Followup To Mailing Disaster by Ben Jones
Answers to your questions from my last post, regarding the recent mailing of EA decisions.
Hi everyone. I’m so exhausted so this is going to be quick, but I want to thank all of you who had my back today and who wrote in with supportive comments. You guys got me through today – I seriously don’t know what I would have done without you. This situation sucked for all of us, and you’ve been amazing through the whole thing.
I’ve read every single one of your comments, and I can’t answer every question right now, but here are the most popular ones:
What’s the deal with calling on Thursday?
We have organized the office to be able to start taking phone calls tomorrow (Thursday, 12/15/05) instead of beginning on Friday (as originally planned). I think you can call next week as well. The number to call is 617-253-4791. We will be able to take calls from 9AM until 4PM EST. Please be aware that there might be some serious hold times. We will all be taking calls – but there are still a lot of you and only a few of us.
Can my parents call?
Usually the answer to this is no. Under the circumstances, we are making an exception. Yes, your parents can call Thursday or Friday, however they will be asked for very specific information about you to make sure they really are your parents. We take privacy very seriously at MIT.
If I haven’t gotten a tube yet, should I assume that I have been rejected or deferred?
NO. I almost hate to post this, because I don’t want to add false hope to what is already an agonizing wait, but you deserve to know this. I confirmed as of this evening (Wednesday) that admits in at least 2 different states (probably more) have not received their tubes. Please don’t ask me to identify the states; I wouldn’t feel right doing so without knowing *all* the states that are still owed tubes.
If I’ve been deferred, what is the deadline to send in supplemental materials?
Get things in by the end of January and they will be seen by your readers. Committee starts in February.
If I was missing a teacher rec would I automatically be deferred?
Not necessarily if there was enough in the application with which to evaluate you. The MyMIT app tracking portlet isn’t exactly timely during peak periods, so even if something seemed to update after “it was too late” it likely got to us in time.
Is there really any hope of being selected RA if I’ve been deferred?
I can think of some EA applicants right now who will absolutely get in RA. So to answer your question: YES! :-)
You are MIT, arguably the greatest technology school in the world! So WHY don’t you release decisions online?
Argh. I’ve been avoiding this question for months, but you deserve an answer, so I will give you one.
As you can hopefully tell from your experience with us, we make this process a very personal one (our application, the blogs, the accessibility of the admissions officers, etc.). We try to connect with you on an individual level as much as possible. Marilee feels that delivering a decision via email is too impersonal, and I wholeheartedly agree with her. Many of you have commented that “most other schools do it this way.” I don’t need to tell you that MIT is very different from all other schools.
A second issue is privacy. We hear horror stories from “those other schools” where people fake email addresses or hack into friends’ accounts. Marilee is very protective of applicants’ privacy, and I agree with her on that point as well. Your decision should be personal. No one else should ever have access to it.
Does this mean that MIT will never release decisions online? Absolutely not. When we begin doing so, we will be releasing decisions inside your MyMIT account. Since this account is directly tied to the actual application you submitted when you applied, it would be darn near impossible to fake. And it would allow us to deliver the decision in a much more human way. (Frankly, email is just not very human.)
Straight up – we are indeed trying to ready MyMIT to release decisions online for RA. I have no idea whether the backend will be ready by March. The tech folks have about a million things on their plates, but this is a top priority. When I get the official word either way, you guys will be the first to know.
I HATE THE USPS!!!
To be fair, it was not their fault. This was an internal problem with MIT Mail Services.
What else can you tell us?
Not much, I’m off to bed. But Marilee has a new post for you. Thanks again my friends.
I was a little too shocked and dejected to add my two cents yesterday, but I just wanted to say that I think all of you at MIT Admissions have handled the situation admirably and that you deserve mad props for it. I think someone else mentioned this earlier, but decisions weren’t scheduled to come out until today anyway, and Yale’s actually not releasing decisions until tomorrow evening. You guys deserve a lot of credit for getting them out early and for dealing with this situation in the best possible manner. =)
I called MIT this morning – they are open. Good luck to you all.
