Advice for High School Students about College Admissions

[LendendSasukeee]

Do GPAs really matter? Aren't SATs more important? I'm from UK

[flowerpotproductions]

do all highschools have IB classes?

[wesleytocool]

@flowerpotproductions No most highschool infact don't have IB classes

[ThePortalofawesome]

what kind of sports did you do in high school?

[zaz6767]

is your race "black"

[TA271828]

What courses did u take for IBDP?

What were ur sat IIs ?

(sorry just wanted 2 kno)

[FlyGirlz2x]

congrats even tho this vid is old. lol. Thanks for the advise! I go to a school that doesnt do creds right now. :( so im thinking of taking summer classes next year at my new school im going to soon. I have always been great at algebra and my family thinks I can do calculus sooner then others :)

Thanks for the tips :)

(PS I took the PSAT at got as good a score as most sophmores :)

[DesiDito]

Nice Haircut xD

[Henry92RLC]

Where did you get your SAT classes from. A local university near me has classes for $400, which is a bit ridiculous, so I'm trying to find a cheaper one.

[SirShazaam]

@Henry92RLC This place called Karen Dillard's College Prep. I don't know where you live but they have a few locations in the DFW area in Texas.

[Balled2]

Hey!

I'm going to apply as an international student, so I was wondering if you know anything about how many international students get admitted each year , if the international students have seperate classes at MIT and things like that?

[Henry92RLC]

Just out of curiosity, did you apply EA or RA?

[SirShazaam]

@Henry92RLC RA

[goinallivyleague]

omg i'm a junior in the IB program, did you get the diploma? If so, was it hard. Also, what was your class rank and gpa?

[SirShazaam]

@goinallivyleague Yes, and yes. A lot of my friend's BS'ed their way into getting the diploma though. I was top 8% of my class and my GPA was around 3.7/3.8

[farizzal]

I got 1850 on the SAT's, is that good enough?

[SirShazaam]

@farizzal I'm sorry but it's not so black and white...if you listen to the video I kind of explain that a bit.

[farizzal]

@SirShazaam yea I get what you are saying about passion and stuff, but I am just worried that even if I have those things (I am huge about music and I have multiple bands and played in my high school marching band for four years), would an 1850 just rule me out regardless?

[SirShazaam]

I certainly don't think that would 'rule you out'. Now would a score in the 2000's increase your chances? Probably. But never assume you just won't get in b/c of a certain number. Let your personality and your talents shine through in your applications, and that's probably your best bet.

[UtubeJKZ]

thanks for the reply

and just out of curiosity

how did u react when u found out u got into MIT?

[SirShazaam]

@UtubeJKZ np. haha well the perfect answer for that is to watch my video titled 'MIT...?'

[Henry92RLC]

Other than the ones on the IB curriculum (contined from last message)

[Henry92RLC]

Are AP chemistry and AP physics good enough science classes?

[Henry92RLC]

Ok. Thanks.

[Henry92RLC]

How long did you take sat classes for? I've decided to take them, seeing how they helped you.

[SirShazaam]

Yes, they can be very helpful if you put the work in. I started taking classes about 4 months before the test I think. If you consistently put the work in, you should see a lot of improvement.

[Henry92RLC]

Can you also tell me what gpa unweighted you had?

[SirShazaam]

around 3.7/3.8 it's hard to remember. I was 51st in a class of 691 (top 8%)

[Henry92RLC]

I'm taking IB my junior and senior year. Does it matter that I didn't take pre-IB for freshman and sophomore? Also, I'll be taking AP calculus bc and higher level mathematics my senior year. Are those classes good for MIT?

[SirShazaam]

It shouldn't matter much, although pre-IB does help with the transition to IB level classes. AP Calculus BC is a great class to take. If you get into MIT and got a 5 on it, you can pass out of the first level math class here (passing out of a class at MIT is no short order!). In general, higher level classes are good to take.

[UtubeJKZ]

hey

im in IB and also goin for MIT

thing is, i have all these ppl saying how great IB is but i checked the MIT website and i have to say that they dont give a lot of credit to IB

a 6 or 7 will only guarantee u som credit and sometimes u must write an AP based test to get the credits

so what im wondering is if the IB program will give me som sort of advantage or not

[SirShazaam]

Yeah, elite colleges in general are very strict about getting credit. IB is still an advantage though - think about it - if you weren't taking IB/AP courses you wouldn't have a chance at getting credit.

I ended up getting 18 units of general credit at MIT just b/c of some of my AP scores.

[SirShazaam]

Also, there are some students here who've passed out of the normal freshman math class (18.01 is what we call it) by getting a 5 on the Calculus BC exam.

