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College Acceptance Thread '11 - Page 7

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Z3kk
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
4099 Posts
March 25 2011 00:20 GMT
#121
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.
Failure is not falling down over and over again. Failure is refusing to get back up.
Loser777
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
1931 Posts
March 25 2011 00:21 GMT
#122
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.
6581
DisneylandSC
Profile Joined November 2010
Netherlands435 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-25 00:26:11
March 25 2011 00:25 GMT
#123
On March 25 2011 09:05 feanor1 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 08:49 gerundium wrote:
This always strikes me as weird, what does volunteer work have to do with being a good student? I find that odd to take into account in the admission process. GL to people having to apply to colleges right now!

Probably nothing, but it is something that every college looks at because it tells them what kind of "person" you are. Really seems like self service if the sole reason a ton a people do it is to put it on college apps. Then and again it doesn't make sense that being having white students hurts your academic environment at a school.


Actually, I suspect the reason also has to do with the american educational system. gerundium is from the Netherlands as I am. Over here we have different tiers for highschool. Whereas in america you just have highschool. The level of which is probably less then our highest tier highschool atheneum / gymnasium. As a result you get a huge group of people with really high grades. A problem which is made worse by the way they grade stuff in America.

Of course universities do want some way to seperate the good from the really good, and also students in such an environment need a way to set themselves apart from everyone else with "perfect" grades. Stuff like volunteer work lets you do just that.
ghrur
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
United States3786 Posts
March 25 2011 00:26 GMT
#124
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


Sorry about that man. :/ I have a friend who was both Siemens Semifinalist and got waitlisted too.
All these top schools are so difficult to get into. T_T I don't even have any of these, and I'm scared to hell by all of you guys.
darkness overpowering
]343[
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
United States10328 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-25 00:29:00
March 25 2011 00:26 GMT
#125
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.


USAMO is obviously biggest; ARML is pretty big too.
Harvard-MIT / Princeton / Stanford / Rice / Duke hold pretty big on-site math meets. Caltech/Harvey Mudd are just beginning their own too, I think.
Many states / regions have their own math contests.
Smaller ones... USAMTS and Mandelbrot are legit, the rest not so much.

And then there's the research competitions (if you do math research)... but yeah it seems like making USAMO is important. (also lol @ USAJMO)

also this stuff doesn't really matter in college anymore, other than bragging rights to your friends >.>
Writer
Hikko
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States1126 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-25 00:35:27
March 25 2011 00:27 GMT
#126
I had a 4.35 weighted GPA I think, with a 3.57 unweighted GPA, and a 30 on the ACT. I plan on doing Computer Science. My freshman year GPA screwed me up =/

As far as AP's, I got a 4 on AP Human Geography, World History, US History, and English Literature, but I did not attempt any other tests because they weren't offered at my school. One of my friends and I tried to get AP Computer Science after taking two years of Programming, and we initially had the green light from our principal, but our school district's budget cuts meant that there would be no more programming or non-basic computer classes in our district...

Accepted:

BYU (planning on going here)
BYU-Idaho
UCF

I did not apply anywhere else. I reckon I'm realistic, and I either wanted to get into BYU and live far away from home, or stay at the local university. I also think that people shouldn't apply to a billion universities when they aren't serious about which ones they want to get into, because you're denying people who really do want to go to those schools the opportunity of attending when that is their #1 school of choice.


I did a ton of extracurriculars, such as a year in Marching Band and Ballroom Dance, the Teenage Republican and Young Democrat clubs (concurrently, I was an officer in both...which was amusing ) and three years of Soccer and Tennis.

I think I got into the schools because I have a ton of dual enrollment and AP credits...I'll be going into my Freshman year with 38 credits and a 3.8 college GPA!

What I'm really upset about is that I missed a half tuition scholarship by less than .01 unweighted GPA points...

Hopefully I'll get a lot out of Financial Aid, right?
♥
Z3kk
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
4099 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-25 00:33:50
March 25 2011 00:29 GMT
#127
On March 25 2011 09:21 Loser777 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.


Well fml...does one have to sort of study for those competitions or take classes? Only literal geniuses can do these types of problems with an education limited to high school, right (i.e. taking calc and the like in HS can't possibly prepare one for the problem types in AMC/AIME/USAMO...correct?)?

Also, what do you mean by "here"? How much exactly, additionally, do your region (or school perhaps) matter? .__.