Most unfortunately, my application was denied outright. I lost this fight. I’ll live to fight another.
Congratulations to the accept
Deferred! Whew, at least it isn’t rejection… I called at 9 on the dot
! Of course, the phone system wasn’t turned on until 9:20 so Ben probably got about 10 missed calls from me alone! When/If I get my deferral letter, I’ll scan it and put it online for everyone to ogle at, well, those accepted at least.
I’m sry alexandre!
does your MyMIT acct. really close if you are denied? oh please no…no no no non no
i’m not going to call unless there isn’t anything in my mail box today
I’m constantly amazed to see how much you, Matt, Nance, and the other admissions officers care about applicants. The hours and energy you put into considering our applications and checking up on us…all I can say is wow.
Oh, and even though I was very nervous waiting for my decision, I am not angry about the mail mixup. Things do accidentally happen, and I’m just so grateful to you and the admissions committee for doing everything you can to find out what was wrong.
Congratulations to all admits! For me, I have another three months of anticipation…
9 am, eh? I must say, I feel worse for the people answering the phones than for myself. Anyway, I will be speaking to one of you guys tomorrow.
Hang in there everybody.
I was deferred, and now I’m all stressed out over finals like the rest of my class.
Enjoy your time in high school! No matter how bad it is now, you’ll miss it later!
Hey, I just wanted to thank you guys at MIT for all the hard work you have done, to help correct a problem that wasn’t even your fault.
Muchos gracias
T
It’s good that the phones will be up tomorrow. Anyway, my suggestion to everyone is to go out to the gas station and buy some sort of treat to eat. Enjoy your treat whether you’re accepted, deferred, or denied. It may only relieve your stress for a couple of minutes, but I can personally testify that it’s a good idea.
what are you thanking us for!??? after all you’ve done for us????
NO! THANK YOU!!!!!
You are amazing… hmm… yay for CA I get the call when the rest of you are already at school.
woohoo!
I’ve already got that number programmed into my cell to call during lunch. I’m excited! :-D
Can you get someone to record themselves telling math jokes and then play those jokes when we’re on hold? A good math joke’s a great way to pass the time.
Thank you for taking the time to post these updates and for the effort to make decisions available by phone.
How can Newton die a virgin if he was the father of calculus?
(I’m spending way too much time stalking blogs)
Oh gosh… I can call at 6am. Do I really want to?
I also wanted to say a big thanks to Ben and all the admissions staff for just keeping us updated. I can’t even begin to describe how anxious I would be getting if I hadn’t known that there are other people in the same boat as me. Just… thank you so much for all your hard work.
Have I mentioned you’re fabulous and I’m utterly addicted to this blog?
I posted a mean comment before and I would just like to apologize for my rash and inappropriate comment. I am just extremely frustrated and I took it out on you/MIT. It was wrong. I realize that you really truly care about what happened and care about all of us in general.
Thank you for everything you’ve done.
No, thank YOU, all of you guys. You guys are wonderful for doing this, you know that? I agree with what Marilee posted- you guys must have gone through ten times the agony that we may have felt during the wait. I’m sorry.
And you guys must have worked so hard tonight to push this phone service up a day- I’m truly grateful; it really shows how much you guys care. I’ll be sure to sing you guys a song over the phone tomorrow, lol.
Thanks again!
No tube and no computer access make Ben something something.
On a more serious note I agree about the email issue in how it is relatively insecure.
I have done nothing but mind numbing work these past three and a half years and this delay is making me crack at the seams, but if I get in all those nights of nothing but work will pay off.
oh so what information do we need when we call?
The usual, Name, birthday, ssn, bankacount… all the stuff you put in MyMit…
bank account? I put that in?
“I can think of some EA applicants right now who will absolutely get in RA”
Then why not admit them EA? It’s not removing spots from anyone else as you’re already certain they’re getting in. I’ll take the answer to this one at a less busy time, but that just seems like a bit of a tease.