So really, don't be discouraged, hard courses are better non-hard courses when it comes to applying for college.

[felixduhcat89]

Stay in school...and you'll do drugs when you're in college kids :p

[auroraXashes]

Did you attend the interview for MIT?

[SirShazaam]

No, I tried to contact my interviewer but I didn't get a response.

[auroraXashes]

How would MIT react to seeing a 66 on a class and then the next year a 98, would they consider you?

[UtubeJKZ]

well... that shows that u have greatly improved

however, this also shows that u are not consistent

[ironclownfish]

oops I meant to say take college classes, not take colleges. lol

I took accelerated German and Astronomy 122 and this year I'm doing Honors Calculus, Physics, and ballroom dancing. I like to dabble :) Does MIT like people who dabble?

[ironclownfish]

Hey!!! 2130 is my score too!! Rock on!!! (I had to do it twice though, once for practice. I didn't study either lol.) And I do rubiks cubes too!! Whats your best time?

My school doesn't have a math club, science fair, and there are no science Olympiads in my area. The things I do for fun instead are take colleges at a local university and I built a telescope and went to nanotechnology camp. Would MIT laugh away an applicant like me? MY GPA is very good but not perfect. A minus average or so

[dubovsky1]

Hey, Congrats on your acceptance. How is it there at MIT? Is it stressful because of the workload? I was wondering if you could tell what your scores were on your subject tests (if you are allowed to share that). What do you think was the main reason you got into that school? I know passion is an obvious answer, but what specific aspect on your resume? Thanks!!

[TheOracle101]

What would be a good amount of AP courses for MIT? Also what are the minimum number of clubs you should join for a good chance of admission? Thanks

[SirShazaam]

Like I've said in response to previous comments - you can't really put a number on a lot things. There's no set amount of clubs or AP courses the will with 'guarantee' anything. But for the best chances, take as many AP courses as you can handle. Try not to focus on a certain *number* of clubs, focus on your passions. If you really love one particular club, put a lot of effort into that and take a leadership role. Quality always outweighs quanitity here, but both is always good :)

[XxTeamHazMatxX]

What kind of maths do you need for the SATs?

I don't take calculus & vectors or Advanced functions until gr. 12, by then I should have written the SATs unless I do a 5th year of high school. I plan on learning calc over the summer and working out of the SAT book, but is there anything specifically thats needs to be learned that I would have to learn on my own?

Also, If you get straight 98%'s across your report card but they aren't AP just university, thats still looked favourably upon right?

[SirShazaam]

If your looking at a high-intensity math/science/engineering school (MIT, Caltech, etc.) your SAT math scores should be pretty high (700+ on the math section for the SAT reasoning, and very very good - I'd say 750+ would be my goal - for SAT subject test level II). But really just do your best. It's always in your favor to do really well in the most advanced classes that your school offers (in my opinion). I highly recommend AP classes if you can handle them. Hope this helps.

[KendrayCarly]

Hey, I'm just wondering, I'm stuck in a position where I can only go as far as Pre-Calculus in high school

Should this make too big of a difference?

[SirShazaam]

I mean, it depends on where you want to go. A liberal arts college might not care as much that you didn't take calculus in high school. If I were you, I'd take the hardest classes that you can handle/that your school offers. For example, some of my friends up here at MIT didn't have any physics background until they came to college. But I'm pretty sure they destroyed all or most of the courses that they did take. Make the most of classes that your school offers you.

[Stephodancer7]

Yallstaz, have you even read MIT's affirmative action policy? No applicant gets in because they're a minority. Not to mention, there's no statistically significant difference between the percentage of minorities in the applicant pool and the percentage accepted.

Minorities get in because they deserve it.

[SirShazaam]

I agree. MIT chooses applicants based on their merit and whether they believe they'll be a good fit for the school - not based on color.

[yallstaz]

A big factor that allowed him to get into MIT is that he's a minority. No offense bro.

[SirShazaam]

MIT is 9% African-American.....which in my class approximates to around 100 people. That's about 1100 African Americans who applied that didn't get in (based on the general acceptance rate). I made it to MIT for a reason - and that's definitely not because of the color of my skin.

[andydeniedyou]

grats man, i'm happy for you, but how was your personal statement (essay)? was that a key factor?

[CactusWarrior]

Hey man,

I really appreciate you making this video.

I'm sure it will help my future a lot.

Once again, thanks for contributing your time, could you message me your e-mail?

[kingkong69bucorvette]

thanks you help me out so much i hope i can get in MIT

and congrats on you going to MIT