December Questions Omnibus 1 by Matt McGann '00

With Ben and Mollie recently answering your questions, I started to feel like a slacker… so without further ado, here are some answers to questions asked in the past two blog entries. Any questions from earlier entries that I neglected to answer here, you can repost in the comments and I’ll get to it soon.

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M.D. wrote: “Perhaps it’s been posted and I’ve missed it… What’s the deadline for sending in supplemental materials? I think Ben said something about the end of January, but he wasn’t certain.”

There is no “deadline,” as we’ll consider anything you send us up until we mail decisions. However, we recommend getting materials to us by early February, and Midyear Grade Report as soon as possible after your grades are available.

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Jane wrote, “what i’m wondering is, how does the essay really affect our admissions decisions. are certain topics off-limits for being too controversial? sex, politics, drugs? to what extent will honesty and creativity help us without going too far?”

You should be appropriate in your application. Topics such as sex, politics and drugs, if addressed in an appropriate and relevant manner, would not harm your application.

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Anonymous2 wrote, “I am an international applicant…. Regarding the completely optional essay on something I have created , I need some clarification. 1) If my document has some LaTeX mathematical symbols, it is not accepted in the space online. Can I send it my e-mail? If yes, where and in what format? 2) If my document conatins pictures etc, I ask the same question as above?” And (the same?) Anonymous wrote: “Matt, Can you please answer fast from your busy schedule whether MIT accepts extra essays regarding the completely optional thing on creativity by e-mail!! I’m an international student!!”

I would recommend having your essay mailed in along with a recommendation or secondary school report.

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Swetko wrote, “I have a question regarding Re-application. Ben already answered me but I just want see your point of view. Here is the original question: ‘I am international applying to MIT for the second time now. I wonder what does MIT do with our (for those reapplying) old application folders. Do they open them again? And if yes, what impact do they have on the new admission process?'”

Ben answered: “If you applied last year and didn’t get in, and have reapplied this year, we will see both applications. I’ve seen a couple of these cases so far this year.

“I look at last year’s summaries to see how the readers and selection committee arrived at their conclusions / decisions last year. Then I read your new app from scratch to see where you are now in contrast, in particular what you’ve done in the last year.

“As this year’s applicant pool is shaping up to be equally competitive (if not moreso) than last year’s, folks who reapply without having done anything since HS will likely not be accepted, as they will essentially be submitting the same app into an equally competitive pool.

“On the other hand, those who have taken the year as an opportunity to pursue some great experiences and grow as students/people may have a good chance of finding success the second time around. It all depends on the individual case.

“I should note that there is no advantage to having applied to MIT in a previous year.”

I think Ben just about covered it!

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Pui-Wa wrote: “I would like to ask three questions: should I include a variety of music(Chinese Pi-pa, traditional, cultural, medieval, pop music) into my recording? If I sing in different languages (like latin, german, chinese), is that fine also? If playing Pi-pa is my leisure (not very sophisticated or professtional), would you recommend me to record that too?”

Music tapes should showcase your talents. I would send in anything in which you feel you have talent.

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Carly wrote, “im glad that i kept doin all my other applications after i submitted mit so i little to worry about now just workin on keepin the grades high. im not sure i if you got one of my recommendation cause the online trackin said you never got it. so what can i do to obtain that info for sure?”

If the application tracking doesn’t list a recommendation, odds are we probably don’t have it. I would recommend sending in an additional copy of the recommendation.

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Jason wrote, “Thank you Matt for the advice. I just had a quick question. I was thinking about sending in an elaboration on one of the summer activities I listed but did not go into great detal about. Would you recommend this or not? Thanks again for your help.”

We would certainly welcome this.

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Smiles wrote: “I already asked this, but I know it got lost…If I sent/send in extra material, how will I know that it was received? Any way for me to check?”

The only application components we track are the formal pieces of the application.

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Charles wrote, “Matt any other advice for defered students???? what’s the percentage of defered students being accepted during RD?”

The percentage of deferred students admitted during regular action varies from year to year. Last year, we admitted 267 deferred students during regular action, and 326 the year before.

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David wrote, “My real concern is, would this kind of material (digital effects, animation, lightsabers :-)) be valuable supplemental material for MIT? It’s not a research project but it is something I have a passion for. It’s similar to if I were an artist, or sent in an audio recording of my singing or guitar playing. So, are special effects and video good supplemental materials?”

Supplemental materials are not as important as the application itself: grades, courses, recommendations, etc. However, supplemental materials can help us in better understanding your passions.

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Kimberley wrote, “I do have one question about supplementary materials though. For EA, I sent in a music recording. However, I have since made another recording with some different pieces, which I believe is better depiction of my skills. May I send this recording to MIT for Regular review?”

