My grades for the semester have finally all appeared on WebSIS, and I've passed all of my classes, so that means I am officially done with my undergraduate education! Phew.
What does that mean for you? Well, it means I not only have a lot of free time for writing blog posts, but I'm also feeling reflective. I have a lot of wisdom to share with you all, but I'm not really sure where to start, so I figure this isn't a bad way to find a starting point: ask me anything in the comments.
Go ahead. Don't be shy. This is a judgment-free zone.
To give you some ideas, here are some things you could ask me about and expect a reasonably intelligent answer in return:
- Me (my 3.5 years at MIT, how I feel about them, what I loved, what I'd do differently)
- Math (my experiences with it, anyway; for actual math questions, you should probably go to math.stackexchange.com)
I don't feel terribly qualified to talk about anything else, but if you'd like to ask anyway, I'd be happy to attempt to answer questions about things like:
- Dealing with the college application process
- Relationships
- Feminism
- Disney movies
- Your fears about the future
Oh, and I suppose I should tell you about my semester before I go. Briefly: 18.821 ended up being more interesting than I expected, but I didn't get to devote quite as much time to the projects as I wanted because I was busy with other things. 18.03 was exactly what I expected. Concert Choir was fun but scheduled at an unfortunate time (7:00-9:30pm Mondays and Wednesdays); I never really got used to it. I learned a lot in 21M.302; I looked at some sheet music I'd tried to analyze a few years ago, and some of it makes a lot more sense now. 24.244 was an interesting look at how non-mathematicians study a mathematical subject.
And as you already know, I did this. It was fun! Highly recommended. Just wish I'd actually worn a bowtie.
Edit: okay, one exception: I am not going to answer the question "what are my chances?" Sorry, but there's definitely no way for me to know without seeing your entire application, and even if I did I don't know how admissions actually works.
Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)
Posted by: thermopylae on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Mohammed Amr on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Flor Albornoz on December 29, 2011
I know this is hard advice to follow, but don't worry too much about getting into MIT. If you get in, that's great. If you don't, it's not the end of the world, and it doesn't mean you did anything wrong. Don't feel like you have to have accomplished something amazing by the age of 18, and don't feel like not going to MIT means that college will be a less satisfying experience. College, like most things, is what you make it.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Alan on December 29, 2011
Qiaochu.
I'm applying to MIT and i'll be sending all my applications and stuff to mit in a few days.I have written some theoratical reserach papers that i also wish to send to the institution along with my application.Can you tell me how should i send them?..Im thinking of uploading all those reserach papers on website and then i'll send mit the URL of the website is this way,the right way to send it.Or instead should i just fax those research papers along with the other parts of my application.
Posted by: Shaheer jawad on December 29, 2011
As a parent of a student who will be applying to MIT I would be very interested in how you felt about your 3.5 years at MIT, what you loved and what you would do differently.
Congratulations on finishing your undergraduate degee and doing so in such a short amount of time!
Posted by: valart on December 29, 2011
@Shaheer: uploading sounds fine to me, but I don't necessarily know what I'm talking about.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
Thanks! I actually could've finished in 2.5 years but didn't want to graduate so early, and that's one reason I gravitated towards the Cambridge-MIT Exchange.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
Posted by: X on December 29, 2011
Good luck with all the applications! I know this time is stressful, but I hope that you all are able to enjoy the holidays a bit as well
For those of you who are interested in international development (community service abroad) work, I wanted to point you to an interesting nonprofit that a couple of MIT students, MIT alumni, and Peace Corps Volunteers are working on! We have been selected as finalists in the Intel Innovators competition and if we gather enough votes, we have the chance to win $100K! You can vote on facebook (directions are in the see more part of this event: http://www.facebook.com/events/294448130592468/, and we would truly appreciate your help!
This project started as an offshoot of the international action projects that we went on through the Global Poverty Initiative and Public Service Center at MIT, so you should definitely check out both groups if you are interested!
Thanks!
Posted by: MIT student on December 29, 2011
Thanks in advance, and hope you have a good new year!
Posted by: Abhishek on December 29, 2011
First: CONGRATS!!!
Question follows: do you have anything to say about, from the perspective of a young mathematician, comp sci and the intersection between it and math?
Thanks!
Posted by: Covi on December 29, 2011
Thanks!
Posted by: Paul on December 29, 2011
Congratulations though! You must feel like you're on top of the world now
Posted by: Anonymous on December 29, 2011
getting deferred to MIT is great, you should consider applying to other good colleges as well.
Also, would you mind just sharing your standardized test scores(Ap exams, SAT 2s , SAT) ?
Thanks.
Posted by: dok on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Sam on December 29, 2011
(Seriously, no one's posted this yet?)
Posted by: piper on December 29, 2011
Sat Shri Akal,
This is Jaspreet Singh about complete my Masters in Engineering in CS from Thapar University, India. i am looking for research/Phd in Network Security/Cryptogrphy Area...
Can you help me out regarding the process of the same.
thanks in Advance
Jaspreet Singh
Posted by: Jaspreet Singh on December 29, 2011
I've been reading your blog in its entirety for the past couple days, and have been thoroughly enjoying it :D
Gonna be an awesome next semester!! FIRED UP
-nk
Posted by: d1138 on December 29, 2011
Qiaochu, how the heck did you manage the ability to graduate in two and a half years?!? craaaaaazy. ps I'm a prospective Course 18 as well; math-lovers unite!
Posted by: Kyra on December 29, 2011
second question - what was your favorite pastime at MIT?
third question - I love mathematics and in my first essay i.e. 'what activities you do for pleasure?' , I have added that math is fun for me and I like helping people with math problems. Do you consider it to be an activity for pleasure?
Posted by: Abhilasha Kamboj on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Harry on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Tim on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Aman Jain on December 29, 2011
Generally speaking, I don't have trouble with the concepts presented in my math classes because of the way I prepare for them: one way or another, I learn most of the material ahead of time. This isn't because I study for specific classes before I take them but because I learn a lot of math in my spare time and it usually ends up being relevant to my classes at some point.
@Abhishek: I'd have to go with 21M.263 ("Music Since 1960"). It's a course about art music, a subject I'd never thought about before, and was taught in a fairly relaxed style, which allowed me the freedom not to worry about my grade and focus on learning something. The professor, Evan Ziporyn, was amazing; he talked about all sorts of important figures in the art music world, and had met and collaborated with several of them so it was clear he knew what he was talking about. Very inspiring.
@Covi: well, there's a lot of intersection. The intersections I know about are between programming language theory and category theory (for example, the connection between lambda-calculus and Cartesian closed categories) and between complexity theory and all sorts of things. The funny thing about complexity theory is that its proof methods can come from anywhere in mathematics, so a complexity theorist really needs to be comfortable with a lot of math and always be on the search for more.
@Paul: I don't know. I know several of my friends have 3s on AP tests, but it really depends on the strength of the rest of your application. But there's nothing you can do about it now, so there's no point in worrying about it. Just relax and enjoy senior year.
@Anonymous: I didn't really have a first choice, but I did apply to MIT EA. Like I told Paul, don't worry about it. Where you go to college is much less important than what you do with the opportunity once you get there.
@Sam: we have a wonderful artist who draws them for us!
@Kyra: I took about 5 classes a semester on average, didn't double or minor, and had a decent amount of AP credit to start with. Pure 18 doesn't take a lot of time to finish. Oh, and I also passed all of my classes and never switched majors.
@Abhilasha: doing fine, thanks! Life is pretty good right now.
My favorite pastime was and is probably singing with my friends. I always wanted to join an a cappella group, but I never quite made it.
I certainly do a lot of math for pleasure. That's what my math blog is for.
@Harry: that's a good question, and to be honest I don't really know. One answer is "whatever you can get hired for." Here are some basic options: academia, finance, the government, industrial research. And here's a link that might be helpful: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/23525/how-does-an-academic-mathematician-educate-him-herself-about-job-opportunities-ou
@Tim: I lived in Senior Haus my freshman year and lived at my fraternity sophomore and senior year. (Junior year I was abroad.) You'll learn more about the dorms later, but for now let me just say that Senior Haus was a lot of fun, but it's definitely not for everybody. Can you be more specific about what you'd like to know?
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
I was really wondering about the ASE tests you can take at the beginning of the year. I'm getting pretty good at self-studying subjects (AP Biology, World History and Human Geography) and was wondering if it would be a worth it to pass as many ASEs as I'm capable of and move on to more challenging subjects (while under Pass/No Record too!) or to just kinda get a feel for the work an MIT student has to do in my first year, and take introductory courses.
tl;dr: are ASEs worth it?
and just out of curiosity... how many of them did you take (if any) when you started out?
Posted by: JTC on December 29, 2011
Congrats on finishing and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! What are your plans for now? Also, what were some of the craziest events that happened to you on campus?
Posted by: LY on December 29, 2011
I only ASE'd out of 8.01, I think. And I don't believe I know anyone who tested out of bio or chem (it's very hard!).
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
-How do you deal with procrastination and what do you do to avoid it?
-What gets you going (what fires you up and motivates you) to study and work hard?
Posted by: Muna on December 29, 2011
Depending on what you mean by "crazy," I'm not allowed to talk about that stuff!
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
In your second question, I have to be honest: I don't study or work particularly hard. Like I said above, I prepare for my math classes by learning most of the material ahead of time, and my non-math classes usually aren't bad.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
I'm an International from the UK (wooo!)
I wanted to inquire about music supplements when applying to MIT.
I'm currently grade 8 piano and grade 8 clarinet. Is that above or below the average standard of musicians submitting supplements as well as joining the MIT orchestra?
Posted by: Rajiv dua on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Tim on December 29, 2011
Posted by: KP on December 29, 2011
Hi, I am tunisian and my transcripts are in Arabic
So my counselor sent the translated transcripts!
Thesse 3 transcripts were signed and stamped by an asserted translator!
But I've just heard that we have to send the original (arabic) with the translated!
What should I do!
are the translated ones enough ?
Posted by: Ghassen on December 29, 2011
Another question: do you suggest us (seniors who finish applying and have a bunch of time) to learn math broadly (learning briefly what all the branches are about), or deeply?
Covi
Posted by: Covi on December 29, 2011
@Tim: Senior Haus residents have a certain irreverence for certain kinds of social norms that some people might find off-putting. For example, there are lots of murals on the walls, some of which depict content that might be considered offensive. If you really want to get a good idea of what the dorms are about, though, wait until Campus Preview Weekend.
@KP; no, but I have friends who do. I might start it over IAP.
@Ghassen: my understanding is that you need the originals, but I'm not sure. You should probably contact the admissions office about this.
@Covi: both!
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
(do you want to marathon them)
Posted by: rfong'12 on December 29, 2011
(Just kidding. Pocahontas.)