I know you’re busy and stressed and hectic, but here’s a great gigantic (and platonic, of course :-D) hug from me!!!
I called this morning expecting the worst, but got good news!
Am I allowed to giggle like an teenaged-anime girl?
you got admitted!!!!
CONGRATS!!
Well, I called and was deferred… but I suppose that’s better than being rejected. I’m a little disappointed, though, because now I (along with about 2000 others) have to wait another 3 months to hear from my dream school. Oh, well- maybe MIT will decide that all 2000 of us are great people and admit us all
Thanks for your apology. I’m sure many people are frustrated right now, and might vent, as is natural, but will eventually appreciate your apology.
Meanwhile, thanks for everything.
i’ve been thinking..i’ve waited all this time…i dont’ think i’ll call til my mail laidy comes tomorrow…
im hungry
sry random…but i am!
Those of you that are still at school, I think I can say I’ve got it worse. My school exempts seniors from exams if they have a 90 average in the class, so I’ve been sitting at home rapidly refreshing the blogs all day, hoping for some word from Tennessee applicants.
Ben – I have a request for people who were deferred (or are not yet accepted):
Could you outline for us just what you will take for supplementary information, deadlines for when it has to be in, all that good stuff.
I promised myself I wouldn’t second-guess my essay topic, but there are still plenty of other things that I could add to my application.
Thanks for everything that you guys do, and all of your concern for our sanity,
Evan
awright..i’m happy..i’ll definately know by tomorw…i have an oreo and a good book..bed time…good luck pples!
and thanks again MIT for everything! you’ve made my day!
wouldn’t that be fantastic?
2.25 hrs til mail comes
It’s in my cell! calling right after early morning finals (hope i don’t get caught *gasp*). No offense to anyone, but I’m still suprised ya’ll accepted a person who still has no control over his life and must have someone watch over him constantly (wouldn’t call that much of leadership)(reference to the babysitter) but he may just be a CHILD genius. OH well, whatever floats your boat. float…float.
Where but MIT would you find a staff that would stay up until midnight trying to fix a problem they didn’t cause? The efforts of everyone in Marilee’s office, not least of which Marilee herself, goes to prove that in addition to being a dynamic academic powerhouse, MIT is, above all, a very human place.
I send my deepest thanks for your labors.
-Alexandre
Im pretty sure one of the two states is Washington! Since no one from CC or here said they got admitted in WA
and the other one is probably NOT nj…*groan*
ben, we seriously appreciate everything you do
it’s not your fault at all
but still, you’re being soooo accomodating
yay go ben go ben
Where in WA are you from, Aki?
Mercer Island. How bout u Jeena?
Vancouver.
good luck with your decision!
you too!
1.75 hrs
Thank you so much!
Wow, this situation has really escalated to the point of disaster. I just want all the admissions officers to know that no matter what, we’re all here to support you. And remember to drink lots of water tomorrow! No doubt you’ll be getting a lot of calls. And as a RA-er, I have a keen interest in this “decision in MyMIT for RA” thing.
Anyhow, I (along with everyone else, for sure) just hope that this doesn’t happen again. I think this was just several unfortunate and untimely circumstances coming together to become one big catastrophe. I hope that people will calm down and lighten up. It’s not the end of the world. Really.
What an awful way for the other 9 of us out of 12 (or more) to find out we’ve been deferred/rejected…. sigh. I’m glad it wasn’t MIT admissions’ fault. Thanks for keeping us posted.
Thanks for taking calls today. You guys are awesome
it’s actually 11 out of 12…. so I guess 9 or more is right… darn it you stole my name… I was the only Anon until you.
Dear Ben,
Dude, I must say you’re amazing. Apologizing for something that wasn’t even your fault, taking the slack for it. Thanks for everything you’ve done, really. I have the number programmed in my cell under “Truth” (hehe) and I plan to call tomorrow after my Chem AP final. (Seriously, I hate that my school has finals THIS week….college decisions week. It’s really hard to think about anything besides that letter). I’m out here in Cali, and I’m pretty sure I already know what the decision on me is, but I still have some hope. Hey, maybe I’ll get to talk to you tomorrow? That’d be awesome. Good luck to you and please don’t feel badly. Good luck to all of you other EA’ers and congrats to all the accepted students.