MIT has always been and still is my dream school, so it's really disheartening to see all of these rejections...


On March 25 2011 09:26 ]343[ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.


USAMO is obviously biggest; ARML is pretty big too.
Harvard-MIT / Princeton / Stanford / Rice / Duke hold pretty big on-site math meets. Caltech/Harvey Mudd are just beginning their own too, I think.
Many states / regions have their own math contests.
Smaller ones... USAMTS and Mandelbrot are legit, the rest not so much.

And then there's the research competitions (if you do math research)... but yeah it seems like making USAMO is important. (also lol @ USAJMO)

also this stuff doesn't really matter in college anymore, other than bragging rights to your friends >.>


I will check out ARML; hadn't heard of it until now--I knew only of Mandelbrot/USAMO.

Ugh...I think my math skills really are subpar compared to the smarter group of students and I waste ~9 hours a day online, but I really just don't know how I'm supposed to learn about/prepare for these types of things. Gotta cut my addiction, but I just find the Internet/computer so useful...I'm also a perfectionist and focus 100% of my attention on whatever I'm doing, i.e. right now I'm focusing solely on this thread and some random research, and homework has gotten literally nowhere in 1.5 hours. I don't even know where the time went wtf
Failure is not falling down over and over again. Failure is refusing to get back up.
DarkOptik
Profile Blog Joined August 2007
452 Posts
March 25 2011 00:29 GMT
#128
On March 25 2011 09:21 Loser777 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.


That's not entirely correct: approximately 500 students make it into the USAMO each year. So if we assume that you have three chances out of your applicable years (that is, you can make it as either a freshman, sophomore, or junior) that means that by the time you apply there's only 1500 possible candidates for MIT...and that's just not true. And that's assuming that there are no duplicate students in the USAMO each year.

So no, while it certainly helps, it's by no means required to the extent that you seem to imply.
USK
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
173 Posts
March 25 2011 00:29 GMT
#129
accepted: UCSB, Cal Poly Slo, San Diego State
Rejected: UCSD, and UCLA

had around a 4.2 gpa, 5 on AP bio AP World History and AP US History Tests. and a 4 on the AP Chem Test.
1960 on SAT
790ish on all my SAT2's
Call Me Mr. Roller Coaster...
Itzeddiieee
Profile Joined May 2010
Korea (South)787 Posts
March 25 2011 00:32 GMT
#130
OP stats are imba...

Currently 2nd term junior
Loser777
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
1931 Posts
March 25 2011 00:32 GMT
#131
On March 25 2011 09:29 DarkOptik wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:21 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.


That's not entirely correct: approximately 500 students make it into the USAMO each year. So if we assume that you have three chances out of your applicable years (that is, you can make it as either a freshman, sophomore, or junior) that means that by the time you apply there's only 1500 possible candidates for MIT...and that's just not true. And that's assuming that there are no duplicate students in the USAMO each year.

So no, while it certainly helps, it's by no means required to the extent that you seem to imply.

I'm saying that as far as math goes--it doesn't really matter until you make it to that level. Again there are regional differences and everything--but USAMO seems to be the minimum here.
6581
resilve
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United Kingdom678 Posts
March 25 2011 00:32 GMT
#132
Im so glad I got accepted to my university before the recent few years, competition seems insane with rising participation from all classes, and grades keep getting higher/exams easier (at least here).

The whole nasty kind of competition, dog-eat-dog ranking and indisciriminate judgement made me feel physically sick.

Whole american system seems really unpleasant to me.
Socke Fighting!!!!
ghrur
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
United States3786 Posts
March 25 2011 00:32 GMT
#133
On March 25 2011 09:29 Z3kk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:21 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.


Well fml...does one have to sort of study for those competitions or take classes? Only literal geniuses can do these types of problems with an education limited to high school, right (i.e. taking calc and the like in HS can't possibly prepare one for the problem types in AMC/AIME/USAMO...correct?)?

Also, what do you mean by "here"? How much exactly, additionally, do your region (or school perhaps) matter? .__.

MIT has always been and still is my dream school, so it's really disheartening to see all of these rejections...


