From The Midst Of Selection by Ben Jones
A recount of EA selection committee.
Sorry to have been ignoring my poor blog, folks!
Here’s my excuse…
Thursday 12/1: The day I’d set aside to catch up on email, blogging, work, etc. before heading into selection. Instead I read late-arrival apps all day with MadMatt and Nance Nance Revolution to make sure we’re ready for committee. That night I edit 50 pages of copy for the new viewbook in preparation for a meeting the next morning.
(Lunch: Mass Ave food truck.)
Friday 12/2: Viewbook copy meetings all morning. Afternoon: selection begins! 3098 applications, up ~10% from last year. Doing the math, it’s easy to see that the admit rate will drop this year. This makes committee even more difficult, but doesn’t change the fact that it’s still enormously rewarding.
After we all gather around the table, Marilee offers some words to inspire us, which are really powerful to me so I write them down. She says: “MIT is not just a university – it’s a concept, an ideal. The group we admit in the next few days is going to change civilization. And that’s not an exaggeration.”
There’s a bit of silence as we all digest the words. And then the first folders hit the table, and we begin another year on our quest to make the world better.
(Lunch: Mass Ave food truck again.)
Saturday 12/3: We begin around 9AM and pick up where we’d left off the night before. The process: grab a folder, read the summary, consider the numbers, look at the short answers, ECA’s, etc. Debate the case until the group comes to a unanimous decision. If one can’t be reached, the folder goes back on the pile. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Playing over and over in my head like a broken record: “deferred is not rejected.” It’s the only way to keep from getting sad about some folks I really want here. Anthony captures a stunning picture of me and MadMatt towards the end of the day.
The sun has been down for while by the time a bunch of us head over to The Miracle of Science to decompress for a bit. MIT is not discussed.
(Lunch: Indian food, delivered.)
Sunday 12/4: I wake up to a snowstorm. The roads have not been plowed nor salted. I slide all over Route 2 on my way in to MIT. On the way I pick up Nance Nance Revolution who looks tired. We’re in the committee room by 8:30. It snows all day. MadMatt takes a picture of President Hockfield. Towards the end of the day, someone notices that there are no buckets on the table, which means the last of the folders have been distributed to the teams. We’re almost there.
At the end of the day we count. I can’t give you details (so don’t ask!) but suffiice it to say that we have hundreds more than we can actually admit EA. The same thing happens every year. I tell you this so you’ll know that I’m really not lying when I say “if you don’t get in it’s likely an issue of space.” Tomorrow’s a new day.
(Lunch: Mexican food, delivered.)
Monday 12/5: We start again. There is blood. There are tears. The committee room looks like a war zone. It smells like Doritos and day-old takeout.
But there is some serious love happening as well.
One of the things I like most about selection is the way our team comes together into a single shimmering organism, with direction and purpose and clarity. I love the way we balance each other; the way the process is designed to bring our individual strengths together. I know from reading your applications that most of you understand how it feels to really be part of something truly magical. This is sortof like that.
At the end of the day we’ve finished with the big committee.
(Lunch: Pizza. This concludes our five days af artery poisoning.)
A lot of stuff will happen this week, so no decision is set in stone. Decisions will be reviewed by various subcommittees, and finally Marilee will go over each admit to give her final stamp of approval. Depending on a variety of factors, we will mail sometime between Friday and Monday. If all goes well, it will be Friday. I’ll keep you posted.
I hope you all are doing well, and I’m hoping to finish my Q&A post in the next day or two. Until then, keep rocking hard. It’s the only way to rock.
-B
P.S. Nance Nance Revolution & me at the end of Monday:
I’ve been telling myself that same thing: “Deferred is not rejected.” Though frankly, I wouldn’t want to experience either.
And the look on your faces are priceless.
*grin*
Nance Nance Revolution!
so that’s what you look like eh ben haha
that was a completely nice haha, not a haha out of malice
lol
Anonymous, I think it means that in their first pass, they had voted to accept more people EA than could be accommodated within the EA limit, so some of that initial set would have to be deferred into the RD pool.
hey ben whoa! lmao. DAMN!
ahha idk what to say…you guys look so tired. But yeah I would like to say that the funniest line was
“The sun has been down for while by the time a bunch of us head over to The Miracle of Science to decompress for a bit. MIT is not discussed.
