Early Action Decisions

first!

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

first! yay.

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

first

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

oh my gosh yay!

Posted by: Pam on December 10, 2007

crap lol everyone is checking this every 5 min. i got third actually

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

first!

and very excited about decisions :D

Posted by: mathstar on December 10, 2007

lol i got the first "first"

Posted by: marie on December 10, 2007

(make that 6th...)

Posted by: mathstar on December 10, 2007

wow.... now the wait is going to be even more painful

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

...wtf

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

sooooooooo nervous

Posted by: anonymous on December 10, 2007

egads

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Finally!

Posted by: Raghav on December 10, 2007

OMG. Major freaking out.
Haha.

Posted by: Tong on December 10, 2007

CRAP.

I'm scheduled to work that day from 11-7.

It's official. God hates me. It's not like I've been waiting for this day for 6 years or anything.

Posted by: Shannon on December 10, 2007

Thank you! Waiting was making me crazy! I appreciate all of your hard work in reviewing our applications!

~Anna

Posted by: Anna on December 10, 2007

I've just set my watch to count down to that moment and I will now proceed to stare at it for the next 117 hours and 49 minutes and 29 seconds.

Posted by: anon on December 10, 2007

YAY!!!!!!!!

The MIT Admissions Blog has become my number one most visited site. I've been waiting for this blog my entire life (ok maybe just since November, but still). Just six more days of suspense...

Good luck to everyone who applied and I hope to see you all next fall!

Posted by: Matt (Hopeful '12) on December 10, 2007

GOOD GRADES and co-cirricular activities pretty much guarantee you ADMISSION.
Just remember there's more to education than A's B's C's and D's.
Ever wondered what happens to the E's .MIT is closed to them right?

Posted by: paranoidchrondiac on December 10, 2007

haha we get "E"s but thats for "citizenship"...

sigh... and now it comes down to a single day... well not really but still kinda feels like it don't it? Best of luck to everyone, remember there are many opportunities out there, MIT just happens to be one of the very best of them ;D

cheers

Posted by: enewts on December 10, 2007

Side-step ,neat

Posted by: paranoidchrondiac on December 10, 2007

come on guys, we are all totally going to get in

eat some strawberry shortcake, do your homework, stay up all night Thursday, so you will be tired Friday- then sleep Friday night. get up, take grandma to breakfast on Saturday, and then check the decision.

oh, and wear your pajamas inside out and backwards...if it works for snow, why not MIT?

Posted by: marylandmymaryland on December 10, 2007

I have a quiz bowl tournament starting exactly at that time :(

Thank you for pulling through by the 15th! OMG FIVE MORE DAYS

Posted by: rachel on December 10, 2007

Having been accepted into my second choice college, also a very good school, I'm not stressing so much over MIT's decision.

That's not to say, however, that I would like to wait longer. I've told many people I'd rather get outright turned down now than to be deferred. Maybe that isn't just me?

Posted by: AwayfromHome on December 10, 2007

I'm not telling anyone that decisions come out the 15th. I'll just silently slink off to my room, see my deferral, and quietly wait for it to come in the mail.
AHHHH. I'm dying.

Posted by: Anonymous on December 10, 2007

Oh my gosh! I am so excited/nervous! I want to go to MIT so badly :/

Posted by: Natalie on December 10, 2007

aaaaaaaaaaah

Posted by: Julia on December 10, 2007

GAAAAAAHHHH!!! This is so exciting/anxiety-filled!!

Posted by: Travis on December 10, 2007

Oh my goodness.

This is intense.

Posted by: Marissa on December 10, 2007

omg ... Omg ... OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it's here. Less than a week away. Holy guacamole!

P.S. I hope I get in. It would be a VERY sweet early Christmas present!

Posted by: Amit on December 10, 2007

Was kinda hoping that the tubes would precede the on-line announcements. There's no stopping traffic, though, on the information super-highway, sigh!

Posted by: White Tube on December 10, 2007

Wow I checked this blog 1 hr ago and the # of post replies has doubled....

YAY!!!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

=)

Posted by: Jing Jing on December 10, 2007

Okay I called at 11:00 moutain time to see when the notifications were going to be posted, and well what do you know an hour later this thing is posted. I am way excited too, the anticipation is worse than when I was little waiting for Christmas to come. Well good luck to all! I hope to meet some of you soon!

Posted by: Yayasoup on December 10, 2007

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I can't believe it's really here...

Posted by: BB on December 10, 2007

YES!
I have been waiting for a week for this blog post! Thanks!!

Posted by: OmarA on December 10, 2007

Cool!

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Yippee!!! We're so close!! These next days are going to drive me insane! I can't wait. (Well, I can, I just don't want to)

..Now off to study for a test on Julius Caesar that my Lit teacher decided to spring on us today...

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

(I really mean it, I'm not just half-heartedly throwing it out there.)

Posted by: Meghan on December 10, 2007

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

i want a tube!!

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Wow...I have been waiting for this post for quite a long time, checking about five times a day and now it is here! I'm freaking out!

Posted by: Justin on December 10, 2007

stupid question, but does 12 PM = noon or midnight?

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

noon

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Finally.....we know when the waiting is overrr...

ahhh! *spazzes out*

Posted by: Anonymous on December 10, 2007

Gah~! This is indubitably going to be the most stressful week of my high school career. Unless I get deferred, in which case the week before the regular action decisions is probably going to be even worse.

Wouldn't it be beautifully ironic if the MIT admissions server(s) crashed on the 15th at 11:59:59 AM EST?

Posted by: Daniel on December 10, 2007

Well, I wish everyone the best of luck (and by human nature, myself better luck that 87-91% of you .. though that luck can transfer over to regular admissions).

Admissions staff, before I have any reason to have my feelings swayed one way or the other, I'd like to say thank you for everything you do. I can't conceive of how hard your job is. So, as I said, thank you for doing it so that some of us can have a great experience the next four (or more, course VI MEng program, for example) years of our lives.

And in case I find myself less evenhanded later, anticipative congratulations to everyone who shall make it and best of luck in regular to those who are deferred.

See you all Saturday,
~Donald Guy

Posted by: donaldGuy on December 10, 2007

@donaldGuy - I second your thoughts. The admissions staff must have worked overtime to process all those applications! Thank you admissions for all that you do!

Furthermore, GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!

Posted by: Travis on December 10, 2007

OMG! This is totally like freaking me out.

Posted by: Stephanie on December 10, 2007

Wow, great job Ben and the rest of Admissions!

So you can take a breather, before another round comes in on Jan 1?

Also, good luck everyone!

Posted by: Oasis on December 10, 2007

if i get in, maybe i'll see you around the year.. I'll buy coffee or something lol

Posted by: :) on December 10, 2007

Ummm...is 5 days (5????????????) enough to prepare myself?
Nerviousnessssssssss
Good luck all

Posted by: Lydia on December 10, 2007

Thank you to all of the admissions staff for making this process all the more human and personal. Clearly many students are excited about the possibility of attending MIT, and some may be disappointed if they do not have this opportunity, but we all can be sure that a full-hearted effort is put into composing each and every class attending the university. I, and I'm sure many other students, appreciate the voice that the MIT blogs have given the students and community currently at MIT.

On Saturday, when we all read the decision that we have eagerly awaited, let us all be sure to remember that college, like everything else in life, is only as excellent as we make it, and that attending any institute of higher education is a wonderful opportunity to which we are fortunate to have access. To those who are admitted to MIT, congratulations, and I hope that you take every advantage of this wonderful opportunity--academic, social, cultural, athletic, and otherwise. And to those who attend another university, be assured that, once recovering from initial disappointment, you will also have a wonderful college experience, as long as you approach it with a positive attitude. This applies to the students of every university, including MIT. These are the years of our lives, when we are free from many of the obligations with which we may find ourselves a few years down the road, and when we are expected to explore, learn, create, laugh and enjoy. So do so, and celebrate your achievement, whether in Cambridge, California, Kansas, or Canada. In the end, the four or five years of college are the start of our adult lives, so let us all get off to a positive and constructive start by maintaining our perspective and focusing on what we have achieved, for surely every one of us is unique and has done wonderful things, whether at a personal or international level.

That being said, I wish you all the best of luck for Saturday, which will be an exciting day for all of us. But, please keep in mind that being deferred or rejected from MIT should not be an event that one would describe in the "end of the world" question with which we are all quite familiar. Instead, at our age, multitudes of doors of opportunity are opening, the only question is which ones.

Thanks again to all of admissions for helping all of us through this process, and I wish all 2012 prospective students the very best, wherever they decide to go!

Sincerely,
Erika Bildsten

Posted by: Erika Bildsten on December 10, 2007

Wow, hard to believe it's already time for another cycle of admissions...I can't wait to see who's been admitted!

Best wishes to all of you! The wait is almost over.

Posted by: Paul on December 10, 2007

Haha...the number of comments is growing...fast.

Posted by: OmarA on December 10, 2007

Oh forgot to say how anxious I am too hehe.

Posted by: OmarA. on December 10, 2007

I'm sooo excited for everyone who applied early!!

Good luck people!

Posted by: Reg on December 10, 2007

xD
Thank you admissions officers for keeping us so informed on the selection process.

I'm really excited!! =] I'm not nervous at all, because I know you guys will make good decisions.

Good lucky everyone.

Posted by: Amy on December 10, 2007

wow, erika, you're a really good writer lol... thanks for the words of comfort and wisdom!

Posted by: marie on December 10, 2007

Good luck to all of you. My average heart rate's a bit higher now...

Posted by: Meng! on December 10, 2007

oh man im so nervous

Posted by: bokonon on December 10, 2007

Remember remember this mid of December,
Big tubes, decisions, and fraught.
I see no reason why my MIT decision,
Should ever be forgot.

We all just have to remind ourselves that Saturday will not be Armageddon, Doomsday, or anything of the sort, however the decisions turn out.

Posted by: Keshav P on December 10, 2007

Ahh nervous!

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

I also have a quizbowl tournament on Saturday, but I will hopefully be able to check the results during lunch...

Posted by: Anonymous on December 10, 2007

I guess not knowing the release date took some of the nervousness out of me.

Now that I found out...Oh God. What was once calm is now a calamity.

Best Wishes to Everyone!

Posted by: Duane on December 10, 2007

I'm sooooooo nervous!!!! Good luck everyone! *cross your fingers & hope for the best!*
Thank you, MIT, for giving us these blogs - Though I haven't really commented much, I've read every single one of them... it made the MIT admissions process memorable

Posted by: Vani on December 10, 2007

Good luck everyone. And I have yet to get my papers postmarked. Gosh, what a procrastinator am I.

Posted by: Vytautas on December 10, 2007

Definitely agreeing with Duane. I don't think I'm going to be able to think straight until Saturday!!! Gah!

Posted by: Amy on December 10, 2007

Is that 12 noon or 12 midnight? Thanks!

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Believe me, what I'm about to say will definitely be easier said than done, but..

Maybe it would be better if all of us clicked that little 'x' on this screen and stepped away from the computer. By focusing on other things, be it homework, other applications, friends, whatever, it may make the time go by quicker, while at the same time lessening the anxiety.

Now I just have to find out if I have the self control to do such a thing.

Posted by: Meghan on December 10, 2007

My dad said he'd be biting his nails until then. I, however, will be biting into Christmas cookies.

Posted by: Eric - Hopeful '12 on December 10, 2007

AUGH I wish I could just fall asleep and just dream for the next week.

actually...I guess all I'll be doing is dreaming even when I'm awake...

computers have it so much easier

int days = 6;
try
{
Thread.sleep(6*24*60*60*1000);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}

there's some java for you guys, hope you enjoy

Posted by: Matt F on December 10, 2007

**my bad, replace the single "6" in the Thread.sleep line with "days"

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

You have no idea how happy this makes me

Except, at 11:00 CST I will be in the middle of a Student Congress session! AAAH!!! Maybe our sponsor will let me check my decision on her laptop while we're there...

Posted by: Karen on December 10, 2007

// * MIT ADMISSIONS DECISION COUNTDOWN * //
/Applications /Installer Log File /Library /Network /System /User Guides And Information /Users /Volumes /Xcode3.1.4 /bin /cores /dev /etc /home /mach_kernel /net /private /sbin /tmp /usr /var
Time Left until 12:00 PM, 15 December 2007
*/

////////// CONFIGURE THE COUNTDOWN SCRIPT HERE //////////////////

var month = '12'; // '*' for next month, '0' for this month or 1 through 12 for the month
var day = '15'; // Offset for day of month day or + day
var hour = 12; // 0 through 23 for the hours of the day
var tz = -5; // Offset for your timezone in hours from UTC
var lab = 'tzcd'; // The id of the page entry where the timezone countdown is to show

function start() {displayTZCountDown(setTZCountDown(month,day,hour,tz),lab);}

// * The start function can be changed if required *
window.onload = start;

////////// DO NOT EDIT PAST THIS LINE //////////////////

function setTZCountDown(month,day,hour,tz)
{
var toDate = new Date();
if (month == '*')toDate.setMonth(toDate.getMonth() + 1);
else if (month > 0)
{
if (month
The countdown script at
Rainbow Arch

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

ooohhh goodluck all of you. Just... wait and make sure you're sleepy and then click the button and close your eyes and open them and... you'll know. MIT defers a lot of their EA applicants (like me!) so it doesn't necessarily come down to this one day guys. Believe me, the wait gets easier if that happens. But as I said, good luck all.

Posted by: Liz '11 on December 10, 2007

Just got done making a program countdown which will open up firefox 1 hour before decisions are released.

w00t

Posted by: Amit on December 10, 2007

I think they rejected 500 of the early applicants from last year. :-X *runs away*

Posted by: Amit on December 10, 2007

AHHH finally!!! except ill be in a practice and will have to wait an extra HOUR AND A HALF to get on and see. oh my. this is traumatic. i had a nightmare last night already. not gooooood.

