I'd like to publish on this blog some of your reflections about applying to college. Not just applying to MIT, but the entire college admissions process. Presumably, there are tens of thousands of students out there who are just like you, going through the same anxiety, the same excitement, the same fears, the same pressures. I'd like to provide an outlet for you to share your thoughts and feelings with a broader audience. My hope is that the students who are reading this will realize they're not alone.
Some examples of things you could write about:
- Your experiences applying to college.
- A funny moment while filling out applications.
- What it feels like to apply to colleges overseas or out of state.
- The pressures you feel from your classmates or your family.
- The support you get from your friends or family.
- The hardest part of applying to college.
- The best part about applying to college.
- What it felt like to submit your last college application.
- Your worst moment in the application process.
- Your best moment or breakthrough moment in the application process.
Some ground rules:
- This will have no impact on your admissions application. Don't write this just to butter us up; also, don't fear that writing this will harm your application.
- I will only publish your first name, last initial, and home state or country.
- There is no prize for "winning" except that I'll publish your thoughts here on the blog.
- There's no target length, but remember that it will be published on a blog. Vignettes and short stories would be great.
- I will be choosing which work(s) are published; I'm sure it will be hard to chose.
- Send your essay to me; my email address is my last name at mit dot edu.
- Submit it in the next few days; the deadline is this Monday, January 8.
Again, my hope here is to have you share some of your thoughts and feelings with your peers, to show a spirit of togetherness, that at the most basic level, you're all going through a rite of passage together, for all the good and bad, funny and sad. We'll see how this turns out, should be interesting!
Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)
Posted by: Chris Yaluma on January 4, 2007
Posted by: Snively on January 4, 2007
you'll, seriously, laugh so hard at my essay, and what i went through during this process.I hope I'll have enough time to write it though.
last few days i's really sad because of different things, but now my spirit is elated because i'm going to get people who will read my experience, if not more then at least you Matt,
i feel like it would be easy and fun for me to share it.
good opportunity to spit out every thing that's troublin' me. Thanks.
Posted by: Sabina on January 4, 2007
Posted by: Sam Jackson on January 4, 2007
Posted by: Danielle on January 4, 2007
Danielle, you're not applying RD for the class of 2011, are you? Because in that case, the deadline has passed...
Posted by: 0 on January 5, 2007
Posted by: tony on January 5, 2007
Posted by: tony on January 5, 2007
Posted by: Greg Courville on January 5, 2007
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Posted by: bbllp from Vietnam on January 5, 2007
Thank you Mr. McGann.
Posted by: Solomon on January 5, 2007
Any suggestions as to what should I do meanwhile waiting for the results????????????
Posted by: Utkarsh on January 5, 2007
Posted by: Abhishek Madhur on January 5, 2007
Posted by: Abhishek Madhur on January 5, 2007
Posted by: Kurt on January 5, 2007
Writing essays was a real challenge for me. My father and sister helped me to make some improvements in them.
The toughest part was to tell you about the idea I have developed. It’s about TIME.
I’m very excited since the idea has flashed in my mind. Although it’s just an idea right now but in future I will try my best to establish that.
With Best Regards!!!
Goldie from India
Posted by: Swetamber Das (Goldie) on January 5, 2007
Posted by: Guyomar on January 5, 2007
i was planning to write but those collegeboard have their stuff on Jan 27 and IIT-JEE on April 8
Posted by: bhushan on January 5, 2007
Posted by: ACE on January 5, 2007
Iam a 11th class student from kerala...I would like to join in mit for aerospace engineering on year 2008...But i don't know what to do...I decided to clear SAT mathe matics level 1 and SAT physics and TOFEL...But i dont know how to prepare for these exams...Can you please send the topics for these exams and what i have to do after clearing exams for the admission..
Posted by: Hanna Paulose on January 6, 2007
Posted by: jammer on January 6, 2007
i forgot to enter my 9th & 10th grade high school name.can any body suggest something??????????
well i am going to write a offcial letter to them abt it.
Posted by: ABHISHEK on January 6, 2007
this post made me feel even more nervous since after seeing so many indians i doubt if i with 700 and 710 as sat scores have any chance.I am from a very remote area as well.what do u guys think,do i hv any chance?
btw,matt u didnt answer my questions in your december-answers post??
and pls try to raise the deadlne.
thnx.
ranjodh.
Posted by: Ranjodh Dhaliwal on January 6, 2007
My grades weren't good enough and I was wasting my time.
