For Deferred Students by Matt McGann '00
Some advice and answers.
So, if you’ve been deferred, you may be asking, “What now?”
Is it all over for me?
At MIT, a deferral isn’t just a “polite rejection.” Your application will once again be considered by the committee during regular action. You are at no advantage or disadvantage versus the regular action applications. We will admit the best applications we can during regular action, regardless of when the application was submitted. In each of the past few years, we have admitted hundreds of deferred students during regular action: last year, we admitted 267 deferred students during regular action, and 326 the year before.
What should I do now?
I recommend spending the next couple weeks before January 1 working on regular action applications for other schools. You should still put the same energy and thought you put into your MIT application into your other applications. You may also want to reread Marilee’s recent post.
[But MIT is my dream school, I can’t imagine being happy anywhere else!]
[This doesn’t apply to everyone, but occasionally some students become so focused on MIT they can’t see all the other amazing schools that are out there. For those students who are really attracted to MIT’s campus culture, I’ve found these students often are also happy at many other schools, including Caltech (January 1 deadline), Carnegie Mellon (Jan. 1), Cooper Union (varies), Harvey Mudd (Jan. 15), Olin College (Jan. 6), RPI (Jan. 1), and the University of Chicago (Jan. 1). For those students who particularly like the Boston area, you can also look at Boston College (Jan. 2), Boston University (Jan. 3), Brandeis University (Jan. 15), Harvard University (Jan. 1), Northeastern University (Jan. 15), Tufts University (Jan. 1), and Wellesley College (Jan. 15), among others.]
Should I send in extra materials?
The only thing we ask that you send in is the midyear grade report. You can download one off of the MyMIT website if you need one. Your semester grades are very important so keep working hard. We’d like this report as soon as possible after your grades are available; by the beginning of February would be great, but definitely by the end of February.
You may also want to keep us up-to-date with any news in your life. This is not required nor is it expected, but if anything exciting happens definitely let us know. It’s best if you send any such letter by the end of January, but you may keep us in the loop through the time we mail regular action decisions in mid-March.
Should I send in a whole new version of my application?
No. You do not need to “improve” your application, or redo/edit/modify part or all of your application. You were deferred because your application was already strong enough to make you a contender in the Regular Action round. Let your application stand.
What about extra essays, recommendations, etc?
You may send along anything (such as…) that you feel would be helpful to the committee. We do not expect or require any of these things. Simply sending in additional materials does not by itself increase your chances of admission.
What other advice do you have?
You should check in with your guidance/college counselor. Often, their years of experience provide wisdom and insight into your particular situation. They’re more than welcome to give our office a call if our decision isn’t consistent with their experience, or just to talk about the process.
Can I call admissions to find out The Reason why I was deferred?
If you call in, we will not be able to tell you “the reason” why you were deferred, or “what needs to be improved,” simply because things are much more complex than just one reason why you were deferred. Usually, when I take a call from a deferred applicant, there’s nothing that I see to be lacking or needing improvement — most of our deferred students submitted very strong applications, the kinds of applications any school (including MIT) would love to have in their student body. Honestly.
I’m glad to see from the comments that most of you, while understandably disappointed, are remaining upbeat, continuing to work on other applications, and knowing that one year from now, you’ll be getting ready to take a holiday break from some really amazing school (maybe MIT) to spend some quality time with loved ones. Being an optimist, I know that things always turn out well in the end.
I appreciate you taking time to answer questions, but I still have one about supplemental material. I really don’t think that my essay submitted during EA did a good job of explaining who I am or what kind of writer I am. Would it be a good idea to submit a new one or just leave it at that? Thanks
-Sam
Thank you for giving this extensive suggestion for the deferred students.
Enjoy your weekend~
-DJ
THANKS BILLIONS!
I asked this question several days ago, but I’m sure it got lost in the EA chaos, so I’ll ask it again. I am homeschooled, and I do not have any teachers besides my mom, so what should I do about the Teacher Evaluation forms? In the areas of math and science I was largely self-taught, and I really doubt you would appreciate if I filled Evaluation A out myself.
