Decision Day Eve by Matt McGann '00
Making your decision by May 1.
So… tomorrow is that fateful day. May 1. Otherwise known as the Common Reply Date. The day by which you need to let your colleges know your decision.
If you’re still undecided: How can we help you make your decision? What more would you like to know about MIT? What are your lingering concerns? I am available, as are all of the bloggers, to field questions below in the comments, all the way through midnight tomorrow…
If you haven’t yet replied: As soon as you’ve made up your mind for sure about whether or not to attend MIT, please let us know your decision through the online reply form at MyMIT. You have three choices: tell us you’re enrolling this fall (Yay! Welcome officially to the MIT Class of 2012!), that you’re declining our offer of admission (it’s okay, we know you’re making the best choice for yourself), or to request a deferral/gap year(s) before enrolling at MIT (for a gap year, military service, or other reason). Whatever your decision is, please do reply through the online form as soon as you can. This way, we can ensure the fairest treatment of waitlisted students.
If you need more time because you don’t have complete financial aid information: Students can request an extension of the May 1 deadline in order to complete and contemplate financial aid. Please contact Joanne Cummings in the Admissions Office to request the extension, and be sure to also be in touch with your financial aid officer.
If you’re already said YES to MIT: Yay! Several things will happen soon. First, you should make sure you’ve signed the guestbook on MyMIT so you can stay in the MIT Class of 2012 Facebook group. Second, we will begin sending out the Next Big Mailing (NBM) soon… start thinking about an email address soon (look for more in a future entry). We’re looking forward to seeing you in the fall!
If you’ve already said NO to MIT: First: thank you. It’s been a real pleasure getting to know you. We’ve spent the last year thinking about you, getting to know you, talking to you, your parents, and more. After a ridiculously competitive admissions process, we chose you from the thousands upon thousands of super-qualified applicants, because we truly believe in you. And, in the process, we grew very attached to you, and not just for what you’d bring to the MIT community, but also for the amazing persons you are. Like a wise man once said, for us, it’s more than a job. It’s hard not to get attached.
This college process, is, of course, a two-way street. You get to choose where to apply, then we (the admissions officers) choose whom to admit, but the final choice is yours — which school is the best fit for you? We knew coming in that approximately one-third of all of the students we admitted would choose to enroll somewhere else. That’s a statistic. But zooming in, there are 500 individuals who find a better match, and letting go of other options can be hard on both sides. That can be emotional.
To those of you who have written in with personal letters — some bordering on apologies (there’s nothing to apologize for!) — letting us know that you’re choosing another school that’s a better fit for you: thank you for your letters, thank you for your friendship, and congratulations on making a great choice for yourself. This isn’t the end of the road, and I hope you’ll feel free to keep in touch and talk about all the amazing things that happen in your life. In the end, wherever you ended up for college, you were going to be an awesome person. I truly and honestly wish you all the best for your next four years and beyond. You’ve got an amazingly bright future ahead.
If you’re on the waitlist: The waitlist is part of the college admissions process. Schools don’t yet know if they’ll be going to their waitlists, and if so for how many students. For MIT’s waitlist, I know many of you are curious; however, I won’t be able to say anything until I post here, and I’ll post as soon as I can, but please be patient. In the meantime, make sure you enroll at another school before May 1.
Happy April 30th!
first
Look for the press release tomorrow
MATT! Hi there. I’m the crazy Arab guy from the meet the bloggers event (just in case Omar A. doesn’t ring any bells). So the MIT ISEF reception is still going on I hope right? I’m very, very pumped for this.
What are some of the things that we will need to bring from home (cause I might be flying to MIT) and is there absolutely no need for a car in Boston? Does finaid change drastically from freshman year to the next?
@Ahmed: Nope! You’re all set.
Just keep an eye out for the Next Big Mailing…
I suppose I should repost this here: When is it “too early” for a teacher to fill out and send an evaluation form? What about test scores?
@Jose P.
It is too early if you don’t have the updated form! Wait till the summer, when the new forms are out! No need to rush that much.
Uh, yeah, in case you guys missed the last 2 messages we facebook admins sent you and Matt’s reminder, SIGN THE GUESTBOOK. I’m pretty much uber-pumped to meet you guys.
@ Matt – does my school need to mail in my final transcript?
Matt, you’re right. This is becoming a very emotional decision.
Anyone have any insight on choosing between a combined medical program and MIT?
Thanks!
Matriculating was amazingly cool and exciting.
I’m so excited for the NBM, and, more importantly, for the fall!
