MIT Regional Meetings begin by Matt McGann '00

This week, MIT admissions officers will begin to travel across the United States to conduct information sessions. This week, there will be meetings in Texas, Puerto Rico, and Florida; overall, we will visit 70 cities in the next 6 weeks. You can see if there is a session near you and RSVP here.

On Wednesday, I will fly to Florida in preparation for my first regional meeting of the year, Thursday night in Orlando/Winter Park, FL. Amy has already flown to Texas in advance of her meeting in Dallas, and Jenny flies to Puerto Rico tomorrow.

You might be wondering, what happens at these meetings? What should you expect?

First, the admissions officer and the local Educational Counselors (MIT alumni interviewers, also known as ECs) will greet attendees at the door. If you’ve RSVPed (please do!), you’ll be able to check your name and go in; if you haven’t, we’ll ask you to sign in. We’ll have some special publications and materials you can pick up as well.

The meeting itself will last no longer than 90 minutes. Each admissions officer’s presentation varies somewhat, but will cover the same information.

We’ll talk about MIT: academics, research, student life, Boston/Cambridge, MIT culture. What makes MIT different from other universities? How might you know whether or not MIT is a good match for you?

We will of course talk about admissions, including the different application components, the deadlines, what makes an applicant “competitive,” how we make decisions on which students to admit. We’ll provide advice and tips wherever we can.

Money and financial aid will be discussed. How do you apply for financial aid? Should you apply for it? What should I expect?

Also, the local ECs will introduce themselves. They’ll talk about what MIT looks for in an interview and give you some advice. This is also a good chance for students to meet their interviewer face-to-face and to set up a time for their interview.

We will always finish with an open Q&A. We’ll take as many questions as we can and do our best to answer every question fully. I’ve found that even students and families who don’t have any questions find it interesting and helpful to hear other people’s questions and the corresponding answer.

I’ll be blogging fairly frequently about our regional meetings, especially during my trips to Florida and California. I’ll try to post some photos, too, so you can see what these meetings can look like.

Doing the regional meetings is one of my favorite times of the year. I really enjoy coming to you and seeing your city. Each meeting has a different vibe but the excitement level for both families and for me is always evident. I look forward to meeting many of you in Florida and southern California, and I hope others of you will say hello to my colleagues who come to your area.