Posted by: Amanda on December 10, 2007

Thank you Admissions Staff for working through so many apps and pulling through for the 15th. All the best of luck to the other prospective '12s.
(Now to focus on my last high school Final ever)

Posted by: Chris B. on December 10, 2007

Agh... well, this is just another decision in life, and why worry when it's not even in our hands...

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Very nice scripting up there, personally, i think a little:

System.out.println("YOU GOT REJECTED");

is enough for me =]

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

I'm so glad we're going to find out soon! *kyahhh*

Posted by: Kelly on December 10, 2007

well, you should worry cause it is NOT in your hands(!)and it is a very important decision in our lives....Good god(!)....I am getting nervous.

Posted by: Sam on December 10, 2007

lol hey amit, you said

"Just got done making a program countdown which will open up firefox 1 hour before decisions are released."

how...?

I'm fascinated and I'd be able to do it in Java but what language are you using?

Posted by: Matt F on December 10, 2007

first post!

Posted by: Sam M on December 10, 2007

Wowee... this is getting intense...
Saturday Noon Eastern time would be 9 AM California time (if my time zones are savvy today)... Wow...

Before this blog, I was more along the lines: "WHEN WILL WE KNOW!!! MUST KNOW MUST KNOW!! WHEN! WHEN! WHEN!"

Now, I'm simply: "Do I REALLY want to know? I mean... I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to know!! But then, I don't... But I DO!! wait... what??"

Whatever happens, BEST OF LUCK to EVERYONE, EA and RA.
And infinite tokens of thanks and kudos to MIT Admissions for all their hard work.

Most importantly, whatever happens,
PHYSICS ALL THE WAY!!

Posted by: Anon9 on December 10, 2007

yup, practice is from 9-12PST on saturday, so I'll get home, check it, then go to sleep.

(my stomach is balling up. If it were bigger, it'd be a small black hole... and then I'd never be able to go, cause it wouldn't be there...)

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Please post a link for that program.
That is a must have!
Good luck to all and may we all have a great gift for Christmas/the Winter Holidays from MIT!
PS: MIT has just made me lose track of whatever events I have this week because of the distraction of anticipation.

Posted by: Kevin on December 10, 2007

I did not even think about that. We eastern time zone people have to wait longer than the west coast! No fair!

Posted by: OmarA. on December 10, 2007

I'm actually running a server on my linux box with PHP 5.2 and running a cron job to execute

system("firefox");

^typing firefox in BASH Shell opens firefox.
system is basically Windows' start command (or whatever Windows uses in DOS to execute program, haven't been on Windows in awhile).

I'll probably post the code later, but not a lot of people are running a linux server with PHP on their home boxes !

Posted by: Amit on December 10, 2007

YAY!!!!!!!!!!! SOOO HAPPYYYYYYYYYY :D

not going to cry, not going to cry....

Posted by: Shantini on December 10, 2007

soooooooooooooo freaking nervous. i don't think i can wait another six days. crap.

Posted by: dushy on December 10, 2007

To all of those who have a Quiz Bowl or other competition that Saturday -

Oddly enough, I also had a Quiz Bowl competition when (regular) decisions came out. Personally, I didn't even try to check my decision, despite having access to the Internet. I made that choice because my focus that day was simply the competition, whose outcome I could change - and not the admissions decision, which was out of my hands.

So of course, ultimately it's up to you whether you want to check or not; but my personal advice would be to wait.

Posted by: Paul on December 10, 2007

Wow, it's great to see so many applicants eagerly awaiting their decisions (myself included). I hope we all end up together come next fall.

Good luck!

Posted by: Laser on December 10, 2007

AHHHHHHHHHHHH
Saturday!!!
Cant wait!!
im sooooo nervous....i have dreaming of MIT since i was in 8th grade...

Posted by: Natalie on December 10, 2007

AHHHHH!

i have a speech competition that day! I get what Paul is trying to say, but i feel like i would not be able to perform as well with this on my mind! This should be interesting...

I'm bringing my laptop to the competition...

Posted by: Plan A on December 10, 2007

Yeah, I've totally been compulsively checking the blogs for the past two weeks hoping to get news of a decision date. Now that we actually have one I'm getting even more nervous! I just wanted to wish everybody the best of luck and thank the Admissions Committee for all their time and hard work. Hopefully I'll talk to some of you Saturday on that online chat thing!

Ben

Posted by: BMG on December 10, 2007

Good advice, Paul. However, I do not feel like it would really affect the outcome of the competition because we have done our best and performed well under strange circumstances in the past. At the same time, I would be able to wait a few hours to find out. Part of me wants to actually wait until I submit all of my regular applications just to make sure that my early results do not either give me too much pride or make me worry too much about those other applications.

Posted by: Anonymous on December 10, 2007

Oh man, I'm so excited to hear the news. The past five weeks seemed to pass agonizingly slowly but now the final days are upon us. Best of luck to all the other EA applicants.

Posted by: Calvin on December 10, 2007

omg!!!
I'm so scared... this is going to be THE moment...

and thanks for letting us know about the date and time... I was braced for a 12/20 decision or something, heh.

Posted by: Nimu on December 10, 2007

Hahaha, love the java
Waiting is killing me... or to put that more mathematically, my stress level is inversely proportional to the time until the deadline

T- 401220 seconds and counting...

Posted by: Ben G on December 10, 2007

AHHH Good luck everyone....and remember even if you don't get in there are other colleges out there (I have to keep reminding myself this) and also don't be insulted the MIT applicant pool is SICK and even amazing applicants get turned down.

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Yay! I can't wait!

Thanks to all the admissions staff for working so hard to get these done!

And, of course, good luck all!

Posted by: Ben P. on December 10, 2007

Hrm...I'm volunteering at that time this saturday. Nothing my iphone cant solve though! I'm gonna be on that bad boy checking all the way up until 12...

Posted by: OmarA on December 10, 2007

Hrm...I'm volunteering at that time this saturday. Nothing my iphone cant solve though! I'm gonna be on that bad boy checking all the way up until 12...

Posted by: OmarA on December 10, 2007

Good luck to my fellow applicants. You’re a great group. Stay positive no matter what happens Saturday!!!!!!

Also, I'm glad the admissions office did not rush the EA decision. With all the additional EA applications this year, we can be assured each application was given its fair share of attention.

Posted by: Chris T. on December 10, 2007

what were the stats for last year anyone know? applied/admitted/deferred/rejected....

and how many applied this year?

just wondering

Posted by: A'non Imus on December 10, 2007

This is the moment,
When all I've done -
All the dreaming,
Scheming and screaming,
Become one!

I felt that some Jekyll and Hyde lyrics were fitting. = ) (Nimu's post got me going.)

Posted by: Rachel on December 10, 2007

ARE YOU READY?

(and the girl screams, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I DON'T KNOW.")

Posted by: Natasha on December 10, 2007

Do you guys realize how crazy we are? This post has only been here for a little over 8 hours and there have already been over 100 posts. I can't believe how excited everyone is. I just want it to be Saturday so we can all find out and have this all over with.

Good luck to everyone.

Posted by: Jennifer on December 10, 2007

Say what you like about "if you've got the grades and the extracirriculars, then you'll get in," and "it's not all about the numbers," and "you're a *special* person, MIT or no MIT." But one can hear only SO MANY weeks of that before simply going nuts with anticipation and coming to the cold, cruel, realistic conclusion that many, many, MANY people with the grades and the extracirriculars and the otherwise spotless records will not be accepted to MIT. I reckon they're turning down about 2,000 pending valedictorians a year. The odds are slim.
But the odds are there. A glimmer of hope lies in those odds, and it is that small stream of random photons that we, the prospective body, must cling to. So, cling, ye relentless pursuers of greatness, cling on and cling proudly, because you've gotten this far, and that means you've got ambition. And ambition will stick with you forever.
Was that too dramatic? And I say "you", but I'm one of the number. Fingers, toes, appendages, even down to every DNA strand crossed for the best candidates to win! And me, please...

GOOD LUCK!

Posted by: E Rosser (With Luck) '12 on December 10, 2007

these next couple days are going to be the most grueling days ever.- i'm so nervous

Posted by: jenny on December 10, 2007

@E Rosser: the biology nerd in me can't help but point out that the majority of your DNA is crossed for much of the time, luck or no luck

Posted by: Karen on December 10, 2007

Can you get into MIT with medicore socres say high 500's?

Posted by: John on December 10, 2007

@Karen: Gosh you really spoiled an amazing moment (referring to what E Rosser wrote) haha. It's alright though.

Posted by: OmarA on December 10, 2007

E Rosser, your statements are the epitome I have been feeling ever since I entered high school. MIT has, and always will be, a dream school for me, and even though multiple times I was told by people I was not fit out to go there, I kept hope, and now its time for the truth to be revealed.

Thanks

.
Good luck again!

Posted by: Laser on December 10, 2007

System.out.println("Rejected. Loser.");

Disp "REJECTED. LOSER"

println("Rejected. Loser.");

printf("Rejected. Loser.n");

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

keshav P- very cool poem!

egads! i have a soccer game that i have to be at at 8:30 WST (11:30 AM EST).... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

g.drawString("Rejected, loser", 500,400);

ImageIcon ii = new ImageIcon("Rejected_Loser.png");
Image i = ii.getImage();

g.drawImage(i, 600,400,this);

lolz

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Absolutely not

Posted by: alejandro on December 10, 2007

I can't wait....!!
Whatever happens, happens. Don't worry too much about it.
MIT is a great school and I really want to go but it's not the end of the world if not.

"You got your passion, you got your pride,
but don't you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on but don't imagine they'll all come true..."
- Billy Joel, 'Vienna'

Hey, good luck to all, don't stress too much over it!
Relax, it's okay to dream and be excited but don't make it hard on yourself.
Worrying doesn't accomplish anything, so do something else.

Posted by: Mike on December 10, 2007

Ah!! I've sprained my ankle and now I won't be able to do a jump out of happiness or sadness!

I'm going to be in a rehearsal at that time, and I could get my mom to check it, then tell me; however, there is no way that I would be able to do that and still make it through the rest of rehearsal, no matter the decision. Also, I feel the need to see the results myself before anyone else.

AHHH! Almost here!

Posted by: Taylor on December 10, 2007

This thread has been up for less than 12 hours and it's already got over 100 posts. =D

And also, "Vienna" is my ABSOLUTE favorite song. =]

Posted by: BB on December 10, 2007

I applaud mike for reminding me of that beautiful song...it is particularly appropriate for times like this:

"where's the fire what's the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out
You've got so much to do and only so many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told
that you can get what you want or you can just get old
You're gonna kick it off before you even get halfway through"

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

How about:

"So far away we wait for the day,
For the light source so wasted and gone;
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days-
Through the fire and the flames we carry on!"

Lawl, GH3 FTW

Posted by: Laser on December 10, 2007

I think I'm going to have a heart attack...MIT admissions has become my most visited site...5 DAYS!!!!!!! but sadly, I'm working...I'll secretly log on from on of their computers

Posted by: Michelle L. on December 10, 2007

Monday is almost over....

Posted by: Amit on December 10, 2007

And Tuesday is almost here....

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

So it seems that I had some free time on my hand

Remember remember this mid of December,
Big tubes, decisions, and fraught.
I see no reason why my MIT decision,
Should ever be forgot.
Applicants, Applicants, 'tis our intent,
To MIT student status, ascent.
Scores of thousands of seconds away,
And writing this, I spend my day.
By God's providence, we all will go,
Together, we will climb this plateau,
Deeper and deeper into greatness, we shall delve,
But for now, just wait, the class of oh-twelve.
[Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah hoorah!]

Posted by: Keshav P on December 10, 2007

Then Wednesday...

... Thursday...
... Friday comes after Thursday, does it not??...

... and then...!!!

(sorry for the suspense-building

)

I AM SOOOOOOOO NERVOUS! AGHHRRREEEHHHHGGG!!!

Posted by: Anon9 on December 10, 2007

Yeah, 'Vienna' is probably my favorite song. I love Billy Joel, he always says it just right.
Anyways, Good luck!

Posted by: Mike on December 10, 2007

E Rosser...thank you. That was beautiful.

Gah...5 days till decisions come out. In some ways, it really was better not knowing...then you didn't have a specific date to wait for. Anyone else feel like they're waiting for Christmas Day?

Posted by: Michael on December 10, 2007

Haha I love the MIT version of "Remember Remember..."

Posted by: OmarA on December 10, 2007

not really- i definitely don't anticipate christmas as much

Posted by: 0 on December 10, 2007

Well if we're going to go with lyrics from musicals, how about this one:
God I hope I get it, I hope I get, How many people does he need?

Posted by: Chris B. on December 10, 2007

depends. Are you terrified of Christmas day? Cause I've never dreaded Christmas...

Posted by: Ry on December 10, 2007

Good luck everyone!!!

Posted by: May on December 10, 2007

if (acceptance=true)
Console.WriteLine("Amazing-ness!");

else
Console.WriteLine("O_O");

Console.ReadLine();

Posted by: Pooja on December 10, 2007

HA thats C#!!!!!!(I think)

NICE!

Posted by: Matt F on December 10, 2007

A Chorus Line!

and I hope he needs ME.

Posted by: Anonymous on December 10, 2007

OMG. I can't believe I used "ascent" as a verb. oh well, hopefully no one notices.

On another note, thanks a load, Omar and Anonymous

.

Now back to learning evolution, international finance, and paths of heat-seeking missiles.

Posted by: Keshav P on December 10, 2007

Think of it this way, folks:
You may not get your MIT tube in the mail Saturday, but you will get your decision via the Internet -- which we all know is just a series of tubes!

Posted by: anonymous on December 10, 2007

haha... but what if those tubes are clogged up? I heard that sometimes it takes days for the internet to get sent places!!! I don't want the internet that MIT sends me to be filled and delayed!

