New Server by Ben Jones
As of this afternoon, mitadmissions.org is living on a new (and much faster) server.
Hi folks,
As of this afternoon, mitadmissions.org is living on a new (and much faster) server. You’ll probably notice better performance in page rendering right away; commenting is still slower than I’d like, but a forthcoming software patch should (hopefully) fix that.
I think the migration went fairly smoothly, but if you notice anything weird, let me know.
I’ll be back with a real entry very soon! Hope your summers are going well.
-B
Hello World
it is faster, but it’s really expensive. i hope you got a discount or something :D how come it’s not hosted on one of the boxes at MIT?
yay for MIT!!!
Great, we’ve jumped straight to trans-server trolling.
(Donut for the first person who gets the admittedly occluded reference.)
Weeeeee.
Huzzah!
Hello, I was wondering if anyone could tell how long does it takes to get an answer from admissions at mit dot edu? Because now that the 2008 freshman application is available I sent an email with a few questions about stuff I asn’t able to figure out from the website.
Thanks.
Hey Farhad-
In my experience, admissions at mit dot edu has been pretty prompt. I’d expect that they’re very busy since the application was just released, but I’d guess that your question will be answered in the next few days. Just work on the other sections of your app first, and they’ll reply before you know it.
Hey Ben,
I’ve been reading the MIT admissions blogs and have always find them to be enjoyable to read! They have also made the admissions process a lot clearer to me.
I have a few questions though: Does MIT ever plan to become a QuestBridge partner? QuestBridge asked the students applying for the College Prep scholarship to identify schools that they were interested in, so perhaps the organization could go out and make ties with these schools. I wrote down MIT, of course. It would be really, super-special-awesome if MIT ever decided to join QuestBridge (even if it didn’t happen to be this year).
@Hawkins
I’m actually pretty set on Course 2, but I enjoy EECS, I’d like to get much better at it. I just felt a good “Hello World” was appropriate for our new server!
I’ll second that, Hawk. Dang, I wish people had been this openly friendly when I was applying.
By the way, if you post a question, I’d really recommend filling out both the Name and Email fields on the comment form. Only the bloggers can actually see your email address, so it’s a really good way for them to get in touch with you privately.
Paul ’11, “Great, we’ve jumped straight to trans-server trolling.”
That’d be the xkcd comic that Keri featured earlier. Trans dimensional trolling FTW!
Indeed so, my friend! Well done. A thorough knowledge of xkcd is an important skill for success at MIT…yes, indeed…
Just friend me on Facebook or something so I know who you are…and on some happy, random day I – as promised – will show up at your dorm with a donut. :D
Oh yeah, I would have put my questions in here, but they are a few and I have to give some explanations about my situation, being an international student, etc… But yeah, it feels great to have a place like this (admissions blogs) where you can always find someone willing to help
Sweet!
@Snively: EECS?
Also, to anyone who has application questions:
Feel free to post your questions as comments, if you’re comfortable. There are a lot of people in this community who can and will help you, many of whom have already been through the application process, and many of whom are not nearly as busy as the admissions staff. We’re here for YOU. =)
checking comment submission speed….
yup! It *is* faster now…
Hi Ben!!!!!!! remember me……yeah!!! for MIT
best of luck
Hey kThomson,
Are you talking about the MyMIT page? I can get all the pages to load, including the new users page. The problem may be on your end – perhaps your browser? I’m using Firefox, which has almost never let me down.
@ Sh1fty – that’s a very long story.
But in a nutshell, there are (understandably) a lot of rules when hosting anything on MIT’s servers (related to centralized software, security, etc.), and not all of them play nicely with the ways I’ve built and customized the backend of mitadmissions.org. So it has just been easier and more efficient for me to maintain my own server.
@ Farhad – it depends on the time of year, but as others have suggested, feel free to post here and others will likely be able to help you out with the answers.
@ Minnie – that’s not my department, but I’ll ask around and see if I can get you an answer!
@ kThomson – I tried emailing you but it bounced back. Thanks so much for letting me know – do you mean http://my.mit.edu? If so, are you still having trouble logging in?