We can marathon them over IAP! Come to Theta Xi?
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
Hi man!
I'm curious about your plans after the graduation !
Could you please tell us something about your career ?
yeah, I have a Q. I'm not Native-Speaker and I have dual nationalities, American and other nationality !
Thus, in the application should I choose US Citizen or International student ?
I want to send my TOEFL score instead of the SAT Reasoning. Do you think if I choose American (the chance to get in is much better) I will be required to send the SAT ?
Thank you in advance
Posted by: Jmsaad on December 29, 2011
Posted by: LR on December 29, 2011
I have a bunch of questions, dealing with a bunch of different things. Heeeere we go!
1>> Do you have a Geek Code? (If so, would you be so kind as to share it?)
2>> What kind of music do you usually listen to? And your favorite [genre/style/group/composer]?
3>> Have any advice/tips for a student who really, really wants to learn some math topics on their own, but has trouble keeping focused and motivated on math? (My guess is that you've done a lot of self-teaching and have spent time learning topics on your own, and probably know a thing or two about the whole learning-on-your-own thing.)
4>> What kind of books do you read regularly? How about for fun? (Also, do you like sci-fi? Have you ever read any of the Dune novels?)
5>> What "special insight" have you gained about life (or handling the various things in life, or living life) during your time at MIT (not exclusively from classes, or even directly -- maybe something you've grown to understand over time, or something someone said that's resonated and stuck with you) that you think you would only have been able to know/learn/understand from attending MIT? (Not necessarily one thing here, maybe it's a list of things, I don't know.)
I hope my questions aren't scattered, redundant, or confusing. I'm just so excited about this Q&A!
Oh, congrats on finishing your undergrad and thanks for taking the time to do this Q&A!
Posted by: M.SB. on December 29, 2011
I imagine it'll be easier if you apply as a US citizen, and I'm reasonably certain you'll need to send in SAT or ACT scores if you do this, but this is really a question for the admissions office, not me.
@LR: I imagine MIT knows how to verify AMC scores. I would say go ahead and list them if you know what they are.
@M.SB: I hadn't heard of the term until now. That's interesting. I think there are social benefits of communicating the things the Geek Code communciates in a less compact and more traditional format.
I listen to a lot of music. I've been on a Taylor Swift kick lately. Generally speaking, I'm fond of acoustic guitar and piano: John Mayer, Sara Bareilles, that kind of thing.
It depends on what you mean by "trouble keeping focused and motivated." Could you elaborate?
I haven't read any books regularly in awhile. (MIT keeps you busy!) I read math textbooks and anything else that I think is interesting. I like fantasy and sci-fi, but haven't read a lot of either. Regrettably, I haven't read any of the Dune novels.
I don't think any insights about life I've gained at MIT could only have been gained at MIT. MIT's special, but it's not that special!
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
This question might be a "yeah duh" question, but sometimes, I feel there's a point where math becomes so advanced and challenging that it doesn't speak to me anymore. Yeah maybe algebra back in eighth grade was fun, but delving into pure mathematics I can't imagine myself doing now, seeing how harder it gets.
Maybe you're the wrong person to ask this; maybe, I'm just not making sense. I don't know...
Posted by: Kim on December 29, 2011
About focus and motivation... let's see how to explain this.
There's the fascination (of course) that occurs when I can visualize all the things happening in an operation or formula at once. Sort of an "animated mental graph", if you will. But after some time studying (and some more topics onward), the math seems like hieroglyphics and the explanation feels like it's written in another language.
Then, the math kind of feels discouraging or daunting. Although, after some time, when I go back to think about it, it's really fascinating... maybe I'm approaching the studying or work part of understanding math with the wrong attitude? I'm not sure. (I'm also not sure if there are really any tips you can give me for that, heh.)
About the last question I asked before: Maybe not about life, then. Hmm. How about learning, working on something (project, idea, whatever), or maybe studying? I'm not sure. I guess I'm just asking because it seems that MIT students "think on a different wavelength", compared to most other college students. Maybe I'm just "trying to find something that isn't there". That could be the case.
Anyways, thanks again for answering!
Posted by: M.SB. on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
is it possible to transfer to MIT with good grades from any college? (community college not included)
Posted by: Justin on December 29, 2011
I think MIT students certainly think differently from most other college students, but I don't think it's because MIT makes them that way. They were already that way, and that's what MIT saw in them and what they saw in MIT, and MIT merely provides an environment where that tendency can flourish.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 29, 2011
Since you're up for grabs, I just wanted to ask you, how was your time at U of Cambridge? I, for one, have always felt it would be quite an amazing experience to go to the other Cambridge (if I got in, of course, but whatever), meet some cool people, and do some great research, because Cambridge is definitely awesome, especially in the engineering and mathematics fields!
But now I wonder, does it ever feel like you're diluting both experiences (at MIT and Cambridge)? I mean, perhaps you wouldn't get to form really great relationships with classmates and/or prof.s at BOTH of them, y'know. Like you've spent too little time at any one of them to do anything that feels of worth.
I'm being very hand-wavy here, but I hope you get what I mean. Also, how was the Cambridge experience in general, as a standalone as well as when compared to MIT? Thanks in advance for your response!
Posted by: Aravind on December 30, 2011
I don't feel like I spent too little time at either institution. I certainly kept in touch with my MIT friends while I was at Cambridge, so that wasn't a problem. Forming friendships at Cambridge wasn't a priority of mine; I had friends, certainly, but I was mostly focused on my studies, and as far as that went I got as much out of Cambridge as I was going to in one year. You actually raise a good question about forming relationships with professors, and this could have been a problem for me, but I got lucky; I have good relationships with some professors at both institutions. Also, most of what I do "of worth" isn't tied to a particular institution (such as maintaining my math blog), so that wasn't a problem either.
I'm not sure I can sensibly rate Cambridge as a standalone experience; I can only say that it fit into my life well and it was a welcome change of pace.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 30, 2011
By the way, I love singing too!!
Posted by: Abhilasha Kamboj on December 30, 2011
Question 3 LoL: To your knowledge, how many MIT students are there who really love theoretic science? How does being such student at MIT, a place where "Mind and Hand" are both emphasized, feel?
Thanks
BTW: If I get in I'll probably do Course 6-3 + 18.
Posted by: Covi on December 30, 2011
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 30, 2011
Congrats on finishing your undergraduate studies!
For the AIME and AMC part of the application, should I just list the dates of when I *will* be taking them since Feb. 2012 will be the first time I take them?
Thanks in advance!
Posted by: Edasaur on December 30, 2011
I'm quite interested in math too. So I have a sincere question for you: could you suggest some really good math textbooks, especially for calculus, pitched for fairly advanced high school students? There must've been a few that really blew your mind, which you feel helped you a lot, both in high school and in college; those are the ones I'm talking about. Also, what kind of preparation would you suggest to someone who's quite interested in the mathematics olympiads? You see, I am. :D
Posted by: Aravind on December 30, 2011
Posted by: Jean on December 30, 2011
@Aravind: it definitely isn't for everybody. One good reason not to do the exchange is that it is very hard to take classes outside of your major at Cambridge (it's not something that Cambridge students themselves do), and that's a deal-breaker for some people.
I didn't learn calculus from textbooks, so I don't know any good ones. If you want to learn analysis, I learned mine from Rudin but there are easier sources, and again I don't know much about them. You might want to ask your question on math.stackexchange.com (or see if a similar question's already been asked).
To prepare for olympiads, it would be a good idea get some good books (I used the AoPS books and Engel) and do a lot of problems. I got a lot out of doing problems on the AoPS forum as a high schooler (several thousand by the time I stopped visiting AoPS).
@Jean: I attended the Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists the summer after my sophomore year of high school, did very well, and found it both very enjoyable and very inspiring. It inspired me to start the first incarnation of my math blog, and I suppose the rest is history.
I spent a long time not being convinced that I should go to MIT (I don't like the word "perfect"). Everyone else in my life seemed to think so, but group consensus is never a reliable way to make decisions, so I wanted to be more careful. I applied to other schools, I visited them, and I went to CPW. At the end of the day, I think what convinced me is that out of all of the people I knew going to top colleges, the most interesting ones were going to MIT, and I wanted to be where interesting people were.
Finding what you love and what'll make you happy is very, very hard. It could take much longer than the 4 years of college, and there are no shortcuts. The only general advice I can think of is to keep your options open and be proactive in seeking out new opportunities.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 30, 2011
Posted by: I on December 30, 2011
I really like that idea of keeping that self-image. I think it's a great motivator to do your best in order to NOT disappoint yourself.
I think I will start using that idea from now on..
Posted by: Muna on December 30, 2011
Thanks for reading, Qiaochu.
Posted by: jcy036 on December 30, 2011
I'm an international undergraduate applicant this year, and I had some questions about extra curriculars. I've always had a passion for music, and throughout high school, I participated in any music related competition I could get my hands on. I didn't really do much else though. Do I have any chance of being accepted?
Posted by: Matt on December 30, 2011
@jcy036: I don't have statistics or anything like that. There are lots of Asians at MIT and they're in a lot of majors. MIT's a very diverse and tolerant place in every sense.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 30, 2011
Oh and what graduate schools did you apply to?
Posted by: Anonymous on December 30, 2011
Posted by: amit3 on December 30, 2011
Did you place out of/skip a lot of intro level classes?
Did you get more than 1 or 2 non-A grades?
Do you consider yourself a good programmer?
Did you UROP a lot at MIT? Get published?
What sort of things did you do outside of classes? How much time and energy did you put into them? How important were they to you?
What are your plans for post-MIT?
Sorry if these questions have already been answered, and thanks!
Posted by: anonymous on December 30, 2011
What are the girls like at MIT?
-N
Posted by: N on December 30, 2011
Posted by: Adrian on December 31, 2011
@amit3: I imagine many people come to MIT with a similar fear. Practice makes perfect: put yourself in more situations where you have to talk in front of people.
@anonymous: always straight 18. I got out of 18.01 using AP credit and placed out of 8.01, but that's it. That's a mildly impolite question to ask, but no. I am a very inexperienced programmer. I attempted one UROP my freshman year but was a little in over my head, so I quit after a few weeks. Outside of class I learned math, sang, and hung out with my friends. I put a lot of time and energy into all three and they're all very important to me. After MIT I'm planning on going to graduate school in mathematics.
@N: they're great. So are the guys!
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 31, 2011
Posted by: Anonymous on December 31, 2011
Thanks again for taking the time to answer these questions! :D Reading through this post has been quite insightful.
Posted by: troll on December 31, 2011
is it ok if i mention more than one activity in my first MIT essay.Elaborating on just one activity is making the essay a bit monotonous.
Happy Holidays!!!
