AboutSue Kayton Expertise I can help with recommendations for high school students interested in math / science oriented fields at the highly-selective universities.
Experience I have been interviewing high school students for MIT for 29 years, and keep on top of what other competitive universities are doing. My website http://www.suekayton.com/college.htm provides a lot of information - read this first before asking a question, please.
Education/Credentials I graduated MIT and so did my son.
Question Hi, I'm fourteen-years-old and I just finished my freshman year of high school. I would like to major in Aerospace Engineering or even possibly Mechanical Engineering. Science and math are sadly not my strongest subject and, admittedly, I have to work to understand physics and algebra II. My strongest subject is English and it's also my least favorite because it's incredibly easy, although I'm excelled. My GPA is a weighted 4.1 and an unweighted 3.5 and my class standing is 53/185. I obviously haven't been very serious about my schooling until the last two years. My senior year I will graduate with a full IB diploma which I have already begun classes for.
Thank you,
Nora
Answer Most people who go into engineering as a career are people for whom math and science are easy and fun. If you're having to work at physics and algebra 2, then imagine how much harder the more advanced subjects are.
You may want to consider a field like science journalism or science writing, where you don't need to know the math and science as well as engineers do.
I'd like to recommend the books What Einstein Told His Cook 2 by Madeline Parrish, or The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, and The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprauge De Camp, as examples of the kind of thing written by people who like English and math/science. These books should all be in your public library.
