Early Action: Not Admitted by Decisions
A forum.
There were a record number of applications for Early Action this year, which unfortunately means that we had to turn down a great number of incredible students. For those of you who fall into this category, this is an open forum for you to talk.
We understand that this may be a difficult time for you, but we ask that you converse civilly and with the best of intentions, as that is the spirit of our process.
I know it’s difficult for you all. But Remember, Einstein wasn’t from MIT…..lol. Undoubtedly MIT is ONE of the best, but if you go and just sit there, you ain’t going to win any NOBEL prize. You need to work Harder and smartly, anywhere you are….This poem is dedicated to you all. Improve yourself.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!
Congratulations to everyone who got in!
In all honesty, I’m pretty relieved. This will made choosing my first-choice school so much easier!
I was kind of expecting this to happen, but I always had that little hope that I could have made it to deferred. For the most part, I wanted to apply to know that I could not get in rather than regret not applying when I’m older.
Anyway, all I really want to know now is what I could have done better. If I can improve myself at all, this is my chance to do so. Is there some way I can find out what what exactly was not up to standards?
If there is a way, great! If not, I’ll just try to improve everything.
Ah well didn’t make it, happy day for all those who did
Great job, I’m sure you deserve it!
Ah well, everything happens for a reason.
Well no dice. =(
thank you, brandon, for responding civilly and with equanimity. you are a good person. and i hope others follow your lead.
best of luck
I thought I MIT would have been a good school for me, apparently MIT does not think I would be a good student for them :'(
At least there is always graduate school.
The Rejection means flat out that we can not reapply this year in the Regular Decision pool correct?
For that, we would have needed to be have been deferred?
@anon –
yes, unfortunately.
So what does the deferred message and not admitted message look like?
I have:
“The Admissions Committee has completed its review of your application and I am very sorry to tell you that we are unable to offer you admission to MIT.
This year we had more than 6,000 Early Action applications but fewer than 1,000 offers of admission. We expect to have a large Regular Action application pool as well, so this year is truly the most competitive ever at MIT. Please keep in mind that most of our applicants are exceptional students, including many who are not offered admission simply because we do not have enough space in our entering class.
I wish you the very best in all of your future endeavors.”
I assume that means rejected given the lack of the word “deferred”, although it’d be nice if they’d be more frank and have the word “rejected” in the message somewhere, just to make it clear. C’est le vie, I expected to be rejected, hoped I wouldn’t be… and well, now I am. What now? Time to send off my applications to Northeastern and USM now, I guess.
Lol wasn’t even expecting to get in, just along for the ride. Still think that MIT is awesome and good luck to everyone who got in! I loved this “Regardless of which letter awaits you behind the login, please know that we think you’re simply fantastic – and we can’t wait to see how you change our world for the better.” thank you!
Well, on to plan B. I’m actually kinda glad that I just got declined instead of deferred.
I don’t know my results yet because the server’s gone down. Thousands of people are fervently checking their destiny, and have consequently blocked me from mine.
But I just wanted to say, if you weren’t accepted, it’s okay! You’re all still wonderfully amazing and will continue to be wonderfully amazing wherever you go!
Not admitted, MIT was pretty much the only school I wanted to get into. No time to be depressed, have a paper due tomorrow. Is there a way to find out what I did wrong to fix my other applications?
And Congratulations to the admitted ones
Aw… Now I have to do more college essays.
Anyone else glad they got rejected as opposed to deferred? I’m just glad I don’t have to wait any longer!
For some perspective: http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/guest_entry.shtml
@taylor– deferred message looks like:
“We have completed our Early Action review of your application and have chosen to defer it to our Regular Action review time.”
They don’t give any numbers in the deferred one though
can we change parts of our application for RD
Ah well- Sure, I didn’t have the best marks on paper, or on the College Board tests, but I was still hoping to get a shot, even though I knew I never really had a chance. For another life, I suppose?
Either way, good luck to everyone who got in. I’m sure you all deserved it and will do great things with what you gain from MIT.
@DP –
No, unfortunately you may not; nor may you reapply for RA.
Thanks for reviewing my application and considering me! Hopefully you’ll hear from me again in the not too distant future! Transfer and Graduate Admissions aren’t that far off in the grand scheme of things!
Nuts.
Congrats to everybody who made it.
Does anyone else think that the Chris Peterson @ MIT Admissions character isn’t the real Chris Peterson? Definitely looks suspicious to me.
A couple games of Settlers of Catan to get over the worst time I’ve ever had listening to Mahler’s Second Symphony and I’ll try again next year
Yay for the college admissions process becoming a crapshoot with too many variables to make any sense. I shall have a most festive time applying to a host of significantly more mediocre schools.
Enjoy your evening, I know I am
So are we just in the bottom seventh of people quality-wise who applied? Are there any statistics on how many got deferred?