(Lunch: Indian food, delivered.)”
INDIAN FOOD DELIVERS at MIT!!!! whoa!! now that’s the greatest news I’ve heard in ages. lol. anyway, good luck with the app stuff…hoping for the best =)
Haha, i like the pics. It would be better had you used two different couches though so it showed a true action shot, the mark on the door kinda gives it away, but i have no doubt that you were pretty tired by that point. I give my regards, that’s one job that I just couldn’t do. Well enjoy the rest of the process, and its good to hear about the time frame, The sooner the Better
Marilee is one with words, I can think of no better way to put it. “MIT is not just a university – it’s a concept, an ideal. The group we admit in the next few days is going to change civilization. And that’s not an exaggeration.”
Anonymous, leftcoast mom is exactly right. To reiterate, no decisions have been officially made at this point. The committee just comes up with a group of applicants that it advises the Dean to admit. No one is actually admitted until the Dean admits them.
So to answer your question, no decisions have been reversed because no decisions have actually been made.
I’ve revised my original post to remove the word “taken” – I can see how that would be misleading. Sorry about that.
Drew LOL you are so right, same couch. The action shot you missed however, is the one in between in which I told NNR to get the hell off my couch so I could lie down. =)
Did you switch the order of the pics?
First the Tim-the-Beaver entry, now this. Quit screwing with my miiiiind!
i’ve spelled extraordinaire wrong twice now… lol
hey if you look closely it might could perhaps be my application at the top of either of the stacks of paper, oh what would the odds of that be
1/3097 i suppose
Timur, man you are sharp. Yep, I realized when composing my comment to Drew (above) that they were not in chronological order (and therefore my comment would not have made much sense).
i have a question ben… are you considered ‘the cool’ admissions officer? because you seem much more laid back than mr. nance there
ha, you might mail the letters on my birthday (friday). i don’t know if that’s good or bad. (neutral is not an option)
I saw Ben speak in Fort Washington, PA, so I think I can safely say that is he probably considered the “cool” admissions officer.
Naturally, this evaluation is contingent upon the letter I’ll be receiving in a week or so. The “deferred is not rejected” mantra does little to assuage my anxiety. I’ve actually been having recurring nightmares about being deferred, which I imagine illustrates an abject lack of confidence — though, to be fair, I doubt that the most self-confident person alive could look at MIT’s admission statistics and not feel unsure of himself (or herself, of course).
Perhaps listening to so much Radiohead isn’t the best remedy for my depression, although even the Shins are depressing when one is confronted with the prospect of not being accepted to one’s first choice university.
Okay, so here’s a joke to lighten the mood:
Q: What did the hobo get for Christmas?
A: Nothing!
It’s actually categorized as an anti-joke. Despite my better judgment, I’m pretty sure I’m actually going to hit the “Post” button, though I can’t quite say why.
Hey, Merudh, tons of stuff delivers to MIT: Indian, Chinese, Thai, pizza (lots of pizza), Greek, American (in several varieties; there is at least one hotdog-specialty restaurant).
The best part is that you can order it online: http://www.campusfood.com/restaurants.asp?campusid=68
Ben, that food truck is Adam’s favorite… I personally like the one over by the bio building.
Gang — every single MIT admissions officer is cool. I am certain of this.
The issue is that, wherever you live, everyone always tells you that you’ll get in. I’m sure 3000 EA applications have every person at their school telling them that they’ll get in.
actually no… my classmates tell me i’m gonna get rejected… and so do my parents… AH the negativity
There is no way Nance is not cool. Long hair = awesome (although I may be biased, as I’m seventeeen years old with at least seventeen-inch long hair).
Although I must admit, both Ben and Nancester look like they’re on the boundary between “SLEEEEEEP” and “BRAAAAAINS.”
True dat, mootmom, but cujoe does have a point in that I pwn Nance Nance Revolution in coolness. I’m teaching him my ways though, and he *is* getting cooler by the day.
Mollie, is that the Thai truck near Stata? That’s actually my favorite, but since the Mass Ave Chinese truck is so close, I tend to be lazy.
