Early Action Update by Matt McGann '00
The latest on app tracking, app numbers, etc.
*Update as of 2015: Early action is available to both domestic and international students.
The Early Action season is shaping up to be a very busy one here at MIT Admissions!
This week, The Tech, MIT's student newspaper, reported that we have received about 6500 applications for Early Action.
Early action applications on the rise
Expected 6500 applicants will be another record for MIT admissions
By Joanna Kao, STAFF REPORTER
November 16, 2010
The number of undergraduate early action applicants has again increased, by about 14 percent over last year. Though the admissions office does not have an exact tally yet, they predict that there will be nearly 6,500 early applications, which would be 800 more than last year's 5,684.
The increase in applications comes even as the number of graduating high school seniors held steady this past year. "As I traveled around the country this fall, I found more and more young people who are aware of MIT, and who sincerely want to be a part of our community. They are attracted to the innovative spirit and the excitement of engaging with the worlds most pressing problems," said Stuart Schmill, Dean of Admissions. "And so we have seen an increase in applications despite the fact that the number of high school graduates in this country has leveled off."
The admissions officers will be reading these applications all of November into December. We have not yet determined on what date we will release EA decisions. It will likely be sometime in mid-December, but you should wait for an official announcement from our office. We have not yet determined when the announcement will be made; it usually is about a week before decisions are released.
With thousands of applications comes bags and bags of mail. Yesterday, we became up-to-date with application processing. The current status of your application is now shown on your MyMIT application tracking.
This is a good time for you to check up on the status of your application components. The Application Tracking will show what materials we have processed for you. We should have the following: Application Part 1, Application Part 2, Secondary School Report and Transcript, Evaluation A (math or science teacher), Evaluation B (humanities teacher), Testing Requirements (except November scores, which we expect to receive shortly), and, if applicable, Interview Report. Supplemental materials are not tracked.
If the tracking system is missing something, do not worry. We do not assign blame on why we don't have it, we just know that we have not processed it. We will not look at your application unfavorably because it is missing an application component at this time. We will wait a while longer before having it evaluated to give you time to send along another copy. Your complete application will be considered for Early Action.
If the tracking system on MyMIT indicates that we are still missing parts of your application, fax your materials to 617-258-8304 as soon as possible. If your school uses Naviance/Docufide, you are welcome to submit the documents in that way instead of fax if you wish. Either way, please allow 48 hours to process your documents. Thank you for your patience.
If you had an interview and we haven't yet processed it, you should fill out the Conducted Interview form on the MyMIT Application Tracking Detail page. We will follow up with your Educational Counselor.
If we have not processed standardized test scores that that you had the testing agency send us, then you may fax us a copy of an official score report. We will follow up with the testing agency. If we are missing your TOEFL scores, make sure the name on your application is exactly the same as it is on your TOEFL registration. If it is not, please send us an email with your TOEFL registration name.
I know that the Midyear Report box is sitting there, unchecked. Don't worry about this unless you are deferred from EA to RA. This form will not be made available until well after EA decisions are released.
The increase in EA applicants is probabily due to the fact the most schools are abandoning EA to ED, so students are flocking to the remaining EA schools (like MIT, CalTech, Chicago) to gain assurance to a good school early.
Hi, Matt. I accidentally found an error in my Application Form Part 1, which has already been summited. I am very concerned about it and what should I do now?
Can missing materials be resubmitted through Naviance edocs?
According to a “missing application components” email I received, I am supposed to submit through Docufide; but according to this blog post I need to fax it. Which should i do?
@Anonymous
@Bear
Yes, you may submit through Docufide. I have modified my blog entry above to reflect that.
@Andrew:
You can email us at [email protected].
Hi Matt,
One of my teachers is resending her evaluation, but she says that the fax number is disconnected. Our school does not use Docufide. Would you know why that is the case, or if there are any other ways to send it?
Thanks in advance. :D
Hi Matt,
I have sent my SAT test scores through collegeboard, but they haven’t been processed yet. Where should I go to find a copy of an official score report?
Hi Matt,
I don’t have a fax machine to fax my SAT scores. Is it alright if I just email the admissions office my score reports?
