EA Telethon by Snively '11
EA Students, This One's For You!
Ok Early Action accepted students (AKA prefrosh), stay by your phones for the evening, because MIT is calling YOU!
That’s right, tonight is the Early Action telethon when current students spend their evening calling new students and chatting with them about MIT.
I’ve participated in the last two telethons but, alas, this year the 9 degree weather outside is just too much of a deterrent, it’s so nice and warm inside that I don’t particularly want to walk all the way over to campus in order to call all yalls. Especially, since, I can chat with you here. So, here’s the deal, I will be available until 11 PM EST (3 hours from now), just as long as the telethon lasts, to answer questions in the comments, and chat about MIT.
STIPULATIONS: Early Action admitted students only. I know, it doesn’t seem fair, I’m sorry, but feel free to read and enjoy the banter if you haven’t yet been accepted. This entry is due to my laziness and desire to stay warm, yet also chat with accepted students.
SO . . . have at it. You get me for three hours, go.
WooHOO!!!! I feel Excited!
Snively, do you know if one is needy enough, MIT may be able to fly them over to CPW, or is that a problem one have to resolve on his own?
yayay, i got my phone call! how long do the conversations usually last for? do you guys have like a limited amount of time that you can spend talking to one student (cause there are a lot to call! hah)
@Ronny ’13
MIT has been known to fly people out for CPW, but you don’t get to request it. They’ll look through the admitted students and decide who to offer the free flight to.
@anon 13!
The conversations last just as long as the prefrosh wants them to last. There are TONS of callers here and so we have plenty of time to talk as long as we want. Some conversations last 2 minutes, others 45, and some over an hour, it all depends on you guys.
can prefrosh friend you on facebook? is it weird to friend the bloggers since we dont actually know them…? haha, im always tempted to…
@Anonymous
I, personally, do not accept friend requests from people I don’t actually know. I can’t speak for the other bloggers, I believe several of them are friends with various prefrosh, but as for me, you’ll have to wait until you get to campus and I can see your bright and shiny face.
Can you tell me a little more about Course 2? Like what are the classes you take, what classes do you love, which classes are a pain in the neck, how cool are the kids, how hard is it on a scale of Biology to Aero/Astro, etc?
(the last two are kind of a joke).
Thanks!
Ah, this would indeed explain that phone call I got about an hour ago XD MIT takes such good care of its applicants. I can’t imagine getting in to a better school.
Hey Snively, what if I think MIT only has my now disconnected cell phone number, do you think they can somehow still magically call me, or am I all out of luck?
@Liam ’13
Course 2 (MechE) is the most popular major here after course 6 (comp sci and ee). It’s also a very full major, meaning you have to take a lot of classes and there are a bunch of requirements. The core course 2 classes that you have to take are 2.001 through 2.009. The intro classes are the odd numbers (2.001, 2.003, 2.005, 2.007, 2.009) and the followups are even (2.002, 2.004, 2.006, 2.008).
2.001 is materials and statics. Basically, you have various shapes (cylinders, I-beams, discs, what have you) and you stretch, twist, compress, or pressurize them. You then solve for various things (elongation, pressure, displacement, etc). It’s a great introduction into course 2 classes: difficult, but reasonable.
2.002 expands upon this, only with the addition of lab reports (that reportedly induce many all nighters).
2.003 is dynamics. Think AP physics only harder. This is also when LaGrangians are introduced (a magic little tool that eliminates vectors and force balances from physics). 2.003 is also kind of difficult, but totally reasonable and I enjoyed it.
2.004 is controls. It uses a lot of differential equations and Laplace Transforms. I’ve heard that as long as you grasp DiffEQ then 2.004 is relatively straightforward.
2.005 is Thermal Fluids I (aka, death). 2.005 is the hardest class I’ve ever taken in my life. The PSETs took a dozen hours each, the tests were like being clubbed in the head with a cattle prod, and the final made some people cry. It’s the most failed class in the major and will push you to the limit. Consider it the course 2 weed-out class.
2.006 is Thermal Fluids II (aka, death part II). Apparently 2.006 is slightly easier and more applied, but still ridiculously difficult. I think what makes it easier is that you’ve done 2.005 before and, frankly, everything is easier than 2.005.