ANOTHER HOMESCHOOLER!
w00tness!
i am in the same position as you
i used my mom for one and someone who has known me well..she isn’t a teacher but she’s known me for a long time
OOO i do hope i get in *crosses fingers*. I might send in something else to give ya’ll some more detail about me…butttt I’ll have to look over my app again to see if I really do need to add anything. I worked hard on that app, and I think it has everything possible, but if there is more to be added, expect something from me. he he ha ha. *grin*
Thanks for the infor Matt.
I’m thinking of sending in 2 more teacher recomendations. Is this allowed?
Would sending in a 3D object be allowed? It wouldnt be HUGE but maybe in the range of 6″x6″x18″. Anyway, thanks for the advice.
Oh, btw, I haven’t recieved any sort of letter yet. Is there one still coming?
question about supplements, if we made a mistake on our app, i.e. not writing in the ap’s we’re taking this year under the ap section, would it be enough to send in a letter noting this, along with any supplementery essays etc.? thanks
I have just completed my research paper and earned some new awards during the time between the deadline for early action and now. Can I send my paper and an updated resume as supplements?
Hi Matt,
I know you said “Let your application stand.” but I was wondering if I would be allowed to change anything (essays) because I don’t think I really explained myselfs well, and I focused more on things like test scores and classes than on who I am as a person… I mean, looking over my application again I don’t think I really showed my passion for things, (I guess because I was too scared that colleges just look at a set of numbers, and tried to emphasize the numbers in my app instead), but now, especially after reading Marilee’s comments, I understand that the application should be more about telling you who I am as a person instead of just a set of numbers.
So I guess what I’m asking is, would it be possible to modify my essays, if I could make them represent me better, or should I just send some sort of supplemental material that shows who I am as a person, but leave the essays alone?
Thanks for everything,
Raksha ([email protected])
I took an MIT interview long back because the EC actually insisted on it! But I thought I had such a poor shot at MIT that when the EC asked me during the interview if I would be applying, I said “probably not”. We even talked about my other ‘first ‘ choice university i’d be applying to!
Now, I think I want to apply to MIT despite my poor stats. Did my interview ruin my chances? I even frankly told him that apart from reading the blogs regularly, I hadn’t really done my research on MIT because I was so sure I would not get in even if I did apply!
Apart from that, my interview went well though! Any reason for me to worry? Advice?
btw, I’m an international applicant!
Hey Matt,
I am applying to MIT regular action. However, I applied to Stanford early. I confess that even though I like MIT much more and feel more attracted towards it, I got caught in the college-craze and applied to Stanford early because of its higher early-admission statistics. I guess Stanford saw through this, and rejected me outright. I feel I deserve it. The rejection, just 3 days ago, has had a profound impact on me. I wrote an essay about this, as honestly as I could possible could. Would an essay about this topic (for the dissapointment essay topic) hurt my application, as applying early to another school implies MIT is not my first choice. Also, it is a dissapointment that is only recent, even though it has sincerely changed my views. Additionally, it could say that if Stanford rejects me, MIT might also want to reject, because there is obviously some reason why they rejected me. I know this is probably not true, after reading all the blogs. But, just wanted to get your insight.
-Sushant ([email protected])
My response came, and while I’m still curious as to why it took so long, I have to say that I’m glad I wasn’t denied. Thanks for the advice, even though I had a list of safety schools lined up before I even sent in my MIT app.
Hi Matt,
Is it ok if I mail my application with DHL or should I mail it via regular mail? I just ask, because there is probably no one at MIT during Christmas who could take the package…
… I am applying as an international student.
Is it possible to send video work on DVD to you as supplemental material? I’ve done a lot of special effects work which is now archived on DVD – all are short (1 or 2 minutes) vignettes for different effects. I could send a compilation DVD of the best ones, or would a portfolio of still frames be preferable?
Thanks, and good luck with regular decision!
Perhaps it’s been posted and I’ve missed it… What’s the deadline for sending in supplemental materials? I think Ben said something about the end of January, but he wasn’t certain.
M.D. I don’t think anyone’s posted a specific deadline yet. All I’ve heard is that we should send in our supplementary material by the end of January.
i’m just curious how many students are deferred vs rejected… my letter said the majority are deferred, but do you have an actual number?
stephanie,
“Of the 3,098 applicants, 2,371 were deferred and 216 denied admission, along with 131 who were deferred because they did not complete the application.”
David K., do you have an online portfolio of your work? I’m quite interested in video and special effects myself. I would love to see your work.
