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(Gloucester Township, NJ) – Matthew Love, a Camden County Technical School (CCTS) senior and Gloucester Township resident, has received an early acceptance letter from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA. Love plans to attend MIT in the fall as a mechanical engineering major and is currently attending the Pre-Engineering Academy at the Gloucester Township Campus of CCTS.
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Homeschooled
Matt was homeschooled from grades one through seven by his mother, Joyce. She enrolled him in their local public middle school, Charles W. Lewis, in October of his eighth grade year with the hope that he would attend CCTS for high school.
CCTS Opportunities
“My mom and I heard about the opportunities at CCTS, and I can attest that they are all true, said Matt. “I enrolled in CCTS because I wanted to learn more than academics. I enjoy being challenged, and chose CCTS so I would also learn career skills in addition to the pure academics provided by a conventional high school. I was originally in HVAC/R, but when I was exposed to the robotics team and pre-engineering program, I was more drawn to the field of engineering. I love math and science, especially learning the theory behind it, so I switched my career focus.”
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Matt is a perfect example of a student who benefits from the type of learning environment that CCTS provides. While in high school, Matt was enrolled in AP and Honors classes, and now during his senior year, he is attending Camden County College full-time along with 64 of his classmates as part of the Senior Option program. Each of these students will be graduating with a year’s worth of college credits, all at no cost to them.
“Matt is a very intelligent, multi-talented, young man who worked very hard to achieve this accomplishment,” said Eva Cetrullo, Director of School Counseling at CCTS. “There is no doubt that Matt deserves the credit for this outstanding achievement, but I also think this is a testament to what we are doing here at CCTS to foster students like Matt. He came here as a very shy student and our career teachers, academic teachers, music teacher, and robotics advisors provided the perfect pathway for him to grow his talents and interests.”
While at CCTS, Matt took advantage of the extra-curricular activities and was an active member of the music program, the New Jersey Science League, and the “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)” robotics team.
“My counselors and the staff at CCTS assisted me in every way possible,” said Matt. “I loved the accessibility of the AP courses. They customized my schedule and really listened to me to ensure that I was challenged and engaged.”
Matt applied for early-admissions at MIT because he said it was his number one choice. “I didn’t want to waste my time or money applying to other colleges if I was accepted,” said Matt. He met with a local alumnus in Deptford for his college interview and said that although he felt confident, he knew he would just have to be patient and wait for their decision. He received his letter mid-December and is looking forward to continuing the momentum at MIT.
Thanks Mom
“My mom was my biggest fan and kept telling me that I was going to MIT, even before I applied,” Matt said. I knew I had somewhat of a chance with my SAT score being a 1560 and being ranked either number one or two in my senior class, but there was still the chance that I wouldn’t get in. I told my mom that only 7.8% of all applicants are accepted, and she insisted that I was one of them.”
About MIT
MIT focuses on scientific and technological research and is divided into five schools and one college. Among its graduate schools are the highly ranked School of Engineering and Sloan School of Management, in addition to strong programs in economics, psychology, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, physics and mathematics.
“When I visited MIT, I loved everything about it,” said Matt. “What made the biggest impression was the quantity of groundbreaking STEM research, both past and present, that was everywhere. It is the only college tour where they can honestly say that the Internet was invented there, that the world’s largest biomedical engineering lab is there, etc. It was amazing.”
(Source: Press Release, Camden County)