BEST PART
Realizing I was a well-rounded person that coul bring something different to the school.
Posted by: Kwame Osei on January 6, 2007
hmm two days to write an essay, finish my AP history homework, finish reading "The Great Gatsby" in between school, work and teaching myself C++,
well, Ill give it a shot... if I find time...
Paulo Borges::Future M.I.T Applicant->2008 or 2009
Posted by: Paulo Borges on January 7, 2007
I guess everybody that was deferred or in the regular applicant pool will be anxiously waiting for the decisions to come out in a couple months. Good luck to everyone!!!
Posted by: Won Seok (Richard) Shin on January 7, 2007
ok ...the application process for me has sure been draconian absolutely draconian at times ,,when you are applying to the schools that you have always dreamt of 9in my case since grade 8 ) you ought to get nervous making sure evry bit of it is flawless..i have had sleepless nights sometimes wondering whether my scores from the january SAT would be accepted or not..sometimes editing and re editin my seeays,,mum and dad have started calling me 'SANEly INSANE' cause i find ot hard to focus on anything but MIT...i even spent new year eve reading these blogs trying to know every bit of MIT ...there are a lot of things still bothering me ...but i somehow i dont know where i get it from...but i believe in myself and my dream at MIT ...i hope i make it ....i guess thats it
besties to all fellow bloggers let us all survive the admissions process together!!!!!!!!!!!
n kudos to MIT for having such a wonderful system ,!!!!!!!!!
asta la vista
Posted by: kanika on January 7, 2007
please help us out
and sorry for the spelling mistakes again above ...just goes out to show how nervous i still am ....
ciao
Posted by: kanika on January 7, 2007
we're nervous,curious,sweatin,dying....lots of questions waiting for you.......
n oh ya...hope you had a great new year's
Posted by: 0 on January 7, 2007
well it is done...(actually it was done about a week ago but whatever...) wow that submit button was hard to pres! I thought I was done with the freaking out about MIT things... however I am kind of worrying because in my application tracking it says that you have not received any tests results, however I took the SAT II in June, so the results should have arrived long ago... what can I do about it?? once more thanks for all your answers and your support in the admission process!!!
Posted by: Carla on January 7, 2007
Posted by: anon on January 8, 2007
you know what collegeboard did to my score, they sent it to a different school instead of MIT and don't even agree that i had changed my score recipient to MIT. At this time of year after thinking that i finished all the application stuff, realizing that my scores have not yet been sent is really , really frustating.
I was wondering what mistake i did when i was changing the score recipient but now i'm confident that the mistake was not mine.
I feel a little better.
Posted by: Sabina on January 8, 2007
anyways, so it was the night of december 14th and i was editing and rewriting all my essays for the stanford app (which was due on the 15th; i know, i should have finished it earlier, but whatev). i was charging my laptop, so i decided i would use our office computer to write them. i was on my last essay when the lights suddenly flickered out for a second. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" i thought. the rain was beating on our living room windows like large pine cones and the wind made the trees bend like blades of grass. my dog was frantically barking outside in the momentary darkness. to my shock and horror, my computer had restarted and i had not svaed any of my changes. THANK GOD FOR AUTORECOVERY. so i started my computer back up, but just as i was about to open up my files, the power surged again...however, this time, the power did not come back on. i sat in front of my blackened computer screen in our dark office for 5 minutes waiting for my electricity to come back on, but it never did. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! i was frantic. i did not know what to do. the app was due the next day and i did not have any of my essays saved anywhere else nor did i have internet. luckily i charged my laptop. that night, i stayed up writing my stanford app essays and finished them all just before 3 in the morning. My power was still out and my laptop was running on 19% power. ohh man. time for me to submit this thing! so i ended up taking my laptop and driving all over seattle looking for a wireless signal. i drove up to my school (which was closed due to the storm), connected to the network from the parking lot, and submitted my application with 4% batter life left. I was extremely relieved when i finished it and my power came back on the following night (which was when i saw that stanford had extended its application deadline for those PNW students affected by the storm tothe 18th). it was definitely a roller coaster experience--one that is funny when i look back on it, but also one that was definitely stressful in the present.