Posted by: viku on December 31, 2011
Second, how on earth did you get 64,000 rep points on a stackexchange site. I love stackoverflow (I'm a programmer), but I only have 1/64 of your rep. Your one of those guys I love to have answer my questions.
Also, if there was one part of your app to MIT that you were worried wasn't good enough, what would that have been?
Posted by: Andrew on December 31, 2011
Posted by: ea2016 on December 31, 2011
Posted by: Aminat on December 31, 2011
@Anonymous: MIT GPA is out of 5.
@troll: math club and science club!
@viku: I don't really know. It would help if you could tie them together.
@Andrew: thanks! I've written a lot of answers (about 3 a day on average) and my answers are generally upvoted. The potentially weakest part of my application, I suppose, would have been my essays, but I liked my essays.
@ea2016: Chow-Chew. Hang out with my friends. One time a few people glued an entire living room - complete with chairs, a newspaper, and a cat - upside-down to an arch next to MIT Medical. The people walking by were very confused.
@Aminat: unfortunately, I have no idea.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 31, 2011
I mean, what is the first step that a student needs to take to utilize AoPS the best that they can?
You've spent a lot of time there. Any insights that you would like to share?
Posted by: Patrick on December 31, 2011
Posted by: Lucy on December 31, 2011
Posted by: g on December 31, 2011
1>> How do you envision the Internet? (As a whole, maybe what it accomplishes or does, I don't know. I'm just wondering how/what you "see" it as.)
2>> Do you think the depiction of the future as painted in the book "The Running Man" by Stephen King (or the movie adaptation) is possible? Or, maybe... probable?
If you haven't watched the movie (or, well, read the book, as it's more engaging), maybe that could be a suggestion for something to do over IAP?
Part of the reason I'm asking (2) because I remember something you mentioned once about how humanity might end up hurting (destroying?) itself through some form or another. Can't remember exactly. The rest of the reason why I'm asking is because I think it's an interesting question
Also, thanks for pointing out the Art of Problem Solving books in your other comments. I'm going to get some of the books (you mean the book series on the AoPS site, right?) and hopefully change the way I deal with or view mathematics.
Posted by: M.SB. on December 31, 2011
I know it would be very foolish to follow what others "did" in high school. Since all of us high school students should apply as who "we" are, not what someone else was.
That being said, Qiaochu, would you mind sharing all your high school experiences and qualifications(ex. what classes you took, what year, activities, test scores, what subject tests you took, what accolades you won, etc.) PLEASE?
Posted by: Ryan on December 31, 2011
Posted by: Harry on December 31, 2011
How many classes did you take per semester?
What sort of stuff did you do over your IAPs? Summers?
Sorry about the question about your grades, but to be fair, you did say "anything."
Posted by: anonymous on December 31, 2011
Posted by: Meshal on December 31, 2011
Posted by: Abhilasha Kamboj on December 31, 2011
@Lucy: pretty good. My interviewer was an industrial psychologist working with groups of engineers at Microsoft to improve their productivity, and we spent most of our time talking about his job. It was a fun conversation.
@M.SB.: the Internet is a tool for rapid and cheap transmission of information.
No. It sounds too deliberately violent to me. There are much more subtle and insidious ways for a similar future to play out. Also, when I talked about the possibility of humanity destroying itself, I meant through the abuse of weapons of mass destruction, drastic climate change, some kind of deadly biological agent...
@Ryan: not that I'm not willing to answer this question, but especially given how you prefaced it, I'm not sure what you're expecting to gain from my answer. What do you actually want to know?
@Harry: sure. One mechanism for producing them is known as the "strong law of small numbers": there aren't enough small numbers to meet the demands placed upon them. There's a famous paper you can find on Google that discusses various examples.
@anonymous: Concert Choir, but also just by myself and with friends informally. About 5 on average. Over IAPs I generally tried to do as little as possible, and over summers I found undergraduate research opportunities or internships. Don't worry about it!
@Meshal: well, that question presupposes that there is a difference. There's a certain type of applicant that seems to think MIT possesses some magic quality that will make all of their dreams come true. I don't think this is a particularly healthy way to think about anything, including MIT. MIT's just a university. There are other universities.
I also think that when people ask this question, they generally expect a difference that makes MIT better than other places, especially from admissions bloggers. So to be contrary, I'll give a negative difference: as a top research institution, MIT hires its professors for their research abilities, which doesn't necessarily translate into good teaching. Many of the professors that teach introductory courses are brilliant, but have trouble communicating effectively with their students, who sometimes have a hard time learning because of that.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 31, 2011
I am just curious what you did in high school. What classes you took(specially what AP classes) , what scores you got on the APs, and SAT, and SAT2s, what kind of gpa you had, what summer programs you did, what activities you participated in, what competitions you took part in and what awards you won.
Im sorry, i do realize this is a pretty impolite question to ask, but you can just give ranges(ex. SAT 2 math level 2 score: between 730 and 800) or something like that, thanks, your replies are extremely helpful.
Posted by: Ryan on December 31, 2011
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 31, 2011
Posted by: anonymous on December 31, 2011
Did you win any awards or other recognition while you were in college? What specifically did you do during college that is most important to you? If it's different, what accomplishment are you most proud of? What do you think will help you most when getting into grad schools? Did you ever think about doing something besides grad school when you graduated, and if so, what? Which class(es) was/were hardest or most stressful for you?
Thanks!
Posted by: anon on December 31, 2011
@anon: in 2008 I was a Putnam Honorable Mention, but that's about it. In terms of academic accomplishments, both "most important" and "most proud" are roughly tied between maintaining my math blog and contributing to MathOverflow and math.SE. My understanding is that recommendations are the most important component of a graduate school application, and I was lucky enough to find some well-respected recommenders who (I hope!) think highly of me for various reasons, such as the two I just mentioned.
I actually gave serious consideration to doing something besides graduate school when I graduated, which is why I took an internship at StackExchange last summer instead of doing something more mathy. That experience convinced me that, while it might be more lucrative for me to get a job of some kind doing more applied stuff (data mining and the like), my heart wouldn't be in it, and it also wouldn't be an optimal use of my skills. I'm now reasonably convinced that academia is where I'd be happiest and most productive.
My hardest class was probably 18.721, Artin's experiment in introducing algebraic geometry to undergraduates. Algebraic geometry is widely regarded as a very difficult subject, and most people don't try to seriously learn it until graduate school. The course moved very quickly, and I kept up for most of it until Artin started talking about sheaf cohomology and I admit I got lost then. I had 4 other math classes to deal with that semester, so I just dropped it.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on December 31, 2011
I have a couple of questions, I hope I'm not bothering you with them.
I want to know whether there are any ASE past papers available to download or not. Because I would like to try my hand at a couple of them, if available.
Also, have you got any idea of what are the requirements for a person who would like to become a blogger for MIT (if I ever get in)? Do they ask to look at any existing blogs I write on and such? Also, are there any other commitments besides writing a blog post every now and then?
Thanks... And I wish you a wonderful year = )
Posted by: Bouchra on January 1, 2012
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 1, 2012
Posted by: Anonymous on January 1, 2012
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 1, 2012
Posted by: Don on January 1, 2012
18.100X Analysis I is listed as a prerequisite for 18.701 Algebra I. Would taking it concurrently work (in theory)? If so, do you know of anyone who has pulled it off?
happy new year everyone!
Posted by: Justin on January 1, 2012
Posted by: Katie on January 1, 2012
@Justin: this depends on your advisor, but in my experience prerequisites aren't really enforced in the math department. If you can convince your advisor you can handle it, you can take pretty much whatever you want, and in particular I do know at least one freshman who took 18.100B and 18.701 at the same time, but I believe he later dropped one of them (don't remember which). I think this is doable, but not a good idea first semester freshman year because you should be taking mostly GIRs unless you've passed out of a bunch of them.
It's worth mentioning that you don't directly use 18.100B material in 18.701. It's more of a maturity prerequisite to make sure you're sufficiently comfortable with proofs and such. If you're wondering, I took 18.100B without 18.701 first semester freshman year (so I could take more GIRs) and took 18.702 second semester.
@Katie: Linguistics. And it looks like also Brain and Cognitive Science, based on an examination of the classes in it (see here).
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 1, 2012
Also, I'm pretty sure it must've taken you a lot of determination to get to those 12,000+ posts on AoPS. I'm curious, any specific 'plan' you followed to keep working on them?
Posted by: Patrick on January 1, 2012
Adding to what Qiaochu said, though, there are several people at MIT in CS who do computational linguistics in terms of NLP, and I would say that because of the very large overlap with AI/machine learning, it is a rather CS-heavy field. For example, see http://www.mit.edu/~6.863/spring2011/ .
Posted by: Anonymous on January 1, 2012
It took very little determination to get 12,000 posts on AoPS. I actually used to post on AoPS to procrastinate on my actual work in high school. Once you know enough math, it gets to be fun, or at least more fun than the other stuff I was doing.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 1, 2012
Thanks!
Posted by: Farid on January 1, 2012
Sorry for hijacking the question, just wanted to post my thoughts!
Posted by: Maher on January 1, 2012
Dude, by all means take my question.
Unfortunately, up until late last year I was under the impression that as long as I get good grades in my classes, I would be fine when applying to colleges. That's the way my parents believed the system* worked (we're immigrants) and so that's the way I thought the system worked. However, late last year, I realized that applying for college doesn't work like that.
Alas, I've been trying hard to "make myself look good" with all the usual clubs and extra-curricular activities. Furthermore, I decided to apply my inclination towards teaching by helping with my classmates through an after-school tutoring club my friend and I established. Later this month I'll be teaching my pre-Cal class, and maybe a couple of weeks from now (if I can convince my principal & science teachers), I'll be enlightening my classmates of the wonders of the sciences through after-school presentations. Oh, and I'm in the NASA High School Aerospace Scholars program (I'll be trying hard to make it to the program's final stage).
*By "system" I mean applying for college
Posted by: Farid on January 1, 2012
Posted by: Kim on January 1, 2012
I'm not sure how well it explains calculus concepts, but Edwards and Penney has some pretty killer problems in it. If I'm not mistaken, UC Berkeley uses that text for Math 1A and Math 1B (Differential and Integral Calculus, respectively), and that's the one we use in my BC Calc class for additional practice. Again, I learned from lectures, so if you're trying to pick up new material I'm not sure how good it is, but it's definitely thorough and will test your calculus chops well.
Posted by: Nolan Meghrouni-Brown on January 1, 2012
I plan to also study math when I get into college, but I was wondering what I should do in the mean time in high school. Should I focus just on doing competition math problems such as AMCs/AIMEs, or should I also read books on math (and if yes, then problem books, textbooks, or both?)?
