>enter high school >have aspirations to go to MIT >mental

You will never get into MIT or any other ivy league unless you're minority or a savant.
Just go to community college and then transfer to a state school later on. Don't take a fucking ""gap year"" that's a fucking death sentence and you will forget everything and struggle even harder at school.

>>18316259

You will not get into MIT or a comparable school unless you have a perfect GPA or close, 2300+ SAT (preferably 2350+), multiple state-level or national-level awards, leadership activities, ideally research experience with publications forthcoming or anticipated, good essays and recommendations, and some degree of luck.

Honestly you likely wouldn't survive there, so stop worrying about it. Just go to the honors college at your local state university.

>>18316279
>Don't take a fucking ""gap year"" that's a fucking death sentence and you will forget everything and struggle even harder at school.
retarded advice

gap year is good, save up some money, figure out what you want to do with your life, travel if possible, visit different schools

big fish in small pond
or small fish in big pond
or small fish in small pond

>>18316552
This.

People who go to MIT have been groomed from birth to go to MIT, and done the lifelong preparations to be accepted. The small percentage who don't fall into that category are minorities/savants, like this guy said >>18316279

So, OP. If tech/stem is your thing, you're good at it, you want to do it for the rest of your life, then find any of the numerous schools in the country that have the best program for what you're particularly interested in. Robotics? Look for the best of those schools. Physics? Check out your options.

Enroll in a semester or two of community college while you're in your "gap" year, so you at least did something valuable with your time. Save yourself the money on all the bullshit underclassmen classes you'd have to take anywhere.

And get some mental help in the meanwhile, so you're prepared for everything about school. Social aspects, the workload, being alone/away from home, etc.

College is bullshit.

If you do go, avoid getting into debt.

OP what are you planning to do on your gap year?

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>>18316279
>"unless you're a minority"
I'm a minority but I'm just the wrong one. I'm Asian. RIP. Also as for the gap year, I still plan on taking some classes but it wouldn't be at as a freshman at a university but rather at a local community college.

>>18316552
I hate nothing more than regret. To me, it'd be better if I applied and got rejected rather than never apply at all.

>>18316566
I'm looking at robotics, however, it seems a majority of robotic programs are ivy league or near ivy league schools. They seem to have the most resources to be able to build the best labs. I plan on taking several classes at my local community college. I'll keep looking though.

>>18316986
As soon as I graduate, I'm flying to Shanghai on a paid scholarship for several weeks to study Mandarin. Then I'll be back and I'll probably enroll in some classes at community college. But I want to do more than just that. I have several different business ideas so maybe I'll try and launch one of those within the year? Or try to find an internship somewhere.

I've looked at all the possible options and obviously entering the traditional "front door" with high GPA isn't going to get me anywhere. However, a more unorthodox "back door" approach might work(?). Say I did something no one else has done, would this compensate for my bad grades?

>>18317222
do you have a wallets full of food folder?
I had seen the 'full of nug' one around but I will require the rest of the folder

>>18316259
>>have aspirations to go to MIT
what major are you interested in?
If it's pure/applied math I can guide you, I'm from a school at least as good as MIT in terms of math.

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>>18317229
Yes, I'll post one with each reply.

>>18317233
I'm interested in robotics engineering. Probably through electrical engineering first, which MIT has the #1 program for. Honestly, I don't care about the prestige of the school. I'm looking to get the best education with the most resources available to me.

>>18317255
I'm not sure how it works in the us but cant you just apply to various colleges? You probably wont get in MIT but wont some state college take you?

>>18317255
Honestly, as a recent graduate, the only thing that matters is the degree you get. My buddy went to MIT for chemical engineering and he has the same rate of pay as my buddy who graduated with Bio-Chem from Cal Poly SLO. I went to UChicago for the first two years and then to state to finish and all my residence hall friends have the same rate of pay I do as well. Don't stress about it, but honestly, don't take a gap year. The longer it takes you to finish, the harder it will be to complete. Plus you could always go to MIT for your post-Grad

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>>18317277
But surely there are undeniable perks that come along with a degree from a certain school. If anything, I think MIT would just be a testament to one's resolve. Alumni benefits, better job placement, and intern opportunities seem to be like a good enough reason. But maybe I'm just peddling a meme idk

>>18317266
Yeah, I can apply to as many colleges as I want and I could probably be accepted to a good amount of them but the point isn't whether I can go to college. I'm looking to push myself and achieve something with the most resources available to me and MIT seems the best way to do that.

>>18316259

Professor writing here

Ignore the trolls. Every elite university is very aware of the dangers of admitting only elite students (Among other things it is not good for the students' mental health to be segregated from "normies"). And so every elite university, including MIT, makes a point of admitting students who may not be absolutely top-tier but who will add to the campus environment.

Your gap year - and incidentally you do know that a gap year is the norm and not the exception in some countries - is a perfect opportunity to build up your not-strictly-academic attractiveness.

A job in a related field, volunteer work, even a year spent studying something entirely different, like Shakespeare or creative arts, will help you stand out from the other applicants.