Deferred is not rejected but it does mean 3 more months of waiting.
The chinese one! Get some of the spicy stuff and try it out. They vary in degrees. Some of it is insane.
I have never spoken these words before but,
MAD PROPS, GUYS.
Honestly. <3
lol wow 3 hours ago there were like 7/8 posts now there are like 27. Haha might as well make this a chat room like CC. Anyway, Timur what’s your sn? Ben. get some rest ahha and well Bryan should too…but considering he hasn’t posted much on his blog, I take it he’s very tired right now.
By the way, I would to thank Ben for posting an update on admissions process. Kinda keeps the suspense factor fresh in a sense lol
oh wow, I just noticed Mollie’s post. WOW! All that food…delivered! That is just crazy awesome. is MIT my dream school or is MIT my dream school?!!!!
AHHHHHH … those of you who attend MIT or well are part of the staff at MIT…I envy you =) I would love to be a part of your community.
Wow!!! You all have been working very hard!!! All I can say is, I’m glad that you all can come together with one purpose, as you said; that is an amazing feeling no matter how deprived of sleep you might be.
Of course, us EA applicants are going crazy (or at least, I am)…but, I guess there is the joy in that too…I just have to find it.
Indian food is the best!!! What did you have, something spicy? Might I suggest Indian music as well…it gets you in the mood because most Bollywood movie music is quite fast. Bollywood movies also work.
Well, thank you so very much to all of you that have worked so hard to review the applications!!! Now, the waiting game kicks into high gear.
Sandy said: “The issue is that, wherever you live, everyone always tells you that you’ll get in. I’m sure 3000 EA applications have every person at their school telling them that they’ll get in.”
I have this problem. At my school it is very unusual for a student to apply to HYP, MIT, etc. so they don’t realize what I am up against. People keep asking me if I’ve gotten my acceptance letter yet (as if there’s no doubt) and think I’m just being modest when I explain that I probably won’t get in. It’s really going to suck next week when if I have to explain to everyone that I got deferred.
Hamster: your school is the better alternative to mine, where many students have constructed lists and databases of the top students categorized by where they’re applying, early action, etc… Let’s not forget that private counselors that are so common in the area with their “Guarenteed Acceptance Program”s or their “College Application Assistance” services. Granted, some of these programs are legitimate… my friend (who by all means deserves to go as far as life will take him) isn’t too good with essays/English, and is having someone professionally edit his papers for Harvard admission… For him, I understand, but for so many people, the line between “editting” and “crafting” is thin.
Many of these students are applying to great institutes, you know the HYPSMCs, and it kills me to think they might make it. There are also many who *deserve* to go to those places, but how can you weed them out? I would hate to be an admissions officer, especially after attending my school. You see an application that seems perfect for the school, and even though your gut says it might be engineered, what choice do you have? There’s just as good a chance you *did* find someone perfect for the school, and are you going to turn them down just because they seem too good to be true?
It’s scary, honestly, and maybe I’m overexaggerating, but coming from the school where the saludatorian sued the school district for not being the valedictorian a few years ago (and won, thus became covaledictorian despite a lower GPA), nothing will surprise me anymore.
Meh, enough rantage.
By the way, Merudh: my screen name is TCSahin. Anyone here may feel free to IM me at any time.
.
hey guys I was wondering:
Is it fair for a school to turn down your request to self-study for an AP Class and take the AP exam. Like I asked my gc if I could self-study AP Calc BC during my AP Calc AB (only AP my school offers) and she said they don’t allow that unless I’ve taken a course and the only way they would ever think about it is if i got consent from all the math teachers in the school. I got 800s on my SAT Math and 800 on IIC and like 98 and above on all my math classes in high school so far…so then why don’t they allow me to self-study and take the BC exam? Someone told me its prolly because my school wants to keep teh number of 5s on the only AP class is offers high? is this true. if it is, is it even LEGAL?!!
hey guys I was wondering:
Is it fair for a school to turn down your request to self-study for an AP Class and take the AP exam. Like I asked my gc if I could self-study AP Calc BC during my AP Calc AB (only AP my school offers) and she said they don’t allow that unless I’ve taken a course and the only way they would ever think about it is if i got consent from all the math teachers in the school. I got 800s on my SAT Math and 800 on IIC and like 98 and above on all my math classes in high school so far…so then why don’t they allow me to self-study and take the BC exam? Someone told me its prolly because my school wants to keep teh number of 5s on the only AP class is offers high? is this true. if it is, is it even LEGAL?!!