Posted by: Keshav P on December 10, 2007

ooy.... friday night is going to be like waiting for SAT results + PSAT results (ok maybe not since i didn't know we were gonna to receive them the next day + siemens results + RSI + anything else that has ever mattered... times 100,000

!!!!!

Posted by: Marie on December 10, 2007

I was so happy when I read this.

Then I realized I'd be a wrestling tournament until like 4:00 PM. Then I realized, a guy on my team has an iPhone. Then I was very happy.

Good Luck to all of you, I hope to see yall all on freshmen orientation!

Posted by: Collin MacGregor on December 10, 2007

Approximately when are we to expect to receive mailed decision letters?

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous on December 10, 2007

Good luck everyone! (I like to say it although it will do no good... :( )

Anyways, take it eeeaaassssyyy and don't stress too much, there will be plenty of time for that later on.

Posted by: Omar '10 on December 11, 2007

i am not spending $300 for more applications. i better be in >_i am not spending $300 for more applications. i better be in >_<

Posted by: ep on December 11, 2007

@ep i second that mate

saving my common app till i hear from MIT.

Posted by: A'non Imus on December 11, 2007

whooooo!!! a date! i dont kno if that makes me more or less anxious now! lol

good luck all

Posted by: Plan B on December 11, 2007

Wow, a year ago...

Good luck to everyone who applied!

Posted by: Hunter '11 on December 11, 2007

Anxiety, A, is represented by the following formula:

A = (10,000 / (15 - d))

Where d is the current date in December, 2007.

Posted by: Hawkins on December 11, 2007

lol, programming and poems, that's different than what these blogs were like last year. I daresay, yall may be geekier/smarter than last year.

Oh, btw, for those interested parties, decisions typically come out about 15 minutes prior to noon. This means on the west coast you should be checking around 8:45 am and on the east coast you should be checking around 11:45 am.

Good luck all, try to find the comment limit on this blog post!

Posted by: Snively on December 11, 2007

Dear MIT admission team,
Thank You for working so hard over the past month for us applicants.

Thank You for changing our lives.

Best of luck to all applicant,
MIT is a dream we will achieve in six days, all together

Stephy.

Posted by: Stephy on December 11, 2007

haha Snively i don't think they wanted you to say that. Now the server is gonna crash before they even upload the data.

Posted by: A'non Imus on December 11, 2007

I don't think I'm even going to be awake by 8:45 Saturday morning… probably because my anxiety would have kept me up late Friday night! (or would it early Saturday morning…?)

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous on December 11, 2007

I think this is the perfect definition of PASSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!lol

Posted by: Deusse on December 11, 2007

jiayou (good luck) people (:

Posted by: 0 on December 11, 2007

Hi Ben.I have a small problem.My application essay is 600 words long.Will the kind-hearted admission officers at MIT have the time to read an extra 100 words?

Posted by: Inshaf on December 11, 2007

Wow, GOOD LUCK GUYS!!!!

I'm applying RD, so I can sit back and relax right now

Except for finishing up my application... but I feel for all of you. So keep your DNA strands crossed

and try to do something to keep your minds off decisions... but know I'll be thinking about all of you.

Posted by: Star on December 11, 2007

For I have known them all already, known them all:—
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?

Posted by: Hopeful '12 on December 11, 2007

Good luck everyone! May the best get in early

Posted by: Edgar on December 11, 2007

"programming and poems"

yay for alliteration!!! Welcome to the party, snively!

Posted by: Keshav P on December 11, 2007

1197738000
The UNIX timestamp for our decision date.
Good luck everyone. I'm super excited for this.

Posted by: Danny on December 11, 2007

A couple of observations:

- You have the grades, test scores, and ECs to warrant admission at MIT. Think of this as a really, really good (relatively speaking) lottery ticket - 1 in 10.
- Which would you prefer? MIT puts you out of your misery and turns you down? or defers you (like they do the majority of non-ED admits) to the Spring pool, thereby prolonging the anticipation/agony?

Posted by: White Tube on December 11, 2007

Hmm.. I'd want to get deferred just so I could have that 2nd chance. However, a nice sized tube in my mail box before Christmas would be excellent.

Posted by: Meghan on December 11, 2007

Buena suerte, todos!

The suspense is killing me.

Posted by: Katelyn on December 11, 2007

My body is shivering I will not be able to stand the poisoning taste of failure again

Posted by: Nishanth on December 11, 2007

I thought of a haiku:

Admissions come out
Stronger than gravity
They pull me onward.

This is SO EXCITING!!

Posted by: Travis on December 11, 2007

I've found a distraction to pass the time between now and decisions: I've finally begun to scale down my Vista usage in favor of Ubuntu, which leaves me plenty of customization and learning to do. And when I'm done with that, I'm going to begin (for a second time) teaching myself Python via tutorials.

Oh, and even though I thought knowing the decision date would mean I didn't check the blogs again, clearly I was wrong.

Posted by: AwayfromHome on December 11, 2007

I agree - even though I now know the exact moment decisions are coming out, I'm still compulsively looking at these blogs like every hour

Posted by: Anon on December 11, 2007

Just one thing we all have to understand (and I know this is going to sound repetitive), is that even to be applying to MIT, we are all excellent students with bright futures. Think about all that we have accomplished to get here. No deferral/rejection letter (even one from MIT) can change any of that, and it certainly cannot stop us from achieving more in the future.

Posted by: Anon on December 11, 2007

@Anon

...word

Posted by: A'non Imus on December 11, 2007

The anticipation and second guessing is killing me. It's awesome to know I'm not the only one!

Posted by: Brittany on December 11, 2007

Man oh man, the wait is horrible... gulp! Well good luck to y'all, oh boy... well I'm just gonna take it easy, not get my hopes high and if I'm accepted WOW!!!!!

Posted by: Anonymous on December 11, 2007

Less than four dayssssssssssssssssssssss.

So far no one from my school has been rejected from a school they applied to early. Dare I take this is a good sign?

Posted by: BB on December 11, 2007

Hey guys ! I'm sure you are stressing like never before ! Like Star said, we're with you ! (like Avril says too). I'm already stressing and I'm RD so I can't imagine how it is for you. Don't worry.

Posted by: Isshak on December 11, 2007

I'm so much more relaxed now that I know what day we'll know! Before it was just so intense because I never knew if, when I logged on that day, I would find out such an important decision.... now I can wait in peace because at least we know when it will all be over...or all begin!

Posted by: Hilly on December 11, 2007

I've been visiting this blog about once a week to see when the decisions would be posted and every week I would see everyone's comments and just think how weird they all were: "OMG I have to get in" or a person posting his/her credentials or....a program to countdown till the 15th. But I've come to realize I am just as excited (and nervous)....and weird and by god....ONLY FOUR MORE DAYS!!!!! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!! and for those of you who haven't...thank the admissions officers for their work; we put them through lots of applications and annoying questions! GOod luck

Posted by: Zach on December 11, 2007

I think the reason we are all so nervous is that we cannot use math or science to predict what will happen on the 15th so we all feel out of control and don't know what to do so we become nervous. This means that all the advice that disagrees with this nervousness will, for the most part, be ignored and people just get more hyped up. So to counter this intellectual fault we should all relax and prove that we are smart enough to know to relax. I wish everyone the patience to not get an ulcer before Saturday.

Posted by: Nick on December 11, 2007

HAHAHA NICK I LOVE YOUR COMMENT

I had a dream I was DENIED because I had too many Fs in English (even though I've never gotten a F in english)

Adrenaline can do weird things....

Posted by: 0 on December 11, 2007

Yall are all crazy.... My brother is the only one getting in!!!!!!!!!!!! Muahahahahahahahaha!!!

Posted by: Christina on December 11, 2007

Thanks now I'm going to have that dream.

Posted by: Nick on December 11, 2007

Psh, you think your dreams are weird?

http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/some_cpw_thoughts.shtml

Matt had a dreamt about me, now that's weird.

Sorry Matt, lol

Posted by: Snively on December 11, 2007

*Had a dream

Posted by: Snively on December 11, 2007

Well you could have not been MIT class of 2011.

I think you'd rather have the dream and the acceptance than neither.

Posted by: Nick on December 11, 2007

My birthday is on the 15th...
O well...
an amazing birthday present or ....

Posted by: Anusha on December 11, 2007

Anusha, that would make a wonderful birthday present!

Posted by: Amit on December 11, 2007

Man, reading all the comments just makes it worse. I think I was more zen about it until the code monkeys started posting up script for Java printing "YOU GOT REJECTED."

Regardless, thinking about it before Saturday has no bearing on what happens, so it's best not to think about it. Besides, the week will go more quickly that way, anyway. Despite the fact that it's basically impossible to do, it's worth a try, eh?

So, to begin the great process of diversion, I'm sure there's a lot of different types of people applying to MIT, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear quite a few languages on campus. So, any of you guys bilingual? Trilingual? Quadralingual? n-lingual, where n is large? (As for me, I speak French pretty fluently, but my Spanish is sadly rotting. Le sigh... err, suspiro...)

And on another diversion related note, if f(n) is defined as the probability that any given person is n-lingual, what kinda probability distribution do you think we'd have? (Here, I have no clue.)

There. Two topics to keep you busy. Now, GO!

Posted by: 0 on December 11, 2007

f(n) should be right skewed, meaning that the mean is larger than the median. This is since MIT requires 2 foreign language classes many will be bilingual, some will have forgotten much of what we learned and truly be monolingual, others will know large numbers of languages but as n becomes larger f(n) should become smaller. Also f(1)=1 because we all speak at least one language f(2) should be very near 1.

Posted by: Nick on December 11, 2007

note:
f(n)=0 if n>the number of languages in existence.

Posted by: Nick on December 11, 2007

Nick, you've successfully made me feel incompetent.

I don't know how many of you guys use facebook, but we should have a MIT COUNTDOWN group or something. There are two groups on FB for MIT 2012 (potential I think) but neither are super-active...
just a thought! ;D

Posted by: Jing Jing on December 11, 2007

I would agree with Nick, most people learn 1-2 languages, and then there are those geniuses who've mastered 20+. Hooray for stats! on the other hand, the distribution of the mean number of languages of a sample of posts should be approximately normal! Which is bad, since MIT does not like normal things...

Plaudits to Amit up there who runs a Linux box!
echo zomg! 3 days until decisions!

Posted by: ShenJing on December 11, 2007

Heh, you crazy language loving people. I know only one language, even though I took Latin for 2 years. I learned almost nothing in that class. People who actually learn languages in High School amaze me.

Posted by: Taylor on December 11, 2007

@ShenJing
I assumed that f(n) is defined as the probability of knowing at least n languages. The statistics on knowing exactly and only n languages would be different, but I disagree because the definition of a normal distribution is that it is a symmetrical distribution. The distribution, even assuming exactly n, would be right skewed because there is a hard limit at 1 and a limit at all and most people are closer to 1 but some are likely to be closer to all.

Posted by: Nick on December 11, 2007

Good luck to you EA folks--I wasn't smart enough to apply early. Hopefully I'll be bringing up the rear in late March.

Posted by: Twilight Bob on December 11, 2007

I have a dilemma. I realize that MIT only requires an Eval A and an Eval B form. I have an Eval B done. I have two teachers who actually want to evaluate me. One is from my AP Chemistry class and the other is from Calculus. I believe that both evaluations reflect me as a whole together. Is it posible to submit two Eval A forms and an Eval B as well.

Posted by: R.A. Applicant on December 11, 2007

@Nick (This is OP of math/language comment)

I guess we als have to define "language." Are we working off of interpretable information, or simply a method of communication between humans? If the former, n could very well be unbounded (at least for computation purposes; there's no such thing as infinite anything in reality anyway); if the latter, the upper bound of n would have to be around 4,000. Also, we have to figure out how to count the fuzzy little grey areas. Where would Esperanto go, and other conlangs? How about Klingon? Or, as another issue, if you speak French and German, you may be able to communicate with someone who speaks the Alsacien dialect. If you speak Polish, you may be able to communicate with someon who speaks Czech. Does that constitute partial knowledge of a language? (Perhaps, then, we should extend the domain of f to the rationals instead of only the positive integers.)

Anyway, most high school language classes also don't teach to a reasonable level of competency in the language. So, we're all probably most nearly monolingual around here--or, if we extend f to the rationals, perhaps we're 3/2-lingual

I'll still agree with f being right-skewed, since the number of people who are not monolingual will add some decimal points. Something like a mean of 1.3 versus a median of 1, for example. And f is surely asymptotic decreasing. But what I'm curious to know is, at what rate is f decreasing? i.e., what is it asymptotic to? Perhaps it's something closer to exponential, since you're going to be experiencing successively greater drop offs after each n. (I.e., significantly less people speak 2 languages than they do 1.)

Posted by: Will on December 11, 2007

Oh dear.....oh dear....OH DEAR!!!!! Reading these comments just makes everything even crazier. I shall take deep breaths, perhaps even try to take in a mol of O2 at once....even though I'm sure that's humanly impossible...and will try to calculate how frequently I can check a single website in one minute and still keep the computer from crashing....then apply that frequency to my clicking finger on saturday starting at 11:00 am........

Also, to R.A.Applicant, you need to send to evaluations, one from a Math/Science teacher and one from a Humanities/English/etc teacher...but I sent in three, because I couldn't choose between my Physics teacher and my Precalculus/Calculus3 teacher....So basically, you can submit two, even three, recommendations. ^__^

Posted by: Rutu on December 11, 2007

Actually you could even submit more evaluations than that! Since I go to a small school in Utah I know all my teachers on a very personal level and so I asked five of them to write evaluations for me. I emailed MIT Admissions Office to ask if this was okay and they said it was no problem and the more information the better!...Though I'm sure if you submitted say...20 evaluations they probably wouldn't be quite so enthusiastic about the thought!

