My introduction to most of the MIT Admissions staff - aside from my application, which I barely remember anymore - occurred via a link in the blog comments to a post in some older blog y'all don't know about, when I was so panicked about receiving my admissions decision that I may or may not have torn apart my house trying to find a crowbar so I could break into my mailbox. (...what?! My parents were out of town, and I didn't have a mailbox key. The tube was by my front door. I missed it on my way in to find the crowbar. I am an idiot sometimes.)

Two days before The Crowbar (Non)Incident, I wrote the following over on the emo, emo LiveJournal:

[MIT's] admit rate terrifies me more than just a little - I mean, 12.2%? Come on, you know the 87.8% deferred or denied can't have all been absolute idiots. What if they've already reached their (nonexistent) quota of black, female, National Merit Scholar, (possible) salutatorian, overachieving drama freaks with too many credits to her name? What if there's someone else out there just like me - except maybe they did something impossible or unthinkable (like teaching Latin to orphan children, or something of the sort) that made them just a hell of a lot more special than me?

Sound familiar?

Two of the last three summers, I've had the wonderful opportunity to live and work with gifted students as they took classes through the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University. Many of these engaging, talented students are now high school seniors applying to college, and they're understandably nervous about what the next few months will bring them.

Over here on the blogs, we aren't very far removed from the admissions process ourselves. We don't forget what it's like to be that worried about your future. Some of us are dealing with it again right now. The main difference is that four years ago I was sure I'd end up at a good college doing something I loved once the whole application ordeal was over. (The same will happen to most of you!) Things aren't nearly as certain anymore.

Pooooooop.

Meh, it'll be fine. I'll end up somewhere awesome. Am I right? I'm totally right.

(Also, I don't really want to leave MIT, but that's just IAP talking. Just wait until classes start again and ask me if that's still true.)

Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)

Lol. Classes ftw. But yeah it's nice of you to relate your stupidity/lack of observancy (no offense intended!) back around the time tubes were being sent off. I can only hope to be that stupid and miss the tube cause it'd mean that it's there. *sigh* Good luck!

Posted by: Brad on January 20, 2010

Just dropping by to say, eljay ftw

Posted by: hopeful '14 on January 20, 2010

I'll remind myself to teach Latin to an orphan child over summer break. It'll probably help me somewhat three years from now, when the admission rate will probably be somewhere around 4.5%.

Posted by: Jonatan Y. on January 20, 2010

@Jonatan Y.: Lol. Good idea; will have to try something similar. Or does explicating "Great Expectations" to my friend who's a Korean native speaker count? :D Because that would be great...

@Keri: I think I just died laughing...the crowbar incident sounds like something I would probably do, except I'd be more likely to use one of my mom's gardening implements due to availability.

Posted by: Amethyst ('14?) on January 20, 2010

@Keri again: Whoa, sorry to butt my head in again, but almost missed a golden opportunity.

Just out of curiosity, since you are a Course 9 senior, what sort of a focus did you take with your classes? Is there any sort of advice you might give to a student interested in BCS along those lines? Neuroscience is currently hovering somewhere around love-of-my-academic-life status :D and I don't think that's going to change much in coming years...

Posted by: Amethyst ('14?) on January 20, 2010

so.
it's thursday
tfa?

Posted by: anon on January 21, 2010

Haha, I thought that was a ridiculous crowbar story.

Full of optimism, which is a good thing!

Posted by: joemill on January 21, 2010

Does MIT look at a prospective student's quarter grades at all, or are semester grades the only factor considered as far as marks go?
Thanks!

Posted by: Curious on January 21, 2010

The link does not work.

Posted by: tree on January 21, 2010

can I just waive my hand in the air and shout out loud... PICK ME! PICK ME!

I wonder...

Posted by: Roman on January 22, 2010

i know what FCAT is! yay florida

Posted by: 0 on January 22, 2010

In regard to Prospective Students.

Well, perhaps the MIT admission process isn't all about grades, that seems to be the only subject anyone on these blogs seems to care about (in regard to prospective students). If thats your biggest selling point, "Hey look at me, I have never received anything less than an A+," that's great but after a certain point you need to start bringing something to the table. To often good grades come at the expense of good social skills or an interesting personality (there are exceptions, obviously) .

It seems funny to me that so many kids are planning to participate in community service or volunteer simply to improve their resume. I believe that your high school years should be spent having a good time and learning how to interact with your peers. This is not to say academics need be ignored but, there should definitely be a healthy balance, one that a lot of "strait A students" are missing. And this is why I believe so many "Strait A Students" are not offered acceptance. When you are applying along with students who have similar grades you're not really that special anymore, you are actually pretty darn ordinary.

Posted by: 0 on January 23, 2010

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