Yes, you may.

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Ankita wrote, “I haven’t yet received my admissions decision in the mail, and have not called in to find out; however, when I logged in to MyMIT, the screen was exactly the same as it was before… so can I assume that I was deferred? Just for the record, I live in Seattle. So I guess if people in FL haven’t gotten their letters yet, I should still wait?”

This was posted a week ago, so I hope by now you’ve heard, but if not you should call the Office of Admissions.

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Alex wrote, “I guess I was really curious as to whether or not sending in my latest work [even though somewhat unrefined, and I plan to do a bulk of my research over the holidays] would help my chances of admission? Could I also send in a paper I wrote for an Internal Assessment in one of my IB classes [History HL] as suplemental material?”

You don’t have to rush to send us anything now; you can send along anything you have by the end of January (or later, if that is better). Honestly, I doubt an IB History Internal Assessment would make much of a difference in decisions.

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Maddie wrote, “Not that it particularly matters, but I was just wondering if the kids that are accepted in RA will receive acceptance tubes like the EA people did. I was deferred and I thought it would be cool if there was still a chance of getting a tube. :)”

RA admit letters will probably be mailed in a different format, due to the different contents of the package.

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John wrote: “I decided earlier this year to take Organic Chemistry I at a local college, but I did not place it on any information I sent with my application because I had already applied. Now that I have been deferred, should I add that information to my application, and if yes, how should I go about adding it?”

Yes; I might include it on the Midyear Grade Report.

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Adnan wrote, “Can we remove an optional essay from the application if we were deferred EA?”

As my grandfather says, once you squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube, you can’t put it back. I wouldn’t worry about it.

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Doug wrote: “I have a question for you guys. In my application I didn’t write any optional essays because I havn’t created anything major (except a 4000 word physics research paper which you guys wouldn’t want to read. I didn’t want to proofread it either when I finished), and the biggest dissapointment I’ve experienced was receiving my CalTech deferrment on Tues., and having to wait until the next Tues., checking the mail everyday, and everyday “knowing” that I would be deferred, but nontheless faithfully plodding to the mailbox with a lump in my stomach that steadily grew to a boulder. That kinda sucked a lot, but I’m over it now. Anyway, I was wondering if I should add to my application in some way. I know you said that it wasn’t required, but everyone else seems to be sending in supplemental materials.”

I might guess that the majority of deferred students, and the majority of deferred students admitted RA, do not send in an additional materials beyond the Midyear Grade Report. Remember that the students posting on the blogs and other message boards are just a subset of the total applicant pool.

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Anon wrote, “I am also curious about the extra essay question, and was wondering, Matt, if I could send in some of my writing , mainly free verse poetry in case you were wondering.”

We would accept your poetry as an extra essay.

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krisennay asked, “So… did Huang get in?”

He was not admitted.

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Caroline asked, “Can you really just walk into admissions to meet all you cool admissions people (who give x-mas cards :) )?”

If we’re around, we’d be happy to meet you =)

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Mercedes wrote, “Hi!!! I just need a help.There was a mistake with my application fee because the fee waiver was selected by mistake,I realized that I was not eligible for fee waiver.I didn’t know how to solve it so I created another account on MYMIT and then I paid the application fee with a credit card.The problem is that the SAT SCORE has been received in the oldest account.How can I solve this problem??”

Please send an email to [email protected] detailing your problem. Be sure to include your full name, date of birth, and both account names.

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Anonymous1 had two questions: “1)Is it possible that MIT will take more than 1 student from the same school? 2)Is it true that if I apply to MIT as a major in an area, which is not that competitive as compare to engineering, do I have a greater chance of being admitted? Can I change my major (school?)after getting in?”

1) Absolutely, many schools have more than one student admitted, and not just fancy private or magnet schools. We have no quotas; we admit the best students wherever they are. 2) It is not true that applying for a “less popular” major will increase your chances of admission. We do not admit students to a specific major; we admit students to the entire university of MIT. Every freshman comes in undeclared and can choose whichever major they like at the end of the freshman year. 2b) Yes, you may change your major/school at any time without any further admission requirements.

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richard had a good one-liner: “I guess Matt is the “Producer” of MIT 2010!”

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sran asked: “For my MIT application, I am considering submitting several supplemental materials. Is it too much? They are: Cover letter (explaining what everything is); RSI, MIT mentor letters of rec; 3-4 ABSTRACTS ONLY (very short, around [less than?] 100 words); 1-page transcript from a humanities program I did (Very little of my interest in the humanities is coming through elsewhere); Tables describing summer programs, awards, activities. Most of my activities, awards, etc are very unconventional; I’ve done almost no “normal” stuff like newspaper, debate, science club, etc, and the names of the activities are not very descriptive. So I do think these are pretty essential.”