2.007 is MIT’s famous robot class. Everybody in the class is given a bucket of stuff, some electronics, and access to a machine shop. They then have to engineer and construct a robot from the pieces they are given and compete with them at the end of the semester in a large competition. Seen the movie “21”? This is the class that most closely resembles what their robot competition was.
2.008 is the yo-yo class, where you learn about injection molding, design, production, and manufacturing. At the end of the semester you’ll have designed and manufactured a bunch of yo-yos (which are usually handed out to friends before everybody heads home).
2.009 is the design class. Basically, you’re given a theme, $5,000, and a semester to build a very legitimate product and then give a huge presentation at the end of the year. 2.009 is a huge time sink, but it’s really rewarding and a lot of people love it. I look forward to it quite a bit.
There are some other minor requirements that aren’t a big deal until you get here. As for the people in course 2, they seem to be very nice. I have a lot of course 2 friends and we all tend to get along. We all like building things so we have something in common, we always talk about great stuff we could build and put together.
@Ronny ’13
Hopefully that’s not the case, and hopefully they call you. If not, e-mail admissions tonight and request to change your phone number. There’s usually another round of phone calls that happens tomorrow for all the kids who were unavailable today.
Ever thought of doing an online version of EA Telethon?
I’d like to thank Amanda, my caller, for the call… sorry I wasn’t more conversational, I’ve had a fever on-and-off / been sick all day and am not really mentally present. I’m normally a bit more talkative.
It’s cool that you guys call all of us, though.
@ Sheila (’13?)
Well, then it wouldn’t be called a “tele”thon would it?…
@Sheila (’13?)
To my knowledge, the closest there’s been to a live online forum between MIT and applicants is a MathJam that Matt McGann does every year on AOPS. Other than that, I don’t think there are plans for an online version of the telethon.
Snively — thanks so much. That’s good information to know!
Hey Snively I was deferred EA, and I want to send in a supplementary essay about how awesome MIT is and how I would sell my soul to go there.
Should I just mail the essay to MIT? Is there someway I can send it in online? Also, if I mail/email it, what address do I use?
Snively, would you recommend 18.022 even if I have taken a year off of math, but did do well enough in 11th grade to have that option?
Is it also worth to take the AP Calculus BC exam this year to skip 18.01 and dive right into multivariable calculus(esp when I got a 5 on the AB exam last year)?
What about taking AP Physics C on both E+M and Mech, and AP humanities?
@Ronny ’13
18.022 is much more theoretical and difficult, if that’s what you’re in to. It has a much different curriculum than 18.02 and you may have some trouble adjusting to 8.02 (E&M) which uses a lot of 18.02, but people have enjoyed it.
Me again… sorry to drown you in AP questions, but the people above me are on to something.
So I’m probably going to be course 2, course 8, or course 16 (testosterone heavy much?). I’m currently taking AP Physics C and BC Calculus. Assuming I get a 5 on either/both, would it be wise to skip these MIT classes and go straight to the intermediate stuff? Or is it a good idea to take them again just to get a really solid background?
Snively, you are delightful.
I’m sending you totally uncreepy MIT love right now.
@Liam ’13
Skip ’em. If you can do the AP, you can do the MIT and it’d just be frustrating to do it again. MIT doesn’t offer a lot of AP credit since a lot of AP courses don’t match MIT’s rigor or curriculum, but those that it does offer do match, so there’s no need to repeat.
I didnt geet a phone call yet…
Hey Snively, quick question about CPW.
Is it alright if I arrive late? The first day (Thursday) of CPW conflicts with state science fair and I don’t really want to miss either. Are the Prefrosh icebreaker and student festival on the first night something I really don’t want to miss or are they worth skipping science fair for?
Thanks!
Snively, did you just happen to mistakenly skip over my post earlier? Or did you skip it on purpose?
I was just asking how I could send in supplementary material if i was deferred EA. Snail mail or is there a way to send it online.
But anyway I’ll be back to studying for my chemistry midterm >Snively, did you just happen to mistakenly skip over my post earlier? Or did you skip it on purpose?
I was just asking how I could send in supplementary material if i was deferred EA. Snail mail or is there a way to send it online.
But anyway I’ll be back to studying for my chemistry midterm ><
@Nathan ’13
It’s fine to skip the first day, don’t worry about it too much. The ice breaker and the student festival are fun, but they’re no more fun than anything else, so go to the science fair. Just make sure you show up as early on Friday as possible, the festivities will be going on around the clock.
