What Gives?

[ƒ(x)]

Just found out I was deferred for MIT's early application (not a rant, at least not entirely, I'm also curious). 800's on the math section of the SAT and the SAT Math and Physics subject tests. Only 1 B in high school (in spanish), the rest were A's and solid teacher recommendations. A friend of mine who goes to a prestigious high school (ranked #1 in the US a year or two ago) who has even better SAT scores and grades than I do was deferred as well.

So...what I want to know is....Who gets accepted early into MIT???

[fss]

Students who get zero Bs (all As), incredible teacher recommendations, solid extracurricular involvement, and probably research or academically-relevant work on the side as well.

Basically, you shouldn't feel too bad about being deferred. Not many students get into MIT in the first place, even though the applicant pool tends to be the cream of the crop.

[ƒ(x)]

My extracurriculars sucked (as in nonexistant). I don't think I should participate in one though just to look good for colleges. I'd only do it if i was actually interested.

[Office_Shredder]

And that's why you didn't get accepted early. They probably have 5-10,000 applicants with a perfect SAT and GPA

[fss]

I don't think I should participate in one though just to look good for colleges. I'd only do it if i was actually interested.

Your lack of interest in any sort of extracurricular activity was almost certainly a factor in your deferral. It's a demonstration of commitment and motivation to do something outside/after school, whether it's a job, club, or whatever.

[ƒ(x)]

What exactly is academic work or research?