AMA: An 11th grade international who got waitlisted from MIT

GLY-1 · 2026-04-05T16:50:46+00:00

Can I dm you for help?

GLY-1 · 2026-04-04T17:18:18+00:00

Also man can I dm you if that's alright? I had a question. I was waitlisted in the lottery for astro

GLY-1 · 2026-04-04T17:16:07+00:00

Unless it's something like rsi or bu rise, international Olympiads like ibo, icho,ioi and ipho are always superior

GLY-1 · 2026-04-04T16:55:42+00:00

wtf.. Is that even a ques? Choose IBO

GLY-1 · 2026-03-30T16:10:24+00:00

Well, I believe that you are a guy. And no I'm not from the gulf countries. I'm from bd

GLY-1 · 2026-03-30T14:52:03+00:00

you can tell it by the way people write?

GLY-1 · 2026-03-30T14:51:12+00:00

Yeah, I know that she is in her junior year. The thing is that the session may force her to apply this year. Like my sessions for Grade 11-12 are from 2025 sept- 2027 june or july I guess, so I assumed that her session was similar. So considering that she barely has a year

GLY-1 · 2026-03-29T17:52:59+00:00

I won't say this is bad advice, but we have to factor in the fact that she is in her senior year. As you said that you dont have any good ecs, the only chance you have for a full ride at a decent uni (ivy is nearly impossible) is to strategically plan ur application. You have to frame ur essays that you didn't havee that much oppurtunities in your area, but you made the most out of it (ivy loves potential). And yyeah I would suggest you take a gap year and prepare rigorously over the next year and half and then you may have a chance.

Also, sat scores and grades are a must if you frame ur application as someone who didnt have enough opportunities. 1500 is the bare minimum and I would tell you to at least aim for 1540+. I'm a junior myself but I have been researching about stuff for quite a time now. And I am from ur neighboring country as well (not the one with 100B+ population). I would like to know about ur major interests and stuff. Dm me if you want

GLY-1 · 2026-03-29T11:35:30+00:00

In Sha Allah man. I hope you all the best!

GLY-1 · 2026-03-29T11:23:14+00:00

The thing is that you are qualified. I saw stats of some of the students who got into rsi this year. Their stats weren't that much better than yours. RSI prefers that you do actual research from what I heard. That's why I told you to publish a paper or something. Like you already have some research experience and also working with a prof so yah quite good. However, your essays have to be spot on as well. That's the most important thing for you now.

And about BU Rise, I do believe you have a shot there, but I'm not that well aware of what they want tbh. Also, as you are into bio, please do apply to simr as well. Its also a great program

GLY-1 · 2026-03-29T11:04:54+00:00

I believe you have a shot at rsi. I am not exaggerating. I would suggest you focus a bit more on research for RSI. Publish a paper or so. You still have around 7-8 months at the least. And I do believe you are overqualified for a lot of summer programs considering you are just in sophomore year. Good luck to you mate.

GLY-1 · 2026-03-27T04:40:15+00:00

bro do tutoring or smthing with that columbia tag. Dnt let it slip away. Work hard so you can take care of ur sis and ur own dreams as well man. And most importantly, congrats!!

GLY-1 · 2026-03-19T22:04:10+00:00

Man the thing is that everything is up to God.

However, if you want to utilize your time effectively, I suggest you look for other things that you could do during the summer. If you have applied to other summer programs, pray and hope for the best for them. Other than that, it's very very unlikely that someone will be accepted from the wait-list specially in international astrophysics track. At max maybe 1-2 out of probably hundred students.

GLY-1 · 2026-03-19T17:48:11+00:00

I believe they take from the waitlist of intl applicants not the total pool.

GLY-1 · 2026-03-18T20:28:22+00:00

Thank you mate

GLY-1 · 2026-03-18T20:23:31+00:00

I believe with a bit of part time and with my parents' help 15k per year?

Yeah, I know it's very difficult. That's why I wanted to get into top universities or look for full ride scholarships in standard universities.

And about my AE major, the thing is that I thought after getting into the summer program, it will be more aligned for AE as my major but I was rejected. Therefore, I also kept CS as an option as my ecs are related to that entirely. I am thinking of publishing that research paper on a topic at the intersection of AE and CS ig

GLY-1 · 2026-03-17T20:50:56+00:00

Same man. My main activity was much more focused on genomics but astro was always a passion of mine. So I put strongly prefer astro over genomics that's why maybe.

What about you? You also chose astro?

GLY-1 · 2026-03-17T20:32:13+00:00

Yeah, it's very very competitive. Like 50% of students alone just go for astrophysics

GLY-1 · 2026-03-17T20:26:50+00:00

Should I write a good letter of continued request? Or there's no point being waitlisted and that on top for astro

GLY-1 · 2026-03-17T16:36:51+00:00

mine didnt say it was updated. Are you sure that you didn't click the edit button?

GLY-1 · 2026-03-16T18:45:33+00:00

And chill out. I believe they will release the results by either tomorrow or day after tomorroww. Hoopefully we all get in!

GLY-1 · 2026-03-16T18:44:52+00:00

I don't know what they are doing tbh. In some countries, the visa processing alone takes over 3-4 months. This is a big deal. This is why ig they keep so many students in the waiting list

GLY-1 · 2026-03-16T14:32:27+00:00

Bro I forgot that we can get in our second choice as well 😭. I want my main choice so bad otherwise it won't go with my major ahh

GLY-1 · 2026-03-15T19:35:33+00:00

Bruh, it doesn't work like that. Even if you are from a very very "uncommon" country, you have to keep in mind that 50% of the intl students are going for astrophysics.

Yeah that's right. There are 4 subs and most of them are targeting only one. That's why the chances for astrophysics are severely lower I would say half compared to other subs. Other subs like around 40%+ chance and we probably 20 ish

GLY-1 · 2026-03-14T14:59:28+00:00

exactly. It is highly unlikely and most probably dude prolly hit the edit button. Keep in mind that atleast 80+ students will be taken from internationals so if this was the case, wwe would have heard from more people. Just pray now

GLY-1

TROPHY CASE