Uhmm, if I know of other people who got accepted in my state, then does that mean I’ve been deferred/rejected? Because you said some STATES didn’t get their tubes.
i got my letter today
its a deferral
there’s still hope to many of you…
I got in today…!!!
The way the admissions officers have handled this unfortunate situation has only heightened my supreme desire to attend MIT. You are all such amazing individuals, and I feel terribly guilty that tomorrow morning I will be forcing you to undertake the difficult task of telling me the bad news over the phone (as it seems likely to be), but it is truly necessary that I find out tomorrow; my counselors need to be informed tomorrow if I am going to expand my number of applications. Thank you so much for caring, and if I am deferred, well, you have certainly not heard the last from me.
How about this? My son applied to MIT EA, and Johns Hopkins Bio Mechanical Engineering ED. He hoped he would get denied by the BME program and accepted to JHU non-binding. That would give him a chance to apply to and consider other schools.
Yesterday, he came home, read the blogs, came to the realization he wasn’t getting into MIT EA, looked at the pile of unfinished apps on his desk, and promptly went to sleep.
This morning, the MIT deferral letter came, and ten minutes later, so did an email from JHU that he was accepted to the BME program.
One door closes, another opens. Good luck to all and thanx to the admissions staff for everything.
First of all, I’d like to thank Marilee, Ben, Matt, and the rest of the admissions staff for all their hard work. Little anecdote: my transcript got lost in the mail (or something), but I kept waiting to see if it would reach MIT. By the time selection began, I was starting to get really freaked out. My counselor actually managed to call and fax my transcript over on a selection day. I was honestly amazed; I thought they’d be too busy to do something like that for one applicant, but I was completely wrong about that. Of course, I might’ve already gotten deferred by then… oh well.
The funny thing is, I thought that decisions would arrive on the 15th. Somebody asked me on Monday if I was accepted to MIT, and I had no idea what he was talking about!
On another note, nobody at my school’s gotten any word from MIT yet. I’m in the Dallas area, by the way. Somebody at another school in my district got a tube, but I haven’t heard anything else.
I’m not really sure if I’ll call… I don’t want to spoil the surprise… but by the time I get home, it’ll be too late… decisions, decisions! I’ll figure something out, it’s definitely not as hard as picking applicants to accept!
I’m not too worried, even if I end up being deferred. I can probably make at least one of my dream schools, and if not… being a UT Longhorn isn’t all that bad. Again, thanks to all of you over there in admissions for all your hard work, and good luck to everybody else!
question
if we get deferred can we just like
do our entire application over?
cause mine was really bad.
Manuel –
Congratulations!!
which State are you from?
Deferr
I called this morning and I got in! (Florida!)
Thanks, Ben for letting everybody know. I really appreciate how helpful and caring you’ve been every step of the college admissions.
YOU STUDENTS OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES. MIT ADMISSIONS OFFICERS HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE HUMANE, KINDEST, UNDERSTANDING GROUP OF OFFICERS THAT I’VE EVER SEEN. THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO KEEP A BLOG. THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO TELL YOU EVERY SINGLE THING THAT THEY’RE DOING. FUCK, THEY DEFINITELY DIDN’T HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE WHOLE “TUBE FIRST, LETTER SECOND” ORDEAL. BUT THEY DID. WHY??? BECAUSE THEY VALUE HONESTY AND INTEGRITY AND THEY TRULY CARE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR FEELINGS. THEY HAVE CONTINUOUSLY PUT YOU AS THEIR TOP PRIORITY AND SOMETIMES I THINK EVEN TO THE EXTENT OF UNDERMINING THEIR OWN AUTHORITY. HOW MANY ADMISSIONS OFFICERS FROM OTHER UNIVERSITIES DO YOU KNOW ARE WILLING TO DO ALL THAT?