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I’ve definitely noticed (on the Facebook group and elsewhere) a number of people asking about email confirmations when they sent in their decisions. I know that I at least would have liked to see one to dispel all of my random nervousness. Would it be possible to consider sending out an automated confirmation email for future classes?
Does MIT do a lot of work in global health and global health technologies?
for the financial aid self-help and other papers, is it a postmarked May 1st or is it a received by May 1st?
i seem to be one of many who worried/is worrying that something may have potentially gone wrong when i sent in my acceptance of my offer. So i called and the person who spoke to me checked on her computer to verify that they received my response to matriculate. Just go to the same link on your MIT account that you clicked on to give your response, and call the number you see there.
Ah, *that* decision day. I was really confused for a moment thinking that admission decisions were being… released… in April.
I’m tired ^.^
jess’s post last year was great- put it at the blog top for twelvers to read now. How do you get one heavy, 60 lbs, item from west to east coast? no it’s not my dog.I’s musical.
Thanks a lot Matt for the update!
I had been hoping to see the word ‘waitlisted’ in your post for so long. It means a lot to us waitlisted candidates.
@ Helen ’12
I did not attend MIT; my son will be in the Class of 2012 next year. In general, I think applying from MIT will give you an advantage over most other medical school applicants (who apply to schools other then Ivy League medical schools), especially if your plan is to pursue private practice. The perception that coming from MIT makes it more difficult to get accepted (because of grade deflation, etc.) I think is false, and I think the collaborative study culture at MIT is relatively unique and more rewarding as you go through your college years. Medical school will probably be easier than four years at MIT!
Does the Admitted Student Portlet on MyMIT (all that stuff…CPW stuff, the letter from Dean Schmill, etc.) disappear for everyone or only for those who decline MIT’s offer of admission? That could be another good way to figure it out.
Speaking of which (since the rest of my post implies that I said no) I did, in fact, decline a spot in MIT’s Class of 2012. I want to extend a final thank-you to the admissions staff for their hard work, as well as the bloggers for constantly renewing my enthusiasm in MIT as the whole application/selection process has gone on. It was a very tough decision for me to make this week.
Dear MIT Admissions,
The entire committee has been undoubtedly awesome during this hectic application season. I can’t describe the gratitude I feel toward the Office of Admissions for the dignified and empathetic way it has treated me (since I can’t say for other applicants, even though I assume it’s the same).
MIT. It’ll always be in my mind.
Sincerely,
A student.
@Helen: In some ways, it’s hard to give advice, since the two options are so different! How sure are you that you want to be a doctor? How important is the certainty of medical school admission to you? How much is the possibility of admission to an even better medical school worth to you? How much would the anxiety of being pre-med impact you? Are you excited to spend the next {6/7/8} years at he same school, in the same city? Do you know anyone who has had to make the same decision?
Best wishes, it sounds like you can’t go wrong!
@Reuben: Yes, we’ve learned that. Things should be better for the Class of 2013 — thanks for providing the feedback that will make things better for them.
@carmen: Postmarked May 1 is fine.
@Rebecca/Anonymous: Thank you both, and best wishes!
@Omar: ISEF things TBD. I’m in California now but will update everyone when I can.
@Helen – If it’s medical school you’re worried about, don’t let that influence your decision (well, for one, it can change – I came in premed and now I want a PhD in biology instead). MIT students have a high acceptance rate into medical schools – coming here certainly isn’t a detriment to that path.
In the end, though, don’t pick a school based on your chances of getting into a vague future career – pick a school based off the experiences you want to have in college =).
Best of luck!
Matt and all bloggers,
You are an amazing group. You made the whole process unforgetable for our family.
My daughter has not say no to MIT yet, she wants to keep her dream as long as possible although she has accepted another college’s offer. I know she did not follow her heart and she made such decision for relieving her parents’ financial burden. MIT was her dream and still is. She will come to MIT some day.
Thanks for the update Matt !
I did it. So I’m officially MIT Class of 2012. Gave up two med school seats…but I think it’ll be worth it!!
Helen: See you in the fall…and good luck!
Whoa, I did not realize Omar was Arab. Haha I’m slow.
The waitlist decision can’t come soon enough. I’ve been waiting on pins and needles since March 15th. Thanks for updating us, Matt, we really appreciate it!
@A1: Definitely no need for a car in Boston – it’s an awesome city for walking, biking, or just taking the rather excellent public transportation. As for what to bring from home, Jess wrote this pretty awesome entry last year, so that should help you out out a little.
