MIT blogger Elizabeth C. '13

For applicants affected by natural disasters by Elizabeth Choe '13

If you’re wanting to apply Early Action (EA) to MIT this year but were affected by recent hurricanes, earthquakes, or other natural disasters, know that our hearts go out to you from MIT Admissions. It’s understandable that there’s a lot on your mind right now, and the last thing we want is for college applications to add to that stress. We know that some of you are still dealing with damage to your homes and schools and power outages, so if you’re worried about making our deadlines (like the Nov. 1 EA deadline) because of these things, please take note of the following:

  • Focus on taking care of yourself, your family, your community, and your safety. You will not be penalized in the application process because of delays caused by these events.
  • We try to be as flexible as possible in these situations. When you’re able to do so, reach out to us at 617-253-3400 or email us at admissions [at] mit [dot] edu. We’ll have an Admissions officer available to talk to you and figure out a way to make sure we get your application and supporting materials.
  • As always, if the application fee poses a financial hardship, we’ll waive your fee. Just call or email us.
  • You can always apply Regular Action (RA), too. You don’t get any “bonus points” or extra consideration if you apply early; we use the same criteria to evaluate applications for both EA and RA. Take the time you need to apply in the timeline that works best for you and don’t worry about “strategizing” around early and regular action cycles for MIT.

Everyone here wants to make sure our application process is as fair as possible. MIT is reaching out to our current students to make sure they’re getting the support they need, and we’re individually trying our best to help, too. Our hearts are broken by everything that’s been going on. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Take care,
Elizabeth and everyone at MIT Admissions

P.S. While we can’t formally endorse aid organizations, I did want to share the following resource for applicants in Mexico. Some of our Mexican students in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning have just launched Manos a la Obra where people can post requests and offers for various types of aid, such as medical services, shelter, food, and water, and share contact info with each other. Please feel free to use and/or share this resource, which you can learn more about here.