But there is some serious love happening as well.
One of the things I like most about selection is the way our team comes together into a single shimmering organism, with direction and purpose and clarity. I love the way we balance each other; the way the process is designed to bring our individual strengths together. I know from reading your applications that most of you understand how it feels to really be part of something truly magical. This is sortof like that.
Hi, Ben! We’ve not yet met, (hope to in the spring), and up to now I’ve been merely a silent observer of the blogs, mostly out of deference to my son who is essentially a very private person and would prefer that his mom keep quiet,
, but your beautiful words above have stirred me to break my silence. I was transported back in time to a year ago when my son was waiting to hear of his acceptance, and for several months we experienced together all the inevitable agony and anxiety of waiting and anticipating, culminating in the arrival on Dec. 14 of the BIG envelope rather than the dreaded smaller one! The only other life-altering event that I can compare it to is labor followed by a magnificent birth–and indeed it felt like the birth of the rest of his life! Thank you, Ben, and Matt, Bryan and Marilee, for YOUR labors of love on behalf of our kids! It’s obviously not just a job for you–your absolute dedication, sincerity, enthusiasm and supportiveness is so clearly evident in all that you do and say. And we are all so grateful!
Sincerely,
Anthony’s mom
What’s an ECA?
whoa so many comments in so little time.
Merudh, I don’t know where u go to school, but many folks (including me), took ap exams without enrolling in the course. So i suggest u just sign up for the test and take it. (of course, grab a barron’s maybe beforehand)
Yeah by feeling the stats, EA selection chances seem rather depressing. Oh well, what happens, happens! :]
ECA = extra-curricular activity
Merudh I don’t know for sure (I’ve been out of HS longer than I care to think about!), but I don’t believe you need anyone’s permission to take an AP exam. Can’t you just sign up and take it?
Timur-
I share your concerns. I’m the parent of an EA applicant and have been quietly lurking around these blogs until now. My son did the application on his own and, independent student that he is, wouldn’t be pleased to know that I’m posting here! I’m hoping that the admit staff at MIT has read it all by now and can identify the “professionally produced” applications that come across their desks.
Those are some insane grades Merudh. I got 800 on my SAT reading section but only a 710 in the Math, my IIc… let’s not talk about that
, and my IB higher level math scores aren’t too hot at the moment. Sounds like the odds are in your favor, despite the HUGE number of apps. I’m regular decision, I’m gonna DIE waiting for my letter…
Merudh – The comments on these blogs so closely resemble CC that it isn’t even funny. If you moved Ben’s blog to a thread on CC and moved all the responses to thread posts, would you find it out of place at all (even considering the people who post)?
It’s funny, actually. Best of luck to everybody else who’s applying for the class of 2010.
From reading your post I feel really stressed… it’s really intense your writing, I can feel the pressure you have over your arms by being part of the people who says who’s going in and who’s not. I trust the committee will make wise choices.
@merudh, don’t let them stop you, i know people who have signed up for ap exams at other schools so they can take them, that’s an alternative…
ben, how come you haven’t made a blog entry giving props to cc yet? lol
oh seriously! wow I’m motivated again! I’m gonna ask my home high school if i can do that. Thanks guys, because my gc was like NO you cannot do that. It is not allowed
wait I just realized that my school pays for the AP Calc AB exam for all students taking their AP course. The gc won’t let me sign up for the AP Calc BC unless I show them some proof that I took a course – she said they don’t let you just do it if you did self-study despite grades or any other factors. How am I supposed to get around this?
Even if I somehow managed to take the test at another school, can i opt not to take the AP exam at my school (I think everyone has to take it since they pay the fee for it though)
again… you can take it at another school, but you need to contact them in advance
thanks, cujoe169. I’ll see how that turns out. By the way, Ben…MIT only accepts BC credit right?