I didn’t get any email confirmation or anything after I matriculated online. Should I be worried?
Thank You for the info on the waitlist. I’m so nervous..
@ Helen ’12
As a physician who, long ago, skipped senior year to go to medical school, my advice is go to MIT! You’ll never get the missed years of college back, and you’ll certainly be able to go to medical school, coming from MIT.
@Roy
If you happen to see this soon…
Do feel that coming from MIT has given you an advantage in the medical field?
Thanks!
Anonymous (though these are actually open questions) —
Okay, but what about test scores? How does MIT handle test scores — that is, what does the Admissions department do with test scores from, say, June, of students that hope to apply for that same year (EA or RA)?
You may think this ‘rushing’ superfluous, but it’s just a precautionary measure. Things have a tendency of ‘blowing up in my face’ if I wait until the last minute, hour, day, week, month, or season to do them (actually, things have a tendency of ‘blowing up in my face,’ period). Better to have people gawk at me because I sent parts of my application 4 months in advance, than because I never sent them at all. XD
I forgot to send the MIT self-help and similar forms; can I send them in later, like tomorrow?
José, there’s a difference between not rushing and waiting until the last minute =D. Are you a prospective ’13? If so, I think the suggestion is to get part 1 of your application in before sending in a bunch of other stuff, but it’s probably better if an admissions person answers that.
I sent my SAT scores to MIT on my last round of testing that was guaranteed to get there in time for applications (admissions will tell you which those are). Don’t stress too much =D.
Hi all,
)
2 Questions:
1.What about international transfer students? I haven’t received even an answer yet. When are the admission decisions on transfer going to be released?
2.Is there an e-mail address in which I could send mail for questions regarding my application? I only see a regular post address (you know, the old thing with paper, envelope, stamps, 2 weeks wait
Thanks!
I have my phone charged and ready in anticipation of any call from the MIT admissions staff. I check my email every five seconds. My homepage is the MIT admissions page and the computer’s going to be on 24/7 until I get a decision.
Ok, I’m exaggerating a little, but I’m definitely an MIT webpage stalker… and I bet most other waitlisted students are too.
MIT is my homepage…
Seriously, I guess all the waitlisted students are sailing in the same boat with the same intensity of anticipation.
Do we get know before late May whether waitlist will be used or not? Will the admission staff put up the statistics regarding the number of students who have enrolled?
MIT is my homepage too…. and I’m on the waitlist too..
hey, i am not sure if i’m on the right page or anything, but where is the page for those ’09 applicants?
btw, Mr Matt McGann, I have met and talked to you before in the admissions office *maybe you cannot recall anymore*
To Mr Matt McGann,
I was wondering (with dread) when our myMIT will disappear forever?–Which is what I have been told. I wish it would NEVER disappear!! Could you please “gently” warn us beforehand?
I will miss my myMIT most terribly :S
Best,
Ty
Saw some interesting facts and tidbits on MIT here
Education Blog
I know, Piper, but I am registered for the June SAT (big surprise), and I’m not sure if I can choose MIT (or the other colleges I wish to apply to, but that’s a different matter) as a score recipient, or if I’ll have to send them after a specific date (which might cost me some $$$). I believe the Test Requirements page strongly suggests the former option, but I’m [still] curious as to what the Admissions Commitee does with these scores. As you mentioned, though, an admissions staff member should answer this one.
Yes, I am a prospective ’13 (EA).
(Sorry to bother! >, registered for the June SAT (big surprise), and I’m not sure if I can choose MIT (or the other colleges I wish to apply to, but that’s a different matter) as a score recipient, or if I’ll have to send them after a specific date (which might cost me some $$$). I believe the Test Requirements page strongly suggests the former option, but I’m [still] curious as to what the Admissions Commitee does with these scores. As you mentioned, though, an admissions staff member should answer this one.
Yes, I am a prospective ’13 (EA).
(Sorry to bother! >,<)
Has anyone received their NBM (Next Big Mailing) yet? My kid is waiting and figured it ought to have arrived today but it didn’t.
Question:
I recognize that what really drive MIT selection process is “the right match”. Is there any case (or/and does it abound) in which an applicant is the perfect match yet he is not admitted probably because there where too many applicants that were perfect matches? This question applies to both the freshman and transfer application (within the context of both the domestic and international application).
Also, is there any chance for a transfer applicant whose CGPA is in 3.2? i.e. Is there any chance for such a student to be accepted, considering that it is less than 3.5.