Posted by: Justin on December 11, 2007

@Will
I agree that the rate of decline would be an interesting project, but as of now I have no idea (exponential does sound like it could work). I think that it would be asymptotic to n=0 because I would find it hard to believe that someone knows all languages. I would define knowing a language as the ability to communicate with someone knowing only that language in a conversational manner. Languages like Klingon can be decided by the end user because I treated any language equally(this is why I said all rather than finding the number of languages spoken on Earth). This is all I would feel safe saying now (I applied 18 not 24):)

Posted by: Nick on December 11, 2007

Now as we slowly count down the seconds to when the decisions come out,

I'd like to thank the admissions office for all their incredible work and for answering all our questions.

and wish everyone GOOD LUCK!!!!

4 more days everyone! i think we should all seize the time for a little indulgence and relaxation before one of the most anticipated moments of our college application process

Posted by: Lisa on December 11, 2007

I'm not sure what Klingon is, but does this mean that languages like Pig Latin and Ubbi Dubbi and - of course - the Elven tongues are included? Because, if so, then we would have to include languages that people invent just for fun, even if only the inventor and one other person - for purposes of communication - know of the language's existence?

Posted by: Rutu on December 11, 2007

Guess what I saw as I was walking down the Infinite today and glanced into one of the Admissions Offices???

TUBES!!! Boxes filled with tubes!

Posted by: Tracy '11 on December 11, 2007

Oh my God Tracy, you just saw our DESTINIES!!!!!......so, how did they look? Happy or sad? *continues spazzing*

Posted by: Rutu on December 11, 2007

do computer languages count? I mean they are certainly means of communicating information that require careful syntax and structure...

I only know English fluently and have a good base in Spanish (I'm 1/2 mexican, w00t!) but as far as computer languages go I'm fluent in three, and have a good base in three more

that's 4 fluents! how many and which computer languages do you guys know?

Posted by: Matt F on December 11, 2007

Wow.... I am personally amazed, beyond the code-monkeys and the statistians and the poets, at the amount of comments this post has garnered.... it took me thirty-five minutes to read through them all!!! Anywho, a heartfelt "good luck" to all my fellow nervous freshmen-to-be at hopefully MIT!^_^

Posted by: faerie007 on December 11, 2007

*statisticians.. oops

Posted by: faerie007 on December 11, 2007

I had a question... So about how many of the people that were accepted to MIT took A.P. calculus their sophmore year of high school or before?

Posted by: Saleen on December 11, 2007

hahaha the tubes looked quite happy.
they looked like they wanted to get out and spread the good news to you all though.

too bad you're all just going to sit there in front of your computer and hit refresh for hours on end and ruin the surprise.

Posted by: Tracy '11 on December 11, 2007

hehehehe. i wont even be at home when the decision comes. ill be blasting my eardrums. ill man it up and wait. :p

Posted by: M1CMD3R on December 11, 2007

@ Rutu
Klingon is the made up language that the Klingon race speaks in Star Trek. Trekkies are noted for learning this language, which is about as ugly as a molerat. The languages you've listed are all apart of a big class of languages called "conlangs," which is short for "constructed languages." The most popular conlang is Esperanto, which was designed to become the global language. It has something like 1,000 native speakers in the world, and Esperanto is about as close as they come to being a real language. (If you want to haer it, they've got a podcast of it on iTunes; it sounds kind of like Romanian, or Italian with a Slavic flavor.) Too bad it never really took off...besides, English is the lingua franca of today anyway. (Ten bucks says Chinese is up next!)

@ Matt F
Hey, if you count anything that transmits information as a language, as long as there's an interpreter, it exists, right? The closest thing I know to a computer language is LaTeX, which owns my life because of its awesomeness. Down with Microsoft Word!

Posted by: Will on December 11, 2007

Will there be an IRC channel set up the day of the decisions? I thought I heard some mention of something to this effect. If so, I think it's a cool idea, and will be sure to be there.

@Matt:
I used to take Spanish, but became disillusioned with it after 4 years, and don't remember much of the vocabulary anymore. As for programming languages, I'm relatively fluent in Basic and Scheme, and can sort of bull my way through C, C++, Python, CNC, HTML, and BASH and Batch scripting, and I'll hopefully be relatively fluent in Java and Lisp by next fall (if I'm not, I'll probably have some problems in AI ;D)

So that leaves 3 fluents total.

@Saleen: Granted, I'm a hopeful too, but I never took AP Calc; I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take Calc 1 at a local college my sophomore year. That being said, I know another guy applying who took Calc 1 in 8th grade, and there's currently and 8th grader in my multivariable

I don't think that it necessarily matters when you took which class, as it's not really related to your suitability for MIT. Again, I'm not actually in MIT, but from what I've heard from bloggers and when visiting, the important thing is to have a good-natured personality and not be overly boring. And of course, love whatever it is you do with a passion.

Posted by: bunny on December 11, 2007

tis true, you know,
that when you spend
hours 'pon hours
and hours on end

staring at blogposts
and wond'ring what to say,
when staring at french homework's
what you should be doing today,

you're obsessed, you're panicked,
you're more than impatient,
better stop your staring now,
or your brain will take a huge dent

and you'll go craaaaaaaaazy.................
(if you haven't already, of course ^__^)

~*~

Okay, so that was the most horrible and most forced rhyming poem I've ever written, but I think it fits the mood.......hehe, must go do French homework now.....^__^

Posted by: Rutu on December 11, 2007

Well, in the spirit of the applicants of 2005, I would like to extend a large thank you to all of the members of the MIT admission staff (before replies come back and bias my opinion). Your hard work and dedication are truly appreciated.

To everyone who is perusing this forum... in lieu of homework, good luck. I hope that MIT truly picks the best possible applicants for the spots. How in the world they do it amongst all of the extraordinarily qualified applicants is beyond me. Don't forget to sing everyone's favorite carol ("I'm dreaming of a tubing Christmas") before attempting to crash the MIT servers on Saturday, just for luck, and of course, remember that as much as we all would like to get into MIT, it is only one institution out of many. On that note I will end with a rather humorous letter from someone who understood the "E Pluribus Unum" concept quite well: http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/hell/Bestof/mit-letter.html

Good Luck everyone!

Posted by: Harrangatang on December 12, 2007

So...nervous...

Posted by: Trent on December 12, 2007

@Will - Right on! LaTeX rules! Donald Knuth is basically the computational God!

@Saleen, bunny - Just to add, I took BC Calc as a freshman. However, throughout high school I have had a real passion for number theory, and that's ultimately the field of math I'd want to go into. So, I would agree it probably doesn't really matter if or when you've taken calculus, but I think having some experience with math outside of the traditional course sequence of high school will be viewed favorably by admissions (or at least that's what I'm hoping)

Posted by: Zev on December 12, 2007

Hey...has anyone got the notion that some real MIT students are posting in this thread and having us on? Just for laughs? I mean, I wouldn't know--but if I was a student at MIT, that's what I'D be doing right now. But I'm just saying--I don't know for sure, but maybe...

Posted by: Twilight Bob on December 12, 2007

@bob- there are plenty of MIT students! everyone with a year after their name (besides '12), plus some of the bloggers like oasis (chris). oh, and the ever popular snively of course...

Posted by: zizou on December 12, 2007

'Tis true, their just giving advice though.
Next Lyric. (modified)
MIT what you want is right in front of you, what you want, what you want, what you want is right in front of you!

Posted by: Chris B. on December 12, 2007

Just to let everyone know, there is a new word in the dictionary that many here will be partial to:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071211/ap_on_re_us/word_of_the_year

w00t!

Posted by: Anon on December 12, 2007

So what do you think happens in the last two days (before EA decision)in the admissions office? I would love to be a fly on the wall in that office.

I would guess they have the list already, no? Don't they have to print letters and insert them into the tubes?

Posted by: 0 on December 12, 2007

you know what would be cool? It would be awesome if they mail the tubes today or thursday and you get a tube in your mail before you actually can check the website. Of course... then someone would post it on here and ruin the suprise and make everyone who didn't get a tube all mad...

Posted by: A'non Imus on December 12, 2007

68 hours, 12 minutes to go!!

Posted by: Meghan on December 12, 2007

67hrs 42min

Posted by: White Tube on December 12, 2007

@ Zev

Wooo, LaTeX! Glad I'm not the only one

Why did you learn it? What do you use? I've got MiKTeX, and use WinEdt as a nice editor. It's a really good one. And I learned it because long distance communication is the only way to talk to anyone about math for me...and le'ts just face it, MSWord is awful.

And, since you're the first math person I've encountered on here, tell me more! You said number theory, but anything more specific than that? Are you a big combinatorics person in general? I can't do that stuff at all, haha. Number theory and I don't get along very well, though I've been trying to make amends with it lately. Ever tried Putnam problems? Whole new level of pain...

@ Saleen
I taught myself calc as a freshman; it's too bad they didn't let anyone take anything before "you're supposed to." It was probably good for me, though, in retrospect.

Posted by: Will on December 12, 2007

I just keep checking. Perhaps they will finish ahead of schedule and post ahead of schedule! You never know. One can hope!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Brittany on December 12, 2007

Sooo close.

Posted by: OmarA on December 12, 2007

'Twas the days before EA Decision, when all through my house,
Every creature was praying, even my pet mouse;
The tubes will be stuffed at MIT with care,
In hopes that on Saturday the mailman will be there;
Each evening I think of MIT while lying on my bed,
Last night I dreamt the Stata Center dropped melting snow on my head;
And mamma in her PJ’s, and I in my MIT cap,
Will now settled down for a much needed nap,

"Now, Matt! now, Ben! now, Bryan and Stu!
And there’s more, for which a break is overdue!
And congrats to Melis, you’re an inspiration to me!
Now enjoy Oxford, and be all you can be!"

Shortly it will be Saturday, 12 PM;
Time to Log-in, and the waiting will end.
But before I do this, I just want to say,
Good luck to all, and to all a great decision-day.

Posted by: Chris T. on December 12, 2007

Someone mentioned seeing boxes of tubes in the admissions office earlier--maybe it was in another thread. MIT ADMISSIONS IS A SERIES OF TUBES! Lawl.

Posted by: Twilight Bob on December 12, 2007

@ Chris - AWESOME POEM!! How appropriate for the season. GAAAHH---3 days left!!

Posted by: Travis on December 12, 2007

good luck everyone!!!!

the gruesome wait continues...

Posted by: Plan A on December 12, 2007

Even I'M anxious--and I'm RA! The anxiety is contagious, almost frighteningly so. Good luck everyone--I'll probably check for exultant posts on Saturday. Or maybe I won't. That probably make my wait even worse.

Posted by: Twilight Bob on December 12, 2007

I really hope I get in. That would be amazing!!!!! As soon as decisions come out, we have to start a facebook group!

Posted by: I really hope I get in on December 12, 2007

^ I CONCUR.

Posted by: Jing Jing on December 12, 2007

Okay, so I remember someone saying that we need a facebook group for the countdown, so I went ahead and made one:

http://hs.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9135235604

Ummm, if the link doesn't work, try searching "MIT COUNTDOWN"....

Now, time to go crazy again....

*runs around room*

PS: I lost the game..... ^__^

Posted by: Rutu on December 12, 2007

LOL THANK YOU RUTU! =)

Posted by: Jing Jing on December 12, 2007

wat were yall SAT's scores

Posted by: John on December 12, 2007

Oh wow...this Saturday...one day after U of I at Urbana-Champaign releases their decisions...what a weekend...I'll probably go insane...

Posted by: Xaq on December 12, 2007

chill bros, its not an idea

Posted by: 0 on December 12, 2007

Awesome facebook group! I'm totally in!

Posted by: Taylor on December 12, 2007

John, you need to chill. SAT scores aren't everything.

If you really like MIT and you think they'll like you as a person, you should definitely apply. If you match, your SAT scores won't hinder the decision to accept you.

I'm merely speaking from the point of view of an applicant, however, so if you choose you can just ignore this msg. Seriously though, I don't think obsessing over SAT scores only will lead to anything fruitful. Just apply and see what happens!

Posted by: Jing Jing on December 12, 2007

Thank god my computer is currently experiencing some issues so I can't be on it 24/7 just waiting for the decisions to be released lol...not to mention that I need the time to study for my IB Java test on Friday~~O0O

Posted by: Rebecca from Seattle~~ on December 12, 2007

John, don't worry so much. SAT scores are only SMAAAAALL parts of the application process.

Gah, I'm so excited that I keep coming on here/making facebook groups/making countdowns......I can't get myself to study for my AP physics test tomorrow that my teacher has said will probably be the hardest test we've ever taken......

Posted by: Rutu on December 12, 2007

haha i have a physics test tomorrow too.

Posted by: jandro on December 12, 2007

haha i have a physics test tomorrow too.

Posted by: jandro on December 12, 2007

SO WAT IF SOMEONE HAD SAT'S IN THE 1600'S WONT THAT HURT UR APPLICATION

Posted by: JOHN on December 12, 2007

I'm so nervous!!!!!!! Three days!!!!!!! 3!!

I WISH EVERYONE THE VERY BEST OF LUCK!!! Just remember that whatever happens happens and whether you're accepted or deferred, your decision was meant to be. Everything will all work out for the best.
Well, at least that's what I've kept repeating to myself...

Posted by: Rachael on December 12, 2007

@ John ~ Yes, a combined SAT score of around 1600 would likely hurt your application. I read somewhere, I forget where exactly, that a good benchmark is around 700. At 700 and above, they figure that your scores are good enough to be at the caliper of MIT. Most certainly, they don't use SATs as a means by which to put one applicant above another (although the previous statement may not be true... I was told by one student that every part of the application was assigned a numerical value... scary stuff). The bottom line is that SAT scores are merely scores, and at a school such as MIT where most applicants will have extremely competitive test scores, they only comprise a small part of the application. It is far more important that you convey in your application a strong sense of your personality, because that is what will truly help MIT to determine if you are a match or not. Best of luck with your application!