The great ways that you spend your free time.
^nance’s blog piqued my interest… i spend my summers abroad with my grandmother, i wonder if that’s considered great haha
Now, I’m really scared. That was some sage advice about the changing the world thing. I wanna change the world! Nooooo!!!
I hope I get in, but so do the other 3097 applicants…So scary.
The worst part is that most people who apply are so passionate about MIT. And everyone I know says, “Oh, you’ll get in.” After which, I rattle off some statistics and say it’s highly unprobable. ARGH!!! I’m so anxious!
Oh, which food truck? I think the Chinese one rocks, I’ve tried the Greek one only once, it wasn’t bad either. Now I only get to Cambridge on Sundays, though, and they’re not there.
That’s okay, the honey bbq’s at La Verde’s are just as good.
“At the end of the day we count. I can’t give you details (so don’t ask!) but suffiice it to say that we’ve taken hundreds more than we can actually admit EA.”
Maybe I’m not reading this right, but does that mean you actually reverse the decision to admit some people at the end of the day due to lack of space?
I know you said no questions, but I’m looking for clarification rather than details so hopefully you won’t mind.
wow, that’s a really flattering picture of you ben!
As far as taking the BC Calculus I would definately encourage you to get it done in any way that you can. I took AB last year which is the highest my school offers, and I tried going through the councelor, who didn’t know any more about the process than I did, to set up for Calc 2 at a local state college. It ended up August came around and I just went on my own and enrolled as a non-matriculant student. Some councelors and schools are very understanding, others aren’t. If your’s isn’t, just go around them. Good luck
The main purpose of that was really to say that it was easier after I decided to just do it on my own. A majority of the time it seems more difficult to do so, but you never know till you try
Wow this is definitely nerve-wracking for everyone involved. This is the first time I’ve commented but I’ve been keeping up with all the posts ever since I started my application and have been checking it while I should be finishing my essays for other schools =P I go to the same school as Timur (I notice he comments a lot haha, love you Timur!)…definitely agreeing with what he said about our school. I just hope the admissions officers can tell when students are genuine in their apps!
Wish all of you a relaxing and restful holiday season :] Don’t worry about that decision letter too much guys! (what I’m trying to tell myself as well)
Man your job’s hard
but I like it.
Something I’ve been asking myself, as I await my letter from Penn (NOT MIT, I know!) is, “Would I really want to go to a school that doesn’t appreciate my abilities enough to accept me?”
The answer, for me, is a resounding NO. And it makes the prospect of being rejected/deferred a whole lot more bearable.
are you kidding? if mit rejected me, it would still be at the top of my list…
I concur, cujoe169. It would take a Lawrence Summers type event for MIT to be dethroned from my top slot.
You guys are making as nervous as hell as I wait for my letter. X_X
Mmm, I don’t know. I think there MUST come a point in time where you allow yourself a little pride and say, “Well, fuck you, too, _college who has rejected me_. I’m off to do wonderful things somewhere that appreciates and actually WANTS me.”
Joanne!
For clarification, Joanne is in the category of people that deserve to be wherever they’re going.
<3!
Let’s just hope things go well for us.
Why is it that the most interesting things I’m doing in HS are things I’ve started after I finish my EA application? Why did it only now occur to me to create these two classes, science-fiction and esperanto? Why did I only now find out that the internship I did over the summer is including me in their next submitted journal article? O well, at least I have some backup ammunition in the case of a deferal.
no, there’s a time where i get sad and like, punch a bee hive or something forgetting i’m allergic
Sorry if that came off sounding rude/like an insult to you, Ben. I didn’t mean it that way at all. :-x
Japanther: It’s better to have good things happen to you than bad things. This period of time has been the most stressful in my life, and I’m sad to say college applications has been the |least| stressful thing I’ve had to deal with.
Ben, I saw you in the Infinite this morning on my way to 5.60, but my reflexes are a little slow at that time of morning, so I didn’t get “Hi Ben” out fast enough.
You looked awake, that’s a good sign.