Basically, I'm a bit lost on how I should continue doing math for the rest of high school. I haven't done terribly well on competitions, fluctuating around 90-100 on the AMCs and 130-160/200 on our state math contest (Utah).
Having just spelled that out I now feel like I might be placing too much emphasis on doing well on the competitions, heh. Anyway, thanks!
Posted by: Michael on January 1, 2012
Just be who you are. As has been stated time and again in the various blogs, once you get past a certain level of scores/grades/etc it does not really matter. What matters then is the person behind those scores, as reflected in the Essays, Recommendation and Interview. A simple shopping list of clubs is not impressive. Admissions people are not blind to the ways of the world. Listing 10 clubs merely means you listed 10 clubs on your resume and counts for little, but listing one club you founded and led and were the inspiration for and being able to go into details about what it means to you is probably a LOT more important.
Someone who defines their life goals as "getting into MIT" is probaby not the type of person they are looking for. Someone who wants to excel at something they love or are passionate about, sounds a lot more like the profiles of most of those who get in.
Yes everyone who gets in has outstanding academics, but that alone will not do it. (Almost everyone who applies to MIT has outstanding academics.) Just like in the movie "21" where the Harvard Med School guy asks the lead in the movie, to "wow me" make yourself "jump off the page", the character then goes on to tell about a whole blackjack ring and group that made tons of money card counting and dealing with "bad guys and enforcers and life". It had nothing to do with getting an 800 on an SAT. There is no magic bullet, but be true to yourself and do what you want to do. That will put you in the best possible light to succeed.
Posted by: Pete on January 2, 2012
Posted by: Andrew on January 2, 2012
2) Do you feel isolated in your work (only the math professors and a small subset of the students can actually understand what you are doing), and how do you deal with it? The internet seems to be a good way to communicate math, but can it replace talking to a human?
3) Did you have concerns about choosing to be a pure math major and how did they change over time?
Thanks!
Posted by: DCT on January 2, 2012
You sound a lot like I was when I applied. I didn't know much about the application process and my parents knew even less. It wasn't until relatively late that I realized my interest in science and started actively looking for opportunities outside of classes. I was also considering applying to schools a year early, just because I was a little sick of high school, but I didn't and followed through with senior year. I genuinely believe that I (and I think, considering what little you've told us about your background, you as well) wouldn't have gotten into MIT without the experience I gained in my senior year. A year can change a lot-- there's no need to rush into applying unless you're sure about it.
Posted by: Anonymous on January 2, 2012
@Michael: do everything that looks interesting. Keep in mind that competitions don't actually matter. To my mind, their most important function is to introduce students to interesting topics they might not otherwise see for awhile, but once that function has been served I don't think it's worth stressing out about them.
@Andrew: I don't know. I mean, it was based on a true story and everything, but obviously a lot of things were changed. For example, the original team was mostly Asian, but the main characters in the movie are white. That's Hollywood white-washing for you.
@DCT: it's fun. Do I need a better reason than that?
I don't feel particularly isolated. There are a lot of people around the world doing mathematics, and I can talk to them about a lot of different kinds of mathematics.
I've never had concerns about being a pure math major. (I've had concerns about going into academia, but those were addressed above in a previous answer you can find by CTRL+Fing "internship at StackExchange.")
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 2, 2012
I'm applying for MIT and I couldn't submit some materials until today 2nd of jan and I was expected to send them before the first Jan.it s due to some regestration problems I faced while filling some sections and trying to move to the next ones.I've spent white nights trying to fill in over and over the sections of the app.would my submission be accepted in that case?other Q.concerning my letters of recommendation and evaluations;these items were sent or faxed by my teachers as they say,but,it didn't show on my personal mymit account,is that means that the addmissions office didn't rceive them yet?Thanks for your time!
Posted by: sawsen on January 2, 2012
I was recently accepted into the Class of 2016 and am very interested in the field of Medical Devices (where fields such as Signal Processing and System Identification are applied to medicine and biology). As a result, I will be majoring in Electrical Engineering at MIT and afterwards, I would like to enter Medical School.
The problem is that being accepted into Medical School usually means very high GPAs. This is very difficult to achieve at a college like MIT, where classes are very rigorous.
Do medical schools know that MIT grades are deflated as compared to most other colleges? Is pursuing Medical School with an EE Major a nigh-on-impossible task? Do you know anyone else who has done this and how do they cope?
Thank you very much for reading this post (I know it's long), but I hope you will be able to give me some insider advice on the matter!
- Kaustav
Posted by: Kaustav on January 2, 2012
Posted by: Barbara on January 2, 2012
@Kaustav: med schools probably know this, although I don't know how much they care. I don't know any EE premeds (actually I don't think I know any EE majors period) but I do know premeds. It's hard but not impossible. But are you sure you need to go to medical school to work on medical devices?
@Barbara: yes. MIT offers Advanced Standing Exams for this exact purpose, and you can also skip out on 8.01 and 18.01 with AP credit. The requirements may have changed, but back in my day to pass out of 18.01 you needed a 5 in both parts of Physics C, and to pass out of 18.01 you needed a 5 in Calc BC.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 2, 2012
Posted by: Barbara on January 2, 2012
What are some tips you can give me to keep being motivated, and avoid procrastination?
Thank you!! :D
Posted by: Stacy on January 2, 2012
Can you skip introductory classes if you have AP credit?
Posted by: Stacy on January 2, 2012
Thank you very much, and i wish a very good new year to you.
p.s. Sorry it is such a long message.
Posted by: Erjonat on January 2, 2012
Sorry for the ambiguity of the sentence.
Posted by: Erjonat on January 2, 2012
To be honest, what you're saying is what every college says. However considering that we're talking about MIT, I really believe what you say--and am greatly relieved by it. Like I said earlier, I didn't know a whole lot about applying to colleges: only last year did I realize this isn't Iran and that grades aren't the only factors of getting to (any) college.
So you know what? I'm going to stick with my tutoring club because I LIKE teaching people. Forget Science Olympiad!
THANK YOU!
Posted by: Farid on January 2, 2012
Okay, so I'm not the only one...that really took a load off my back.
Then considering what you wrote, I think I'll apply RA and give myself more time to kindle my passions. Thanks!
Posted by: Farid on January 2, 2012
Posted by: Ashley on January 2, 2012
Please keep in mind that I'm a freshman high school student.
1) I have three main passions that I'd like to focus on: Studying Biology (CBO and IBO hopeful?) and Research (science fairs), English (Creative Writing), and World Issues and Poverty. I know that focusing on three aspects and giving them my all (in various ways like extensive volunteering, clubs, contests) will be be tough enough.
The thing is, it's hard to give up things that you're supposedly good at but don't like as much, like math. I am pretty decent at math (for example, I participated in a provincial mathematics olympiad as I was the top female in my county) and like it, but not as much as the interests stated above.
I've been involved with math contests for a while now. Should I still participate in these math contests? Should I still study for them? The time I use studying for these math contests I would lose focusing on my primary interests. If I participate in the math contests without studying, I guess that I could get a decent mark but of course I could raise it if I studied.
Similarly, I'm trying to cut back on the activities I do that aren't related to my main passions (like this business company program I do, but I must continue piano as I've done it since I was young and I'm in the higher levels now) and that I enjoy, but once again not as much. It's hard finding the right balance of activities, not too much but not too less.
2) In my small city, there are no high schools offering AP courses. I'm planning on self-studying 5 AP courses that I enjoy and relate to my passions (Environmental Science [this year], Biology, World History, English Lit or Lang and Chemistry), and my ultimate goal is to become a National AP scholar afterby grade 11. Is it worth taking the time to self-study on my own time at all? What if instead I devoted the time to something else?
3) Is the financial aid for Canadians the same for as Americans? Or are we considered "international"?
4) Are you or anyone else familiar with Model United Nations? I'm interested in World Issues but those related to poverty, clean water, and hunger. I'm not really interested in politics and human rights. Which of those does MUN seem to focus on more?
5) How often and how much time did you find yourself having as "free time"? Like how much time you had to watch TV or surf the web every night, or hang out with friends, watch a movie and go to social gatherings?
Thanks!
Posted by: Naaimah on January 2, 2012
Posted by: Amar Ubhi on January 2, 2012
Posted by: Aravind on January 2, 2012
Would you mind sharing some tips on how to get into RSI? Basically, the essays. Maybe if you have yours or just some examples(from your essays)
Thanks!
Posted by: samuel on January 2, 2012
Posted by: a on January 2, 2012
Posted by: marltan on January 2, 2012
To my knowledge, the only classes you can skip with AP credit are 18.01 and 8.01. The other AP classes don't cover enough of the material in the corresponding MIT classes.
@Erjonat: I don't think you need your 9th grade information. But hmm. I can't find an email for them either. Try calling them (keeping in mind the time difference).
@Ashley: I address this earlier in an answer you can find by CTRL+Fing "@Don."
@Naaimah: you don't have to do anything. You don't have to do math contests if they don't interest you. You don't have to continue piano if you don't want to. If it isn't making you happy, stop doing it.
The AP tests shouldn't be hard to study for, but if studying for them is taking important time away from your other classes, I would advise against it.
Unfortunately, I have no idea whether Canadian students are considered international.
It seems to me that you can't be interested in poverty, clean water, and hunger without also being interested in politics and human rights, but I don't necessarily know what I'm talking about. You should probably contact MIT's model UN directly.
I have lots of free time, although I couldn't give you exact numbers. I hate having a busy schedule. For example, this semester I tried to keep my Saturdays entirely free for socialization.
@Amar: MIT doesn't have minimum requirements in any particular thing. Your application is considered as a whole. You also don't apply to a particular department. You have until your second year to declare a major.
@samuel: after a certain point, it's more or less luck. (It resembles college applications in that way.) Be honest in your essays and don't worry too much about it either way.
@a: the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
@marltan: unfortunately, I have no idea. Ask the admissions office?
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 2, 2012
Posted by: Jeffrey on January 2, 2012
Now... I've applied to MIT (EA deferred... gotta wait until March! Grrr.), but I'm wondering if I would be out of place there. See, I like math and science, but up until junior year, I hated them. I was humanities and arts all the way - lots of creative writing, theater, played an instrument, so on, and I loved all of my humanities courses. I absolutely detested science, and math was only okay. I had a teacher junior year who showed me how math and science could be fun, and I went to a governor's school summer program in math and loved it, but... I feel like I'm behind a lot of the other applicants because I haven't done tons with math (I've taken through Calculus and I've taken AP Stats) or science, and so I wouldn't know as much and such. Also, and more importantly, I've realized that I really like math and science - but I can't give up my love of the humanities and arts and such. I don't even know if I would want to major in a math or science related field if I attend MIT - I might, but I might go for Linguistics or Philosophy or Comparative Media Studies, or so on.