Snives! (You must have a dozen nicknames, dude.)
Is college like high school in that prefrosh/freshen are looked down upon as unknowledgeable and frankly, kind of annoying?
@Ngozi ’13
No. Well, not to their faces. It’s more of an endearing “Ah, they have no idea what they’re doing because they’re freshmen. Stupid freshmen, let’s help them.”
I already received a phone call!
That was so cool!
@Snively
LOL. Oh no! I can’t wait to stumble and fail in new and fantastic places! XD Well, rites of passage…
Also, I think I have a problem: I kind of have no idea what to major in? Like, I’m interested in biology and medicine and computer sciences, and keep telling people, “I’m going to be a biomedical engineer!” Do many people encounter this problem? It seems like a lot of my peers are already on the fast track to being physicists, chemists, all-around awesome engineers, etc.
@Ngozi ’13
A lot of people have no idea what to do when they come here, but you have a whole year to figure it out, so now worries, it’ll come to you.
Unfortunately 2 students while I was at play practice and my Mom told me that one of them said that she would call back at 9:30 eastern, but hasn’t called yet (9:54 eastern here now). I hope someone calls me tomorrow lol
Also: Sorry for the spam. This is the last one, I promise:
Yes, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long blog. I have the wonderful, wonderful soundtrack. When’d you come across it?
@Anonymous
No worries, you still may get a call. The way the system is set up, you’re probably at the bottom of a stack of numbers somebody has and they are probably talking to somebody else. If they haven’t called by 11 EST then you won’t get a call tonight.
Snively,
where does the money for books come from? Do we have to buy books from our own money or is it included in the student budget & tuition?
Also,
Can you please explain the purpose of TechCASH. Does MIT give students TechCASH for books?
sorry. I’m a bit confused.
@Carlos ’13
Money for books comes from your own pocket, it’s not included in tuition. All that extra money that they estimate you’ll spend included books.
For example: $35,000 for tuition
~$15,000 for housing/food/books
MIT will take the $35,000 from you, that’s a bill. The $15,000 is just their guess how much you’ll spend on other stuff, you decide how much.
A lot of people buy books on Amazon.com, at MIT’s bookstore, or just borrow books from friends and dorm libraries.
mmm. Do you know if outside scholarships that are paid to MIT can be used for books? Maybe in the form of TechCASH that can be used at Coop?
@Carlos ’13
TechCash is just an MIT-only debit system. It’s a way to have money stored on your ID card that you can spend on campus. A lot of federal loans feed money into your “student account” and student account funds can be transferred to TechCash (they’re also used to pay tuition). Thus, loans that cover food and books tend to funnel naturally into TechCash. Otherwise, it’s just more convenient to have money on your ID card. MIT doesn’t give you any money to put there, you decide how much goes there.
@Carlos ’13
Right, a lot of outside scholarships will go into your student account, and then you can decide whether that goes towards tuition or into TechCash for food and books.
Awesome. Thanks
How does transporting all your stuff cross-country work? Between terms (aka summer), can you store stuff on campus or locally, or does everything fly back?
@Sam Range
Bring both parents, take advantage of the 2 checked + 2 carry on per person, convince your parents that all they need is one carry on and take both of their checked bags. Then, ship all bedding and things from home that don’t fit in suitcases.
That’s what I did, a combination of shipping and checked bags. Over the summer most dorms have storage options, but you will need to get EVERYTHING out of your room/move it to the dorm room that you live in over the summer. They’re very picky about that, you have like 2 days after finals to be gone or moved, otherwise they trash your stuff.
Are they making calls tomorrow too?
Snively, what would be a place of residence for a freshman that would be closest to most of my GIR classes?
For example, is there a residence hall in the center of MIT’s campus or is there one on a far edge of campus that I should avoid. Considering only the factor of distance to classes, what residance halls would you recommend?
Hey Snively, I saw that you said you advise skipping the math if u got a 5 in AP Calc BC. I took that as a junior, and I don’t quite remember things such as taylor series and polynomials. I still remember most forms of integration and derivation though. Do you think I should still skip the math?
http://www.kaboodle.com/veraferrio “>tube8 video
@Justin E ’13
Yes.
