MyMIT Problems – EA Deadline Now 11/4 by Ben Jones
EA deadline extended to 11/4 - details inside.
It’s been a nightmare of a weekend. We are all down in NYC for the College Board Conference, with limited internet access, and the MyMIT server decided to make life interesting for us. Fortunately the primary tech folks are still in Cambridge, but needless to say, trying to coordinate all of this has been… not so fun.
Anyway, the site is back and should be operating smoothly now. I’ll spare you all the gory details of what happened – load bouncing issues and whatnot, coupled with 4000 of you doing your apps at the last mniute. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem for our servers – we’re MIT and we have kickass servers – but sometimes I think the MyMIT backend is so close to artificial intelligence that it decides to reconfigure itself at will.
Alas.
Anyway, as you may have heard, we’ve extended the EA deadline to November 4 to compensate you for your trouble. If you have any questions, let me know.
-B
THANK YOU!
What? No, I haven’t been leaving the essays for the last minute… don’t be silly.
I was begining to get worried that I wouldn’t be able to subbit my application. I’m gonna print everything I put on the online application from now on.
I doubt many EA applicants are doing any extensive last minute essay writing, but just proofing and polishing.
I think it’s great that MIT is doing this.
Didn’t something akin to this happen last year too?
Ha, yep, it happened last year too.
I guess students procrastinating their apps till last minute will never change :p
borski.
Well, I decided ti apply to MIT but I have really big problem. I had great difficulties trying to save money for the SAT and TOEFL exams. At last, I have the required sum, but there are no free dates for TOEFL till early January. What should I do and how should I proceed? Please, help me!
Well,
Ben I think I’ll ask the admissions office to consider me for submitting January test scores of SAT II.
I also want to know whether its SAT II which are more important than SAT I as SAT I can be replaced by TOEFL.
MIT applicants procrastinate? …never…
Ha, let’s hear it for snail mail!
Nah, nobody left their essays till the last minute. We were all just triple checking our apps
Does this mean teachers have until Friday to mail their recommendations also?
I wonder how many EA applicants sent their applications in well before the server problems. The ~300 EA acceptees? :D (j/k)
I wonder. Most students probably would leave some stuff to just the last minute – like clicking on the “submit” button to ensure that they’ve done their best on the application – and then leave their admission decision to the admission committee officers. So there’s where all the triple-checking and quadruple-checking has been going on, and hence the overload on the MyMIT servers.
Or is it what Nancer said about the server having a mind of it’s own? Powered by AI, just like me?
The traditional paper and pen app just needs to be postmarked before the 1st, right? I sent it on the 28th, but I’m pretty certain it hasn’t arrived yet.
And yes, if all else fails, I have a photo copy of it
I also had most of it typed up on the online form but then I realized I wanted to do it the old school way. Yay ball point pens!
hi, Ben!
I’ve posted a question several days ago, but I haven’t received an answer. I know that you are very busy, but.. I don’t know what to do and how to proceed and the time is running out. My question concernes TOEFL. I had great difficulties trying to save money for the SAT and TOEFL exams. At last, I have the required sum, but there are no free dates for TOEFL till early January. Is there something wrong with it? And should I explain it in the applicationj forms, or write a letter to the admission office? PLEASE, HELP!!!
Justine, you’re good; it just has to be postmarked by the 1st.
aaah it’s down again
Application at last minute?! NO way, I just did it, a little ALMOST late, but still I could finish it on time and now I feel lots better! The essay was a nightmare, but yeah, I’m glad I finished!
By the way:
-we’re MIT and we have kickass servers-
I love that sentence
Hey, is it November 4 11:59 PM GMT or EST?
It’s probably midnight at the timezone MIT resides in. I’m posting this from EST, and it’s 8:05pm, so compare the date the system says I posted this at to the time I just wrote, and draw your own conclusion from that.
timestamp
Oh god that was waaaaaay too close.
I submitted my part 2 with 51 minutes to spare. Not as bad as my java lab due at midnight and submitted at 11:59:58, but pretty close, considering the fact that my comp sci teacher probably wouldn’t have cared if it was late.
Wow it feels SO good to get that off my shoulders.
lol, I am guilty of contributing to the server rush, but I simply didn’t want to submit until I had spent the maximum amount of time possible to polish everything.
Anyway, we are students… if there’s one thing we share in common it’s procrastination. (You remember high school, do’nt you?)
I doubt MIT undergrads will be that much better; you get older and wiser, but old habits are so tempting…
hi Ben !!!
I am really very upset about my SAT II results. I got 560 on my Maths IC..Physics-600 and Chemistry-620 (yes they are that poor)….I want to improve my scores by retaking the tests but I have to take the SAT I on DEC 3rd and this is the last month I can take any standardized test as I applied through Regular Action. I could do much better if I could retake the test. That was my first attempt. You pls tell what should I do. I know they are much below the MIT requirement.
Secondly, I am an applicant from Pakistan. I have passed my HIGHER SECONDARY CERTIFICATE with 80% aggregate. Will you people evaluate me in context with the Pakistani students or the american students?