Anyway this is so much more depressing than being deferred. I guess there’s always CMU for computer science, but I’m pretty sure it’ll never be the same…
khurshid –
I wish I were famous enough where it was worth it for people to fake being me
Why wouldn’t Chris have the nice little link to his blog like most of the other MIT bloggers do? sniff sniff I smell a rat.
I can add one in. Does that make you happy?
Yes, very! :D
Sorry, I’m a skeptical person I guess. Hope you aren’t offended!
I don’t get how adding a link makes you happy, since anyone can add any link they’d like to a post
(Granted, I do think it’s the actual Chris, since he hasn’t said anything out of character for him.)
Wait, they can? Drat. xP skeptical mode re-activated
I feel terrible. I even cried some. MIT was my dream school. I’ve been wanting to go to MIT ever since I was 5. I thought I could at least get deferred, but I don’t know what happened. I loved MIT with every fiber of my being, and my application was pretty good in my opinion… I… I just don’t know anymore. All I can do is cry.
^I don’t really know what else to say besides that. I thought I was at least not terrible enough to be deferred, even if I didn’t get in.
Good luck to everyone with other applications I guess.
I appreciate your spirit Tanay!
Well, I thought MIT was the perfect school for me and I still know that I am the perfect student for MIT, guess it just wasn’t shown in my application enough. Not all hope it lost, every single one of us will end up where we are supposed to, and we will make an impact on the world.
Congratulations to the Class of 2015! I wish I could have joined you, but it was not meant to be.
Chris, is there a way for me to know what I was missing to be accepted? What parts of the application I did wrong etc? That would be really helpful to make sure the applications I now need to do are perfect.
Hey everyone,
I know some of you are pretty disappointed about being rejected. I just want to point you to this blog post, which never fails to give me hope that the college admissions process might actually be all right:
http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/the_selection_process_application_reading_committee_and_decisions/its_more_than_a_job.shtml
I know Ben’s not at MIT anymore, but his advice still applies and I’m sure that the rest of the MIT adcom shares his views as well. So please, keep your head up, knowing that you were not simply just forgotten and thrown aside, but that real people actually really cared about you.
Keep your head up and smile. You just got rejected by the best college in the country (or at least I think so, anyways). It’s not the end of the world. I know you’re all awesome, and I believe in you.
(Because if you weren’t awesome, you wouldn’t be applying to MIT! Obviously.)
Ah well, I’m still going to Oxford for graduate school! =)
Congrats to everyone else!
How unfortunate…oh well, at least i won’t have to worry about hearing from MIT anymore. I’m soooo glad i applied to Northeastern EA too, i got in there =]
Congrats to all who got in, but to those who didn’t, don’t worry too much about it. I’m sure you’re all great students who are really going to make a difference in the world. I know I am.
Just a question? I know, traditionally, MIT usually defers more people than it denies. Did this change this year or did my application suck, lol?
lolololol
My name scores like a 15 in scrabble… that explains a lot.
Also, stupid captcha. No, I can’t get it right, there’s an accent on the N. And if you know the answer, why are you asking me?
@Kay Li
I feel you 100%
I don’t really know how to respond. I dreamed of MIT before I knew of its existence, not even to be deferred, I won’t permit myself to cry, but I have almost no other thoughts. All I can say is, Whoever got in, work hard, work very hard. Wherever I am, I’ll be working hard too; don’t drop your A-Game for a minute, because if you do, I’ll pass right by you, even if you are in the best school that exists.
David from before.
Ultimately, I’m into other excellent colleges, I’ll be fine. But let me say this:
IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD
you’re all intelligent people who know what you’re doing. Just make smart decisions and you’ll get places. Not going to MIT isn’t going to ruin your life. If it was your dream school, sorry. But why was it your dream school? The name? The environment? The people? Think for a second. And then make sure you try to replicate that environment at whatever college you matriculate to.
Yes, I agree with a lot of you. It would be great to find out what I was missing to get accepted or at least deferred. I think it may have been that my school isn’t as math and science focused as it should be, and I don’t have the opportunities to be in clubs related to math and science because it is a small school (about 150 students).
Jeff, I like how you pointed out that it feels better to apply now and not get in than to not apply and regret it. I feel the same way.
yea Kay Li, i know exactly how you feel. not only that but our school had seven people apply to MIT this year, and six of them got in. Being deffered would have made you and I feel a little better, but being a second prize is not a good thing afterall. Im sure you will do great at whichever school you truly end up at and are happy at. Good Luck!
yea Kay Li, i know exactly how you feel. not only that but our school had seven people apply to MIT this year, and six of them got in. Being deffered would have made you and I feel a little better, but being a second prize is not a good thing afterall. Im sure you will do great at whichever school you truly end up at and are happy at. Good Luck!
I doubt it’s possible, but could the applicants that were rejected be told as to why they were denied admission? Is it usually something specific, or if the application was lacking holistically?
I doubt it’s possible, but could the applicants that were rejected be told as to why they were denied admission? Is it usually something specific, or if the application was lacking holistically?