Thank you Matt for the frequent updates. They really do make life simpler for students far away from MIT. The MITadmissions.org site is one of the easiest sites to navigate and find answers. Thank you!
@ Matt
Thank you so much for this letter and taking the time to make sure that everyone is on track! Lately I’ve been applying to other colleges as well and I would like to let you know that of the sites I have been on, MIT’s website is definitely the easiest when finding admissions information. And a big part of that is the fact that these blogs answer so many needed questions. Thank you, you made my journey so much easier when it came to applying for MIT :D
Dear Matt
I have emailed the admission tutors two days ago and I have not got any reply. Regarding the error in my Application Form Part 1, which has already been summited, is it possible that I might have start to register a new account and start everything again?
Thank you very much
Hi Mr. Matt! Thank you for your post
Matt i got a problem, I have graduated from my high school in 2009 since in post soviet countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan etc. We study only 11 classes/grades, so I am 19 now… I was admitted by medical school in my country, but realized that i don’t want to be a Doctor. After my 2nd semester there I decided to change my major and Applied to Government international scholarship Bolashak(from kazakh “Future generation”)as an Electrical Engineer, I past all the tests. I won it…)
Now they are sending me to Intensive English language Institute to U of Illinois at Urbana-Ch., but there is still chanse to change it to MIT if MIT has one.
So it means that I have to miss application to class of 2015 and apply to class of 2016…
Would it be a “minus” for me?? I mean wouldn’t they consider me as a crazy old man that is crazy for MIT? But honestly I am crazy))
Thank you Matt…
my email is [email protected]
Dear Matt
I am a student from Myanmar (Burma). Thank you for your updated information. I think MIT regular action applicants will also rise considering the trend of the number of growing applicants in previous years. Do you have any plan to expand the student body to cover the increasing applicants, including international students? I have read from MIT press that MIT will expand the student body this year. Does this include international students?
Thanks for the update Matt. I am in a dilemma; I cannot find 2 certificates for 2 of my awards and I have also contacted the organization to ask for new certificates, but it says that it is not possible. I am wondering if I should email MIT Admissions to ask for those awards in my application to be removed, or if I should just leave them. I would really appreciate it if you could answer this question. Thanks a lot.
So I’ve tried faxing in missing materials (testing requirements – I’m sooo mad at college board lol). But I’m getting an error message. I’m almost positive it’s an error on my end…
Is there any other way I can submit this?
Perhaps email?
@G: She should try the fax again on Monday. Let me know if it still doesn’t work.
@Lindsay: Thanks!
@Thura: I don’t know.
@SL/Beaver: You can try thta; hopefully it should work.
@Surya: And thank you!
@Andrew: We have emailed and fixed this situation.
@Ruslan: MIT does not have an “Intensive English language Institute” or anything like it, sorry. You could apply to MIT as a transfer student if you wish. Your age will not be a factor in your admission.
@Sweet: You should leave the awards in the application; you need not send the certificates.
@Allie: You can email us. If you have released your scores to us, we should be able to get them from the testing agency, depending on your particular situation.
Hey Matt,
Sorry, but I’m somewhat paranoid at this point. I sent in first secondary school report & transcript by the due date, yet I received an email saying it was not there some 4 days ago. So I rushed my school into faxing another copy as soon as possible, however it was not successfully sent until Friday morning. This post says to allow 48 hours to process, but even after 48 hours my My.MIT account says that is has not been processed. How can I know that MIT has my transcript, I definitely don’t want to be knocked down from early action because I was misinformed that the transcript was sent when in fact MIT doesn’t have it…
Thank you for your help!
Hi Matt, my school is using Naviance. My teachers submitted their recommendation letters mid Oct. MyMIT account shows one has been received and the other one is missing. What should I do now? Kevin
Hello Matt! After reading such essays about people overcoming difficult situations to say the least, I am wondering if I did my essay wrong. I did not mention that we were homeless one year for 8 months and lived in our car all the while maintaining straight As and washing our hair in the local laundry mat. Am sort of feeling since I didn’t write about my obstacles and hardships and how I overcame them that I will not get an admission. What do you think? These were HARD times and I don’t like to remember them but it seems most essays recall such adversities. Thanks for your opinion.