Posted by: Josh V on January 8, 2007
Posted by: Josh V on January 8, 2007
Posted by: Elizabeth on January 9, 2007
elizabeth, where do you go to school? and if we get in to MIT--no, when we get in lol, we are definitely going to have to go out for starbucks together! and i'm completely serious. (and ok, so maybe not everyone in seattle likes starbucks as much as i make it seem in my posts, but i sure do. so if you're from seattle and don't like it, tough nuggets)
Posted by: Josh V on January 9, 2007
n wer will da essays be published ??? right here ...???
Posted by: kanika on January 9, 2007
Of course we are going to get in. And you know, I went to Starbucks with some friends who graduated last year and they said that they feel lonely wishing for Starbucks at school cuz noone else drinks Starbucks there. So sad. And my gift card is almost used up too.
I go to Overlake, btw. And right now, I am enjoying a beautiful sunset. At 4:30. Why does it have to get dark so early? (That is not a cue for someone to explain the tilt of the earth, it's a general...sort of complaint)
And to everyone else: I love recognizing bloggers: I know Sarab and Kanika have posted a lot. Anyone know what happened to Dan Beard? He applied early too, (made the binary count-down clock I loved). He get in?
Posted by: Elizabeth on January 9, 2007
WOW! OWW!! Here's the bus's jamming packed...; (Nice phrase, isn't it?) so I am posting for the IIIrd time. Looks like we are in same compartment and this is beginning to look like IIT(AEEEEE!!!EEEE!!!) JEE; now as far as I know IIT's haven't done anything except securing a job of P.M. Rs.30,000/- as a Team Leader in Commwell, Somwell, Honeywell, Well & Well and Well & Sons. 2 Cool. So please, even though I don't have any/the idea of Admission Policy at MIT but I earnestly request (though its -273.16 or .15 *C unfair to say so), to all of you to back off who want to flaunt the tag of MIT after getting admitted(?). Please.
Alright, it is very late for this advice, I know; but I can't help it. I am a REBEL in my DNA.
No matter, to all those kids and their parents too: Who want to desperately get admitted (hey, me too) or their kids to be admitted (my mother cannot differentiate between Russian Cryogenic and VASIMR); and who don't have/had/never tried to have/had any idea, of what their kids' nature is, respectively. I mean what their blood (ever heard of?) demanded for to become?
Otherwise we have to step aside, for the MIT's very own Kavya Vishwanathan.
Mr. Mcgann, please choose anyone.
(I am on the list too. EEE!! GEORGIA again. I know... EEE!!)
P.S. -- It's a frusrtated guy's venom/posting(IIIrd). Please ignore it. And carry on for your Exams. I am sorry if I had hurt anybody's feelings. Really. I am sorry, again.
Posted by: Vishaque on January 10, 2007
Never did.
Never defined, what the words meant?
Never knew, what is a URGE?
Always... always, finding a way to carry on.
Never experimented, you know.
Thought it was too risky.
Hell man... it is very risky.
Just to get born, live and die or in one word:
SURVIVE
mens et manus...
Posted by: Vishaque on January 10, 2007
Posted by: Elizabeth on January 10, 2007
"Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. has quietly settled a class-action lawsuit that covers about 3.5 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles that may have been damaged by engine oil sludge."
"This settlement breathes life into claims that have been dead for years," said Gary Gambel, a lawyer for plaintiffs who sued Toyota.
"Toyotas at risk:
About 3.3 million Toyota vehicles are susceptible to oil sludge, which can cause thousands of dollars in damage and require replacement of the engine. Here are the vehicles included in the settlement.
VEHICLE MODEL YEARS
Camry 4 cyl. 1997-2001
Camry 6 cyl. 1997-2002
Camry Solara 4 cyl. 1999-2001
Camry Solara 6 cyl. 1999-2002
Sienna 6 cyl. 1998-2002
Avalon 6 cyl. 1997-2002
Celica 4 cyl. 1997-1999
Highlander 6 cyl. 2001-2002
Lexus ES 300 1997-2002
Lexus RX 300 1999-2002"
It's about time perceptions change in this country....
<a>BF Goodrich</a>
Posted by: blahness on January 11, 2007
No school for me today either!
Posted by: Josh V on January 11, 2007
may be i am dumb or may be you are a genius ..i understand little of what you are trying to say above...but from what i have understood i just want to reply with this...nobody wants to get into MIT just to flaunt the tag after getting admitted ...it is just to have a more fulfilling career ..not for money(not even the slightset hint of it) ..and to keep the hope of making a difference in this world alive ...i hope i am not sounding like some 50+ ..
whatsoever?????????