SO BACK OFF, GUYS. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE KINDNESS OF THESE FOLKS. THEY OWE YOU NOTHING AND THEY HAVE NOTHING TO BE SORRY ABOUT. SO STOP IT WITH POINTING THE FIGURE AT THE ADMISSIONS PEOPLE. IT JUST SHOWS HOW IMMATURE, UNRESILIENT, AND FRAGILE YOU ARE. THOSE QUALITIES WILL DEFINITELY NOT GET YOU INTO MIT OR ANYWHERE ELSE IN LIFE.
SO IF YOU CAN’T EVEN HANDLE THIS LITTLE DEVIATION FROM THE NORM, THIS LITTLE BUMP ALONG THE ROAD, THEN PERHAPS YOU SHOULD THINK TWICE ABOUT COMING TO MIT.
still waiting… not calling unless there’s nothing on the mail at 3 pm!
RIGHT ON ANONYMOUS! Thats the wisest thing anyone have said over the past few days. VERY INSPERATIONAL!
Anyways, I know people are sort frustrated and stressed. But think about it. The decisions are already made. There really isn’t much to be frustrated.
Just wait. Chill out and wait for the tube to come to the right person.
HI Ben. I have to be honest that after months of hard work and anticipation, this was not some pleesant news.(i’m now hopeing for a defer letter over decline…) i’m sure you’ve heard lots of disappointment by now, but i also want to let you know that (i can only speak for myself) i am no where near angry or outraged. As marilee said, “Everybody makes mistakes.” and this mistake wasn’t even yours. Don’t be harsh on yourself. I can only imagine how frustrated you are right now after working endlessly for weeks only to find all the bitterness directed towards you and your collegues.
we will get through this together! thanks ben! =)
i’m w/ you dyzzy..
do they send tubes to the RA applicants?
CUZ I WANT ONE!!
i like confetti ^_^
course i know i won’t be getting one EA…mine was a letter…not phone
I know about 12% of students were admitted. What percentage of applicants were deferred? Denied? Thank you!
I think it was about 7% denied.
Anyhow, called and got my deferral officially. Whoo! I feel GOOD, actually… because I actually know now.
Thanks to all who are now taking a ton of calls.
Does anybody in Hawaii get the tube? My son is applying for MIT EA. We got nothing.
I still haven’t received my tube…I learned that it could be somewhere in North Carolina. Hm.
All that agonizing…well I’m thrilled. GOOD LUCK to those who still don’t know!
Daniel Suo, where do you live?
It is all very nice that everyone here is supporting MIT admissions staff, but I believe that the blame ultimately lies with them.
It was their decision to “reward” the acceptees by sending them special packages (tubes) and snub the rejectees and deferees by sending them small envelopes. And of course packages and envelopes will take different amount of time to arrive. You don’t need to be in MIT to figure that out.
What happened this year in EA I simply see as disrespect, intentional or unintentional, for the non-accepted applicants. Tubes with confetti?! For heaven’s sake, isn’t an acceptance already good enough and a rejection bad enough that the notification has to be so different? Other universities send envelopes – all envelopes – to everyone. At least this shows some consideration for the feeling of the applicants who have worked so hard and put so much effort into applying.
I was disappointed in the way that MIT handled this. I expected better.
Woot! Deferred! Ben, would you mind telling us about what supplemental material we may send, or what we can change in our applications?
T
for all of us non-breathing ppl waiting to jam the phone lines, here’s a lil somethin to hopefully cheer us up!
http://laura.mitblogs.com/archives/2005/12/yay_a_hack.html
Anonymous, it’s pretty sad to get jealous over confetti.
Maybe from now on, defers/denys should come with a “get well soon” card and a lollipop. Of course, then instead of instilling a bit of cheer, people would take it as cruel sarcasm…
Thanks for organizing it so that calls started on Thursday. I still haven’t gotten my letter, but I found out about my deferral by calling. It was nice to know a day early, before my Government mid-term. Thanks.
