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How to get my GPA straight?

How likely is it for a high school junior with a GPA barely above a 3.0 to get into MIT?

  • I clearly understand that a low GPA will make it less likely for one to get into a great school compared to another person with a higher GPA. I also know that GPA isn't everything; a 4.0 GPA will not guarantee admission (won't guarantee anything, actually). However, I am just wondering how other people like me get in to MIT (they got lucky, had high SAT/ACT test scores, took a lot of AP's and did well, competed in ISEF or Google Science Fair, etc.).

  • Answer:

    I am the parent of a current MIT student. I have faith that MIT Admissions finds the students that belong at MIT, and GPA is only one indicator. Rather than answer your questions, I will ask some. MIT is a rigorous school, beyond whatever you may think has been academically challenging to date. So, ask yourself why you want to go to MIT. If it is the academic reputation, then is your 3.0 reflective of your academic ability? If so, you likely will be completely overwhelmed by the workload at MIT. You will be unhappy, and stressed to the breaking point. Students who easily earned 4.0s are overwhelmed. MIT doesn't want to put students in situations where they can not succeed and will drop out.  They want to find a good "fit", then support those students to graduation. It is a mutual investment.  If the 3.0 is not reflective of your ability, can you effectively explain to an admissions officer why you are a better choice than the student who has a perfect A record? (Do your SATs also show that you should have been a 4.0 student?) Did you overcome some adversity, such as a medical issue that kept you out of class for a long period of time? Do you want to go because you have challenged yourself in every way possible (taken the most rigorous offerings at your school and in your community) and you thrive on challenge? That would be a good answer. When you are applying to colleges, you need to be looking for a good fit as much as the admissions officer looks for a good fit. You want to be at a school that provides the right level of challenge for you. If in your heart you believe that is MIT, and all of your other indicators of fit match up, then it is up to you to convince an admissions officer that you are a better choice than nine other students with straight A's, top SAT scores, 8 AP tests, and so many extra-curriculars and competitions it makes your calendar cry. MIT is forced to reject many outstanding 4.0 students that would excel at MIT. They don't have enough spots available. Why should they choose you? That will answer your question.

Dianne Sedlar at Quora Visit the source

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MIT admits high school dropouts.  The only way you are going to get this done is to have such amazing accomplishments that you stand out that much. Show them why high school is irrelevant to your admission decision. Maybe it wasn't the right environment. Why is MIT the right environment? The answer to your question, I think, is to get outstanding letters of recommendation.  You see, your teachers know a lot about you.  If you somehow don't have the results in high school that everyone else has, but you are still so amazing it would be a difficult thing to reject you, they are going to go looking for your teachers, to learn about all the questions going through their minds about the potential pitfalls of admitting you.  Your letters of recommendation are going to be the most crucial part of your application, because you just have no control over them and they give a clear look into the type of student you are. It can be done, I think, but you're also likely to succeed only if you're a superstar among the members of your class, which is pretty damn impossible at MIT for all normal genius human beings.

Anonymous

I would be very surprised if there was a single  undergraduate at MIT with a GPA that low unless there were extreme extenuating circumstances (serious illness or family problems). I think there would be serious concerns that you would be unable to handle the coursework at MIT which is almost certainly much more rigorous than what you did in high school. If you can't handle the coursework it doesn't matter how impressive the rest of your accomplishments you won't (and shouldn't) be admitted.

Max Timmons

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