Ben, where did you learn programming/web design? I’m just wondering because you know a LOT about this web techie stuff considering you were an English major in college =) Kudos to you. *thumbs up*
Hey, thanks! To be honest, I learned almost everything through a combination of (a) reading a lot and (b) trial and error. I’ve always been a “content” guy (i.e. writing and design), but right after college I got interested in how the content gets processed, displayed, etc. – so I just started building (and breaking) sites and trying to learn something new every day. Generally speaking, higher education (be it my alma mater or MIT) is wonderful at teaching you how to be a life-long learner – which is important, considering everything we know about everything will be obsolete in 10 years.
Hi guys, I was kinda wondering about one thing, whether or not I should include it in my “resume”.
The recent four years I’ve spent some time with a professor in the mid 50s, and we came up with a quite wild idea; I can’t describe the entire process in detail for you online, but it is about turning methane- rich waste (we used cows, since I’ve got about 50 of ’em wandering just outside the lab) into usable rocket fuel. We launched a liquid fueled rocket last year and proved that it can be done, although we still need to refine our methods. Should this work-in-progress also be included?
HAHA, Beano, what a wild idea!
@Beano
Sounds like a good “Tell us about something you’ve built” essay to me!
Hello again.
I was (believe it or not) thinking… I’m porobably going to send all the components of my application that can’t be submited online in a single package. What I want to do is to send it using FedEx or any other service of that kind because it’s more eficient and reliable than average international postal service.
I’m a bit worried that my “something I’ve built” essay might sound like I’m bragging, which is quite possible because I’m passionate about most of my projects and once I start talking about them I get all excited :D
btw is there any way to send some electronics schematics or sketches to someone at MIT so that they can tell me if it’s any good or not as they do with art? not for the application, just so that I know if it’s a new idea or someone already did it… I wouldn’t get them swamped with sketches and crazy ideas or anything, I’d just ask them to take a look at a project or two…
The “Something I’ve Built” essay was my favorite part of the application! There’s no need to worry about it! Tell a good story, everybody likes a good story!
!
Sh1fty, I felt the same way when I was applying! The basic thing to keep in mind is to write confidently and passionately about what you’ve done, without being arrogant. College apps are a great opportunity to brag a little bit.
What is the earliest that we can schedule interviews for EA? Can it be done before school starts, or is there like a start date written somewhere that I totally missed?
Gah, I love admissions questions. It’s a good feeling, knowing that all the knowledge and tricks you pick up while applying aren’t wasted!
@Becca
There’s no official start date. I had my interview late September and was the first one for my interviewer. The earlier the better, that way you don’t have to worry about it later when you’re trying to keep track of 8,000 different pieces of paper, envelopes, stamps, and signatures.
Thanks snively. That feeling is starting already. I am trying to get most of the essays and application stuff done before school starts and the homework piles on, but a lot of schools don’t even have their applications out yet! Crazy people. I guess I will email my EC and see what she says.
hahaha i contacted my EC about interviewing about a week before the “last day to have an interview day” because i totally forgot. i was so luck to have been able to have an interview!
i believe the essay was “something you created” not necessarily something you built. i talked about the community service club i created at my school as an offshoot of a leadership camp i went to over the summer. since i just started it this year, it was really hard to get underclassmen involvement, and i’m really worried that it won’t survive without me, as i am currently searching for a teacher to be the club advisor, and the person who’s going to be in charge next year is in france.
Ben, Check your login page for new users to admissions. It’s not loading.
@Becca
As Snively so swiftly pointed out, there is not an official start date for “interview season”. Your EC should be able to tell you what his/her schedule is like and when they will available for an interview. You should come prepared – you already know what your passions are, but you may want to have a list of what to discuss with them in case you think you might leave something out. Also, have questions for your interviewer about MIT; they like that, or at least mine did. =)
@ Shannon: I would definitely include that Boggle scorecard! It sounds crazy, but somehow I think it might just fit.
Regarding your other question – I talked about my research in #14 (“additional information”) because I had already filled up #13 (“something you’ve created”) talking about a political club I founded at my school. If you don’t have anything else you want to talk about for #13, I’d go ahead and mention your research there because that’s the most specific.