I was reading the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition and saw that MIT’s endowment lags far behind Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
Wouldn’t it be wise to increase legacy admits so that there would be more incentive for alumni to donate money to MIT?
Capitalist,
Thats one reason why I don’t like those other schools. It seems silly to me that people should have an extra edge based on things that they didnt control such as where their parents went to school or how much money their parents make. So in my opinion, it would be a BAD idea. Plus MIT makes plenty with all of its groundbreaking research.
James & April (and to all other homeschoolers out there!),
So good to see homeschooled applicants! I, too, was entirely homeschooled/self taught. I don’t know what you have heard back from Matt, but I thought I’d shed some light on the matter, from my experience.
The sense I got, for homeschoolers, is recommendations give window into interactions with a student on a personal level — all the numbers in the world don’t say anything about who a person is, what they are like in the classroom or other environs, or how they think. For students without a traditional background, this evaluation becomes all the more important.
With this in mind, I did what I could — I too had absolutely no reference for science or math. I ended up submitting two recommendations for humanities (one from a language tutor, another from a theater teacher). Aditionally, I looked around to see who really _knew_ me. In my personal case, my basketball coach (I played at the local HS) was willing to vouch for me. Of course, he could say nothing about what I would be like in the classroom, but he knew me fairly well as a person, and wrote based on what he saw in practices.
Parental recommendations are great — many schools urged me to include one (I didn’t). However, they should speak to specifics; most parents are extremely proud of their children (particularly, seeing as they have had an interest and involvement in their education). Thus, in a sense, a outsider’s view counts for quite a lot. The great folks in admissions will understand that your coach/teacher/instructor doesn’t have a classroom view of you. Your bowling coach probably can’t say too much about how well you understand physics, but he sure can vouch that you work hard. Every chance you include to show who you are and what you are passionate about, the better. One further word of advice: pick someone who likes you!
I wish you all luck in the application process!
-Noah ’09
I am an international applicant…. Regarding the completely optional essay on something I have created , I need some clarification.
1) If my document has some LaTeX mathematical symbols, it is not accepted in the space online. Can I send it my e-mail? If yes, where and in what format?
2) If my document conatins pictures etc, I ask the same question as above?
If we were to send extra recommendations, the link (in my account at least) to the pdf’s to print out a science and math or humanities recommendation is gone, so would anyone be putting that back up? Or do we have to go hunting around steal other people’s paper applications (that would just be funny to watch)
Anonymous, I too am an international applicant.. I too send in a document (research project) which is originally wirtten with LaTeX but I thought it is better that I transform it into .pdf and then just make a print out and send the print out along with my application…
Hey,
I applied regular action, but I was wondering what the SAT II’s are used for, are they used for admissions or just placement?
Braxton
Talking to the postman every afternoon, I understand that it takes time for mail to arrive west coast in December. I finally received my letter. Although I am deferred, I am still very grateful for the opportunity that MIT has given me: at least I would be reconsidered later. MIT has encouraged me.
I would like to ask three questions: should I include a variety of music(Chinese Pi-pa, traditional, cultural, medieval, pop music) into my recording? If I sing in different languages (like latin, german, chinese), is that fine also? If playing Pi-pa is my leisure (not very sophisticated or professtional), would you recommend me to record that too?
Hey Jon
You do not have to send in an extra recommandation on an MIT form.
http://matt.mitblogs.com/archives/2005/10/supplemental_ma.html
It can just be a letter on a piece of paper by your recommander.
thanks matt for the advice
im glad that i kept doin all my other applications after i submitted mit so i little to worry about now just workin on keepin the grades high. im not sure i if you got one of my recommendation cause the online trackin said you never got it. so what can i do to obtain that info for sure?
Thank you Matt for the advice. I just had a quick question. I was thinking about sending in an elaboration on one of the summer activities I listed but did not go into great detal about. Would you recommend this or not? Thanks again for your help.
~Jason Murray
Is anyone else still checking this site every five minutes as if one of these times, we’ll be magically admitted? It’s like an addiction – I have so much work to be doing, yet here I am.
-AG
lol, AG, more like waiting for a moment when I will feel hopeful again… right now the odds are so against me that i don’t know what to think.
lol, AG, more like waiting for a moment when I will feel hopeful again… right now the odds are so against me that i don’t know what to think.