I guess my questions are these: Would I be a fish out of water at MIT? Are there lots of opportunities for those interested in the humanities and arts? What is the general attitude of the students towards those fields? I love both math and science and the humanities and arts. I can't give up one for the other. Would I have to if I attended MIT?
Obviously, I'm not sure if I'll get in. But just in case, I want to know. Thanks!
Posted by: Heather on January 2, 2012
Posted by: David Sackey on January 2, 2012
@Heather: there are lots of opportunities in the humanities at MIT, and there are lots of people at MIT who care deeply about the humanities too! You absolutely can pursue both math and science and the humanities here. I have friends who are in the Musical Theatre Guild, Shakespeare Ensemble, the MIT Symphony Orchestra, DanceTroupe, a cappella groups like the Chorallaries - the list goes on and on. MIT has amazing faculty in various humanities departments too; the ones I'm most familiar with are the ones in the music department, who are every bit as world-class as MIT faculty in more technical departments. You have nothing to worry about.
@David: unfortunately, I have no idea. Ask the architecture department?
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 2, 2012
It's nice to hear that you have that free time since one would think that in college, especially MIT, there's always studying and work to do.
What about high school? Did you have about the same kind of free time in high school as well?
Posted by: Naaimah on January 2, 2012
Have you done any UROPs with the math department at MIT?
How was it? What did you do?
Posted by: Victoria Suha on January 2, 2012
Posted by: Samuel on January 2, 2012
My name is Juan Pablo, I'm from Guatemala. I've been dying to study Civil Engineering at MIT since a long time ago, do you think it is a good choice? And one more question, about how much does international students have to pay approximately for academic tuition per year?
Thanks for your time, you seem like a very very funny and nice person by the way.
Posted by: Qiaochu Yuan on January 2, 2012
That's what I thought, but people kept giving me strange looks when I said that I wanted to go to MIT, but that I wasn't certain if I wanted to study math or science. I guess I should learn to listen to myself more, and not others' uninformed preconceptions!
Posted by: Heather on January 2, 2012
THANKS :D
Posted by: Mimi on January 2, 2012
@Victoria: I only briefly attempted one UROP as a freshman. I was in a little over my head, and the code I was supposed to be working on wasn't doing what it was supposed to be doing, so I quit after awhile. The project had something to do with Poisson algebras; I didn't understand it very well at the time, which was one reason I quit.
I had some more success with undergraduate research later in the SPUR program. You can read about what I was working on in a series of blog posts that start here, which include a link to my paper.
@Samuel: tenor, although I'm really more of a baritenor.
@Pablo: I have no way of knowing whether civil engineering at MIT is a good choice for you. That's a decision you'll have to make for yourself. MIT offers need-based financial aid but I have no idea how it works for international students; you should probably ask Student Financial Services.
@Heather: well, if other people can have uninformed preconceptions, then so can you. You shouldn't trust your own uninformed preconceptions either!
@Mimi: yes, I took AP Lang, and I imagine most of my peers whose schools offered it took it as well, but I really have no idea. It probably doesn't matter much either way.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 2, 2012
I moved 2 years ago from Venezuela to the U.S.A. My first year was quite... interesting and scary at the same time. I had no idea of what was going on, except for the fact that they were delaying me an entire year and that I was graduating when I turned 19. Because they had no idea of what to basically do with me... I suppose. They chose my schedule for me and only when I was about to finish my first year of high school in the U.S. I started noticing why people were so stressed about getting into "college" and I was simply clueless.
Now, I am in a new high school where there are around 5,000 students or so. Some people tell me I have no chances and to be more realistic about my future in applying to somewhere like MIT.
So far, my GPA is a 4.0 unweighted and 4.45 weighted.
Do I get stressed? Maybe a little. Specially when I know people who take up to 3 or 4 APs starting their sophomore year in my school and I am only able to take 1.
I just wanted to ask if I should be worried or not? Many of my friends say I just worry too much n-n;
Posted by: CP on January 2, 2012
Looking forward to reading your blog posts and paper as well!
Posted by: Victoria Suha on January 3, 2012
Posted by: Aditya on January 3, 2012
Happy new Year!
I've nothing to ask. Just wanted to be a part of this wonderful blogging.
Posted by: karan on January 3, 2012
@Aditya: nope. I waste enough time on the internet as it is.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 3, 2012
2. do you watch the big bang theory? is there any1 like sheldon at mit?
Posted by: viku on January 3, 2012
I don't watch The Big Bang Theory, but some of my friends do. I imagine there are people like Sheldon at MIT, but I don't know any and wouldn't want to; most of the people I know with poor social skills are nicer.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 3, 2012
For example, I found The Hacker Crackdown (http://web.mit.edu/hacker) a few years ago. I was just wondering if there were more cool things on MIT's webservers that are not easy to find on their own, but you learned about over time at MIT.
Posted by: M.SB. on January 3, 2012
What was your experience with RSI like? I'm applying this year and don't expect to get in, but I'm excited nonetheless.
Posted by: Luisa on January 3, 2012
I was hoping you could help me with a motivational issue. I have a 12 year old daughter who says she wants to go to MIT. She says she loves computers and everything to do with them. Needless to say I and my wife are happy to hear this and want to support her in any way possible.
However, here is the problem. Though she is extremely intelligent and does excellent at her school work (she recieved the Presidential Award of Excellence for elementary school) she is also extremely lazy. Due to the poor school systems we have been in my wife tried buying her extra study books but she may put 5 to 10 minutes effort into the work. I have bought her computer books and electronics kits to work on but they sit on the shelf gathering dust while she reads comics, watches T.V., plays video games, or otherwise finds ways to waste her time.
For extra activities we have her enrolled in piano which she does good at but she puts forth the bare minimum effort and has to be goaded into doing her practice. We did karate which again she did well at but she put forth no real effort. Before a tournament it is recommended that you practice an hours a day every day before the match, but she did none of it.
She excells because the environment we are in is substandard. She thinks she is doing awesome because of her, but doesn't realize it is because she hasn't faced a real challenge. We try to tell her the caliper of student she will be going against to get into MIT but it seems to fall on deaf ears.
I trully believe she has unlimited potential but she continues to demonstrate zero work ethic. With all that being said and reading what I wrote. I would like you to tell me (so I can show my daughter) in cold hard words what are her chances of getting into MIT right now. I hope she will begin to realize hearing from someone actually at MIT and not just having to hear it from me all the time. Thank you and God bless.
Ray
Posted by: Raymond Bell on January 3, 2012
I think I'm pretty good about not having preconceptions about people, but about other things? Eh, not so great. I'll work on it - and thanks!
Posted by: Heather on January 3, 2012
I just discovered Art of Problem Solving and have gone quite crazy about it, especially Alcumus. The problems so far have been very easy (as was expected; I started very recently, so the levels are kinda low), but a few have been quite interesting. My difficulty level is already on insane, so I hope I'll progress quickly. Looking at the sources of the problems (pretty much all from good mathematical competitions, and going up to olympiad level, too) has convinced me that the problems probably will grow in difficulty and soon begin to offer real challenges that I'll find real useful and fascinating.
My question to you is almost foolish in its simplicity: does that really happen? You should know, I think. Do the Alcumus questions really grow a lot in difficulty as one progresses? A part of me (and my dad) says that these problems can be only so good, the REAL challenges lie elsewhere, so perhaps my time will be better spent doing problems from that "elsewhere". The other big part of me loves Alcumus and its fun XP points approach, and strongly believes that the problems will soon get so tough that I will be laughing at this question, and it'll be one helluva fun ride that I really will learn a lot from. The BIG question here, I think, is this: is Alcumus really worthwhile?
Illuminate the way, O Learned One. Thanks!
Posted by: Aravind on January 3, 2012
i have some doubts regarding admission process how can i contact you
Posted by: sreeharsha on January 3, 2012
**I have won numerous IT & Science contests, but 80% regional ones. My elder brother told me that regional competition do not count for an International student. Is that true?
**I love extracurriculars, but can just show it (by awards) in Photography. Will that be pose a downside?
**I'm currently in Std.8 and love Maths. Can you list a few websites where I can learn, solve problems and puzzles. (Most I find aren't free)
Posted by: Rama on January 3, 2012
1.) How important are extracurricular activities? Are activities like music or debate 100% necessary, and is it better to have many activities or just a few that you succeed in?
2.) What does MIT look for in the admissions essay? Are they looking for flattery from the applicant or just trying to see who the person is?
3.) Does MIT only take students who took all AP classes in high school? I'm taking as many APs as I can, but I'm not taking AP history.
Posted by: John on January 3, 2012
Hi I am an international applicant and going to apply for financial aid by college board, well my parents citizen statues is from Iran, but unfortunately it doesn’t list in the current country list, it said that u need to contact college and ask them. What should I do know!!!???Any idea?/
Posted by: Setareh on January 3, 2012
I have one question. Do you know if it's possible to schedule interview after application deadline?
Posted by: Saba on January 3, 2012
I''m in the 10th grade now, and i m starting to think about my future...and MIT sounds pretty cool. I'm from Romania: my school results are pretty good( 9,7 out of 10 ) and i'm pretty good at math...2 years ago i started learning olympiad level math and last year i got a silver medal at the national olympiad, and i also got several prizes at national competitions...and i think if I continue to study mathematics I will maybe get a gold medal at the national olympiad...i also play chess...pretty good...top 3 in my school...
So what do you think? Have I got a chance to be accepted at MIT? What sshould I focus on from now on ? Any tips?
Thanks :D!
Posted by: punkmat on January 3, 2012
If you live in Iran, I'd recommend contacting MIT directly. College Board is more of a domestic service (USA only)--at least I think it is more of a USA only service. If you have been accepted to MIT and want more info on financial aid, then talk to MIT. Hope that helps!
Xodahafez!
Posted by: @Setareh on January 3, 2012
Posted by: CP on January 3, 2012
@Luisa: my RSI experience was amazing! All of the other Rickoids were smart and talented and we all bonded very quickly. Time of my life.
@Raymond: I can't predict what will happen to your daughter between now and the time she applies to MIT. It's just way too early to tell. What I can say is that I know a lot of people who've coasted on their intelligence in an environment that doesn't challenge them, and bad things happen once they finally reach the point where they can't coast anymore. It's not a pretty sight. Do you know if any schools in your area have gifted programs? That worked for me.
On the other hand, I disagree that reading comics, watching TV, and playing video games is any more a waste of time than piano and karate. The latter might look better on an application, but only because it matches up to some arbitrary cultural ideal of what productivity looks like. I don't mean to tell you how to raise your daughter, but since you asked for advice I'll give it: your daughter is 12. She might change her mind about MIT later, and that would be okay. Let her be 12.
@Aravind: Alcumus didn't exist when I roamed AoPS. I solved problems on the forums. You should probably ask there.