Posted by: Harrangatang on December 12, 2007

Yes, John, it would.

Posted by: Anxious on December 12, 2007

MAN! When I clicked preview for the first time (a few minutes after starting this immense beast of a post), six new posts pop up! o_O

Well said, Harrangatang. That pretty much covered it, but I will add my two cents as well. SAT scores are just a vague indication of whether or not you can handle MIT. (I'm sure that either Ben or Matt said that almost word for word, but I can't find any exact quote.) I think (whoever said this) also said that the reason why MIT's average scores are so high is that passion for math/science/learning (which MIT cares about more) usually (but not always) translates into high SAT scores. In other words, you should try your best, but if you don't get insanely high scores, it shouldn't hurt. (I'm not trying to downplay SAT scores, but I'm just saying they won't make you automatically accepted or rejected by themselves.)

Oh, but I would like to say something about the whole "Getting a 1600 will hurt your score" sentiment. Unless it's all sarcasm (which I'm sometimes horrible at detecting), MIT really doesn't care about the exact score from around 700 up, as Harrangatang said. The only time a 1600 (perhaps y'all mean 2400?) will hurt you is if you overemphasize it and act pompous, like "Hey, grant me admission because I got perfect SAT's!" I think MIT is very suspicious of those types of people. But if you are passionate/talented about something, and also just happen to get a 2400, that won't hurt you. It just won't give you an immense advantage, like many erroneously think.

ANYWAYS...guess what's more fun than the SAT and its associated scores? Coding! Yes, I am among the legions of coding monkeys applying (though I'm RD), and I AM PROUD OF IT!

@Matt F
I'd like to note that "how many computer languages we know" doesn't really take into account the various frameworks for certain operating systems and such. I know this doesn't exist for certain languages like Java and all the scripting languages, but, for example, what if someone knew C++ using the standard C libary and using MFC, Carbon (for Macs), etc., but not using STL? How would that work out? (I mean, learning some of these frameworks is almost like learning a whole new language itself!)

Or are you just referring to just the core language syntax, in which my point is moot?

If the latter's the case (which would be so much easier =D), I'm fluent in C, C++, Objective-C, Java, HTML, PHP, and...I've dabbled in SQL and Unix shell scripting. Never tried assembly though. ARGH, IT IS DIFFICULT.

Good luck EA applicants! And once you guys get in, hope the best for us RD applicants!

Posted by: asm on December 12, 2007

Oh yeah, I forgot BASIC. Heh heh, I miss those days...

And I also forgot to add how many spoken languages I am fluent in. Sadly, I'd say it's about 1.25-1.3 right about now.

Posted by: asm on December 13, 2007

ya I'm trying x86 Assembly right now myself. 'Tis annoying. Java, HTML, php.... like the back of my hand. My SQL is a little shaky but I can hold my own with Unix shell. Good luck with RD mate, I'm digging the stress right now for EA :D

hope to see you next year!

Posted by: enewts on December 13, 2007

Oh MIT
how do I love thee?
let me sum the ways...

my love is the limit of y=x, or any linear equation,
(or the lim of sin(x)/x for those of binary persuasion),
and though perhaps rash, and albeit uncouth,
I'll feel that I know you, to tell you the truth
now my rhyme be too simple, my meter a bore,
but it fills the time waiting for a tube at my door!

I bid all farewell and hope for the best,
for all EA's, RD's and all of the rest,
(and rhymezone, for help with this poem as well
without you my post wouldn't be nearly as swell!)

So to all who've read (with a smile or groan)
I say to thee a fond "adieu",
the night moon rises and once again falls,
but I've still economics to do!

~end~

well that was a fun distraction. never have Frost's words rang so true, I've miles to go before I sleep....

Posted by: 0 on December 13, 2007

I had a nightmare that I got into MIT

Posted by: Anonymous on December 13, 2007

I am dead!
I sent my sat scores to MIT a month ago! For some reason my sat 1 scores were sent but not my sat 2 results (for every other university I applied to both results got there)..so I sent them again 15 days ago!..my sat 2 results are still not here and its all over for me now..do i still have a chance of being accepted into MIT without my sat 2 scores ?(if I'm lucky they mite just get here hours before the decision..:()

Posted by: Ali G on December 13, 2007

CORRECTION!
Both of my scores have been sent successfully but only my sat 1 has been PROCESSED by MIT...err..is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Posted by: Ali G on December 13, 2007

256th post!

49 hours, 14 minutes to go!

Posted by: anon on December 13, 2007

Thank you Rutu! I have now just lost the game.

Posted by: Chris B on December 13, 2007

I'm pretty sure I am guaranteed a deferral. Here's why:

I asked 4 of my teachers whom I have known for quite some time to send a letter of recommendation (and yes, I gave them the PDF to fill out and everything). Although I completed everything within my power way before the deadline, I waited and waited for Evaluation B to show as received in MyMIT. Finally, it has shown up sometime between the last time I checked and now. I just am hoping that the incompetence of my teachers hasn't put me in a bad position.

Any ideas as to whether or not this will affect my application?

Posted by: Daniel Fowler on December 13, 2007

My understanding is that the MIT adcoms are a very accomodating, understanding bunch (they've already decided on our EA fates, so I should be able to say this without being accused of shameless brownnosing!). If there was a way to wait to decide on your app past the deadline, they probably did so. Time now to calm down; decisions are made, most will get deferrals, and most of us should consider all of our options going forward. Good luck to all (me included!).

Posted by: Dustin on December 13, 2007

I am just sooooooooooooo done with high school!!!! The gifted math type student is always a little out of place in high school. Even though I enjoyed relative success, was a Varsity athlete, had many friends and particpated in lots of activities I never quite fit in. I have been waiting for MIT for a long time, just like most of you. How wonderful it will be to have intelligent conversations and be fully immersed with other like-minded students! I'm sure that's why we are all sooooooooo anxious. It's much more than an admission decision it is our chance to be with soul mates for the next 4 to 5 years! I am ssooooooooo ready! Lunch is over, back to class, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Posted by: Brittany on December 13, 2007

44 hours, 19 minutes!!!

Posted by: Xaq on December 13, 2007

I almost don't want to find out online...much rather get the notice(tube or otherwise) in the mail...

lol, who am i kidding?
the sooner the better!

Posted by: kevin on December 13, 2007

ohhhhhh...I'm counting down too. Eeeeeks, I'm so nervous; my heart is pounding faster and faster. I hope I don't get a heart attack right before 12pm on Saturday. X____X My classmate and I both applied to MIT, I hope we can both get in ^___^

Posted by: judi on December 13, 2007

I did EA to MIT as well but I don't even want to go anymore. My ED was UPenn and I REALLLY want to get in. That's tommorrow night at 5:00 PM ET that I find out...I'm semi-anxious but I'm expecting a deferral so I won't be too upset. Atleast I don't have to wait that one extra day of tension :D (mine is tommorrow and the rest of tonight!!)

Posted by: Couldn't Care Less on December 13, 2007

ONE day, 18 hours, 35 minutes, and 20 seconds.....

Posted by: Rutu on December 13, 2007

@Twilight Bob

"MIT DECISIONS IS A SERIES OF TUBES!"

HAHAHAHAHA I laughed for a solid minute at that

Posted by: Matt F on December 13, 2007

My school blocked this website. what a bunch of lame-os... I can't wait.

Posted by: Anon on December 13, 2007

Hey guys! Are any of you InvenTeam-ers?

TWO MORE DAYS!
GOOD LUCK!!!

Posted by: 'TogaInvenTeam on December 13, 2007

"MIT DECISIONS IS A SERIES OF TUBES!"

Yeah, well, the letter comes in a tube (I think). Wouldn't it be awkward if I ran home going, MOM!!! DAD!! I GOT MY TUBE!!!

parents: *sweatdrop*

Posted by: 0 on December 13, 2007

Why do people who don't want to go to MIT apply EA? there are a lot of us who would almost kill to go there yet people throw their hat in the ring because "MIT is a good school". sigh.... that just annoys me a little bit, you know?

Posted by: A'non Imus on December 13, 2007

Are freshmen grades in high school even considered in the applications process. During my freshmen year I was a goof off and I do not want this to affect me too much. Since sophomore year I have made a tremedous improvement and I now am competing at the top of my class. How will my academic improvement be perseved by admissions staff.

Posted by: Jermaine on December 13, 2007

I forgot to mention that when I moved schools I started with a rank at about 160 and I have worked my way up to about #24 in a class of 580.

Posted by: Jermaine on December 13, 2007

//The Best Program Ever
#include (iostream)
using namespace std;

int main()
{

int const NUMACC = 400;
int studNum [8];

for(int x = 1; x (= NUMACC, x++)
{
cout (( "Please enter the new student";
cout (( "numbers";
cout (( "of those accepted during EA.";

cin )) studNum[x];
}

for(int x = 1; x (= NUMACC, x++)
{
do
{
cout (( "Would you like to go to MIT?";
cin )) Just say yes;
cout (( "Congratulations! Your student";
cout (( "number";
cout (( "is" < studNum[x] << endl;
}while (user == sane || user == cool);

return 0;
}

Posted by: Eric Hopeful '12 on December 13, 2007

So yea...parenthesis instead of the greater than/less than signs. This thing reads HTML so it omitted them! It didn't even recognize my enter key to put }while... on a new line. Oh well, it's ok haha.

Posted by: The Guy Above on December 13, 2007

Haha that program would be pretty amazing.
Only a day and a half left to go, people! Good luck!

Posted by: Sheir on December 13, 2007

cAN YOU GET INTO WITH A 1620+/2400 SAT or absolutley not

Posted by: John Mensah on December 13, 2007

@John
Depends. What is your score distribution. I know a girl who got into Princeton with a 1800 and few AP passing scores.

Posted by: Jermaine on December 13, 2007

ahhhh
university of chicago just released their EA decisions eventhough they said they were gonna release this Saturday.
maybe MIT will do the same? i'm checking like every 5 seconds

Posted by: anonymous on December 13, 2007

OH MY!

41 HOURS, 4 MINUTES!

good luck everyone!!

btw i also had a HUGE AP Physics test today. i was freaking out about admissions yesterday so much that i wasnt even really able to study =,[

life will be so much better once the anxiety of waiting is over!
i find myself in school looking at the clock and counting down the hours. it's gotten pretty bad...

Posted by: Plan A on December 13, 2007

I've been waiting for Saturday for the last 5 years of my life. It's doubtful I'll get in, but... y'know... it's one of those hopes. But whatever the outcome, I'll have you know that I've had a ridiculous number of dreams this past week having to do with MIT.

First one (monday), I got flat out rejected. It was one of the most depressing dreams ever. Second one (tuesday), I got deferred. It was kind of sad, but expected. Then I got rejected at the regular decision and then I was pretty disconsolate. But then in the third one (last night) I got in EA and it was possibly the best dream ever.

Basically, all I'm saying is that MIT IS TAKING OVER MY LIFE I WANT TO SKIP FRIDAY

Posted by: Aaron on December 13, 2007

I'm gonna bake gingerbread men and bite off their limbs whilst you fellows worry.
But I am itching to find out.

Posted by: Relax on December 13, 2007

I got a 192/204 on my AP Chemistry Final. I am estatic. My teacher uses recycled questions from old AP Exams to make up his final. I am yet again the vertex of the grading curve in his class with an overall 101.2% in his class. Yeah for Chemistry! Oh and the 1.2% extra is only due to the fact that he offers extra credit for tutoring sessions.

Posted by: Jermaine on December 13, 2007

Oh well time to go back and review hybridization. That is the only topic that I missed on the exam. Horray for molecular geometries and e- domains.

Posted by: Jermaine on December 13, 2007

well I had my AP Calculus test today, couldnt focus because of this blog arrrhhh

Posted by: JOHN on December 13, 2007

i hate to say this, but no one really cares what your grade in chemistry is. i would think that the vast majority of MIT applicants are good at chemistry, you're not alone.

Posted by: 0 on December 13, 2007

@Will - I've done math projects in the science fair for the past couple of years. My first project was some research I did on multinomial coefficients, and my paper required all sorts of indices and subscripts - AND I DID IT IN WORD + EQUATION EDITOR. Boy, did it look horrible! So the next year, I researched more about typesetting math and came across LaTeX, which I've been enjoying ever since. I'm using MiKTeX and the TeXnicCenter editor, which is also pretty nice. And I use it for the same reason - I always prefer to just email a nice, tidy LaTeX PDF over to a person than try to use Word to explain my math, or even worse, handwriting (for me anyway).

I'd say that pure number theory is where my strongest interest lies, though I don't really have a preference yet as far as analytic vs. algebraic goes. And yes, I also definitely like the interplay between combinatorics and number theory - binomial coefficients (and their generalizations), recurrence sequences, generating functions, etc. are all pretty interesting. In fact, I've been considering a way of using WZ theory's awesome combinatorial power to shed some light on the number theory side of things.

Gah! Putnam problems are insane. I solved one on my own once - that was such a proud moment for me... haha.

You're also the first math person I've found. They're so many areas to choose from - what do you like to study? As far as math topics that I don't get along with, statistics and diff eqs probably top my list. Would you want to go into math as a career (that's my plan, at least for now)?

BTW, I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but I highly recommend Knuth’s Concrete Mathematics. This book is just another reason why he’s so awesome!

Posted by: Zev on December 13, 2007

@John

Why didn't you take the ACT. I found that I liked the format of the ACT much more appealling than the SAT. The ACT was actually administered in a classroom, our natural domain where we are used to taking exams.