Rafael…thanks for the suggestion…all I want to know is WHETHER MIT WILL ACCEPT AN ONLINE submission of the project/ idea?
heck yeah i check every 5 mins or so! it’s fun!
<3 MyMIT
noah,
thanks for the advice, it’s good to hear from a homeschooler who made it into MIT
Hi Matt,
I have a question regarding Re-application. Ben already answered me but I just want see your point of view. Here is the original question:
“I am international applying to MIT for the second time now. I wonder what does MIT do with our (for those reapplying) old application folders. Do they open them again? And if yes, what impact do they have on the new admission process?”
Hey Matt,
I already asked this, but I know it got lost…If I sent/send in extra material, how will I know that it was received? Any way for me to check?
Yeah, I already posted that I was deferred via phone, but I still haven’t gotten my letter yet! It’s Monday, December 19 for those too lazy to read below or get a calender. And I live in Florida! There is no way my letter shouldn’t be here yet.
Okay, I’m done venting. Good luck to all the deferred peeps. And the rejected as well, for getting into other schools.
i’ve had a lot of people describe the college admissions process as a “crapshoot.” from friends, teachers, guidance counselors….etc.
while i’m sitting here working essays and wondering what supplemental stuff i can send in to MIT, i’m getting more and more freaked out. choosing what to write about is excruciating. it’s so hard to decide what facet of our multi-layered personalities that we will officially present.
what i’m wondering is, how does the essay really affect our admissions decisions. are certain topics off-limits for being too controversial? sex, politics, drugs? to what extent will honesty and creativity help us without going too far?
now i’m going to get blasphemous. MIT seems to do admissions a little differently than other selective schools (dare i say, u guys actually seem to care about the actual person! THANKS), i’m not afraid to bare a little of myself. but since i got deferred and have to apply to other schools, i’m really freaked out about presenting the kind of person i think they would desire. obviously, this is leading to a lot of BS and uninspired writing. any advice on dealing with the risk involved with originality with other schools as well (namely, the stately institutional ivies).
thanks!!!!!
*freaks out*
smiles: You can always use priority mail with the track and confirm.
Matt any other advice for defered students???? what’s the percentage of defered students being accepted during RD?
Regarding the earlier posts on legacy, MIT does something which is just as unfair as admitting kids because of where their parents went to school.
It rarely, if EVER, rejects children of the faculty. 8 people from my school applied to MIT this year. 2 are brilliant, 2 are smart, 3 are VERY mediocre (and by very mediocre I mean superlow GPA, low SAT scores (590-620 range), no extracurriculars, no instruments, they’re not athletes, have no awards, no contests, etc.), and the last is me (I’m obviously not going to classify myself). The 2 brilliant kids (one of whom, by the way, was a finalist in the US Chemistry Olympiad last year) were both deferred. The two smart kids were also deferred. (I was deferred as well).
Guess who got in? The two mediocre kids.
It’s very easy to guess why. Their parents work at MIT.
I thought MIT was supposed to be about passion and talent, and not about the students’ background. One of the things I liked about it is that I thought that at MIT everyone gets a fair chance, regardless of their background. I thought there would be no one who is average at MIT, because MIT just doesn’t take that kind of people, regardless of their connections. I thought that MIT didn’t play advantage politics with its applicants. I guess I was wrong.
\quote
I thought that MIT didn’t play advantage politics with its applicants. I guess I was wrong.
\endquote
Oh, I think I’ve half given up hope for MIT… I’ll never make it in with all the other people trying to get in. Not only is it statistically impossible, but your example makes it all the more clear that I won’t be able to get in.
MIT is a private school just like the rest. Anyway, it’s small percentage. Don’t let it bother you.
*a small
Does anybidy know what are competitive SAT I & II scores?
er… i must have skipped over that. thanks leon
and to anonymous: I was a finalist for the NCO, too. It’s really not as much of a deal as you think. So the kids didnt get in. neither did I. point is, if theyre as smart as you say they are, theyll bounce back, get in RD. as for the kids who have parents who work at MIT. good for them, it’s one of the advantages of getting a job at a great university. my parents both work at a state school, government pays for pretty much everything else. college tuition? i’m working on it myself.