Posted by: kanika on January 12, 2007
Posted by: Vishaque on January 12, 2007
Posted by: anon on January 12, 2007
Answer:
1. See the third posting's PS.
2. Try to have a Newsletter from JPL NASA and see what stuff they will send you, if you do not have subscription then I'd like to tell you that they will send you numerous photographs of Mars, Venus, .... et al.
3. Then, as you might be already aware of the full form of JPL. Just try to compare what the name says, I mean the full form of JPL and the stuff in your Inbox; then if anything new happens in your neuron-circuits, I mean if there's something you find "itchy", "disturbing" or any synonyms of previous ones. Then ... what... should I say " you have deciphered it my brother" or "sorry".
I am choosing Sorry.
*Mens et Manus*
Posted by: Vishaque on January 13, 2007
'tis okay brother...everybody has the right to voice their notions...no ned to say sorry for it all....ciao
Posted by: kanika on January 16, 2007
Posted by: anon from above on January 16, 2007
I'm excited to hear about people's app experiences once Matt posts them. It'll be fun!
Posted by: Elizabeth on January 16, 2007
further made things worse. Now, Anon, I was also talking about the one, that is in poem
format. Now, how... how I will make you to understand. Its something kind of a fire-burn, you can explain what the burn is like, how it feels... blah...blah. Or you can just put your finger in fire to not know but to understand. I am getting metaphysical. Anyway, Anon you are one of those guys because of whom I am here. Need to know me? Need to understand what the poem says?
Perhaps you may not have, that much time. So...
... ...
A time-saving, ready-to-serve, Optional Answer {Sprinkle a lil peeper on top, and serve hot}:
Cross Examination [Never questioned myself for what I am here, on this planet; because of biology or something else, 2nd line confirms that]
Never did.
Never defined, what the words meant? [Just taking everything as it has been served, whether it has been textbooks, facts, ideologies, dogma, beliefs et cetera... et cetera. Never tried to see it for myself, never in my life I had the “words” which had the meaning given by someone else: Expert Opinion]
Never knew, what is a URGE? [And thus brother, I do not know how a new idea get in one's brain, never-dreamed/thought before idea, like "Gravitation", "Relativity" or "Internal-Combustion Engine" or ... ... ]
Always... always, finding a way to carry on. [As from birth, it has never been my consideration or never in my domain of thoughts, to question/fight/strive. I am just a plain jane 9-5 guy = Replacable with any likewise guy. ]
Never experimented, you know. [At one point, probably in my boyhood, I tried to live my dream]
Thought it was too risky. [But you know family pressure, Christ, my parents were praying/crying/weeping for me]
Hell man... it is very risky. [Now? What about now? Hey, can't think about it man, I have a wife and two kids and moreover this is not the age for such pranks and trivialities]
Just to get born, live and die or in one word:
SURVIVE [Love it or hate it; but that’s what my whole life belonged to...]
mens et manus...
Posted by: Vishaque on January 18, 2007
Posted by: Vishaque on January 18, 2007
do you really 'av a wife and two kids lolzz....and that explanaton of your words is really captivatin i must say..i liked it infact i loved it...one or the other way everybody is that way....but we neva shun the familiarity thats the reason why we cant think like a genius...right bro???
Posted by: kanika on January 19, 2007
Was it rash? Yes, but I had just seen James Bond, the theme song was running through my head, and I was feeling rather suave at the moment. So, this is how I "defied the Ivy League" favor of MIT.
Posted by: Stephen B on January 19, 2007
And… I am not married.
Posted by: Vishaque on January 20, 2007
may be i am dumb or may be you are a genius ..i understand little of what you are trying to say above...
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Vishaque- What exactly WERE you writing then? I mean, it sounds like a really deep poem, except it's completely undecipherable (from my stance at least).
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heya vishaque....
'tis okay brother...everybody has the right to voice their notions...
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Vishaque- I actually wasn't talking about your post with the warning on top- I meant the one after, that's in like poem format....
-------------
vishaque...
do you really 'av a wife and two kids lolzz....
-------------
Bye guys,
Vishaque
Posted by: Vishaque on January 20, 2007
Posted by: kanika on January 24, 2007
Posted by: Vishaque on January 25, 2007
Kanika, not this fact in yer diary!
Posted by: 0 on January 27, 2007
Posted by: Anon from way above who didn't mean to insult Vish on January 30, 2007
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