@Rama: everything counts. On the other hand, it may be more difficult for the admissions office to know how difficult a given regional contest is, so keep that in mind. As I mentioned earlier, a great place to find math problems for your level is Art of Problem Solving.
@John: extracurricular activities are as important as the effort you put into them. My understanding is that MIT likes "well-lopsided" applicants: people who excel in and are passionate about one or a few things. I'm pretty sure they also take well-rounded applicants.
The last thing the admissions office is looking for is flattery. That will get you nowhere. Just be honest.
What MIT looks for in class selection is that you're challenging yourself. You can challenge yourself by taking lots of APs if they're available, but lots of students go to schools where very few APs are available, and MIT takes that into consideration. You don't have to take every AP you see.
Your questions are going down a dangerous path, so let me stop you before this train of thought goes any further: doing things because you think the MIT admissions office will like them is a terrible idea. You shouldn't be leading your life based on what a college wants; you should be choosing a college based on what you want. Figure out what kind of a person you are, and then find a college that fits that, not the other way around.
@Setareh: it sounds like you should contact MIT.
@Saba: unfortunately, I have no idea.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 3, 2012
I'm willing to defend the time I spent on Neopets and Yu-Gi-Oh, too. From my time on Neopets, I internalized a few basic lessons about economics (supply and demand), and I picked up a few social skills from chatting with other users. I spent most of my Yu-Gi-Oh time learning and applying a fairly large and arcane set of rules (the basic game is relatively simple, but there are a lot of rules about how specific cards interact in situations that weren't anticipated by their text), and I think this was great mental exercise. It's very similar to the kind of rule-learning and applying you have to do in chemistry or biology. Plus, it was fun!
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 3, 2012
Posted by: s on January 3, 2012
First of, I would like to say congratulations for graduating from MIT with such an amazing academic record!
I was just accepted into MIT EA and while MIT is definitely one of, if not, my top choices, I am still trying to step back and understand why I want to go to MIT and based on the reasons, if I should.
So my question is what in particular made you decide on May 1 that you wanted to go to MIT, above all other universities? What were your expectations of MIT and were they fulfilled?
In addition, I was wondering about dorms. I heard you get to name your first, second and third choices when it comes to deciding on which MIT dorm you want to live in during freshman year. (Correct me if I am wrong.) How often do people actually get their top choice? Also, how are roommates picked?
Sorry I have so many questions. Thanks for even reading to the end of my post. :D
Once again, congratulations.
Nikki
Posted by: Nikki on January 3, 2012
Not quiet the answer I expected but thank you none the less. I do appreciate your insight and advice. You needen't appologize because I don't know and that is why I sought your imput. I always see schools like MIT as these brain child universities filled with people who do nothing but study. Your insight provides me a more balanced view and will help my approach to my daughter. I just know she has a dream and I want her to be able to achieve it, what ever it may be or may change to. I will make sure I let her read both sides of this. Thank you and God bless.
Ray
Posted by: Raymond R. Bell on January 3, 2012
I was accepted EA and I have committed to enrolling. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for preparation for and acclimation to MIT. As a prospective CS major (Course 6-3) I thought that learning Python and going through some of the intro/freshman classes online would be helpful. Is there any good way to mentally/physically/emotionally prepare for the work, stress and effort required at MIT? How should I spend the rest of my senior year now that I know I will be attending MIT? Thank you so much!
Adam
Posted by: Adam Eagle on January 4, 2012
Posted by: Aravind on January 4, 2012
Or do you think it's possible for someone to "protect" or "shield" against changing themselves character-/personality-wise to fit their environment (for example, in the case of an environment filled with negative influences?)
Posted by: M.SB. on January 4, 2012
I have 2 questions for you. I applied for MIT Regular Action.
1. I do not do particularly well on standerdized tests and was wondering if there was anyone you know who made it thorugh MIT? I feel like my scores hinder me. I just was wondering how scores appeared to affect the success rate of graduations.
2. I started my application a while back, around october, and my interview EC said waived. So when I did Part II, I checked the waived box. When I looked back, however, the EC name had been filled. I was wondering if it will hinder my application any for noting waived.
Did I make a bad mistake?
Posted by: Obadiah Peterson on January 4, 2012
Thanks for taking the time to answer the plethora of questions that this blog has produced.
It really means a lot to us people who worry too much.
I have only 1 question (currently) to add to the list. (wait:2,3,4...)
What is your ultimate life goal? Why?
Also, how is your day going?
Math and science have never really challenged me, bla, bla, bla (that whole story).
As I would consider you extremely intelligent, what has been your personal experience in this realm?
Did high school challenge you? Or maybe I'm asking this question, presupposing the answer like I am prone to doing.
Since I sincerely began investigating MIT, I have gained a much different view of you guys than the popular prejudice. This isn't really a question. I just wanted to say how bothered I am by my own ignorance.
Please do not feel obligated to answer any of these questions. I understand that you are a human being too. I hope to not be nosy, impolite, or anything.
Thanks,
Cedar (happy face)
Posted by: Cedar on January 4, 2012
How often you get your first choice depends a lot on what your choices are. Some dorms, like Random, are both small and popular, so are hard to get into. Other dorms are the opposite, and I've been told that if you list them anywhere in your top three you're almost certain to end up there. It's a sticky situation, but you have a lot of time to figure it out. Every dorm assigns rooms (and, by extension, roommates) after freshmen know what dorms they're in, and each does it slightly differently; don't worry about it for now.
@Raymond: well, I imagine there are people at MIT who do nothing but study, but those people are boring!
@Adam: enjoy it. Do whatever makes you happy (and if that includes learning Python and going through classes on OCW, then go for it). Make some lasting memories with your high school friends. Carpe the diem, you know?
@M.SB.: sure you can, but it takes a lot of conscious effort. It would be easier just to find different friends.
@Obadiah: well, if you fail your classes because you don't do well on the tests, then you won't make it through MIT. Fortunately, MIT tests aren't like standardized tests. Unfortunately, they're harder. I don't know what to tell you other than that MIT (like any other sensible school) only admits people they think can make it through.
Regarding your interview, I guess you should contact the admissions office about that.
@Cedar: hmm. I suppose I have two somewhat orthogonal major life goals. The first is to advance the cause of mathematics in various ways, through research, teaching, popularization, and so forth. And the second is to find a life partner and make her happy.
My day went quite well!
I'm surprised you say that math and science have never challenged you. Maybe what you mean is that your math and science classes have never challenged you, which is very different. In the internet age, it's easier than ever to find challenging math and science material. Have you tried going through textbooks? (The last two sentences should not be construed as my condoning the illegal downloading of textbooks.)
High school was reasonably challenging, but then again I went to a school that offered a large variety of AP classes and took most of them, and many people don't have access to those kinds of resources. I also challenged myself outside of the classroom.
Don't feel too bad about your own ignorance. What matters is that you care enough to fix it.
I consider myself a very open person, so I'm happy to answer a wide variety of questions here. Nobody's really pushed the boundary yet, so if you'd like to, by all means go ahead. I won't answer questions that could potentially get me in trouble with MIT or future employers, but other than that I'm more or less game.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 4, 2012
How do you usually start your days? Exercise? Quiet time with freshly brewed coffee? Or, maybe you're more of a tea person? Some other way?
Are things different if you know you have some unique/challenging task to complete that day? Perhaps presenting something, giving a talk, etc.?
Posted by: M.SB. on January 4, 2012
One more Thing.. how can you assure me that MIT's admission office and people are different from Ivy league's .(they're more passionate for well-rounded ones, and not the unique ones).
Posted by: sharma on January 4, 2012
Good luck in grad school!
1. Usually, how much time can you study before you need a little break?
2. How many hours of sleep do you usually get during weekdays?
3. How often do you feel homesick?
4. Did you have to work VERY hard for good grades in high school or did they come with some effort?
5. How did you spend the summers of your undergraduate years?
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions!!
Posted by: anon on January 4, 2012
But you didn't finish answering the first question. I suppose a more accurate question would be: What drives your purpose in life? If I'm being intrusive, please let me know.
And thank you. The admissions office definitely made a good choice when they allowed you in. All of the people that I have met or heard about from MIT seem like people that I would invite to Thanksgiving dinner.
Sincerely,
Posted by: Cedar on January 4, 2012
Also, how's that life partner search coming along?
Posted by: Anonymous on January 4, 2012
Posted by: awesomePossum on January 4, 2012
@anon: thanks! It depends on the subject. If it's interesting, I can think about it for hours. Otherwise, maybe half an hour. But as I mentioned above, I generally don't study very hard.
The amount of sleep I got on weekdays fluctuated a lot this semester. I didn't manage my time during the day very well, so I started working early in the mornings to make up for it. On those days I'd get 6 or less hours or sleep. Otherwise, I'd get 8 or 9.
This may come as a surprise, but I never feel homesick at MIT. My fraternity's always felt like home to me. So it's usually the other way around: when I'm away from MIT, I feel MIT-sick.
To be honest, I don't remember how hard I worked in high school. (It can't have been that hard, or I suppose I would remember it better.)
After freshman year, I spent the summer at MIT working on a research problem with a graduate student I'd met on AoPS. Unfortunately, we didn't get very far. After sophomore year, I spent the summer at MIT working on a research problem through SPUR, which went a little better; you can read more about what I did in a series of blog posts starting here. After junior year, I spent the summer in New York interning at StackExchange; you can read a little about what I was doing here.
@Cedar: I'm not sure I understand what kind of answer you're looking for.
@Anonymous: that's a tough question. If I pick famous people I want to talk to, I'd feel like I was bothering them. So I'd probably pick two close friends of mine instead. That would be a much more comfortable atmosphere. For lunch it might be fun to take out the three professors who wrote my grad school recommendation letters by way of thanks. (It would be difficult to do this in real life because one of them is based at Cambridge and the other two are at MIT.)
I don't generally talk to people on planes. The two people I sat next to on the last flight I was on were plugged into electronic entertainment the entire time. That's life these days.
There are certain famous mathematicians I would love to ask questions of, like Alexander Grothendieck, but I doubt they would answer them. (Grothendieck is infamous for disappearing from mathematics in 1991 after some groundbreaking achievements.)
And that, sir or ma'am or other, is slightly too personal a question for me to address here! But you're welcome.
@awesomePossum: the only one that's a little hazy is the summer after 9th grade, which I believe I spent at a Go camp, but that may have been the previous summer. After 10th grade, I spent the summer at the Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists at BU. After 11th grade, I spent the summer at the Research Science Institute at MIT. After 12th grade, I went on a road trip to Canada with some friends of mine and on a trip to Japan with my parents. Thanks!