About the kids-of-MIT-people thing:
I know a kid who turned in their mentor’s thesis to Intel, got semifinalist, and got into Stanford. Another kid did Seimens w/ a partner, did none of the work, and just got a tube. What really bites is that he’s using a guy who got deferred’s old math binder to cheat his way through MVC tests. (The fact that he ditched my roomate on a group project and had her up until 2 AM doing his part doesn’t make me feel better.)
Yep, life’s not fair. But what can you do?
Hm, I just noticed something really wierd on MyMIT…
” Secondary School Report and Transcript Processed
12/16/2005″
What? O_O
Should I send in a whole new version of my application?
No. You do not need to “improve” your application, or redo/edit/modify part or all of your application. You were deferred because your application was already strong enough to make you a contender in the Regular Action round. Let your application stand.
at least… I hope that’s true for my application. I was thinking about re-doing my whole application…
Oh well, I hope I deserve the tube in RA.
I haven’t yet received my admissions decision in the mail, and have not called in to find out; however, when I logged in to MyMIT, the screen was exactly the same as it was before… so can I assume that I was deferred?
Just for the record, I live in Seattle. So I guess if people in FL haven’t gotten their letters yet, I should still wait?
Hey “Smiles”, im from lake mary, fl and i was defered via phone too and i havn’t recieved a letter yet either. Whats up with our postal system…
What does <3 myMIT mean, anyway?
I’m curious, did anyone here apply to both MIT and Georgia Tech EA? Also, I’m starting to regret taking IB and AP courses as, though my weighted GPA is very good, my regular GPA is probably low. I enjoy the courses and I know that it is too late to change classes, but still, doesn’t challenging yourself while finding your own limits count for something? I did participate in the ISEF last year [Btw don’t worry about the kids that cheated their way in, they were either [metaphorically] run over in a dump truck by the judges, or didn’t win any awards, I saw several pristine examples of this happening in action!] somewhat at the expense of my final junior year grades. I guess I was really curious as to whether or not sending in my latest work [even though somewhat unrefined, and I plan to do a bulk of my research over the holidays] would help my chances of admission? Could I also send in a paper I wrote for an Internal Assessment in one of my IB classes [History HL] as suplemental material?
<3 = sideways heart = love
Not that it particularly matters, but I was just wondering if the kids that are accepted in RA will receive acceptance tubes like the EA people did. I was deferred and I thought it would be cool if there was still a chance of getting a tube.
//don’t worry about the kids that cheated their way in, they were either [metaphorically] run over in a dump truck by the judges, or didn’t win any awards//
The catch is, if you put in all your effort in cheating that you would normally put in getting good grades, you could predict all the questions you’ll get grilled on, use your partner’s speech in the presentation, and use mid-test bathroom breaks to get physics test answers.
(And yeah, I consider MIT’s tradition of sharing old problem sets to be cheating… someone had to make the first set.)
I decided earlier this year to take Organic Chemistry I at a local college, but I did not place it on any information I sent with my application because I had already applied. Now that I have been deferred, should I add that information to my application, and if yes, how should I go about adding it? Thank you for your time and consideration.
Can we remove an optional essay from the application if we were deferred EA?
<3 MyMIT means that i love MyMIT…which i do greatly!!!!!!
Alex, I applied to both MIT and GA Tech by Oct. 31st, MIT for EA and GA Tech for the Presidents Scholarship. I got deferred from MIT and accepted to GA.
I’ve taken a lot of AP and IB classes too and they have not, because I just moved to Georgia from California over the summer, helped my GPA. The school district in GA does not award any of the normal “bonus points” for transfer AP, IB, and honors classes. Also, the school has a number based GPA system so my 4.0-5.0 GPA’s are now on my high school transcript as all low 90’s. More or less, my GPA last year was a 5.0 and is now a 92 or so. Also my class rank from one of the top 10 in my grade about 148/556.
That’s life,
True, but BS will only get you so far. There are several things I have learned through my education and one of these is that people who cheat will a) get away with it for a time, depending on how experienced they are, b) eventually fall flat on their face, with the general trend being that the better they are [at cheating] the worse it is for them when they exhibit their ignorance, c) if they never get caught, are they really cheating in the first place, and d) should one care if they are cheating or not? I would rather set them up to make a fool of themselves than nark and risk my own image being tarnished as well.
