The most prestigious university in the entire world?

[SootAndGrime]

Gee, three or four thousand kids manage to do this every year.

What are the minimum GPA, SAT/ACT scores accepted at MIT?

 

[Vanadium 50]

http://mitadmissions.org/apply/freshman/tests" This took me 30 seconds to find with Google.

Whatever your point is, you probably want to make it some other way.

 

[wukunlin]

While you are thinking about how smart and wonderful you are, you get lazy and before you know it someone else will do stuff better than you do.

been there, done that, still suffering :P
although few people overseas will see my university as prestigious

 

[turbo]

Want a prestigious university? Persuade Warren Buffet to hire Smolin, Weinberg, Hawking, etc to tutor you. Class size=1.

Maybe it's better to go to an OK university and work your tail off.

 

[SootAndGrime]

Want a prestigious university? Persuade Warren Buffet to hire Smolin, Weinberg, Hawking, etc to tutor you. Class size=1.

Maybe it's better to go to an OK university and work your tail off.

ASU or Northern Arizona University aren't too hard to get into. I'm sure you can get in with at least average test scores.

I live in Arizona.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

What are the minimum GPA, SAT/ACT scores accepted at MIT?

Test scores and GPAs are not sufficient for admission to MIT, and I'm not sure they're necessary either. As I understand it, what is more important is doing actual work/research in the sciences and showing that your interest and abilities in the sciences go above and beyond the normal high school curriculum. Competitions, summer programs, being involved in the sciences, all seem to be important factors.

Having a perfect GPA or test scores will not guarantee admissions. Our valedictorian had scored a ~1300 on his SAT in 7th grade and had a perfect score entering high school, took plenty of AP courses, did not get in.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

ASU or Northern Arizona University aren't too hard to get into. I'm sure you can get in with at least average test scores.

I live in Arizona.

ASU looks like it has a reasonably solid physics dept. so if that's your ultimate goal it might be a good place to shoot for after (unless you're going to transfer) community college.

 

[SootAndGrime]

ASU looks like it has a reasonably solid physics dept. so if that's your ultimate goal it might be a good place to shoot for after (unless you're going to transfer) community college.

I'm not interested in math/physics because it was the only subject I did poorly on in high school.

I was thinking about studying psychology, and criminology/criminal justice.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

I'm not interested in math/physics because it was the only subject I did poorly on in high school.

I was thinking about studying psychology, and criminology/criminal justice.

Fair enough, but now I'm a little surprised you're posting in the academic guidance section of a website clearly marked "Physics Forums", if you were interested in some sort of science that would at least make some sense, but if you don't mind my asking: why are you here?

Also, have you heard of the Khan Academy? You might benefit from it, they do great video lectures on the sciences and math, it's miles ahead of other resources for self learning. It might shake away apprehensions you have about math and the sciences so you can better evaluate if you would like to look into them more.

 

[SootAndGrime]

Fair enough, but now I'm a little surprised you're posting in the academic guidance section of a website clearly marked "Physics Forums", if you were interested in some sort of science that would at least make some sense, but if you don't mind my asking: why are you here?

Also, have you heard of the Khan Academy? You might benefit from it, they do great video lectures on the sciences and math, it's miles ahead of other resources for self learning. It might shake away apprehensions you have about math and the sciences so you can better evaluate if you would like to look into them more.

Can it even teach me calculus?

 

[Leveret]

Yes, as a 30-second Google search could have told you.

 

[twofish-quant]

Want a prestigious university? Persuade Warren Buffet to hire Smolin, Weinberg, Hawking, etc to tutor you. Class size=1.

1) Weinberg has taught undergraduate courses at the University of Texas at Austin.

2) Brilliant researchers can make horrible teachers.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

1) Weinberg has taught undergraduate courses at the University of Texas at Austin.

I'm not sure about their physics program, but the mathematics program at UT Austin is pretty damn strong, so that doesn't totally surprise me. I see that at least according to the US News& World report their physics program is 14th in the country, probably not the best metric but I'm not really a physicist so I can't actually evaluate the program firsthand.

 

[turbo]

2) Brilliant researchers can make horrible teachers.

Probably a defensible statement, but then again, a brilliant researcher who is working with you closely may have more to offer you (if you are a perceptive student) than someone who is a fantastic lecturer with his/her course materials bolstered by a terabyte of Power Point graphics. I think Ivan's sig sums this up nicely.

Some of the very best teachers are the ones that take the time and make the effort to challenge you as a student, even if their approach to the (collective) class doesn't reflect that.

My favorite prof in English Lit attempted suicide a few years after I had left school, which I only found out about when trying to look him up. He left academia and started up a used-book store, which was more his style, anyway. At least the people who came to his store were motivated - more than you could say for many of the students in his classes.