After thinking about it for a while, I think I’ve mourned enough over this. MIT made it’s decision, and I’m fine with it. I’ll still apply to MIT for graduate school and probably for a job. Ya know, I’ll always have a little spot for MIT in my heart, but sadly it’ll be next to the little MIT-shaped scar there too.
I’ve realized though, that there isn’t any need to worry. No matter what, there’s a bright future ahead for all of us. If you’re still sad or crying as I was, I’d like to give you the words of one of my most beloved teachers: “Whether it happens to you when you are sleeping or when you are awake, you will get through it. There is no need to worry.”
P.S. If you frequent C.C., you might have seen a certain poster with my initials as their first two letters post something similar to these there
.
Where are my manners? Sorry, should have mentioned this in the previous post.
Congratulations to all of the applicants that were admitted! I’m sure each and everyone of you truly devoted your best efforts to your application. And best of luck to everyone that was rejected, unfortunately. Wherever you go will be the best college for you.
And to the Class of 2015, have an awesome time at MIT! Cause you know, it’s kind of awesome.
yea Kay Li, i know exactly how you feel. not only that but our school had seven people apply to MIT this year, and six of them got in. Being deffered would have made you and I feel a little better, but being a second prize is not a good thing afterall. Im sure you will do great at whichever school you truly end up at and are happy at. Good Luck!
To everyone:
I’m really glad that there’s some positive spirit resonating in these comments, and I’d like to echo the sentiment.
That you even applied to MIT at all shows that you enjoy a challenge, that you’re bold, and that you have an insatiable curiosity. To me, those qualities sound like the stuff you need to change the lives of people around you. Why should any of that vanish after this day?
So keep your head up!
You’ll do something incredible through your efforts.
I really do wish I could know why this happened…Congrats to those who made it
Thank you for the opportunity!
I had the same fate last year(RA, though.)
Can i apply this year again?and if yes,can i change my responses to the essays. and do i send the same teacher recommendations or do I ask them to write another??also,can i send recos from different teachers?
P.S:any advice regarding applying for a second time are welcome.
Every part of MIT was a learning curve. baby steps to a grander picture. stronger have I become
Hey tanay, could you please give me the author of the poem? thanks
^ That’s incredibly disheartening…how prevalent is this kind of mindset at MIT?
@Hoc Ly: Rudyard Kipling
One of the most inspiring poet and Author.
Got to work on other colleges now..
To those who are also rejected:
WE ARE STILL WHO WE ARE: YOUNG, AMBITIOUS, TALENTED, AND TOUGH.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH ALL US.
Hey:
What were some of the SAT or ACT scores of the not admitted applicants?
I was not admitted. My best scores are as follows:
SAT:
Math: 710
Critical Reading: 660
Writing: 740
ACT:
Composite: 30
Math: 33
English: 33
I also have a 4.0 GPA, and I completed high school calculus in the eighth grade.
Yeah, my ACT and SAT scores were around the same range (770, 700, 730; 31, 34, 34), and I submitted a research paper to IEEE this fall. Not getting into MIT the first time you try is really not a shame. Actually I’m glad we all tried.
^Wow you did? You completed calculus in 8th Grade?
Whoever called Kipling inspiring, I urge you to read more about the person he was. I don’t find him very inspiring ( his imperialist outlook and all, not judging his quality as a writer), although that poem “If” truly is.
to “curious” :if you finished calc in middle school and assuming ure in 12th grade now, how did you only score a 710 on ur sats for math?
i finished bc last year, and got a 5 on the exam, and have a perfect score on the math. 2 year captain of math team.
Hello Every , I have applied for regular action !! Sorry to hear about your rejections to MIT.
All I would like to say is that do not give up hope and never forget that there are small children who are skipping meals, working hard labour only to attend school ( schools which do not even have a name ), I know such children and one of them studies while cleaning his master’s house.
You all are very fortunate people and america has 1000’s of colleges to give education (quality education)
Your introductory post has a grammar error, MIT. It should be, “There WAS a record number of applications . . .”, not, “There WERE a record number of applications . . . “
@nada: The SAT doesn’t test calculus. The math subject tests don’t either. However, I mirror your, I assume, skepticism. Also, congrats on your acheivments.
@ Tanay
I loved your poem and my son’s dream is to get into MIT and if you don’t mind I want to copy your poem and print it for him as inspiration.
So touching and thank you for sharing. Good luck to all the students! Hardships create character.
Blessings to you all!
I know this blog is only for those who did not get accepted, but I was reading it I started to get scared for my possible application. I have been planning on applying to MIT for the past ohh let’s say five years, I plan on going to the MIT summer camp and everything and my bio teacher is even an MIT alum, but hearing of all you brilliant students who have been rejected, has got me “shaking in my boots” so to speak.
@Mrs. Noteboom
I have to say that MIT was correct on the grammar. It definitely is “were”.
Sorry for everyonw who got rejected. Hope my RA goes well!!!