Posted by: Jermaine on December 13, 2007

@Aaron...
In the beginning of the week, I had a dream that I got accepted to MIT early. Sweet. Only problem is that I had a dream the week before SAT scores that I got a 413 on one of the sections and I got much higher than that. The bummer is that I seem to dream in reverse psychology or something. Then, the night after the acceptance dream, I had two (Yes, TWO!!) dreams that I was deferred. Understandably, I don't know what to expect, especially since I haven't dreamt about denial yet...hope that doesn't mean anything...

Posted by: Ry on December 13, 2007

@Jermaine
You're SATs aren't offered in a classroom? I'm from a small town in PA so I guess I can't comprehend where else they would offer a test. Anyway, I'll agree to the ACT being a much easier test (at least with regards to its format [plus there's science!]). Good luck to everyone on Saturday (I know I'm counting down the seconds).

Posted by: Matt L. on December 13, 2007

@ Jermaine...
Freshman grades are considered. However, if you've made, as you say, "a tremendous improvement," they will definitely take that into account. I'm sure colleges - especially MIT, which focuses so much on the importance and joy of learning and improving - will greatly appreciate improvement.

@Plan A
Hehe, I was in the middle of my AP Physics Torque and Rotational Motion test - the one my teacher said would be the hardest test any of us have ever taken - and I just randomly started thinking about Saturday and this blogpost and wasted a few minutes until I d'''(position)ed my mind back into physics....The test actually wasn't that hard....dunno what he was talking about.....but oh well......

1 Day, 3 hours, 10 minutes, 25 seconds.......

Posted by: Rutu on December 13, 2007

Man we are a crazy bunch in these final hours...

Posted by: Eric on December 13, 2007

I would laugh so hard if hackers got into the EA online decision website and put something along the lines of:

"Did you get in? YES, NO, MAYBE SO!!"

[And then there would be a crazy moment of havoc before the real results (because we still want them) showed up.]

Not giving anyone ideas, of course.

Correction: I would PANIC in that crazy moment of havoc BEFORE laughing so hard...

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL!

PS
Dreams, ahhh -- reality + illusion ... = reallusion? (aka, dream)
I had two of them too, relating to MIT and EA, but am slightly afraid (*completely terrified*) to share them...

Again (how did this post get hella long?), BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE! EA and RA

PPS
Thursday, nearly over...

Posted by: Anon9 on December 13, 2007

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait for RESULTS!!!!!
At the same time, I don't want to know!!!
I swear, my parents will kill me if I don't get in...O_____O
and my sis is like...o.O i'll be waiting for you there (she's an undergrad freshmen there)....
AAAAAAAIIIIIIYYYYYYYYAAAAAA!!!!!!!
>____O
>___O
>__O
>_O
>.O
O>
oh snap...........

Posted by: Aleo on December 13, 2007

I recommend to everyone here who has not listened to the song Lateralus by Tool to take a listen. You can listen to it 243 times until 12 PM EST on Saturday hehe.

Posted by: Eric on December 13, 2007

Eric, does the 243 times include listening to it during school time or no?

Wow this chain of replies just keeps growin'...! =)

Posted by: Jing Jing on December 13, 2007

Wow, we are almost at 300 replies! Saturday, 11AM central time. Can't wait.

Posted by: Leko on December 13, 2007

I think I may wanna cry...

Posted by: Cynthia Li on December 13, 2007

Really anxious..........good luck to everyone that applied! And even if you don't get in, it's definitely not "the end of the world". There are plenty opportunities out there for everyone at any college.

Posted by: JP on December 13, 2007

1 day, 13 hours, 22 minutes, 40 seconds....

Posted by: Rutu on December 13, 2007

300!!!

Posted by: Anon9 on December 13, 2007

@Zev

I've done math science fairs, too. The last project I did (11th) was on finding an orthonormal basis for a function space over a Hilbert space whose unit sphere is parameterized by a set of functions in the function space. It may sound "omg wtf," but it was really pretty dinky in the end, methinks. (Don't you just LOVE the interplay between math and self-esteem? That's the problem with it: there's always more to know...) And not only that, but I hadn't seen the generalization of Fourier transforms to groups, so...there was already an adequately abstract version of what I was doing. So, oops. What, specifically, did you do on multinomial coefficients? (Use LaTeX liberally if req'd :D) I don't know much about binomial coefficients outside a few applications to analysis topics in a few spots... And, you lost me at WZ

explain!

Anyway, I haven't really decided on a definitive field yet for study. I like functional analysis--especially tranforms, and how they roll--but there's just so much in the form of prerequisites that it's hard to read straight through a text and get it all and its full implications. So, I'm still in a dabbling stage. One area I'd like to get more into is topology, though point-set is just so dry, it seems. And stats is pretty lame, but have you tried studying stochastic processes? It makes stats/diffeq really worthwhile in the end.

YOU SOLVED A PUTNAM ON YOUR LONESOME?! ((bows down to the chosen one)) I think usually I just look at them, and then...stop.

And I'm pretty much set on math as a career, or at least something very heavily math related. Either that, or maybe something involving linguistics and math. I dont knoooooow :(

And no, haven't heard of the book, but I'll go dig it up from somewhere, pronto.

Posted by: Will on December 13, 2007

SO CLOSE!!!!!!!

Posted by: cng on December 13, 2007

haha Eric. Tool is awesome... I saw them in concert and got hit by the high pressure water guns as they tried to subdue the rioting mob... not one of my better moments i must admit.

~Another Tool loving Eric, lets room together

Posted by: Eric2 on December 14, 2007

I apologize for this massive post, everyone - just focus on the fact that theres 35 hours left!

@Will

I'm pretty sure it was a fluke - I don't remember the problem exactly, but I do remember I had just learned some trick that helped, and even with that trick it took like 2 weeks of giving up and coming back to it. I guess it must have just been like the easiest one they ever made or something like that, because I definitely haven't come close to solving any others. I mean, I usually make plenty of dumb mistakes on the AIME, so as far as competition math goes, I'm not Putnam material

I enjoy the USAMTS the most out of all the competitions I've done - its proof-oriented, not just the answer, and you get to spend ACTUAL TIME on the problems.

For my project on multinomial coefficients, it was pretty straightforward (this was in 8th grade). It was just showing how all your basic b.c. identities could be generalized to m.c. identities, and that you could interpret m.c.s as being in a Pascal n-dimensional pyramid just like b.c.s are in Pascal’s triangle. That was also when I started looking into recurrence sequences, because you can find Fibonacci numbers along sums of certain diagonals of Pascal’s triangle, so I also showed you could get order n recurrence sequences along “diagonals” (i.e., hyperplanes) of Pascal n-D pyramids. So, nothing fancy, but it was a good starting point that got me interested in a lot of other stuff. (I came up with the idea for Pascal n-D pyramids entirely on my own, but then when I started researching I found out people had already thought of that. Bummer.)

And I agree with your comment about math and self-esteem – for each of my math projects, all of my friends in school were totally awestruck at all the symbols and drawings and stuff, but its hard to explain to the mathematically uninitiated that “this isn’t amazing at all, there’s so much more out there that’s way beyond this that I don’t even have a clue about”, you know what I mean? I liked your word choice with “dinky” – all of my work has been dinky so far, but it just looks and sounds complicated to the casual observer. Hopefully, I’m not a dilettante – I’d like to think I actually know SOMETHING, but I’m often not sure.

WZ theory is basically an automatic proof method for a very, very general class of statements – if you’ve got a sum of binomial coefficients, powers, factorials, etc., or any combinations (haha) of them, then the WZ method will find the closed form for the sum if there is one, and prove that its correct! I suppose a more technical term is “an indefinite summation algorithm for hypergeometric series”. So, my (very vague) idea is to say, “Let’s take every expression that occurs in a WZ-created identity mod p” or some other such thing. We know a lot of properties of binomial coefficients and powers mod p, so maybe this new statement is still interesting. That’s it at this point, I guess – haven’t made any actual progress past the concept stage yet.

On the AOPS classrooms and forums you can embed LaTeX right along with everything else, but I don’t know if that’s possible here.

Also, I also don’t know anything about function spaces or functional analysis, and have only the faintest grasp of the concept of a Fourier transform, so itd be great if you could explain what you can (I might not understand anyway though)

On one last final note to this monster post, I’ll add something else I’ve been researching in number theory for quite some time. I’ve been trying to generalize this, and related, statements:

(Wieferich 1909) If 2^(p-1) not= 1 mod p^2, then the prime p cannot be the exponent in a counterexample to the first case of Fermat’s Last Theorem.

To demonstrate the sheer awesomeness – try 7.
2^6 = 15 not= 1 mod 49
so we have just proved FLT for the exponent 7, based on Wieferich’s Criterion.

Posted by: Zev on December 14, 2007

300!!

(hmmm... someone's post must have been deleted??
I could have sworn that I hit 300 before...)

Posted by: Anon9 on December 14, 2007

am i like the only person who doesn't have finals til mid-january ish? lol

Posted by: marie on December 14, 2007

I have college finals tomorrow AND Saturday (starting at 1:00pm) in modern physics and calc III. Would you guys recommend that I check my decision before I go take my final, or after? I'm afraid that it may affect my performance either way.

Posted by: Chi F. on December 14, 2007

I'm going to go with my relief that I am exempt from finals, it means I don't have to worry about my mind being unfocused for some test lol
Oh, and...30 hours 28 minutes to go!

Posted by: Xaq on December 14, 2007

I don't have finals till then either Marie.

I'm in central Florida and in all the school board's infinite wisdom they've decided to give us one "review" day after we get back from break and then have exams the rest of that 1st week.

Kinda dumb.. but hey, it allows me to only have to stress about this!

28 hours 1 minute to go!

Posted by: Meghan on December 14, 2007

25 hrs. 56 min.
What else is there to say...........

Posted by: Brittany on December 14, 2007

AHH time needs to speed up! I'm going crazzyy.

Posted by: Derek S. on December 14, 2007

hi chi feng!

Posted by: anon on December 14, 2007

24:27:13

Posted by: White Tube on December 14, 2007

One can classify the pool of applicants as far as MIT(or any college or in life) goes as "Very bright", "Borderline", "others".
The levels for these classification defer from college to college.

Very bright students:
There is no luck needed for those to get into MIT who already have credentials that surpass MIT expectations. Luck is very much needed to hope these people come out of MIT with compassion, humble to others, become great visionaries, should make tons of money because you deserve it after you gone through MIT grinding, BUT willing to sacrifice for the best causes of Humanity, GOD already has given tremondous strength to you and guide the rest of the student types wherever you come across either in college, work or in life.

Borderline students:
You need lots of luck. Most of the people will fall under this category, given a chance, with hard work they can become very successful.

Rest of the people:
Admissions staff write feel good factors and that over generalizes things and make everyone to apply to MIT and unfortunately raises unrealistic expectations in them. One positive note about this section of the crowd is you are passionated to apply to MIT or any other premiere colleges, few can get in only if you come from a family background with lots of hardships, no resources, but not for the families that are with resources. But you can become very bright student joining other colleges and try for graduate degree @MIT or other top colleges if you keep your passion and burning desire.

Soceity needs all three types of student pool, and if all become great visionaries, who will do the front line work:-).

I feel younger when I read these blogs and inspires me to do my BEST.

Good luck and Best wishes to all in making best choices in life.

btw, I am a proud parent of one of the applicants who I think will fall under "borderline" category.

Posted by: visakh on December 14, 2007

23 hours 53 minutes!!!! Best of Luck! I really hope I get in!

Posted by: MIT hopeful 2012 on December 14, 2007

Let go and let God!

Posted by: @JJ on December 14, 2007

23:01:28

Posted by: White Tube on December 14, 2007

I don't have Finals 'till March! (and we only have 1 final exam every year!) =D

Posted by: Jing Jing on December 14, 2007

My school has finals the week after we get back from Christmas vacation.

Posted by: Stephanie on December 14, 2007

@Visakh:

I completely disagree with your first classification of "very bright" students. The way my EC explained it to me was: There are two things that need to happen in order to be granted admission to MIT. First, you need to be qualified. This includes test scores, activities, GPA, essay, etc. Second, you need to win the lottery. He explained to me that about 60% of applicants are qualified, but, as you probably know, only about 12% will be granted admissions, because of space limitations.

For most of us who apply, the hard part, the part we can't control, is winning the lottery.

Posted by: Marc on December 14, 2007

We don't have exams until mid-January, but I qualify for senior exemptions. Basically, I don't take finals and get to miss a week of school.

Posted by: Taylor on December 14, 2007

Less than a day!!! So EXCITIING!!

Posted by: Travis on December 14, 2007

@ Meghan

I'm in Central Florida too! And extremely bitter about the mid-January date for finals. Not that I don't want homework over Christmas break...ha.

less than 20 hours!

Posted by: Rachel on December 14, 2007

I applied rd but iim studyign real hard for my SAT Biology

Posted by: JOHN on December 14, 2007

Just Best of Luck to everyone.
MIT is a dream, the dream for all of us.
I believe in you, I believe in myself.

To those of you hwo believes, I will meet you at MIT.

Posted by: Stephy on December 14, 2007

aq;ksljdfa;ksldjfhlkajsdf

the end.

Posted by: anonymous on December 14, 2007

chill

Posted by: 0 on December 14, 2007

Many of my friends got into Penn, Duke, etc. I'm so nervous.

Posted by: Meng! on December 14, 2007

I'm so nervous...I just found out that of my two good friends that applied ED to Yale, 1 got in and 1 got deferred.

At least I know that no matter which decision I see tomorrow, I'll have someone to celebrate and/or mourn with!