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 4, 2012
Posted by: brett on January 4, 2012
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 4, 2012
Posted by: brett on January 4, 2012
If you don't know, then what is a cool/fun math topic that I could study after Calculus 2?
Posted by: Keith H on January 4, 2012
@Keith: I would strongly prefer if you asked actual math questions on math.stackexchange. That way, lots of other people can chime in, and the answers can sit in a more useful and easily-searchable location.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 4, 2012
Posted by: awesomePossum on January 4, 2012
Posted by: Obadiah Peterson on January 4, 2012
Posted by: Anonymous on January 4, 2012
@Obadiah: I don't ask my friends what their test scores were, but I imagine some of them are pretty low but compensated for by other parts of their applications.
@Anonymous: PC, but it doesn't matter in the slightest to me. Paul Graham wrote a very insightful essay about why people disagree so violently about topics like this, and ever since I first read it I've tried very hard to follow his advice.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 5, 2012
Posted by: Wati-Wati Lauren on January 5, 2012
Posted by: Wati-Wati Lauren on January 5, 2012
I''m in the 10th grade now, and i m starting to think about my future...and MIT sounds pretty cool. I'm from Romania: my school results are pretty good( 9,7 out of 10 ) and i'm pretty good at math...2 years ago i started learning olympiad level math and last year i got a silver medal at the national olympiad, and i also got several prizes at national competitions...and i think if I continue to study mathematics I will maybe get a gold medal at the national olympiad...i also play chess...pretty good...top 3 in my school...
So what do you think? Have I got a chance to be accepted at MIT? What sshould I focus on from now on ? Any tips?
Thanks :D!
This is a repost, but i guess you didn't saw my comment...
Posted by: PunkMat on January 5, 2012
i have applied to MIT this year. hoping for the best. Meawhile, im studying abstract algebra from I.N Herstein. I've fallen absolutely in love with Group Theory. But like you pointed out, jus the fact that one lies something doesnt mean he/she is good at it !..it is soooo applicable to me. I understand everything that i read, but when it comes to solving problems, om either unable to solve them , or take ages to arrive at a solution. :(..
Here's one problem ive been grappling with for quite some time now, i'd be highly oblidged if you could write to me the solution. I really mean it, it would be very kind of you. I'm desperate!! lol
Supose H is the only subgroup of order o(H) in the finite group G. Prove that H is a normal subgroup of G.
Thank you for your kindness dude. I'm really glad you've been so bold and generous to declare us to 'ask you anything'..i suppose this is not the place to pose such 'Mathy' questions like i did, but i dont hv no option.I'd be highly oblidged if you could show me the way .
Waiting for your reply!
ThanQ !
Posted by: i.LUV.Math.but.suck@it.:( on January 5, 2012
Posted by: Aaron on January 5, 2012
Most beautiful/relaxing place you've ever visited? Can you describe it?
Posted by: M.SB. on January 5, 2012
Although there may not be a cut-off score for SATs, What do you think should be the minimum score in CR section of SAT 1 that one needs to obtain?
And, usually, universities do not give much weightage to the writing section. But is that also true in MIT's context?
Posted by: Silvia on January 5, 2012
@PunkMat: I saw your comment. As I said in an edit to the original post, I'm not answering "what are my chances?"
@i.LUV.Math: as I mentioned above, I would strongly prefer if you asked actual math questions on math.stackexchange. It's just a more suitable location.
@Aaron: I'll answer in reverse order: I am interested in structure and symmetry in the general sense. I favor conceptual proofs over computational ones (for example, showing that two numbers are equal because two structures are isomorphic). I don't really pick favorites, but one fascinating theorem I'd like to try to understand sometime soon is Kontsevich formality. It's somewhat difficult to describe in down-to-Earth terms, unfortunately, but one of its important corollaries says, very roughly speaking, that it is possible to recover a certain approximation to quantum mechanics from classical mechanics.
@M.SB.: fried chicken. I'm not much for fancy food, but I did once attend a luau where an entire pig was roasted in a pit. Best pork I've ever had.
Tough question. I'm sure I've visited a lot of beautiful places, but most of the time it would've been with my family, which isn't exactly the most relaxing situation. If I had to choose, though, probably Banff.
@Silvia: when I said there isn't a minimum score, I meant it. Just do your best. Unfortunately, I have no idea how much MIT cares about the writing section.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 5, 2012
Posted by: Anonymous on January 5, 2012
Posted by: Wati-Wati Lauren on January 5, 2012
Posted by: Cathode on January 5, 2012
In one of the above comments, you said you could've graduated in 2.5 years.
If you don't mind me asking, how was this possible?
I know that MIT does grant credit for college level work done in high school, but I'm curious as to how you were able to receive so many credits.
Again, thank you.
Posted by: John on January 5, 2012
Posted by: Wati-Wati Lauren on January 5, 2012
@Wati-Wati: well, I'd like to think so!
@Cathode: I don't really know. Unfortunately, I'm neither a chemist nor a physicist. It probably has something to do with electrons absorbing and releasing photons, yeah?
@John: this was already asked, and you can find my answer by CTRL+Fing "@Kyra".
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 5, 2012
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 5, 2012
Posted by: Cody Back on January 5, 2012
Posted by: anonymous on January 6, 2012
@anonymous: not the ones I've had. I frequently eat breakfast burritos in my morning classes and I've never heard any complaints. Some professors don't like laptops out in class though.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 6, 2012
1. I hear a lot about innovation and new discoverys coming out of MIT. I was wondering if you have participated in any of them. Also, which innovation/discovery do/did you find the most exciting.
2. For college, I have a Windows 7 tablet PC which I had plans to use for note taking and recording lectures. Is that common at MIT? Also, how do the professors feel about such an Idea? I have taken all my AP calculus I notes on it as of recently and find it helps me organize my notes in a digital format
Posted by: Obadiah Peterson on January 6, 2012
What languages do you know, and to what extent?
Did anything about MIT disappoint you?
Also, I'm very interested in what you had to say to Randy. I've been thinking about the same topic for a while. What would you have said if Randy's child were older, say, a sophomore in high school? I know a group of 8th, 9th, and 10th graders who are more or less forced (by pressure from parents and very dedicated (foreign) teachers) to participate in the whole math contest scene (MATHCOUNTS, AMC, AIME, USAMO, summer camps, local contests, etc.), with mandatory practice sessions, after-school lectures, etc. that totals to maybe 7 or 8 hours a week outside of normal school hours and not including the homework these teachers assign. The students have no say in the material covered. I'm not aware of anyplace else in the country where students are actually made to intensively study for the math olympiad track; all the other people successful in these contests that I've met have been entirely self-motivated. It's hard to say how much they enjoy the work or how much time they would put into math if left alone (certainly less than they do now). On the one hand I'm quite concerned that these students are being pushed to do something they may not like, but on the other hand I think the oversight and pushing has brought them more contest success than they would have achieved on their own. I often wonder whether or not I would have gotten further in math contests if I had received the same treatment. Most people are not particularly motivated to accomplish anything at all. What do you say to their parents?
Posted by: Leon on January 6, 2012
Most of my professors don't have a problem with laptops and the like being used in class, and I frequently use my laptop to take notes. (This is relatively common, at least in some classes) I don't know about recording lectures; you should probably ask for permission first.
@Leon: I don't mind more questions at all! I'm totally serious about having nothing else to do at the moment.
I really only know English. Chinese was actually my first language, but mine's deteriorated horribly.
Nothing about my MIT experience has disappointed me (but then again I didn't come in with a lot of specific expectations). MIT as a whole occasionally disappoints me in that there's more ignorance (for example, homophobia and sexism to various extents) than I would like, but it just goes to show you that that kind of thing doesn't always anticorrelate with intelligence.
If Randy's child were a sophomore, I would have said that she's being unrealistic about her chances if she thinks she can get into MIT by coasting (but I'm not saying that she should start shaping up; she also has the option to lower her expectations). I'm not sure I understand the relevance of the rest of the paragraph to its beginning. Certainly it's true that "the oversight and pushing has brought them more contest success than they would have achieved on their own," but so what? If they don't enjoy it, what's the point? The idea that "success," in any form, has some kind of intrinsic value that automatically makes it worth pursuing is a load of crap. "Success" is an arbitrary extrinsic measure of value, and you don't have to let it dictate how to live your life if you don't want it to. It's okay to not be successful. It's okay to not do something amazing with your life. It's okay to just be an average, ordinary person and not go to MIT.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 7, 2012
Posted by: anonymous on January 7, 2012
top 1% in 50, sat 1760,good letters and excellent grade. Pls be realistic
Posted by: Wale on January 7, 2012
1. What would you have done differently in your high school years?
2. What would you have done differently in your undergraduate years?
3. Can you tell me a little about the atmosphere at MIT?
4. How are the students/What is the relationship between most students? Friendly or competitive?
5. How safe is the campus? How often do robberies occur?
6. What is the average class size?
7. Are the professors accessible?
8. Please imagine that a student is accepted into MIT and has done well in high school. But, when the student comes to MIT, the student is struggling, though he/she is trying very hard, is using the available resources, and is dedicated. What type of advice would you give the student?
9. Before entering MIT, did you know anything about computer programming? Is such knowledge necessary to admission if we do not wish to pursue such a career later in life?
Thank you so much for answering these questions! Sorry, there are a lot of questions, though.
Posted by: anon on January 7, 2012
Why?
(I'm just trying to see what kind of taste in cars you have.
What kind of car do you currently drive? Do you drive at all (I mean, considering you're a student, it's possible you don't)?
Also, what's your opinion on what "taste" and "style" truly are, in the context of taste/style of things such as houses, cars, where to live, clothing, etc.? I mean, not just a definition of the word, but maybe an explanation of what they actually *are* or mean to you? Is it something related to function, or mayb- wait, I'm supposed to let you answer. I'll stop trying to shape your answer towards any set path now.
Posted by: Gran Tomato on January 7, 2012
...feminism?
What about it? What's your interest in feminism?
Posted by: Gran Tomato on January 7, 2012
@anon: I don't think I would have done anything differently academically or socially in either high school or college. There are a handful of personal decisions I might have made differently, but, well, those are personal.
The atmosphere at MIT depends a lot on where you live. Can you be more specific?
Students at MIT are generally friendly. It's hard to get through MIT without collaborating and asking for help, and people are well aware of this.
MIT is in the middle of a city, so there are random people around, but given that I think it's reasonably safe. I hear about robberies maybe once a month or once every two months.
The distribution of class sizes is too complicated to be captured well by a statistic like the average. Freshman classes can have hundreds of students, but class sizes drop off dramatically after that depending on major and how hard the class is. The smallest class I've been in had 4 students.
I would say that the professors are accessible, but I don't really have much experience going to professors for help, so I'm maybe not the best person to answer this question.