Well, you can study for them but it's going to take a lot of work.
Basically, you're going to have to do problem after problem after problem.
Go through like, The Art of Problem Solving set of books, and you can raise your chances, but just keep doing problems. The idea is that eventually, you'll be able to recognize what type of problems they are, and just solve them. However, this doesn't make you any more talented at math. It's kind of just brute memorization in a way. :/ On the other hand, if you can find your own way of looking at these problems, it could really help with your mathematical understanding.

But yeah, it takes a lot of effort and dedication. I never did it. T_T I suck at math.
darkness overpowering
]343[
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
United States10328 Posts
March 25 2011 00:33 GMT
#134
On March 25 2011 09:29 DarkOptik wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:21 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.


That's not entirely correct: approximately 500 students make it into the USAMO each year. So if we assume that you have three chances out of your applicable years (that is, you can make it as either a freshman, sophomore, or junior) that means that by the time you apply there's only 1500 possible candidates for MIT...and that's just not true. And that's assuming that there are no duplicate students in the USAMO each year.

So no, while it certainly helps, it's by no means required to the extent that you seem to imply.


well, I think he's referring to being admitted to MIT based on math. I'm pretty sure most (70%?) American MIT math majors have made USAMO. (Also it's now harder to make USAMO again thanks to that USAJMO thingy... lol.)


On March 25 2011 09:32 ghrur wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:29 Z3kk wrote:
Well fml...does one have to sort of study for those competitions or take classes? Only literal geniuses can do these types of problems with an education limited to high school, right (i.e. taking calc and the like in HS can't possibly prepare one for the problem types in AMC/AIME/USAMO...correct?)?

Also, what do you mean by "here"? How much exactly, additionally, do your region (or school perhaps) matter? .__.

MIT has always been and still is my dream school, so it's really disheartening to see all of these rejections...


Well, you can study for them but it's going to take a lot of work.
Basically, you're going to have to do problem after problem after problem.
Go through like, The Art of Problem Solving set of books, and you can raise your chances, but just keep doing problems. The idea is that eventually, you'll be able to recognize what type of problems they are, and just solve them. However, this doesn't make you any more talented at math. It's kind of just brute memorization in a way. :/ On the other hand, if you can find your own way of looking at these problems, it could really help with your mathematical understanding.

But yeah, it takes a lot of effort and dedication. I never did it. T_T I suck at math.


Pretty much. Spend hundreds, thousands of hours doing problems and you'll get good
Writer
b3h47pte
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
United States1317 Posts
March 25 2011 00:34 GMT
#135
On March 25 2011 09:32 Loser777 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:29 DarkOptik wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:21 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
[quote]
Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.


That's not entirely correct: approximately 500 students make it into the USAMO each year. So if we assume that you have three chances out of your applicable years (that is, you can make it as either a freshman, sophomore, or junior) that means that by the time you apply there's only 1500 possible candidates for MIT...and that's just not true. And that's assuming that there are no duplicate students in the USAMO each year.

So no, while it certainly helps, it's by no means required to the extent that you seem to imply.

I'm saying that as far as math goes--it doesn't really matter until you make it to that level. Again there are regional differences and everything--but USAMO seems to be the minimum here.


At my school it seems to me that the only people who get in are the girls =\
Girls are OP at tech schools.
Loser777
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
1931 Posts
March 25 2011 00:36 GMT
#136
On March 25 2011 09:34 b3h47pte wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:32 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:29 DarkOptik wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:21 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
[quote]

Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.


That's not entirely correct: approximately 500 students make it into the USAMO each year. So if we assume that you have three chances out of your applicable years (that is, you can make it as either a freshman, sophomore, or junior) that means that by the time you apply there's only 1500 possible candidates for MIT...and that's just not true. And that's assuming that there are no duplicate students in the USAMO each year.

So no, while it certainly helps, it's by no means required to the extent that you seem to imply.

I'm saying that as far as math goes--it doesn't really matter until you make it to that level. Again there are regional differences and everything--but USAMO seems to be the minimum here.


At my school it seems to me that the only people who get in are the girls =\
Girls are OP at tech schools.

Haha, that's one bias that I'm not going to argue against. While roughly the same number of girls/boys admitted to MIT is very close, looking at the number of applicants relative to those accepted for each gender paints a very clear picture.
6581
Hikko
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States1126 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-25 00:38:37
March 25 2011 00:37 GMT
#137
Does anyone have experience or information about how much you get from pell grants and federal financial aid? I'm really sick at my stomach thinking about how I'm going to pay for school. My family's income is around $50,000, and my parents are trying to retire, so I'm going to be mostly on my own.

