First read by Matt McGann '00

Welcome those of you who have just joined us! I encourage you to read all the posts from the beginning, and also check out the student blogs: Mitra, Kevin, and Allison.

Tomorrow, the entire admissions staff will gather for our meeting to get us prepared to read your thousands of applications. One exercise is that we will discuss the same three folders that we each have read this weekend, getting on the same page as far as what makes a good summary of an application. I just finished reading and summarizing my applications (each application takes about 30 minutes each), and I must say I’m very excited to be starting the application reading season.

Right now, we have lots of applications started but many fewer finished, so it will probably be another week and a half until we start the serious reading. In the meantime, we’ll contnue with our other work, including wrapping up our fall travels, developing more content for the my.mit.edu portal, catching up on email (I’m still behind), etc.

Current music: Michael Buble, Come Fly with Me

Not the same few colleges: The University of Chicago. This is a school serious about its academics. Check out the essay options on this year’s application, including “Write an essay inspired by super-huge mustard.” Also, Chicago is one of my absolute favorite cities in the country, with amazing architecture and interesting neighborhoods.