I ran into Lobby 10 at 11-ish and the admissions staff told me that I was basically useless at that point. I got some phone numbers and randomly called people anyway, but I think we’re done with the EA telethon round.
But, I might call all of you anyway.
Awww, I feel left out now…
hey….is it still on…….are you there anively? anyone?
I feel terrible, I got my phone call yesterday from the nicest guy. Unfortunately, I also had a 105 degree fever and lost my voice, so I barely squeaked out an “I’m sick, but I’m using the Facebook group for questions”.
:[
@Anonymous: I tend to accept most friend requests from accepted students, especially if I’ve already interacted with you online somehow (such as the Class of 2013 Facebook group). My philosophy is that even if I don’t know you, you probably know me through my blog and hopefully I’ll see you on campus later, so there’s no point in not friending. I make no promises that I will actually remember your name, though.
Also, I’m always happy to take questions from anyone via Facebook message (or email, of course).
@Vaibhav
You’ve gotta send it through snail-mail buddy..And send it soon!
Snively,
Does RAGGING takes place in MIT?????????
Well . . . according to Urbandictionary.com
1) Yes
2) Not really
3) Potentially
4) Yes
5) Yes
6) Yes
7) Yes
^
^
O_O　愉笑
thats pretty interesting………..can u plz enlighten us abt what kinda ragging takes place???????
ok..got it…..no need of enlightment…i was only concerned abt no. 2……
That’s RAGGING awesome!
(Sigh, what is the world coming to?)
If the MIT telethon wanted to be more representative of MIT, it could’ve been held from 1AM-4AM.
@ cam,
if u r talking abt no 2……i wont agree with u…i mean whats the point in harassing the freshmen..huh ??!!??
@cam
lol, idk how parents would feel about MIT if they called so late on a school night
I wonder if they do this for RD prefrosh too
@deng
We do, there are two telethons each year.
Snively, why did you completely ignore Vaibhav’s question?
He asked twice
::gasp:: ^_^
I had to be out all evening!! If I had known about this thing a week in advance, I wouldn’t have made ANY plans ;.;
Well, I (Nathan Arce), am sorry I missed the call of… whoever called me, but I still look forward to meeting all of you at CPW!
I also wasn’t in at all last night (ironically, I was closer to MIT than home). My mom apparently picked up the call and talked to the MIT student for a while. If only I was home…
@ Liam ’13
I can’t speak for BC calc, but you should know that just as there are different flavors of single variable calculus (you only take one) there are also different flavors of physics. Speaking with other people, I think the mid-level intro to mechanics class (8.01) is on par with AP physics C, but there is a much harder version 8.012 (the 2 at the end means its harder than 8.01) that goes beyond the requirements of the AP exam..
The official description of this class is recommended in particular for Course 8 majors (not a requirement, but it makes some of the future physics classes easier to understand because of its depth and span, introducing some concepts early here). This class assumes no prior physics knowledge, beginning from vectors, though you should know at least some single variable calculus.
Not all AP physics classes are equal. Perhaps you learned enough in your physics class to both get 5’s in the AP, as well as ace this class. My recommendation to you is to aim for those 5’s in AP physics C , and if (can I hope for a ‘when’?) you decide to come to MIT, ask to borrow the textbook for 8.012 (introduction to mechanics, by Kleppner and Kolenkow) and flip through it to see if you know the material, and in the case that you don’t, if you would like to learn it. Then make your decision.
5’s in the AP physics exam does not guarantee you an easy time in this class, but neither should you feel so terrified of this class that you avoid it completely if you haven’t done AP physics. The results of this first test is before ‘Add date’ (your last chance to switch from 8.012 to 8.01) so you can use the test to gauge if you think you can pass this class or switch to 8.01. (if you fail 8.01/8.012, you have to do an intensive makeup over IAP: you don’t want to fail). And you won’t fail your future classes at MIT if you haven’t taken this class, as proven by how few people actually take the class (this year, only ~10%), and how many graduate (over 90%).
whoa, only 10% of students take 8.01 or 8.012? is that really true?
everybody i know at MIT took one of them… i actually don’t know anyone who skipped into 8.02 or 8.022.
its not the best place to write this post but still..
i have sent my application stuff (containing transcripts, LORs, fee waiver application), 2 weeks ago and at the USPS website it still says NO RECORD…i am a bit worried whether the packet reached MIT admissions office…..
happy new year to all…….best wishes!!
i couldn’t agree more that MIT takes good care of its students.
