How can I get into an MIT or a Caltech?

Question

Right now I'm a sophomore in a small town high school (about 500 kids). My GPA isn't the best in my class, it's like 98.3 or something but my class is really competitive. I'm not a genius or anything, but I rally want to push myself to get into a school like MIT or Cal Tech if I can. Can anyone help me out?

Here's what I've done so far:
Middle school: took both Spanish and French, which no one else in my grade did, but was kind of cheating because my old school already taught french from 5th grade. did something called MathCounts in 8th grade, with zero preparation because it was kind of something our teacher forced us into, but I ended up winning our region by a lot and placing 40th in states (our region is probably the dumbest one in the nation though - more later).

9th grade: took Farsi (95 average), biology, geometry, & spanish, and got straight A's. Did science olympiad, where our team took first in the dee dee dee region and dead last at states.. again not much preparation. Did an independent study science fair project on the effects of electromagnetic fields on bacterial growth with a partner, and won first place in our region... of five teams. Also took bio SAT2s and got a 740.

this year: took algebra 2/trig, college microbiology, german, spanish, and AP world history, again straight A's. Took AP world test as well as WH SAT2. I think I got at least a 4 on the AP test, but may have bombed the SAT. Took PSATs on a whim during the fall, and got a 210 combined, and I think 98th percentile overall (OK, but if I prepare next year I think I can get at least 220-230 range). Again did science olympiad, this time prepared more and demolished our entire region. I won gold medals in every event I did (3), and didn't even have the most on our team. Moved up 12 places at states!

Next year: Farsi II, German II, AP US history, honors pre-calc, AP calc, AP physics, digital electronics, and science olympiad, if they all fit. This may sound good on paper, but there are at least 3 or 4 kids with higher GPAs than me, a couple of which have done pretty much all the same extracurriculars. What should I do going forward to maximize my chances of going to a really good college? Are more science-fair type things the key? Or should I just focus on trying to get an 800 on the SATs?

I also do some video game development in my spare time. Last year I made one for the Xbox 360 with XNA, which I released on the indie games channel. I've made a couple others since then that aren't finished yet, one which I'm hoping to enter into the Dream-Build-Play contest Microsoft has. I also have a free game for the iPhone. I think this stuff might be my ticket in, but there isn't any good computer science program at our small school. Plus it's really starting to cut into my school work, which is probably more important.

PS I don't think this really matters, but I do play sports, too, I did baseball, football (started at JV QB, for the worst team in the section) and indoor track last year.

Answer 1

Your grades and test scores are good, and you are taking the most rigorous courseload at your school, right? Your science olympiad and study fair projects are good too - keep going with that. However as you guessed the most "stand-out" thing in your application is your video game development experience.



I bet all those other kids in your class with high GPAs will be applying to MIT and CalTech too. How can you make yourself stand out compared to them? Not by playing JV sports, or by otherwise doing the same activities and getting about the same grades and scores that they do.



You can differentiate yourself from them by showing that you have different passions and interests than they do; that you have greater initiative, greater self-motivation, and greater potential to do really incredible things. If computer science/video game development is your passion, then definitely make time for it; it sets you apart from your peers and will help you more in the long run than getting a few extra points on the SAT.



You mentioned that your school doesn't have a computer science program; maybe you could do a summer program in computer science, or take a college course, or do an independent study in it within your high school? Either way, I wouldn't drop it; it seems pretty much like the most important part of your application. Keep doing science fairs and playing sports if you enjoy them, too, but definitely make time for your video game development.



Information you may find useful:

http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/admissions_statistics/index.shtml

http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/about/stats#student

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/selection/evaluate.html (MIT and Caltech will evaluate their applicants in basically the same way)

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/selection/index.html



Good luck.

Answer 2

Don't have an answer for that, but I DO have a suggestion. Look into Harvey Mudd College in Claremont CA, too. Better school than CalTech - the students know how to talk about things other than their SAT scores. It's a great small school for serious science/math/engineering students who also have a sense of humor. Ugly campus [but it's part of a five-school consortium and you can take classes at any of them], great program. Close involvement with profs and their projects, a great Clinic program in which you solve real problems for real companies. If you're checking out Tech, check out HMC, too.



The person in my family who was accepted to both went for accepted student visits overnight. Hated Tech - loved HMC the minute he got there.

Answer 3

The recommendation will help, but your GPA is very low. You don't exactly need a 4.0 or higher but 2.7 won't cut. They're 2 of the best colleges in the country, but you're chances are slim. You'll have to have a perfect scores on the SAT's to even have a chance.