On another note, I too was wondering about the tube thing, and that it would be nice to recieve a tube for RA like the EA recipients did,
Jason,
Did the letter you recieve say that final admissions decisions would not be announced until the ides of march [15] or so? I wasn’t able to get considered for the presidential scholarship so I think I was deferred at GA as well…The letter wasn’t very specific.
Also, what’s up with the RA announcement dates being so wierd, ie, March 15, April 1, ect…
I’m looking forward to hearing back in March… but like a lot of people here I’m still confused about the process of submitting supplementary materials.
Please answer so I can get things out in the mail!!!
Also, it would suck getting a rejection letter on March 15th, IMO.
Finally got my deferred letter. It’s funny, everytime I get depressed about college admissions, and I come back to this site and I start feeling hope again. Thanks to the admisssions committee for providing these boards, and especially for the deferrment letter, which was the kindest I’ve ever seen (out of two).
I have a question for you guys. In my application I didn’t write any optional essays because I havn’t created anything major (except a 4000 word physics research paper which you guys wouldn’t want to read. I didn’t want to proofread it either when I finished), and the biggest dissapointment I’ve experienced was receiving my CalTech deferrment on Tues., and having to wait until the next Tues., checking the mail everyday, and everyday “knowing” that I would be deferred, but nontheless faithfully plodding to the mailbox with a lump in my stomach that steadily grew to a boulder. That kinda sucked a lot, but I’m over it now. Anyway, I was wondering if I should add to my application in some way. I know you said that it wasn’t required, but everyone else seems to be sending in supplemental materials.
Thanks for everything, Mr. McGann…
Jeff,
I doubt you’ll find this under all the other comments, but unfortunately I do not have an online portfolio. As an AOL user, I have 30 MB of free space to store files, but this is not nearly enough for decent quality video (even DivX). Since I don’t plan to study special effects and compositing (is anyone else here into CogSci/CompSci?) I’ve kept my work archived on DVD’s over the years, and my friends have a few copies.
But to Matt, My real concern is, would this kind of material (digital effects, animation, lightsabers
) be valuable supplemental material for MIT? It’s not a research project but it is something I have a passion for. It’s similar to if I were an artist, or sent in an audio recording of my singing or guitar playing. So, are special effects and video good supplemental materials?
Edit to above: Thanks for your answers, Matt, and all the other bloggers! It really helps make this process more bearable.
-Dave
Greetings Matt!
I read this blog a few days ago and have been coming back to check on it daily given that, yes, I was deferred to Regular. :( Ah well. After the initial
“It’s very easy to guess why. Their parents work at MIT.”
My dad works at MIT, though he isn’t a professor and wouldn’t be counted as faculty. So FWIW, I got deferred.
Charles: Thanks for the tip. I was just wondering about stuff, I already sent, which I stupidly did not send with track and confirm. Silly me.
Oh, and my letter did come today. I should have posted a post about not having my letter yet awhile ago, then maybe I would have gotten it sooner. Oh wait, I did.
One more thing…I can’t believe I forgot to say…
THANKS MATT!!!!!!!!
My personal view on cheatin is that if I catch you I turn you in. The people I see cheating are most likely not the type of person who will be applying to MIT, GA Tech, etc so I’m not really worried about my image. Plus if you don’t say something you run the risk of being accused of cheating yourself.
The letter from MIT does mention being reconsidered for the March decision but it didn’t go into much detail. For GA I got in so I can’t help you much on that. The students at my school who applied to GA have either been accepted but no Pres. or not been notified at all. If you’re applying to MIT though you have a good chance of getting into Tech I would think.
Alex-
I too applied early for Georgia Tech, and, like Jason, got accepted for GT and deffered for MIT.
In regards to the question of AP/IB courses and the GPA, I think admissions would hold the quality of your courses above that of your unweighted GPA. But who knows…
Jason-
I was contacted on Sat about the President’s Scholarship and as far as I understand it, if you have been accepted, you are one of the semi-finalists. If you aren’t accepted, you should get a letter basically deffering you and saying you didn’t make it in the PS. So it looks like you are one of the lucky 450!
Just got my deferral today, kinda sucked but was cool nonetheless. I’m thinking about makeing a graph of the edges in the postal system with its associated nodes being the sorting stops and conducting a max-cut, min-flow analysis so that I know approximately when other areas of the country get their mail, and when to expect my letter. I was so relieved when I wasn’t rejected, though.