To any of you who are disappointed because you missed/ didn’t get a call from the Telethon, I’m equally disappointed because I forgot to go to it, so I’d be happy to call you, or chat via IM/e-mail – just shoot me an e-mail (nbieber [at] mit.edu) and let me know.
(I’m Course 6 and 18, but I have little experience w/ 18 as I just declared it a month ago).
At “Anonymous: January 16, 2009 06:05 PM”
I think that Lauren ’12 meant that only 10% of those that take Physics I (8.01 or 8.012) take 8.012. I’d guess most people take Physics I.
@ Melody
Ohh, that makes much more sense. Thanks!
@ Snively
Time to delete the spam
P.S. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe! CPW STUFF IS UP ON MYMIT!
^To the above 2 responses (nelsonqtju and hartmanntkgr):
You guys disgust me. Posting this on a university’s blog. Pervs.
@wow (’14?)
Those are bots.
Hey Snively,
I got my call yesterday, but the background noise was slightly louder than the speaker herself, I didn’t exactly get my questions answered.
So I was just looking at the class list, and I was trying to choose among the lab courses I would need to graduate. I came across this robotics lab course, and I saw that it recommended prior experience in mechanical engineering, software, etc. How much is needed to do well in the class without too much difficulty? Does being on a high school robotics team provide adequate experience?
Thanks,
Andy
Does MIT call international RD prefrosh too? And is the time taken into consideration?
Erm, I never got a call. That’s pretty cheap.
Pfft, nevermind, ignore me. I just read “EA”, didn’t see “accepted”.
Now I feel even worse.
^ what is that about?
@Vaibhav
I think Snively said “STIPULATIONS: Early Action admitted students only. I know, it doesn’t seem fair, I’m sorry, but feel free to read and enjoy the banter if you haven’t yet been accepted.”
anyone know what’s going on in the admissions office? anything? >.anyone know what’s going on in the admissions office? anything? >.<
2 months : P
@Mak
you can check http://www.didigetintomit.com
=)
CAN SOMEONE ANSWER MATT’S QUESTION IT WAS ACTUALLY A VERY LEGITIMATE QUESTION
@ Matt
East Campus is pretty close to main campus. Depends whether you want to be closer to Stata and the east part of the main buildings, or the Student Center and the west part.
actually, http://www.didigetintomit.com is inaccurate.. it claims 55 days, but it’s only jan 18th and decisions come out 3/20, which is still over 2 months from now
Hey Matt,
Can you please tell me when will the result of regular action be declared……………
and approximately how much time will take to get tracked….i mean i still cannot track my papers
.
.
.
@Anonymous
Well, in my defense, the subtitle writes, “RA’s find out in about…” there is the word “about”
oh well…
wats a CPW?????
@Mak
hi, I’m not Matt, but RA decisions are supposed to come out by March 20th. Judging from the EA, I’m assuming that Matt will give us an exact date probably ~a week or so in advance.
also, when you sign into application tracking, there should be a message telling you to wait until the end of january
@last anon
Campus Preview Week(end?). it’s in april when admitted students go to MIT to get familiarized with the campus and living there. it’s when you meet the rest of the ’13 class ^_^
@ Vaibhav
I thought that I was the only Vaibhav who commented here!!
Seems like I’ll have to use another initial from now on…….lol
Maybe the MIT site should integrate a captcha for posting responses… might be annoying to some users, but it’s certainly worth implementing something like that to prevent the spam !!!
@Random User
Yeah I suggested that a while ago, and I don’t know why they don’t do it. It would save them a lot of comment-sifting time, and it’s really easy to implement with just reCaptcha or something.
http://www.DidIGetIntoMIT.com/forum/
@Jesse & @Anonymous
Sorry about that, I wasn’t sure what the exact date was for decisions. I updated it.
Also, I’m thinking about adding a forum to the site. Does that sound like a good/bad idea?
Email me at mit******[at]******spleeyah.com.
(Remove the asterisks).
…what happened to the mystery hunt question? haha i was looking forward to it!
Yeah, and the “bloggers”, where did they all go?…
@Ronny ’13
Mystery Hunt. I’ve been MIA since Friday afternoon solving puzzles, as were many others. We’ll get back to blogging soon, we’re recovering right now.