 years from now, who teaches it the best, and where you want to be geographically. You really need to see what schools are rated best for what you want to do, just as they do a 'top 50 schools' for Law schools, MBA programs, Economics programs, Nucleur Engineering, International Studies, and so on.

 

I read an interesting article about MIT's admissions director on CNN.com a few weeks ago. She said that MIT is really trying to focus on well-rounded applicants, not just people who spent their entire high school career building a resume. The key to MIT or any other top-tier program is to differentiate yourself; you need to be interesting. You've done a great job and accomplished a lot, but so have 95% of the other applicants. Look outside the box, find ways to market yourself in unique ways. Most admissions directors say that applicants do an outstanding job of detailing their accomplishments but a lousy job of marketing themselves.

Edit: I found the article: http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/09/18/admissions.game.ap/index.html

 

Northwestern has a great engineering program, so does Notre Dame but you probably already knew that.

 

What was the professor's name?

 

Life is all about the connections you make. YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT!!

ND is hit or miss though, very strict rules.

And one other thing, Elisha Cuthbert is right now the background to my computer. GO FIGURE