I know several students like that. There are a lot of resources at MIT for students like that, such as Student Support Services, and probably the sensible thing to do would be to make full use of those resources.
I had some programming experience before coming to MIT, but it's not even close to necessary for admission (although it's a good idea in general). Whatever gave you that idea?
@Gran: unfortunately, I don't know anything about cars, so I asked my girlfriend for advice. She said: "I'll always pick German over Italian. The 348 is also a nice choice though. The others are for tacky people who don't know about cars." So there you have it.
I don't drive at MIT. There's not much of a need to in Boston; you can walk or take the subway most places, and I have some friends with cars and access to Zipcars for everything else.
"Taste" and "style" might have something to do with aesthetic sensibilities, but as far as I can tell most of it is social signaling. That is, you indicate that you like X to signal to other people that you're the kind of person who likes X, whatever that might mean to the people you want to impress. (I'm not saying this is a bad thing, mind you.)
Feminism is important. I don't know a lot about it, but I'm interested in treating people fairly, and I think it's important to keep a feminist perspective on a lot of modern institutions (such as academic mathematics).
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 7, 2012
What philosophical views do you hold with respect to mathematics? Is it possible that it is all just a funny game that happens to fit the psychology of a certain class of people we call mathematicians? How dependent is what we know as mathematics upon human cognition? Upon physical reality?
Do you ever plan to learn Chinese again?
What do you think of classical music?
What do you think of TeX/LaTeX?
How would you compare the experiences of applying to college and applying to graduate school?
How politically active are you?
Do you know (m)any people who liked math very much but then found it wasn't for them after learning more?
What countries have you been to?
What is your favorite Disney song?
How would you evaluate Wikipedia's coverage of mathematics?
Posted by: Leon on January 8, 2012
Posted by: Ariel Jacobs '17 on January 8, 2012
Thanks.
Posted by: Pedro on January 8, 2012
(Search for "concentrate" or "focus" on the page and you'll soon find his response.)
If I remember correctly, it had something to do with self-discipline, impulse control, and a browser extension which allowed you to block access to specific websites.
Posted by: Gran Tomato on January 8, 2012
I don't plan on learning Chinese again.
Classical music is nice. I'm not crazy about it. It's too... classical.
LaTeX is fantastic. I have no idea how people could stand writing mathematical papers before it existed. It doesn't sound like a lot of fun. (Do people who've used it have any other opinion about LaTeX? That would be news to me.)
I think I was much more on top of things when I applied to college. During the entire month of September, I more or less forgot that grad school apps existed (it was a very busy time), and I was busy with other things during October as well. I got things done a lot earlier during college applications because my senior year of high school wasn't very busy.
I am not at all politically active. I don't keep up with political news and I am not registered to vote anywhere.
I actually know a lot of people who used to like math but moved on to other fields. I think they get discouraged. It's very sad.
I was born in China, moved to Singapore as a child, then moved to the United States. I've also studied abroad in England and visited Canada and Japan.
That's a tough one. Poor Unfortunate Souls, maybe?
Wikipedia's coverage of mathematics is reasonably good, although of course not perfect. I think this is primarily because people who bother to edit math articles are more likely to know what they're talking about relative to other subjects (because if they don't know what they're talking about, they're less likely to care relative to other subjects).
@Ariel: 4.7 a semester on average.
@Pedro, Gran: Gran is right.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 8, 2012
Posted by: Ariel Jacobs '17 on January 8, 2012
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 9, 2012
Posted by: Apex on January 9, 2012
I really appreciate your help! Thanks a lot!
Posted by: anon on January 9, 2012
Posted by: anonymous on January 9, 2012
Posted by: 2016?? on January 9, 2012
I am currently filling out the mid year report. I got some questions along the way:
1.What should I do if I took many coures and the slots provided on the MyMIT Midyear report form are not enough?
2.Should I treat the essay on the report like the other essays on the main application, or could I perhaps be a bit more "laidback"?
The "prompt" is:
"Know any good jokes or have a favorite inspirational quotation instead?"
I am loving this!
Thanks
Posted by: Sihan on January 10, 2012
Should we dress up for the interview?
How long was your interview?
Should we bring our resume or anything else to the interview?
Thank you.
Posted by: Jesssica on January 10, 2012
I am so curious about your avatar, is it drawn by person or computer?! well cause i like to have one too
Posted by: Starr on January 10, 2012
Posted by: lindsey on January 10, 2012
@anon: sure. Life at MIT gets busy sometimes. So you sleep less. It happens.
@anonymous: sure. I don't think it affected my grades significantly, but I think I could've gotten more sleep if I hadn't.
@2016??: let's say 3. I wasn't big on extracurriculars during undergrad, or at least not organized extracurriculars.
@Sihan: if there's extra room to say something about it, say something about it. Otherwise, don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure you can be more laidback on the midyear report (I don't remember filling it out myself, so it can't have been that important).
@Jesssica: it probably depends on the interviewer. I wouldn't bother dressing up; I didn't for any of my interviews. My interview was somewhere between 1 and 2 hours long; it was 4 years ago so I really don't remember. Just bring yourself.
@Starr: the avatars are all drawn by another MIT student.
@lindsey: sorry. All the math jokes I actually like (and can therefore actually remember) involve some pretty sophisticated mathematics.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 11, 2012
I'm from India and kind'a considering to apply for a graduate degree in the MIT's. It'll be highly appreciable if you people could tell me about the eligibility tests availbale in here, India. Surfed the site, No clues in there..
Posted by: anonymous on January 11, 2012
Posted by: Barbara on January 11, 2012
@Barbara: yes and yes.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 11, 2012
I have read all questions and answers, thank you for your time!
I am Brazilian, I want to apply to MIT in 2012 but I have a few concerns about summer courses and olympiads. I did an 'english as a second language' course in england last summer (winter in US), I am going to participate in HarvardMUN this January and during the next US summer I intend to go to PROMYS (RSI is not available for Brazilians ): however, the costs of the trip and of PROMYS are not actually "nice". on the other hand Brazilian schools do not offer AP class and tests, so an international summer course is both fun and useful for my app. I am thinking about doing 4 SAT (phisycs, biology, chemistry, german) subject tests in order to offset AP absence. I would like to know your opinion about it. Instead PROMYS, I could participate in a national program of nuclear physics, but it problably does not have the same weight in app...I know i should not mind too much about all of these, but here in Brazil we dont have biomedical engineering, which is my dream. i would love to develop treatments, enhance neural systems...and this is a very broad and deep field at MIT.
one more thing, oneday you will not have access to this page, probably, and I would like to eventually keep in touch (i hope it does not sound awkward) would that be even possible?
do you think I should do more sat subject tests? I intend to study during february, march and april to physics math and chemistry, SAT in may and then I could retake or study other subjects until december.
Posted by: victoria on January 12, 2012
Posted by: victoria on January 12, 2012
Posted by: Barbara on January 12, 2012
Posted by: Barbara on January 12, 2012
Posted by: victoriadequadros@gmail.com on January 12, 2012
After i have submitted all the application materials, i wonder whether i should keep in good contact with admission officers? i mean, should i update them with my latest activities or something?
Thanks
Posted by: Sandy on January 13, 2012
Congrats on graduating! I was admitted into MIT EA. As somebody that went through what I'm about to go through, what's your best advice for surviving MIT?
It's awesome how you talk about independently learning math, because I do the same thing! I've always been made fun of because of it but it's great to know there are others like me
Posted by: geracam10 on January 13, 2012
I saw a post on another blog saying that most of the students accepted at MIT are international olyimpiads participants, at least related to international students. Qiaochu, do you have international friends, right? do you even know in what they were good at during high school, if it was at olympiads?
and do you think we can believe at this kind of stuff http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/india/1264259-letter-applicant-cornell-student-important.html?
Posted by: denie on January 13, 2012
@Sandy: that's not necessary. I don't think it'll make much of a difference either way.
@geracam10: choose your dorm carefully. You'll likely stay in the same dorm all 4 years and it'll have a huge impact on who you meet at MIT, who you befriend at MIT, who you do psets with at MIT.... It's important to pick somewhere you'll be comfortable and happy.
Also, don't blow off your freshman classes. Lots of upperclassmen (occasionally myself included) will tell you that Pass/No Record means you don't have to care, but it's important that you start building good study skills or you'll crash and burn once P/NR is over. (Also, passing is important too.)
@denie: maybe? I don't have any statistics. All I know is that international applicants have it very tough...
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 14, 2012
Posted by: llolly on January 14, 2012
http://solarstormwarning.com/
1. Did you know about this?
2. What is your opinion on the likelyhood of it happening?
3. In your opinion, how would MIT change in the aftermath of such an event, if it were to happen?
I am honestly uncertain on what to believe on this topic and if you or anyone knows more, I would like to know more.
Alsso, if it is true, i feel like fate would be kicking this years accepted applicants in the butt.
Posted by: Obadiah Peterson on January 15, 2012
Posted by: joe on January 15, 2012
Posted by: martina on January 15, 2012
@Obadiah: that looks like nonsense.
@joe: I have no idea!
@martina: 5, but that seems like an oddly specific question to ask.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 17, 2012
You've said that you could've finished UG in 2.5 years but didn't want to finish it so fast. This reminds me of Hawking, who after discovering about his debiltating disease, had suddenly felt that he was left with very short time... and too many things were to be done !
My question is what's your plan now ? Why didn't you have enough incentive to finish it in 2.5 years since you felt you could've done that? Were there paucity of more exciting ideas ?
Posted by: FenceSeater on January 18, 2012
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 18, 2012
Congrats on finishing your undergraduate studies!
May I ask what are the branches of mathematics that currently have the greatest room for exploration and discovery? And would you suggest doing research on an area that is very old and well-known (lets say, number theory) where so many results have been published?
Thank you.
Posted by: messi38 on January 19, 2012
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 21, 2012
Posted by: jfdjf on January 23, 2012
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 23, 2012
1. when are you going to start making Schoolwork Sunday, Math Monday, Tmusic Tuesday, Walkaround Wednesday, Research Thursday, Freebie Friday, and Singalong Saturday posts?
2. name your disney love interests, archnemeses, comic foils, and best friends
3. i have miracle berries and limes. in my fridge. right now. what are you doing tomorrow
Posted by: Rachel F. '12 on January 24, 2012
Thanks.
Posted by: jcy036 on January 27, 2012
@jcy036: I actually don't, but that doesn't mean everyone believes MIT is the "best school" (whatever that means). There is no such thing as a "best school." Maybe there's such a thing as a "best school for a particular person," and for most of the people I know at MIT, maybe that school is MIT (but how can anyone ever really know?). For people at other schools, maybe that school is wherever they're currently at.
Posted by: Qiaochu Y. '12 on January 28, 2012
Comments have been closed.