EDIT: Post 700!
♥
Z3kk
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
4099 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-25 00:40:05
March 25 2011 00:38 GMT
#138
On March 25 2011 09:33 ]343[ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:29 DarkOptik wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:21 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
[quote]
Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.


That's not entirely correct: approximately 500 students make it into the USAMO each year. So if we assume that you have three chances out of your applicable years (that is, you can make it as either a freshman, sophomore, or junior) that means that by the time you apply there's only 1500 possible candidates for MIT...and that's just not true. And that's assuming that there are no duplicate students in the USAMO each year.

So no, while it certainly helps, it's by no means required to the extent that you seem to imply.


well, I think he's referring to being admitted to MIT based on math. I'm pretty sure most (70%?) American MIT math majors have made USAMO. (Also it's now harder to make USAMO again thanks to that USAJMO thingy... lol.)


Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:32 ghrur wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:29 Z3kk wrote:
Well fml...does one have to sort of study for those competitions or take classes? Only literal geniuses can do these types of problems with an education limited to high school, right (i.e. taking calc and the like in HS can't possibly prepare one for the problem types in AMC/AIME/USAMO...correct?)?

Also, what do you mean by "here"? How much exactly, additionally, do your region (or school perhaps) matter? .__.

MIT has always been and still is my dream school, so it's really disheartening to see all of these rejections...


Well, you can study for them but it's going to take a lot of work.
Basically, you're going to have to do problem after problem after problem.
Go through like, The Art of Problem Solving set of books, and you can raise your chances, but just keep doing problems. The idea is that eventually, you'll be able to recognize what type of problems they are, and just solve them. However, this doesn't make you any more talented at math. It's kind of just brute memorization in a way. :/ On the other hand, if you can find your own way of looking at these problems, it could really help with your mathematical understanding.

But yeah, it takes a lot of effort and dedication. I never did it. T_T I suck at math.


Pretty much. Spend hundreds, thousands of hours doing problems and you'll get good


So literally only way outside of being a genius is to brute-force work on problems? ._. Any suggestions besides AoPS? I know of those books but have yet to get them...well definitely do that.

On March 25 2011 09:26 ]343[ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:41 Loser777 wrote:
GPA: 3.80UW -UC GPA was something shitty like 4.00
SAT: 2310
SAT IIs: 790 US 790 Physics 800 Math II

ECs: Mixture of various science clubs, competitions and fairs, marching band for four years, few community service hours (~100)

Major Awards: Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist

UC Berkeley: Rejected
Harvey Mudd College: Rejected
MIT: Rejected
UC San Diego: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting :/
Carnegie Mellon: Waiting :/
UCLA: Accepted
UCI: Accepted
UCSB: Accepted
UCR: Accepted
UCD: Accepted
USC: Accepted
UIUC: Accepted
University of Michigan: Accepted
University of Texas Austin: Accepted
Cal Poly SLO: Accepted

Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.


USAMO is obviously biggest; ARML is pretty big too.
Harvard-MIT / Princeton / Stanford / Rice / Duke hold pretty big on-site math meets. Caltech/Harvey Mudd are just beginning their own too, I think.
Many states / regions have their own math contests.
Smaller ones... USAMTS and Mandelbrot are legit, the rest not so much.

And then there's the research competitions (if you do math research)... but yeah it seems like making USAMO is important. (also lol @ USAJMO)

also this stuff doesn't really matter in college anymore, other than bragging rights to your friends >.>


Wait, so how much exactly do these matter in regard to EECS? I'm still very much open to possibilities, but do I want to enter a future in STEM and EE currently seems to appeal most to me. ._.

Ugh...I think my math skills really are subpar compared to the smarter group of students and I waste ~9 hours a day online, but I really just don't know how I'm supposed to learn about/prepare for these types of things. Gotta cut my addiction, but I just find the Internet/computer so useful...I'm also a perfectionist and focus 100% of my attention on whatever I'm doing, i.e. right now I'm focusing solely on this thread and some random research, and homework has gotten literally nowhere in 1.5 hours. I don't even know where the time went wtf
Failure is not falling down over and over again. Failure is refusing to get back up.
andrewlt
Profile Joined August 2009
United States7702 Posts
March 25 2011 00:43 GMT
#139
On March 25 2011 09:32 ghrur wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:29 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:21 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:20 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:18 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:14 ]343[ wrote:
On March 25 2011 09:00 Loser777 wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:56 Z3kk wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:49 chenchen wrote:
On March 25 2011 08:42 Froadac wrote:
[quote]
Hmmm. Sort of eerily similar.