Intl. Student,
I am also curious about the extra essay question, and was wondering, Matt, if I could send in some of my writing , mainly free verse poetry in case you were wondering.
Also, I think it was cool about the <[greater than] 3 interp. of <3…just a thought but maybe they refer to the Ivey league schools or something.
Oh, it’s a sideways heart. I assumed it meant that MIT was greater than the next three schools combined. Any thoughts on what the 3 next greatest schools should be?
Daryl-
That’s really weird. I definitely got in, I got the acceptance packet and stuff, but I also got a separate letter that says, “Although you have an excellent record of academic accomplishments and extracurricular involvement, you were not selected as a President’s Scholarship semifinalist.” I guess I’ll call Tech and ask them just to make sure.
Hi matt,
I’ve been away for a while.
The apps in its final stages lets see if you are the lucky guy who gets to read it.
P.S. I am still looking forward to that omnibus
Matt, Can you please answer fast from your busy schedule whether MIT accepts extra essays regarding the completely optional thing on creativity by e-mail!! I’m an international student!!
Sorry Jason if I told you wrong. I guess I assumed to much. At least you’re in!! Better than a lot of people I know. Maybe if we don’t get into MIT in RA we’ll see each other at GT
Don’t worry about it, that letter is the only clear bit of info I’ve gotten from GT. Yeah, I’ll be going to GT so long as I can’t get into or pay for MIT. GT is a whole heck of a lot cheaper than MIT, about 120k over four years. And you can get a lot of post-grad degrees from MIT for that much money
So do the early admittance decisions come seperately from the decisions on the presidential scholarship from Georgia Tech?
Sorry that was a little confusing, I meant the early admissions from Georgia Tech…
<3
not knowing what that means = having your head in the books too much
Alex-
Yes, I got my acceptance letter seperate from the scholarship decision.
Hey, I also applied for President’s at GA Tech. And got deferred from MIT and accepted at Tech. Yeah, the President’s Scholar thing comes separately from the admissions decision. I was also not a semifinalist. To tell the truth, I was a bit surprised. A girl from my school who graduated last year and is currently at Tech got the Scholarship, and I thought I had equal or better chance of getting it than she. Apparently, I was wrong. But, hey, even without the scholarship, I could go to Tech and graduate in less time for less money than at MIT. But I <3 MIT.
please keep your comments related to MIT issues
“The <[greater than] 3 thing almost works, but < is less than…and MIT, “less than”? Surely you would have to be under considerable influence to suggest such a thing! “
Um. The <3 thing came about because if you tilt your head, it appears to be in a shape of a heart.
Either that or I have no understanding of sarcasm.
i didn’t start using <3 until a month ago or so…neither did my friends…
3 schools after MIT?
idk…caltech…umm..
Hi Matt,
Is it ok if I mail my application with DHL or should I mail it via regular mail? I just ask, because there is probably no one at MIT during Christmas who could take the package…
“Either that or I have no understanding of sarcasm.
“
Ah, no, it wasn’t sarcasm (and trust me, I’m worse). Another poster earlier mentioned that he always thought <3 MIT meant MIT was above the next three schools combined. I imagine most people would count these as HYP, but w/e.
The <[greater than] 3 thing almost works, but < is less than…and MIT, “less than”? Surely you would have to be under considerable influence to suggest such a thing!
Yeah, I would much rather go to MIT but GA Tech isn’t a bad school if I can’t get into or pay for MIT.
So, since when did a college admissions website become the home for half-a-dozen random journals? …”Only at MIT.”
Oh, and <3 MIT, of course…even though I got deferred…
I just wish GT had a better physics program.
I’m into both schools for the engineering.
Lets see, Robotics and mathematics @ MIT or Aerospace and mathematics @ GT? Maybe I should look @ Olin as well…but truthfully, as some of this hype over colleges passes, I’m really not finding myself relaxing @ all. I still have work to do over christmas break, and I still have midterms coming up after christmas break…which should be considered a capital offense punishable by death…that require my attention. And on top of that senioritis is setting in and I’m finding it harder and harder to get work done. I guess when new years rolls around, my resolutions will include skipping at least one school day during 2nd semester, maintaining B’s in all my classes…which may be the first to be broken…, and playing a cool prank on the faculty and staff @ my school…note: skipping school and the prank may very well coincide on the same day…just food for thought.