I think that is all good, though I would probably leave out the cover letter. Be sure to completely fill out the application even though you are supplementing it.

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Kyle wrote: “Hey Matt, I’m planning on submitting a computer program on CD with my application. Should I assume that admissions have Windows XP, or should I make it compatable for a different OS? (Windows is preferred)”

That should be fine, just be sure to label the CD.

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JP asked: “btw do you know how many international applicants (who created a mymit account) really send their application? I guess at least 50% of those who intended to apply don’t manage to get their SAT, TOEFL and school reports within time. Especially the TOEFL seems to knock out many international applicants. It is really not that difficult, but most test-centers are occupied for a couple of months!”

I don’t know. For international students especially, it is important to plan early if you hope to meet the application requirements.

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Tasha wrote: “Regarding mid-year grades: I’m a homeschooled student, but in my state (MN), there’s a program that allows high school juniors and seniors to enroll in college classes for high school and college credit. Basically, since the beginning of my junior year, I’ve been taking pretty much all of my classes at a local community college, and I’ll receive the grades for the classes I took this fall just before the new year. When I do, I’ll forward an official transcript from the college to MIT for my application, in addition to my full high school transcript. My question is this: If I make a note of this on part 2 of my application, will I also need a completed mid-year grades form with my application? It will contain no information that won’t already be in my application, and just means more paperwork for my parents and myself. (Admittedly, only a page, but…) On the other hand, if my application would be considered incomplete without it, I definitely want to make sure it’s in there.”

No, you wouldn’t need to submit the Midyear Grade Report then.

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April wrote: “what is an IB course?!?! if i send in extra letters of rec…do i have to use the forms or can they just be emailed in?”

IB is International Baccalaureate, a coherent sequence of advanced courses/exams that some US students may think of as comparable to AP courses/exams (though they most certainly are different). And for any additional letters, they can be mailed in directly to admissions; I most commonly see these without the forms (and the forms do not make much sense if the recommender is not a teacher).

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Carla wrote, “I said I wouldn’t ask more questions this year, but since my chance of actually getting into MIT is quite small, being an international student and not having won any kind of prize, I have been looking at other colleges in USA, but all the colleges I’ve seen consider the need of financial aid when it comes to admitting international students, and since I’ll need it that really hurts my chances, do you know of other colleges with a good chemistry department that are need blind with international students? or should i ask Mr. Barkowitz? once more thanks for all the help… also congrats to all the admitted students, and to the deferred too!”

Schools that are need blind for international students include Harvard, Middlebury, MIT, Princeton, Williams and Yale. Many of the “top” liberal arts colleges also offer very strong financial aid for international students, as well as a good number of the other “top” national universities. Good luck!

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Sid wrote: “My high school counsellor has just informed me that he has indicated my class strength as 68 and my class rank as 1. The class strength was actually 199: 130+ from the Science stream, and the other 60 odd from the Commerce stream. The entire class was divided into three sections (which, here, are referred to as “classes”), according to the subjects studied. My rank in the class of 2004-2005 was 4 ( 3, if Commerce students are excluded from the count). Will this discrepancy be a matter of major concern? Please clarify whether I should notify the admissions office of the matter via e-mail.”

Either you or your counselor should send a note explaining this.

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Sid wrote: “In the ‘Completely Optional’ essays no. 13 & 14, the online application does not accept images and special symbols such as the integral sign. Would you advise to send the essays throgh e-mail as an attachment to maintain the formatting, or should I just do away with the special symbols and images (doing which really takes out the flavour of the work)? Should I mention in the on-line application that I am sending the optional essays through e-mail?”

You could either send these in via postal mail (perhaps along with your recommendations or secondary school report), or you could modify things to not require symbols/images.

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Shikhar wrote, “one more thing matt, since it seems that you are into hindi movies and bollywood I think you must like the songs too. Have you tried out the music of the movie Kalyug??? Or are you just the Shar Rukh Khan ,Amitabh Bacchan fan.”

I haven’t heard Kalyug. Not many movies without SRK/Big B/etc. are released on screen here.

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SamF wrote: “I appreciate you taking time to answer questions, but I still have one about supplemental material. I really don’t think that my essay submitted during EA did a good job of explaining who I am or what kind of writer I am. Would it be a good idea to submit a new one or just leave it at that?”

Really, if you think your application did a good job, leave it at that. Students were deferred because their applications already made them competitive for admission in the regular action round.

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James wrote, “I asked this question several days ago, but I’m sure it got lost in the EA chaos, so I’ll ask it again. I am homeschooled, and I do not have any teachers besides my mom, so what should I do about the Teacher Evaluation forms? In the areas of math and science I was largely self-taught, and I really doubt you would appreciate if I filled Evaluation A out myself. :)”

I recommend that homeschooled students have at least 2-3 recommendations from people not related to them. This could include teachers, group leaders, mentors, etc.

