Bay Area wrap-up by Matt McGann '00
The scoop from MIT meetings in San Jose, San Francisco, and Lafayette, CA.
Great meetings this week in San Jose, San Francisco, and Lafayette/East Bay this week. Many thanks to those who attended!
The week started with a meeting in San Jose on Sunday.
It was an exciting meeting, with over 600 people in attendance! Of our 70+ meetings that we’ll so this year, the San Jose meeting is likely to be the second or third largest. At most of our meetings, we’ll see somewhere in the 75-300 people range. These attendance numbers, like application numbers, have risen in recent years. I’m glad I have the Educational Counselors (alumni volunteers, also known as ECs) to help me out at these meetings.
After San Jose, I headed up to the city of San Francisco where I had a relatively smaller meeting, and later across the Bay Bridge to Lafayette, for another meeting that had us grabbing for and setting up extra seats to accommodate everyone.
Other Bay Area highlights:
- Lunch with JKim‘s dad, who I think should be referred to from this point forward as HKim.
- Visiting with friends (MIT alums) at the Googleplex. I signed an NDA, so I’m not sure what I’m allowed to write about what I saw at Google, aside from what they already talk about on their website. Google is also a Gold Sponsor of the upcoming Career Fair, and will be one of hundreds of companies on campus looking to hire MIT students.
- Getting stuck in traffic on the 101 Freeway.
- Visiting with friends at Stanford, both grad students (former MIT classmates) and undergrads (proving that we admissions folks won’t hate you if you decline our offer of admission).
- Getting hungry, fruitlessly searching for an In-N-Out, settling for Jack in the Box (with the scary mascot and less tasty burgers).
- Getting stuck in traffic on the 101 Freeway.
- Two great dinners with ECs. I should note that your ECs are very excited about meeting with you for an MIT interview.
Now, to answer a few questions I was asked at the meetings (with helpful links!):
Yes, MIT has a judo club. Apparently, It has been around for more than 40 years.
Yes, MIT has lots of resources in drama/theater, including an academic section of Theater Arts and Dance, a dozen faculty, interesting classes, co-curricular groups, extracurricular groups, and more. Plus, it’s fun to go see shows on campus (Crazy for You closed this weekend, for example).
Yes, you can receive transfer credit for courses taken at a local college; you can read about the transfer credit procedure. Similarly, you can also read about AP credit.
Yes, MIT has resources for high-level private music lessons, offered through the Emerson Music Performance Program.
I’m back in Boston now, so I hope to catch up on questions and other business here in the blog over the coming week, before I head to the Rocky Mountains next week. Feel free to leave pressing questions, comments on the new site/blogs, or whatever else here. It’s good to be back on campus!
Highway 280!
Here in northern California, Matt, we say “stuck in traffic on 101”. It’s only in southern California that you’ll hear people referring to “the 101” which sounds pretty odd to these norcal ears. (We usually have polite fun with people who stick “the” in front of the highway name, but you have special dispensation.
It was great to see you in San Jose, wasn’t the crowd ENORMOUS?! Next time you can’t find an In-and-Out, be sure to call a local for directions. (How do you like ’em? I’ll try to bring one in October.)
YOU’RE BACK. We missed you!
And my dad’ll be thrilled for the mention. Probably not that he’s named after me, though.
How could you visit California and not go to in n out??!!
Next time, Matt. Next time.
Jkim is right! We missed you!!!!
Hi Matt,
I’m applying to MIT EA, but the November SAT results won’t come out till mid-November. In the application, would I write in my old scores, or leave the boxes blank?
(By the way, I was at the San Jose information session and found it very informative — thanks for coming!)
i agree with Mitra. You should have took 280. =)
Thank you SO much for coming out to see me. It’s nice to know that you don’t “hate” me for not choosing MIT.
I could have told you where In-And-Out was! I could have also bought you lunch instead of the hot chocolate that you hate so much.
Hot Chocolate!! In addition to being exceptionally tasty, its also exceptionally interesting! .. Next time you have hot chocolate, do this.
Find a spoon and stir the hot chocolate well. Tap the spoon on the inside-bottom of the mug repeatedly. You should notice a large increase in frequency over time! Very cool stuff. After experimenting a bit (it works with basically any liquid-powder mixture, effect increases with increased temperature and increased amount of powder, for the most part. Hot chocolate works best for me though, and it tastes great too..)
Google “hot chocolate effect” if you want to know exactly how it works. Its pretty interesting.
I expect this post will prompt at least 5 people to make some hot-chocolate. Have fun.
P.S. I noticed this effect while absentmindedly drinking hot chocolate in the morning. Its not well known at all.
Well, thanks for the post. Lots of good information! Glad to hear you’re back in Boston!
There’s an In-n-Out right on the border of Daily City and San Francisco. It’s right off of 101. But you missed it :(
Too bad, I missed this in San Francisco. It would have been interesting to go, as I’m very interesting in MIT (though I still have a few more years in high school…). My former math teacher is an MIT grad