Deferred. Ah well, just gotta keep working.
I personally found it slightly amusing how excited the person that told me sound. I know it wasn’t trying to be mean, and I didn’t take it badly, it just wasn’t quite what I expected.
Feeling much better now also, it’s the ‘knowing but not really knowing’ that got to me.
Gabby,
You are having mid-terms now? Tomorrow is our last day of the semester so the last of the semester exams are tomorrow. Are you in a Northern school?
**sounded
Sorry, little things like that bother me unless they’re fixed.
I have decided not to abuse the generous offer from MIT adimmision office to make the call as a parent. My son will have another final test, AP US history tomorrow. He acted very calm toward the chaotic mail problem. I checked his application, and found he didn’t put his VP position on his Math team in his EA application. Is leadership really important?
Ben, reading your blog has been one of the things that made me fall in love with MIT. Don’t stop.
I’m not mad about the mail thing, but it was upsetting. I called today to confirm my deferral. It was hard, but I’ve come to accept that my best just isn’t good enough.
After reading about how you guys don’t want to do online decisions because of security, I was shocked at how INsecure the whole phone decision thing was. All I had to do was give my last name and confirm (agree) that the other info he had for me was correct.
I’d like to echo the sentiment that the mailing mix-up is no big deal. That doesn’t change the decisions, and a couple of days of waiting isn’t the end of the world.
I remember reading that due to the record number of applications, EA rejections were up this year. I don’t suppose you can release the numbers on that yet? I can’t be the only deferral who would like a better idea of where he stands at this point.
Also, great blog — it’s so nice to see the people behind the process.
I appreciate that the admissions staff have acknowledged the problem and been very open about the whole process. Though I’m still anxiously looking forward to receiving word from MIT, I can understand the frustration at the other end of the process.
Also, I agree that releasing this information through MyMIT would be ideal. It is faster, more reliable, and far more secure. Any number of a large group of people have access to physical mail between sender and recipient.
Thank you for all the time you’ve invested in us.
Ben, I sent you an email privately.
Hi Mr. Jones;
I got my answer this afternoon from MIT. I was deffered. Is there still any chance for me to get to MIT. I will be happy if you answer this mail on the page as well as to my personal email
Thanks in advance for your devotion.
Mr. Jones what is your personal Email? I need to send a private Email to you?
Thanks
hey ben!!
I was actually one of the luckier ones that got the tube on monday…I had no idea there was any problem with the mail until one of my friends didn’t get a letter or anything…I feel really bad for all the kids who had to wait, but I also think it was completely out of your control once it left the office on Friday. I want to thank you for making the process as humane as you could.
I don’t usually post on these blogs and stuff but I had a quick question…
Do u remember applications? I’m sure you read through hundreds, but for instance, if I told you my name, what my essays were like, etc, would you be like Oh, that kid? I’m curious to hear your thoughts/why I was admitted if its a yes. If no, or if you don’t feel like it, that’s cool too. I’ll probably meet you eventually when I head up there later this year. heheh
BOSTONNNNNNN
I called today! And I got deferred! I was so relieved, I was smiling.
Just knowing brightened up my day 100%. Thank you, MIT, for allowing us to call today instead of tomorrow!
The woman on the phone was nice, as well. She answered my questions about supplemental information and handled the call very well.
If I said anything mean or angry before, I was just stressed out. I haven’t been sleeping enough, but I can finally SLEEP!!! HOORAY!!!
To the people asking for hawaii…
im almost sure tubes have not get there yet.. i live in puerto rico, i called today and got in.but i haven’t recieved my tube.
you guys rock ben. never let anyone tell you different.
i hope california is one of the two…
(it is farthest after all, isn’t it?)