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SamT wrote, “I’m thinking of sending in 2 more teacher recomendations. Is this allowed?”

Yes, it is allowed.

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Bryan asked: “Would sending in a 3D object be allowed? It wouldnt be HUGE but maybe in the range of 6″x6″x18″. Anyway, thanks for the advice.”

Yes, it would be allowed, but I would recommend sending in pictures and description instead.

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Bryan wrote, “I haven’t recieved any sort of letter yet. Is there one still coming?”

If you still have not heard, you should call the Office of Admissions.

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cujoe wrote, “question about supplements, if we made a mistake on our app, i.e. not writing in the ap’s we’re taking this year under the ap section, would it be enough to send in a letter noting this, along with any supplementery essays etc.?”

As long as your APs are noted in your self-reported grades, everything should be okay. You may still send in any supplementary materials.

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Evans wrote, “I have just completed my research paper and earned some new awards during the time between the deadline for early action and now. Can I send my paper and an updated resume as supplements?”

That would be fine, though I might instead recommend a letter from your research mentor and a letter from you telling us about the research and the awards.

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Raksha wrote, “I know you said “Let your application stand.” but I was wondering if I would be allowed to change anything (essays) because I don’t think I really explained myselfs well, and I focused more on things like test scores and classes than on who I am as a person… I mean, looking over my application again I don’t think I really showed my passion for things, (I guess because I was too scared that colleges just look at a set of numbers, and tried to emphasize the numbers in my app instead), but now, especially after reading Marilee’s comments, I understand that the application should be more about telling you who I am as a person instead of just a set of numbers. So I guess what I’m asking is, would it be possible to modify my essays, if I could make them represent me better, or should I just send some sort of supplemental material that shows who I am as a person, but leave the essays alone?”

Don’t modify your application, but feel free to send in extra materials beyond your application.

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Braxton wrote: “I applied regular action, but I was wondering what the SAT II’s are used for, are they used for admissions or just placement?”

SAT IIs are used only for admissions and not for placement.

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Sushant wrote: “I am applying to MIT regular action. However, I applied to Stanford early. I confess that even though I like MIT much more and feel more attracted towards it, I got caught in the college-craze and applied to Stanford early because of its higher early-admission statistics. I guess Stanford saw through this, and rejected me outright. I feel I deserve it. The rejection, just 3 days ago, has had a profound impact on me. I wrote an essay about this, as honestly as I could possible could. Would an essay about this topic (for the dissapointment essay topic) hurt my application, as applying early to another school implies MIT is not my first choice. Also, it is a dissapointment that is only recent, even though it has sincerely changed my views. Additionally, it could say that if Stanford rejects me, MIT might also want to reject, because there is obviously some reason why they rejected me. I know this is probably not true, after reading all the blogs. But, just wanted to get your insight.”

It’s hard to know how the essay will be seen. If you see this as the best response to the two essay options, then you should certainly submit it.

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stephanie wrote: “i’m just curious how many students are deferred vs rejected… my letter said the majority are deferred, but do you have an actual number?”

Of the 3,098 applicants, 2,371 were deferred and 216 denied admission, along with 131 who were deferred because they did not complete the application.

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David wrote, “Is it possible to send video work on DVD to you as supplemental material? I’ve done a lot of special effects work which is now archived on DVD – all are short (1 or 2 minutes) vignettes for different effects. I could send a compilation DVD of the best ones, or would a portfolio of still frames be preferable?”

You could do both, sending along a DVD as well as an 8.5″x11″ sheet or two with some still frames.

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moi wrote: “I took an MIT interview long back because the EC actually insisted on it! But I thought I had such a poor shot at MIT that when the EC asked me during the interview if I would be applying, I said “probably not”. We even talked about my other ‘first ‘ choice university i’d be applying to! Now, I think I want to apply to MIT despite my poor stats. Did my interview ruin my chances? I even frankly told him that apart from reading the blogs regularly, I hadn’t really done my research on MIT because I was so sure I would not get in even if I did apply! Apart from that, my interview went well though! Any reason for me to worry? Advice? btw, I’m an international applicant!”

It’s hard to know. We’ll try to evaluate everything within context. As you know, stats are not everything, but also as you know, admission, especially for international students, is extremely competitive.

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Rafael asked, “Is it ok if I mail my application with DHL or should I mail it via regular mail? I just ask, because there is probably no one at MIT during Christmas who could take the package… I am applying as an international student.”

Even as I’m away on vacation, I assure you there is a large team of folks staffing the mail/records office. You can send it via regular mail.