This is more of a mini-entry, a blogget if you will. I know that for a good portion of you, the pressure is on, as there's officially nothing else you can do about your Early Action application. But you know what you have to do now?
Chill out.
Seriously, pat yourselves on the backs guys, if you've done your best walk away from it now. It's out of your hands, don't let the rest of the world pass you by. I'm sure it varies by high school location and personality, but Senior Year is not something you're going to want to fill with stress. Make plans with your friends, watch movies, make jokes, write programs, start organizations, just DO stuff. Whatever it is you like to do, get out there and get it done!
Now I know you're probably thinking "but Chrism* I spent 2.0X10^6 hours on my application, do you think that's enough? Do you think I'll get in because I expressed my number in scientific notation? Do I need more Sig Figs? Is 2 enough?
Here comes point #2, and it's gonna hit you hard:
It doesn't matter.
*gasp*! MIT, not matter?! Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this place, even amidst the sunrise as my cue to bed and the hours tooling for a C on a test, and you should take pride in your application, but an important thing to remember is that MIT is not the only place in the world, and definitely not perfect for everyone. It's interesting that only after coming here for school did I realize how unhappy some people would really be here, so you may just have to trust me on that one, even though when I was in your spot I probably wouldn't have believed it. The thing about your application is that it's a trade-off between you and Admissions. You have two similar but distinct characteristics:
YOU:
Know yourself, but don't know MIT that well.
ADMISSIONS:
Knows MIT, but doesn't know you that well.
So to make sure everyone's happy, there's a trade off, all you have to do is be honest about yourself, and Admissions will be able to tell if you'll like it here, and Admissions is super good at their job, (I hear they hire the sexiest bloggers too, but that's just what I hear...)The catch is they can only go off what you tell them, so it's in YOUR best interest to be honest. Because even if there was some formula you could replicate to guarantee admission (it's 6. That's it. The answer is 6*), getting in based on a fabrication isn't only dishonest, it's not you. And YOU won't be happy, whoever you wrote about on that application will. (Which is not you, in case you didn't catch what that implied)
So the whole point of this is to take a deep breath and relax. If you applied early the hard part is over. If you're applying regular, don't stress about it. In 6 months or so you'll be graduating from high school, and the end of Senior Year is totally awesome. Enjoy every minute you've got and don't get too caught up in being the perfect applicant. Be the perfect you. Get excited about the fact that if you do your best on your application, one year from today, you'll be in happy in a college that's right for you.
I am.
*It's surprising the number of emails I get addressing me in sentences as Chrism. My name doesn't rhyme with "prism", you can just call me Chris.
**In case you didn't pick up on the sarcasm, there is no admissions formula, and it certainly wouldn't be 6. If you put 6 on your application and that's it, I take no responsibility for whatever happens.
P.s. email me some questions and I'll do a Q&A blog.
***UPDATE***
Ok, so I'm going to post the Q&A blog next Wednesday the 12th, so plan on emailing or commenting your questions to me by say Tuesday the 11th. I can already tell this will be interesting.
Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)
Posted by: Mojo on November 4, 2008
Posted by: Barack McCain on November 4, 2008
Posted by: Tristam on November 4, 2008
Posted by: '16 hopeful on November 4, 2008
Oh.
I get it.
Posted by: Billy on November 4, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on November 4, 2008
And do you think I can send some certificates depicting that I won/participated in a regional science camp?
I asked Matt but he seems to be busy.
Posted by: wesh m on November 4, 2008
I'm not sure if it's different for international applicants, but I know that regularly you request a waiver from one of school officials and they send a letter to MIT on your behalf. This page talks about it a bit under Part 1: Biographical Information:
http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/the_freshman_application/index.shtml
As far as submitting certificates. I think you can, but I don't think it's really necessary. There is a place on your application to talk about awards you've won and things you've participated in. Filling it out there should be good, no need to actually mail them. One word of warning though, you only get to choose a limited number of awards to talk about, choose ones that are most important or fitting about you. Do NOT send an "ego sheet" of your achievements as supplementary information.
Posted by: Chris M. on November 4, 2008
Posted by: Pan on November 4, 2008
are u from india?...and are u talking about the space camp organized by ATLANTIS
Posted by: Sonal on November 4, 2008
The Q&A blog that you will post in the future, what will it be about? (Admissions, Life at MIT, Pset?)
@ Wesh M
I am also an international student, I heard that it isn't good to request waiver if you are an international student. Other students have told me that if you request a waiver, this might diminish the chances of receiving your I-20 if you get into MIT.
I am not sure about this or if it depends on the country, I'm from Brazil.
Posted by: Ivan on November 4, 2008
Mmmm all of the above? I was thinking it would be more of an open "anything you want to know about" setup. So if you have anything you'd like to know about anything related to MIT feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.
Posted by: Chris M. on November 4, 2008
Harsh Reality, Gentlemen.
Posted by: Anonymous on November 4, 2008
I'm applying for a fee waiver too. With the increased dollar-rupee exchange rate, it's difficult to afford the app fees for my family. I have letter from my Principal explaining the hardship. I hope that helps!