I didn’t call today, although I should have. I’d rather pick up my deferral by mail though. I agree with you guys. I think an envelope is a much better way to be rejected. In my opinion it’s more private and more humane. When I came to the realization that I wasn’t going to get in, at first I was pretty upset. Three months of people talking about you behind your back, “hey, did you hear he didn’t get into MIT? Wow, I never thought he was that smart anyway.” At least, I hope no one will be that mean. But then I got over it. Especially comforting was a song by The Wallflowers called “How Far You’ve Come.” On top of being a great song, it strangely relates to the pain of being rejected (although I think it was meant to be a love song). My favorite part is:
“Sometimes a high wall is just a wall
Sometimes it’s only there to make sure you feel small
Or maybe there to save you
From the depths of a much deeper fall”
Well, there’s my two cents. Good luck to the rest of you guys on your RD.
so, now mail yet again. Is it possible that Ohio is one of the states that hasnt recieved any acceptances? I know of only three people that applied form around my area, not to say there aren’t more, but one was deferred, and the other, like myself, hasn’t heard anything. If there is anyone out there from Ohio that has been accepted, please drop a post to try to clear the air. Other than that, here’s to another night of crossing my fingers, avoiding ladders and broken mirrors!!!
[quote from post]
Is there really any hope of being selected RA if I’ve been deferred?
I can think of some EA applicants right now who will absolutely get in RA. So to answer your question: YES!
I’m sorry, but this question really messed me up. Why not accept them early then?
I don’t want to be mean or insulting in any way, but something bothers me.
Ben wrote,
“Is there really any hope of being selected RA if I’ve been deferred?
I can think of some EA applicants right now who will absolutely get in RA.”
To me, this just sounds like a way of getting around MIT’s own “30% of class admitted EA” rule. If you know you’re going to accept them anyway, why make them agonize about it for another three months? If you’re finding people you want to accept, then maybe the 30% rule is flawed.
Hi Ben.
First off, I’d like to thank you, Matt, Bryan and Marilee. You’ve done awesome work.
I wholeheartedly agree with ANONYMOUS.
Take me, for example, before I got to know of MIT blogs I new nothing about applying to US schools; all I had were a bunch of strange forms and parents bugging me to ‘produce a good application’.
I tell you, even if I do not make it to MIT I’m sure I’ll make it to some of the other colleges that I’ve applied to.
This wouldn’t be possible if it were not for you, Matt and Bryan. MIT-student or not, I’ll have to meet you all and thank you personally.
I know for a fact that you guys are doing awesome work….no matter what unfortunate thing that happens(ed).
Again, thank you.
Cheers!
I think we all need to step back and chill out a bit. Being deferred or rejected isn’t a big deal like the admissions officers said. If you were deferred (like I was), there’s always RD! And there are plenty of fine schools out there!
Sorry, I just feel so bubbly right now. I just found out one of the presents my boyfriend is giving me for Christmas. A RAM necklace – and he made it, too! So sweet.
I hope everyone who got a sad letter has something nice to come home to or to cancel out any negative energy they have.
Once again, thank you, MIT, for letting us call today! I’ll get my supplement info in and I’ll be set for RD.
I wish I had seen this last night so I could have called today, as it is I’m still waiting and hoping.
And thank you for making this as painless as possible.
I don’t know if I am accepted, deferred, or rejected yet, but after reading the recent MIT blogs I want to attend MIT more than ever. MIT feels like family now: open, honest, compassionate, and human. I hope you all get some rest, knowing that through your struggles this week you’ve proven that you care about each of us…those accepted, deferred, and rejected. Sleep well and b-r-e-a-t-h-e.
To anonymous,
I know how frustrating it must be to hear that some will get in regular but couldn’t get in early. But the reality is, there just isn’t enough spaces because so many people are so qualified and talented that the smallest factor makes a difference. But you know, if you were destined to get in, you will in APril, it’s just a matter of time! So good luck and don’t give up or get upset. Think about it, getting deferred didn’t hurt you in any way, now you are in the same status as a RA.
I feel like a complete idiot right now, but what is the address for the admissions office? i need to know where i should send my supplemental stuff. Also, the deadline is January 1st right? Any answers are appreciated!