Christina, I know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s a standard “Well, if you don’t want to play with me, then I don’t want to play with YOU” reaction, which is perfectly fair. If I end up getting a rejection letter, that’s what I’ll be telling myself to make myself feel better (that and playing the brand new video game I ordered for the specific purpose of making me happy afterwards).
Now. Everyone. Reeeemember.
They’re already choosing things. It’s too late for you to worry about any of it, and you can’t change anything for what’s going to arrive sometime around winter break.
So chill out. =)
Hey Ben, wow so many posters in so little time! Okay, I am officially depressed after reading you guys’ scores and posts about admissions. But actually I prefer being depressed instead of having overconfidence (which with MIT never happens). Hmm…Why don’t you guys get LaVerde’s subs? It’s just a few meters away from the food carts..are you really that lazy ?!! ;P well I don’t know how tiring it is to read apps. but judging from the pictures i can only say sweet dreams =D…Yeah i’m from Kuwait but I went to RSI in the Summer and discovered the true meaning of the best university supermarket in the world!! LaVerde’s!!! Is it true that they’re open 24 hours during the regular school year?
Anyways I have to sign off and finish my regular app. now…take care everyone and good luck!!!
Aziz
Honestly guys, all of us rock!! Otherwise we would not apply to MIT.
This post is meant to cheer you EA guys up, relax and enjoy life!!
I understand what you mean Japanther. Now that my application is out I’m kicking myself for not including more, but I did fill everything up so there may not have been enough room anyway. hehe. Oh well, nothing to do now since decisions are being mailed in a few days.
I must also agree with Rafael, we all do rock just for being in the enviable position of applying to MIT.
I’m eagerly awaiting my EA decision…we can still hope. Oh man, if I got in….ahhhh… Anyway, good luck to all of us. It’ll be over in a few days. Take care everyone (especially Ben and the other admissions officers who should get some serious sleep! 
)
Hmm. After reading the entry and the comments, all I can really say is “Eeep.” ^^;;
Merudh: from the MIT website
(http://mit.edu/firstyear/2009/subjects/ap.html):
For a score of 4 or 5 on the BC Calculus examination, credit is given for 12 units of subject 18.01 Calculus I. For scores lower than 4, no credit is given. . . .
Although no credit is given for the Calculus AB exam, a score of 4 or 5 places you into the accelerated Calculus sequence 18.01A/18.02A. A score of 4 or 5 on the AB portion of the BC Calculus exam offers the same placement as the regular Calculus AB exam.
Everyone gets their 60 seconds in front of the selection committee.
Christina, if you don’t get into Penn, you’re totally going to be upset. I can buy you another Pepsi slush if you’d like, though.
That mindset sounds nice, but I’m having a lot of trouble adopting it. I just have no major interest in any other college, and I know that spending four years somewhere else, I’ll just think, “what would I be doing if I had gotten into MIT?”
I know the chances are extraordinarily high that I’ll be deferred, but I want so badly to get in early and have this weight lifted from my shoulders. I cannot think of anything else, and waiting till March seems agnonizing (not to mention that with EA, not being accepted still means I have a second chance. . . . When I’m waiting for the regular decision letters to be sent out, I’ll be more terrified because that’s IT).
The, “I’ll buy you another Pepsi slush comment” is borderline malicious, Colin, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt; I don’t think you meant it to be mean.
I’ll probably throw up if I don’t get into Penn, yes, but my defense mechanism will allow me to adopt a, “screw you, Penn! I didn’t even want to come to your school! *sob*” attitude within a few days. It’s the ONLY way to deal with it, in my opinion. You must promise yourself success at another school — success that will lead you to work alongside MIT graduates.
great advice Julia.
by the way I just noticed something. “Nance Nance Revolution” — its that in anyway related to Dance Dance Revolution? lol
Next year I’m definitely taking AP Calculus, but like Merudh, my school only offers AB. BUT, the AP calc teacher, starting this year is willing to have a short extra class after school with BC material. Are they two separate exams, or is BC like an addition to AB. Would I get two scores for taking the BC one? How would I list that on a college app. under “AP tests taken”? I don’t know if this question makes sense but some clarity would be good.
Dreaming, wishing, hoping, praying, stressing, dreading, shaking, counting down to Dec. 15–> everything that we, the MIT EA applicants, are doing right now.