Posted by: Ahana on November 4, 2008
Great advice, Chris. I can't wait for December, but I'm trying not to wish away the rest of November...
Posted by: Kasey on November 4, 2008
Posted by: madmatt on November 4, 2008
Posted by: Anonymous on November 4, 2008
@Ahana, Wesh m : Rupee's gone to almost *50* once again !! I hope both of you get your waivers.. all the best..
@Sonal : Where're you from in India ?
Posted by: Dhvanit on November 4, 2008
Posted by: Becca on November 4, 2008
Posted by: Hey on November 4, 2008
Posted by: 0 on November 4, 2008
Posted by: Colton on November 4, 2008
Posted by: hamsi on November 4, 2008
Personally, my wardrobe tends to oscillate between geeky T-shirts (Firefox, xkcd, shirt.woot) and relatively preppy attire (Abercrombie, Ralph Lauren)...with a middle ground of, yes, sweatshirt and jeans if I'm in a rush.
Posted by: Paul on November 4, 2008
Posted by: Anon on November 4, 2008
I was wondering if there was a backlog of emails at the admissions office from the early action weekend because I sent you guys an email 5 days ago and I am still waiting for a response. I just wanted to check before resending it.
Posted by: 0 on November 4, 2008
Looking forward to the Q&A post!
Posted by: Bridger on November 4, 2008
Posted by: 0 on November 5, 2008
I am from Punjab...where r u from?
Posted by: Sonal on November 5, 2008
I'm from Gujarat..
Posted by: Dhvanit on November 5, 2008
Posted by: Anonymous on November 5, 2008
Posted by: navdeep on November 6, 2008
Posted by: Elizabeth on November 6, 2008
(To the reader of my application: I don't mean to say that I'm any more ambivalent than anyone else - I'm still hoping for acceptance.)
Anyway, more to the point, I do have a question for the Q&A. I come from a tiny high school where the teachers really care about their students and interact both inside and outside of class. Now, pretty much every college brochure advertises the relationships between teachers and students (because, of course, it's what many of us are looking for.) But I'm curious about how personally teachers and students interact at MIT, not in some outstanding cases, but on the average, or on whatever the MIT equivalent of average is.
Thanks in advance!
Posted by: Niki on November 6, 2008
Question: How's the humanities side of MIT? And are MIT students into politics/current events? (not worded as a question but...) I hear the food is awful.
@anonymous: My friend told me that when she visited, there was an unusually high number of really good-looking guys walking around.
Posted by: Tiffany on November 6, 2008
Although I am a prospective applicant as well, I know the answer to this question.
My interviewer told me that the food at the dining commons does get a little bit monotonous, but (as in my interviewer's case), lived in a fraternity, where he had his personal cook make everything for him. He told me that there would be many girls who would come over to the fraternity over for dinner.
just HAD to write this... I didn't mean to intercept the question.
Posted by: June on November 7, 2008
It took me awhile to figure out why people addressed you as "chrism"...
once I found out, I literaly laughed for two minutes. :D
Posted by: June on November 7, 2008
I was just wondering...
Is there anything close to a major or serious study about nanotechonology? I'm really fasicanted by it and I think that's what I want to study and later do in life. Is there a majore for it? Minor? Any courses in nanotechnology?
Thanks a lot
Posted by: curious on November 7, 2008
I noticed that you are a Course 15 student. I applied EA and also want to do Course 15. I was wondering what are your favorite things about Sloan and why?
Thanks!
Posted by: 0 on November 8, 2008
Posted by: saad on November 9, 2008
The Humanities are pretty okay. Your HASS-D requirement [Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Distribution] basically makes sure you take a HASS class a semester [or...you could put them off, but that's not the idea]; the quality varies by class.
I would say a lot of students are very politically aware and socially active. I would also say a lot of students have no idea what's going on in the world. MIT students are pretty smart kids and they're pretty interested in the world around them, but sometimes it's hard to devote as much time as you'd like to politics with those psets..
Food! So the thing about eating at MIT is that's it's all up to you. There's no dining plan, and I personally have never been to a dining hall [but I hear they...exist]. If you end up eating from Verdes every day, you'll probably end up bored and broke, and cooking is a lot of effort. So I guess it's not optimal, in terms of convenience, but at least you're not eating cafeteria food every day. [I don't know what June means by 'dining commons.']
Posted by: MIT student on November 9, 2008
Now, is that a 6 or a 9 backwards? There has to be a trick, it's too easy.
Maybe I should add in a 6 on my application just to see how many people figures it out. That would be entertaining.
Posted by: Ben Zheng on November 9, 2008
Subject: anyone willing to turn in my 18.01 pset
Body: It's due at 1:45 but I don't have class today and don't particularly feel
like headed all the way over to building 2 just to turn it in and come back.
Anyone headed that way anyway? I'll give you a dollar...
yours lazily,
Chris M
Posted by: disgruntled poriferan on November 14, 2008
Posted by: 0 on November 21, 2008
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