Posted by: Liz on December 14, 2007

18 hours 10 minutes

Posted by: Matt F on December 14, 2007

I know how all of you are exactly feeling right now...I applied Early too last year and now I'm a freshman at MIT. The suspense almost killed me last year...AHHH! But when you open the e-mail, don't quickly scan for a "congratulations!" and be let down when you don't see one because the last year's letter didn't even say congrats. So read carefully before jumping to conclusions! Oh, and for those who don't like to check your status online, the acceptance tube actually comes in the mail the same day...so you can try checking your mailbox first!

I wish all of you guys good luck!! And I look forward to meeting you guys next year!!

Posted by: Cora on December 14, 2007

This is probably something that you've all seen before, but it seems appropriate to the circumstances today.

http://members.tripod.com/~TechBabe/places.html

Good luck to you all.

Posted by: MIT'11Dad on December 14, 2007

sixteen hours, 40 minutes! ahhhhhhhhh this is killer

and thank you Cora! that was very helpful =]

Posted by: Plan A on December 14, 2007

@ Rachel
I'm beginning to think that homework is the bane of my existence. Life would be so much more interesting without it! But I suppose if I DO get in to MIT (Or any even half way decent college, really).. I'm going to have to start looking at it more positively.

However, yay for Florida and 80 degree weather.

I @ Rachel
I'm beginning to think that homework is the bane of my existence. Life would be so much more interesting without it! But I suppose if I DO get in to MIT (Or any even half way decent college, really).. I'm going to have to start looking at it more positively.

However, yay for Florida and 80 degree weather.

I <3 MIT.. and I hope all of us on here get in, even though I know that's not very likely. I wish everybody the best of luck.

Posted by: Meghan on December 14, 2007

love MIT.. and I hope all of us on here get in, even though I know that's not very likely. I wish everybody the best of luck.

(Sorry for double post, it cut me off for some reason the 1st time..)

Posted by: Meghan on December 14, 2007

16 hours, 22 minutes, 45 seconds........

On that note, I want to take a poll/opinion/thingy....If we get in/deferred/refused, should we come celebrate/bemoan/cry here, or should we not, to be considerate of others who haven't been as fortunate/normal-luck/unfortunate? I mean, I have no problem with people celebrating their entrance around me even if I don't get in, but I just want to make sure about everyone.......thankies ^__^.

Posted by: Rutu on December 14, 2007

@ Matt L.
No my SAT was in a big multi-purpose room. It was Saturday and there was no heater. It was soo cold I couldn't concentrate.

Posted by: Jermaine on December 14, 2007

Good luck prefroshies, If you get deferred as I did. Don't sweat it. Just send in a supersweet appeal to Ben Jones showing how you really are that awesome. Otherwise good luck to everyone. And may my birthday present tomorrow be your acceptance to my school.

Seriously, best wishes to everyone and happy holidays.
-KMAX

Posted by: Kevin R. MIT '11 on December 14, 2007

omg guys!!.... its just a matter of hours until we get our decisions!!

Posted by: 0 on December 14, 2007

15 hr 40 min to be exact

Posted by: 0 on December 14, 2007

I live in South Florida and I have finals the 2nd week we get back. I'm not really worried because under the Broward County school system you can get a C on the final and keep your A in the class. But we still have the first week to turn in assignments we've been doing over the break, which will be a lot.

Posted by: L on December 14, 2007

Why must time pass by so slowly?

Posted by: José C on December 14, 2007

To all of you:
Having seen how this worked last year, I'd like to say that if for some reason you are deferred, do not give up hope. Last year, my daughter was the only student at her high-powered Silicon Valley high school to be accepted by MIT. Many of her friends applied to MIT and were deferred and eventually rejected. Two of them are now quite happy at Harvard, and others are quite happy at places like Princeton, Berkeley, Yale, Penn, Cornell, Duke, and the University of Chicago, etc. An earlier poster --Mark, I think-- pointed out that some of this was like a lottery. That's true. For those of you who don't receive the news you want tomorrow, please try to keep this perspective. It won't be easy, I admit. I'd also advise parents to keep this perspective.
Best of luck and good wishes to all.

Posted by: MIT Parent on December 14, 2007

Man, everytime I even glance at this post on the front page, my heart starts racing.

Posted by: Natasha on December 14, 2007

13 hours, five minutes left.

I'm worried that a suspension for a stupid mistake might keep me out of MIT period. Just how much would that be a factor anyway?

Posted by: J'aime les Hawaiennes on December 14, 2007

dear santa claus of mit,

i would like (..actually love!) to have a tube with a memorable, precious letter inside. i think i have been a good enough girl this year, so please do not give me coals. If santa is too busy with the other presents, I would not mind patiently waiting for it to come 3 months later in a different packaging. thank you!

Yours Sincerely,
hopeful applicant for 2012.

=^__^= so excited...

Posted by: hopeful on December 14, 2007

I have a new theory:

As the time remaining for MIT responses approaches 0(13.5 hours to go), the coherence of posts in this forum also approaches 0.

1. "This is indubitably going to be the most stressful week of my high school career" (5 days to go)

2. "aq;ksljdfa;ksldjfhlkajsdf

the end." (16 hours to go)

Posted by: 0 on December 14, 2007

Both U. Chicago and Stanford announced decisions a day earlier than planned. Apparently not MIT though. 3 people from my school applied to Chicago and they all got in; 1 got into Yale; and 1 got into Stanford. I'd hate to be the only one who didn't get my first choice.

Posted by: L on December 14, 2007

For every person that gets their first choice, someone doesn't... or maybe 10 people dont...

Posted by: A'non Imus on December 14, 2007

So...does anyone else have a school with the senior exemption policy? Seniors (and Juniors at our school, now :( ) can get an exemption from all semester tests? Or is my school just a special case?

Posted by: Xaq on December 14, 2007

12 hours 47 min. not counting them posting early!!
AH

i hope they like me for being young.

Posted by: 0 on December 14, 2007

xaq, seniors at my school get exemption from exams for 2nd semester, but not 1st lol

Posted by: marie on December 14, 2007

Well, this is it. Down to the last hours. I'll probably be freaking out even more as The Time approaches, so before I go completely out of my mind, I'd like to wish everyone good night and good luck. Win, lose, or deferred, we all gave it our best EA shot, and there's plenty of other schools that are almost as awesome as MIT. And consider: you can still come to MIT for grad school!

Posted by: Zev on December 14, 2007

thank you god.

Posted by: 0 on December 14, 2007

On a side note, I need a senior quote for my yearbook and I'd like to go with something nerdy, but funny... in an intelligent-funny way. Any ideas?

Posted by: 0 on December 14, 2007

For some reason I'm holding out hope that by some fluke decisions will be released in 3 minutes instead of 12 hours and 3 minutes...

Posted by: 0 on December 14, 2007

I just finished reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (awesome book! hilarious!), which is what gave me the idea to capitalize "The Time" the way I did.

Posted by: Zev on December 14, 2007

sorry, I'm a n00b: Why does everyone refer to "tubes"? Are they really tubes? Or just envelopes?

Posted by: archimedes on December 14, 2007

yeah, really tubes. or so i've been told.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Where else have other MIT '12 hopefuls applied this year? I heard from UChicago yesterday, but MIT is my number 1.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

like tubes for pills? or what

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

a tube like this one:

http://snively.blogspot.com/2006/12/tube.html

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Just noticed I had the last post on December 14. Or at least for east-coasters. It's Friday here so decisions still come tomorrow technically speaking.

Posted by: archimedes on December 15, 2007

@ Anonymous:
"You empty the tube out and it's like a small party!"
Classic.
Thanks!

Posted by: archimedes on December 15, 2007

so, archimedes... i answered your tube question. any thoughts on a nerdy-funny senior quote?

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

@ archimedes

thanks for asking what the tube look like because until you asked i had some fanciful tube like structure floating in my mind and when you said "like a tube for pills" i realized that not all tubes are like the fanciful ones in my mind, so i had to google it to find out what it really looke like. i'm glad to know that they're closer to fanciful with their confetti contents and such than that pill-like tube...

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Barats and Bereta's "Maxwell Dorian Valedictorian" video has some great lines. Look here:
baratsandbereta.com->Videos
I chose a quote from "The Office," but that's just me.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

I hope everyone and myself the best of luck!!!

Posted by: Cynthia Li on December 15, 2007

Ah Yes! The tubes! If you get in Early, you get a nice tube sent to your front step.I remember my rival got one of those tubes yesteryear. That conniving treacherous fool! HOW DARE HE GET IN EARLY, WHILST I WAS DEFERRED AND THEN REJECTED! Ooh, how I loathe that Kelvin, so self-confident and showy. Why did he get in, and not I?! WHY?!!

But it matters not. Watch your back MIT Admissions. I shall have my revenge. With my new friends at Caltech, who almost know what they're doing, I shall crush any hopes of a future for MIT. At last you shall feel my pent up wrath...in the form of my stereotypical doomsday device: The [CLEARANCE REQUIRED] 3000!

------------------------------

Dear MIT prospectives. Could you please fix the above letter for me? I'm not a very good writer. In fact, my only skill seems to be setting elaborate ways to take over the world, most of which focus on first exacting my revenge on MIT Admissions.

Posted by: I. R. Evil. on December 15, 2007

11 hours, 32 minutes and 29 seconds!

Posted by: Cynthia Li on December 15, 2007

@ other anonymous

Thanks for posting the info about Maxwell Dorion valedictorian. Lot of nerdiness there, but I'm not sure any of it's senior quote material. I enjoyed it nonetheless. What "Office" quote did you end up going with?

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

11 hours, 18 min!!!

i should just go to sleep so the time would go by faster.

Posted by: Amanda on December 15, 2007

11 hours, 17 min!!!

i should just go to sleep so the time would go by faster.

Posted by: Amanda on December 15, 2007

So, apparently, my friend thought my other letter was in bad taste. To make up for it, how about this somewhat more comforting letter:

2012 is MIT's most competitive year, in terms of admissions. 2011 was in its time, but there has been a trend of increasing competitiveness (which will probably peak sometime soon) over the last few years. There are three possibilities of what will happen to you:

1: You get in Early!
Awesome! You got a way-cool tube! Um, I really don't need to say more except: start planning to come to CPW! (more on that later). MIT is such an awesome place...and you'll get a much better education than you would get from say, that other place down the street, or that pesky other "institution" over in Pasadena.

2: You got Deferred
This is your chance to make your application even more awesome than ever! I'm surrounded (dorm-wise) by people who are exceptionally well qualified (i.e. make me wonder how I got in), who were deferred and were accepted through regular decision. Most people at MIT get in through Regular Decision, and trust me -- they are all uber-awesome.

3: You go north
You get pwnd by a grue.

(sorry, the xkcd reference was mandatory. http://xkcd.com/91/ ).

------------------------------------

And no, we're not crazy here at MIT. It's just finals week next week, and we'll do anything we can to punt (not study).

Posted by: I. B. Good on December 15, 2007

@ Amanda

I went to bed at 5:00 PM hoping I wouldn't wake up til after 12 PM today... well, clearly that didn't work. I'm not sure what I was thinking because now not only do I have over 11 hours to wait but sleep definitely isn't happening tonight.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

@ U.R. Evil

Perhaps you could exact revenge on Admissions by hacking into their system and releasing decision RIGHT NOW!

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

@ U.R. Evil

Perhaps you could exact revenge on Admissions by hacking into their system and releasing decisions RIGHT NOW!

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

@Xaq: Our school has a finals exempt policy as well. You don't have to take 1st semester finals if you have a 4.0. The IB teachers get around it by giving us "Semester Units Review Exams" the week before finals days. Ooh, sneaky. As though we wouldn't notice they were just cleverly renamed semester finals.

Good luck tomorrow (or today, depending on where you are) with the admissions decisions, everyone!

Posted by: phycodorus eques on December 15, 2007

11 hours (OMG LESS THAN HALF A DAY!!!!!), 3 minutes, 45 seconds.......

Posted by: Rutu on December 15, 2007

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I can't keep myself occupied for 11 more hours!!!!!!!!

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

11 HOURS EXACTLY!

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Anonymous who asked about my quote (I can't keep track of who's who):
"It's gotta rhyme with piece. Fancy Feast! Break me off a piece of that Fancy Feast. Cat food. Nailed it."
by Andy Bernard: "Local Ad" episode
So basically, if you're ever wrong about something, just go through with it and act cool instead of acting lame. Maybe someone will be comforted by the humor.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Gah! Now I'm anonymous! That long quote above is me! ^^^

Posted by: archimedes on December 15, 2007

@ Archimedes. For the record, I the anonymous person you're referring to will not take up the name SpyroGyra.

I'll consider that quote...

I was thinking more something along the lines of Feynman's "Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it," but "appropriate".

Posted by: SpyroGyra on December 15, 2007

The best cure for anxiety is to exhaust yourself the night before, then sleep past noon.

Posted by: Zyloch on December 15, 2007

Good luck everybody!!! It's getting so close!

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

The best cure for anxiety is to exhaust yourself the night before, then sleep past noon. And I would like to suggest an interim screen for next time, so we can park ourselves on the page without fearing a freak early release and subsequent heart attack

Posted by: Zyloch on December 15, 2007

Oops, sorry for the double post. I blame Noscript!

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

@ Zyloch

As you may have read already, I made the mistake of thinking I could sleep 17 hours from 5 PM yesterday til past noon today...

Since it's a bit late to utilize your advice, any other suggestions? Anyone?

Posted by: SpyroGyra on December 15, 2007

@ SpyroGyra

Nope, you're screwed =P. You could pass the time by listening to some of my music!

My guess is that you probably won't sleep at all tonight, haha. Good luck trying anyway.

And good luck to everyone else tomorrow at noon!

Posted by: Danny ('12?) on December 15, 2007

@SpyroGyra

Ouch, I have had that problem several times. It seems like your circadian sleep cycle has fallen on a bad day.