I suggest not hanging out 24/7 on the MyMIT Blog website hoping that we will somehow discover more about our fate (because I guarantee it will only make you more nervous). Go outside, play in the snow, enjoy the upcoming holidays, and just live…! Whatever happens, happens! This is life…an unpredictable journey, and although getting into MIT may seem like the world to you right now, don’t forget about the other important things in life. Don’t let the college applications stresses overshadow the good things in your life.
Like Ben says, “Hope for the best and plan for the worst.” But just in case things don’t go your way, just remember that life has many, many more opportunities waiting for you. So relax and don’t forget to sMiLe
!!
HOLA!
Homan. You guys are awesome.
ADIOS!~Kiersten~
This is one helluva comment section.
So Ben does anyone have any good news from the admissions office.
Yes, it has come to my attention that due to the rather large number of applicants this year, MIT will only be accepting students named “Timur.”
Condolences for those this inconveniences.
Okay, okay, so maybe that’s not true.
BEN did try to force me to reapply in 2052.
.
“Deferred is not rejected.”
Thank you. That is my new mantra. I shall repeat it every time I feel utterly terrified about the status of my application.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. It won’t help at all, but it’ll give me something to do other than worry aloud to my friends again. And again. And again.
Ben,
Has there ever been something close to a “Twelve Angry Men” scenario (in reference to a great classic movie) where one officer convinces everyone who had previously voted “deny” to vote “yes”?
Dan,
AP Calculus AB covers about a semester in a half of Calculus and BC covers a full 2. I believe that AB takes you through surfaces of revolution and volumes, while BC also teaches divergence/convergence theorems, series, and a little bit of advanced polars and parameters. I really don’t think it would be that hard to learn the extra material that BC offers, so if you buy the Barron’s book, you should be fine.
As far as the test goes, BC has designated AB questions that are easier than the BC ones. You will receive two scores: A BC score (between 1 and 5) and an AB score (also between 1 and 5). The BC score is calculated from all of your questions, while the AB is only calculated from your AB questions. The AB score is considered a subscore of the test.
When I listed my AP score, I just listed my BC score without my subscore. The subscore is really not that important since a student will usually receive the same or higher score on the AB questions.
College credit varies by school, but you will almost always get credit if you get a 4 or a 5 (as an MIT applicant, I’m sure you would get one of those). I believe that someone listed that MIT will give 12 credits, but other schools I have looked at only give 8. I would recommend taking the AP Calculus BC exam, for it will give you a lot more credit and it won’t require a ton of effort to learn the extra information.
Hope I answered your questions,
-Lindsay
how many people get flat out rejected during EA?
Ben, I’m paranoid you didn’t get my reply (email!)
Please go through with your offer!! <3
Gee… that’s a hell lot of comments. Now, I’ve kidna forgot what I’m gonna say here…
Oh ya, so here it is: INDIAN FOOD ROCKS!!! Even though I’m Chinese, I’ve grown to love Indian food more than Chinese food, because of all the tremendously delicious spices that are used in their food!
Okay, this is an admissions blog. Gee… Well, I finally saw that my Evaluations have been read and entered, but… I still can’t see that my standardized test scores have been received, especially my “testing requirements”. Is there something wrong with it, or have they not been entered into the system yet? That, as well as my Sec Sch transcript… both haven’t been entered yet, I guess.
Well, have fun reading, guys. I think you two are really bordering on craziness. You two look something like a doctor who’s overworked in Theme Hospital *(ya, that’s such an outdated game…)*
Thanks a lot Lindsay. I’m set.
Thanks a lot Lindsay. I’m all set now.
Dude – I’m chinese too, and I like Indian food more. I LOVE the spices and the flavor. The curries are amazing. I love the Nan. I love the rice. I love indian food! w000!
I have the same problem, Eric. Sec. Sch. report and standardized test scores not on yet. Its hectic there and they are probably too busy with selections to enter data for regular action.
Indian food, AP calculus and snow!
What a combination for a blog.
So….
are they coming? are they coming?
(as in, do you think you’ll send them out tomorrow?)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhh
By the way, I fully copyright the name Nance Nance Revolution.