The Number Game by Bryan

So I had a little free time this morning so I paid a little visit to College Confidential.

Now 4 years ago, I didn’t know something like CC existed, and I’m kind of glad I didn’t because I think I would have gone nuts. Now, I’ll admit I was kind of shocked by the number of posts that were along the lines of “Chances at MIT.” I guess I was just a little upset about how everyone was trading their “stats” like I used to trade baseball cards in my kindergarten days.

I guess the whole point is MIT looks at more than just the numbers. Now I took N AP classes, got X on my SAT, and got H A’s in my entire life. I applied and got into MIT. Someone else from my high school applied. Took N + 2 AP classes, got X + 10 on their SAT, and got H + 5 A’s. They applied and did not get into MIT.

Does that mean MIT made a mistake by taking me and not them? Maybe, but it’s too late (just kidding). This just shows an important aspect of college admissions that I think we all don’t realize until we’re here and think about it. Hindsight is 20/20. I think more than 1000 students get a 1600 on their SAT every year, but the MIT class size wavers roughly around that number, so how do you figure that MIT admits the class that it does?

Numbers are one thing but there are a lot of other important things that indicate your preparedness for college. I recently realized this with my graduate school applications. I was worried and was like “OMG my GPA is NOT PERFECT” but then I realized that graduate school is not just about GPA. For PhD programs, you’re going to be doing research and so being prepared to spend countless hours in lab is also an extremely important factor. It’s important to realize that it’s not just about what the scores and the number of AP classes; it’s about how prepared you are for the program or the college you want to enter.

MIT is no piece of cake, so just keep this in mind. Numbers aren’t the only thing, but they always help.