Before I reap the fruits of my labor (staying up so late), you should try the usual outlets: Youtube, Facebook, Wikipedia, and games. In particular, I have found Bubble Trouble, Rush Hour, N-game, and Slime Volleyball to be good diversions, or you can always try the Kitten Cannon game (I'm sure you know most of these already!)

Anyway, do something fun!

Posted by: Zyloch on December 15, 2007

OMG KITTEN CANNON!!!!!! We used to play that all during Comp Sci last year hahahahahahaha. Amazingly we all got 5s! heh

Posted by: A'non Imus on December 15, 2007

10 HOURS!

Posted by: Harrangatang on December 15, 2007

@SpyroGyra

A really good time waster is Funny Farm: http://shygypsy.com/farm/p.cgi

If you can finish it before replies come out, I think your intelligence will transcend any MIT decision and change it to accepted

Good luck everyone! Only 10 more hours of sweating left...

Posted by: Harrangatang on December 15, 2007

@A'non Imus

It's a great game

Anyway, I guess we can tell what sort of people we'll be if we get into MIT

Posted by: Zyloch on December 15, 2007

Staying up so late, I mean!

Posted by: Zyloch on December 15, 2007

Staying up late? Of course! I'm on the everyman sleep schedule. Trying to wean off of it to be more alert for finals, but yes, other than that, it appears to most people that I just don't sleep

.

Posted by: Michael McCanna on December 15, 2007

I don't know if I should be saying this, but I fell asleep during an English final once. Other than that, we are quite mystical to anyone who does sleep. Then again, they shock us as well. I know someone who goes to sleep at 9:30 every night!

Posted by: Zyloch on December 15, 2007

I actually had a curfew (sleeping too!) at 10 pm when I was in high school (much to my frustration).

Now my life is so different. That's one of the great things about college in general (assuming you don't still live at home).

I LOVE MIT!

Posted by: Michael McCanna on December 15, 2007

@ Danny

I really enjoy your music! A LOT! Love it, in fact.

Oh, and you couldn't be more right about me being screwed. I've been practically stalking this blog for 3 hours.

Posted by: SpyroGyra on December 15, 2007

@ Zyloch

Oh my goodness! You reminded me of all the time-passing tactics that I used back in middle school during a study hour (minus facebook because I didn't have one back in the day...) But slime volleyball! I'd totally forgotten about that.

Posted by: SpyroGyra on December 15, 2007

less than 9 hours. time to sleep. and when i wake up....

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Wow, Funny Farm is putting me through the wringer. Only have 6 open blocks so far, and I'm addicted. I'll either be playing that or sleeping. I wish you the best of luck SpyroGyra, and everyone else too. Michael, good luck on your finals.

Posted by: Zyloch on December 15, 2007

We hope you've enjoyed your stay
Outside the Sun is shining
Seems like Heaven ain't far away

It's good to have you with us
Even if it's just for the day.

-the killers, who, ironically, have been keeping me alive the past few hours.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Hey all, I applied RD and not EA. But, I'm excited for y'all, and all the best!

Posted by: Sid on December 15, 2007

BUBBLE TROUBLE!!! I thought no one else knew about that game! (You do mean the Ambrosia Software game, right? Right??) That made my day right there. ^_^

When RD comes (it's on Pi Day, isn't it?), I'll probably be staying up late coding some elaborate app to make my computer make loud noises when the decision is released and then automatically display the decision letter.

...

DUDE, I am so totally gonna make that! =D

Posted by: asm on December 15, 2007

Weird, I didn't realize that that many posts had been posted since the Bubble Trouble post I was referring to...

In my previous post, I was referring to Zyloch's post like 15 posts before. Maybe it's just me, but I could've sworn it was only three or four posts back when I was posting it.

Posted by: asm on December 15, 2007

guys...everyone log in here...the prospective MIT'12 chat.......
whitehatdesign.com/chat

spread the word; choose a screen name and there u go....

Posted by: anion on December 15, 2007

this will make it simpler..
http://whitehatdesign.com/chat/

Posted by: anion on December 15, 2007

4 hours

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

3 hours...

Posted by: Plan b on December 15, 2007

Went to bed at 2:30 last night with the hopes of sleeping past noon. Instead.. I wake up at 9:04 in the morning. :(. On the one day that I actually WANT to oversleep, I wake up early.

Guess staying up late didn't work out so well for me, hope it goes better for ya'll.

Now off to the gym to tame my angst.

Posted by: Meghan on December 15, 2007

2 hours, 16 minutes....

Posted by: Laser on December 15, 2007

Meghan, I also went to sleep at 2:30, with hopes of sleeping late. And I also woke up too early -- 7:30. I went back to sleep, but couldn't sleep past 9:00. :(

Only a couple more hours!

Posted by: Doris on December 15, 2007

@phycodorus eques
Our school has it a little easier than that, lol. Seniors (and juniors...argh) get out of any semester test if they have an A in the class for that semester, and seniors get out of semesters if they meet or exceed on said subject in the PSAE (ACT stuff). If you meet or exceed in all subjects (math, science, reading comprehension, and english) you are automatically exempt from all semesters all year. Good stuff, eh? lol

Posted by: Xaq on December 15, 2007

2 hours guys!

Posted by: Xaq on December 15, 2007

HOLY.

Major
Interim
Torture

But we all love it anyway. *sigh*
~2 hours?

Posted by: Shubhster on December 15, 2007

I did exactly what Doris did. And it didn't work for me, either! Plus, I had a handful of dreams about my decision ranging from acceptance to The Unspeakable :[

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

To Meghan and Rachel,

I'm in central FL too

Posted by: Shamarah on December 15, 2007

GAAAHH!! It's so close, but so far away!!

Posted by: Travis on December 15, 2007

Agh!!!! Just a meager 1.5 hours remaining! I'm so stressed/excited/terrified right now

Posted by: Harrangatang on December 15, 2007

Each time that I confirm that I'm able to log in, I wonder if there will be some strange glitch that ends up displaying my admission status.

No luck yet. =P

Posted by: … on December 15, 2007

Gah, I woke up too early too.........sigh..........*deep breaths*

ONE hour, SEVENTEEN minutes, THIRTY seconds.........

Posted by: Rutu on December 15, 2007

an hour...and seventeen minutes....

well, funny farm will keep me distracted that long. possibly longer. (one more window to open!)

mm. my teacher have the option of letting seniors out for 2nd semester exams if they have an A. the nice ones do, but some make you take it regardless.

A note to the MIT gods: PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE SEND ME A TUBE!! (and I'll love you forever)

Posted by: Rachel on December 15, 2007

this is going to be the longest 1 hour and 45 minutes!!

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

1 Hour O.O Stressful lol

Posted by: Karl on December 15, 2007

Now we wait…
Wait through passing minutes,
Passing seconds…
And wonder why the Gods made time so slow.
But as we wander and meander
Onto the page of holy decisions,
Words there are that I must say:

To all those demigods
Enthroned in Admissions,
A golden thank you
From the center of the heart.
Thou, who have seen
Our lives in words,
Thou, who have spent sleepless nights
Delving into our souls,
Thou, who gave up three fortnights and more
To brighten mid-December for a gaggle of hopes,
To thee I bow forever and more.
Thank you…

To those like me,
Enthroned in Hopes,
Good fortune to all,
May every hope come true.
Till time of truth doth come
And we gather to rejoice and rue,
I count 60 minutes
And bid thee all adieu.

Posted by: Rutu on December 15, 2007

57 minutes!!!!

Posted by: Cynthia on December 15, 2007

57 minutes!!!!

Posted by: Cynthia on December 15, 2007

Why can't time go faster?????

Posted by: Anonymous on December 15, 2007

Wow, I'm gonna go insane! 53 minutes!

Posted by: Xaq on December 15, 2007

44 minutes!

Posted by: Stephanie on December 15, 2007

Less than an hour! *flail!*

This would be a really great time to write acceptance/rejection switch statement...

And yes, Matt F, I take a C# class. The universities in my state told my school not to teach us Java. Even though...basically all my other friends who take comp. sci in my state tell me they're learning Java. ???
Does anyone here play the Game with the fifteen minute grace period? We did at my Humanities camp, but we don't at my Math-Technology school.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

everyone come over....it's heating up!

http://whitehatdesign.com/chat/

16 applicants online as of now...

Posted by: anion on December 15, 2007

20 minutes.... good luck everyone!

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

omgggggggg!!!!!!
18 minutes!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Lizz on December 15, 2007

come join the insanity at http://whitehatdesign.com/chat/

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

15 minutes.
Anyone else feel like vomiting?

Posted by: David on December 15, 2007

its probably only 5!!! they post them a little early

Posted by: anon on December 15, 2007

Heh...funny that as soon as I become anxious for this decision, it begins snowing. Is this some prognostication that maybe I DID get it?

XD

Posted by: DetroitMan on December 15, 2007

the link to the chat isnt working

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

aaaahhhhhhhh i cant wait. butterflies are flying in my stomach....

*is very excited*

Posted by: platypus01 on December 15, 2007

get in* s

Posted by: DetroitMan on December 15, 2007

RA applicant here, but super luck to you all! I thought I'd drop by and see how people were doing during the wait

Only 12 minutes to go :o

And that person (people?) posting the chat link is/are really starting to bug me D:

Posted by: SI on December 15, 2007

10 minutes!!!!!!

Posted by: Xaq on December 15, 2007

TEN MORE MINUTES!!!!!

Posted by: Lizz on December 15, 2007

Wow...this is the worst part, waiting, less than ten minutes to go until we found out what happened...agh!

Posted by: Xaq on December 15, 2007

10 minutes guys!!!!

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

its up... OMG

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

so close....

Posted by: ase on December 15, 2007

decisions are out already....

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

deferred... what a great christmas

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

deferred

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Haha...guess not.

Posted by: DetroitMan on December 15, 2007

deferred.... :(

Posted by: platypus01 on December 15, 2007

deferred -- time to play the waiting game yet again.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

I GOT IN!!!!! I GOT IN!!!!!
omg i think im gonna hyperventilate!!!!

Posted by: Lizz on December 15, 2007

deffered

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

:(

Posted by: Anonymous on December 15, 2007

Deferred... :(

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

so if it does not say anything, does that mean you were deferred?

Posted by: anonymous on December 15, 2007

Congratulations, Lizz.

I was deferred. At least this puts the waiting off until March. Phew... It's not a positive result, but it's still a relieving one.

Posted by: Patrick D. on December 15, 2007

deferred here too and by CalTech. Woo hoo. :(

Posted by: Jennifer on December 15, 2007

I guess I'm joining the masses with my deferral

Posted by: Rachael on December 15, 2007

deferred.... :(

Posted by: cynthia on December 15, 2007

Congrats Lizz! Awesome you got in.

I got deferred, but I feel indifferent; there's always March for us deferrees to wait and see if MIT will do us up righteously. If they do, well, that's fantastic. If they don't, ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on.

Posted by: Coby H. on December 15, 2007

Deferred; and I thought being from Mississippi would give me an edge.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Accepted from PR!!!!!!! YES!

Posted by: Pedro F on December 15, 2007

INNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMGOMGOMG!

Congrats Lizz and Pedro!!

And BEST OF LUCK to everyone else ^__^.

Posted by: Rutu on December 15, 2007

Deferred. I feel let down, but not as bad as I'd feel if I were rejected. I still feel that I have a really good chance of getting in for the March notices.

Posted by: Evan on December 15, 2007

I am the Dad of a California high school senior who was "deferred". First of all, congratulations to all who were accepted, and also to those who were deferred.

Can anyone assist me with some further information on what this means, any statistics, new dates to worry over, etc.

Thank you very much,

A Dad

Posted by: Dad on December 15, 2007

so did they post decisions early? I checked at about 9:02 here in the West, but it looks like at 8:50 (again, my time) they were up.

Posted by: archimedes on December 15, 2007

deferred =[

Posted by: Carmen on December 15, 2007

I'm in! Woohoo! :-D *Very Happy!*

IRT the Dad two posts up:
http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/admissions_statistics/index.shtml
Admissions Statistics
For the class entering in the fall of 2007

Freshman Applications 12,445
Freshman Admits 1,553
Percentage Admitted 12.5%
Early action
Applicants 3,493
Admitted 390
Deferred to regular action 2,638
Deferred applicants admitted during regular action 289
Regular action applicants 8,952
Total considered during regular action (including deferred students) 11,590
Admitted (including deferred students) 1,163
Number of applicants waitlisted 499
Number admitted from waitlist 20

So it's basically a second shot at getting in, and he/she can add stuff to his/her application. Good luck to him/her!

Posted by: Neil on December 15, 2007

I just got accepted by Caltech: because not everyone can go to MIT.

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Neil - thank you for the statistics

(and congratulations)

Posted by: A Dad on December 15, 2007

Anyone else from Westmont high school accepted? Congrats to all who were accepted, and the best of luck to all those who were deferred; hey, there still are the regular decision admissions.

Posted by: Unidentfied Westmont Student on December 15, 2007

deferred...just another waiting period...

Posted by: 0 on December 15, 2007

Deferred... looks like so far the subset of the people who post on this board are fitting the global EA demographic...

Posted by: Harrangatang on December 15, 2007

Deferred... well, its definitely better than denied.
I need to wait until March... its sooo long

Posted by: ty on December 15, 2007

Hey Beavers. You still respect Techers right? My Calc teacher was from CalTech and he says that he mentioned that in his evaluation. Please do not tell me that this will weaken my application.

Posted by: Jermaine on December 16, 2007

deferred...

Posted by: ... on December 16, 2007

Deferred from Stanford...Congrats to all of you who are accepted, and deferred as well, now you at least have a better chance of acceptance than the regular candidates.

Posted by: Alperen on December 16, 2007

@Xaq

Lucky you. If standardized test scores could get me out of finals, I would be so happy.
Did you get in?

Posted by: phycodorus eques on December 16, 2007

MIT Admissions

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ben Jones

Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)

Add a comment