My extracurriculars are probably a bit better, and GPA is probably a hare better, but overall very similar.

What major are you wanting to do?


Your extracurriculars are probably a bit better than intel semifinalist =O



How did he get rejected from Berkeley (not saying it's an easy school of course) with those stats omg...intel semifinalist and everything solid except GPA in a pinch...


Considering all the other schools that I didn't get into... I wasn't entirely shocked by this point. You win some you lose some, and by now I figured it was time for me to lose a lot. Obviously people with "lesser" stats get in--it's just a matter of which direction the wind blows.


actually wait a second--are you an "international" (non-permanent resident) student? I might be reading too deeply into the "China" on your profile lol, but that would make it much harder to get into places.

I live in the United States right now and had US Citizenship when I applied. I'm thankful that so many people are offering their sympathies and are trying to reason through with me... as for myself I'm trying not to read too deeply into everything.

As for MIT, I know another Semifinalist at my school who was waitlisted and had a better GPA and SAT score than me--so again, you win some you lose some. My low GPA and lack of math awards sealed my fate there I think.


I always wondered this: what kinds of math awards are there to obtain outside of AMC==>AIME==>USAMO etc.? I have heard of a few, but they seem mostly to be low-leveled or not particularly worthwhile.

Yeah, those are pretty much the big ones... but around here you gotta make it into USAMO or MIT won't bat an eye.


Well fml...does one have to sort of study for those competitions or take classes? Only literal geniuses can do these types of problems with an education limited to high school, right (i.e. taking calc and the like in HS can't possibly prepare one for the problem types in AMC/AIME/USAMO...correct?)?

Also, what do you mean by "here"? How much exactly, additionally, do your region (or school perhaps) matter? .__.

MIT has always been and still is my dream school, so it's really disheartening to see all of these rejections...


Well, you can study for them but it's going to take a lot of work.
Basically, you're going to have to do problem after problem after problem.
Go through like, The Art of Problem Solving set of books, and you can raise your chances, but just keep doing problems. The idea is that eventually, you'll be able to recognize what type of problems they are, and just solve them. However, this doesn't make you any more talented at math. It's kind of just brute memorization in a way. :/ On the other hand, if you can find your own way of looking at these problems, it could really help with your mathematical understanding.

But yeah, it takes a lot of effort and dedication. I never did it. T_T I suck at math.



Yup. I won a regional citywide Math competition once in Manila and that was because I got lucky enough to get familiar questions in the test. The hardest question happened to be something I just studied in a extracurricular competition level math class a week or so before. It's really more about familiarization than talent.
]343[
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
United States10328 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-25 00:44:40
March 25 2011 00:43 GMT
#140
On March 25 2011 09:38 Z3kk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 25 2011 09:33 ]343[ wrote:
Pretty much. Spend hundreds, thousands of hours doing problems and you'll get good


So literally only way outside of being a genius is to brute-force work on problems? ._. Any suggestions besides AoPS? I know of those books but have yet to get them...well definitely do that.


On March 25 2011 09:20? Z3kk wrote:
Wait, so how much exactly do these matter in regard to EECS? I'm still very much open to possibilities, but do I want to enter a future in STEM and EE currently seems to appeal most to me. ._.

Ugh...I think my math skills really are subpar compared to the smarter group of students and I waste ~9 hours a day online, but I really just don't know how I'm supposed to learn about/prepare for these types of things. Gotta cut my addiction, but I just find the Internet/computer so useful...I'm also a perfectionist and focus 100% of my attention on whatever I'm doing, i.e. right now I'm focusing solely on this thread and some random research, and homework has gotten literally nowhere in 1.5 hours. I don't even know where the time went wtf


If you want to do EECS, you don't necessarily have to do math competitions. In fact, if you want to impress compsci-wise, try things like USACO and Topcoder, or build your own cool electrical gadgets (my temp roommate took apart a Wii and stuck it inside a Macbook... so now you can play Wii 100% portably with a built in screen on it!)

If you really want to do math competitions, you really do need just a little talent and a loooooot of work. How can you be good at anything if you don't put in a lot of time?
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