But whichever question you choose, don’t just submit your abstract! Use #13 or #14 to summarize what you did in a clear and concise way. You might want to mention where you worked, for how long, and with whom. You don’t have to be very wordy; my response was a little less than half a page. Remember, MIT isn’t going to judge you on the “quality” of your research – showing excitement and dedication is much more important.
As for what to actually do with your abstract – I submitted mine separately from my application, along with a letter of recommendation from my mentor.
Oh, and as for resumes – they certainly can help, but remember there’s a reason the application has space for only 5 activities!
Matt talks more about resumes and other supplements in <a>this really helpful article</a>.
Out of curiosity, did those of you who submitted research abstracts last year submit them under the “something created” or the “additional material?” I really want to save the additional material for a boggle scorecard (odd, I know, but the words I won on are ironically totally me) and maybe a resume.
Just curious.
Thanks, Paul! I’ll guess it will depend if I’m writing about anything else in 13, then. I’m definitely including the Boggle thing either way.
The thing with the resume isn’t so much the number of activities- I totally understand and agree with the stance on that it. It’s more that there are just a few that I don’t have enough room to fully describe and a few of my academic honors need explanation, too.
Uh hi. I live in Africa (Benin, in west Africa) and I am going to apply for MIT soon. I took a SAT practice test and got 570 in maths and 480 in critical reading. I know it’s about having the MIT culture, which I think I have more millions of reasons, this is not the place to post them. But do I have a chance with results like mine ?
Ah, I see about the resume – sounds like you’ll be just fine then.
By the way, I don’t know why the link in my other post isn’t working…but here it is again anyway.
Hey Isshak,
Having the MIT culture – “the match,” it’s sometimes called – is absolutely important! I think it’s great that you understand that.
As for SAT scores, MIT doesn’t have any minimum SAT scores you need to be considered for admission. However, MIT is still a very difficult school with a heavy focus on science and engineering, and SAT scores are a convenient way of whether or not you can handle the workload at MIT. But they are still just one measure. The scores you mentioned are somewhat low; but if you’re committed to applying to MIT, you shouldn’t let anything prevent you from doing that.
Oh you think they are low ? I have got 1700 in total. I’m used to a huge amount of workload, being in the french system (and they never let you rest from 11th grade). But I guess I better have better ones by fall…
Well thanks for your advices ! It’s really nice of you to answer clearly, but now I realize I have little chances of getting in my “dream/first choice” college..
Oh, great entry by Matt and thanks to you, Paul, for the link!
I’ll surely be sending samples of my music, because writing music is one of the things I enjoy the most!
Say I wrote a Suite… Can I talk about it in the something you created part of the app? It is just I’m very proud of it and it is one of the varied activities that I do and there’s so much to tell about the ptoject… Yeah, I know it sound I should be applying to Berklee or some other music college and not to a science and technology school
wow, paul, you should become an admissions officer
@ Isshak: I’m not trying to discourage you, and I certainly hope I didn’t scare you away from applying! I’m just a student, after all, not an admissions officer. Best of luck in everything you attempt this coming year!
@ Farhad: No problem. And yes, you can definitely talk about your compositions for that question! Engineers love music too…
@ Jenn: Haha, thanks, I think! It’s really just a symptom of having too much time on my hands…but hopefully that’ll change next year.
Paul, are you applying to be a blogger?
AH! Don’t remind me about blogging applications! Time goes so much faster when there’s no anticipation for results. Think of MIT blogging applications as “The Game” (shoot, just lost the game)
Snively! now I lost the game too because of you! :D now I’ll have to avoid reading these comments because of it and I’ll still lose the game every time I see this post on the front page! you’re one cruel player :D oh, noone did answer my question. is there a place where we can send sketches/schematics of our electronics work for evaluation?
But does “Remember Me?” work now?
That is the question.
Can I ask you about the Early Actions? I know that it is not open for international students but I really don’t understand why.
To be honnest…yes Paul ’11 you scared me, but not you especially (why would you) but the average scores ARE a lot higher than mine, and in the stats page, even if scores “don’t count”, there are very very few people admitted with scores like mine.
And being an international student…
But should I talk about some creations I made ? Because in my school I made about 3 internet websites and made 2 school videos (editing and all) for projects other then mine. Should I talk about them in the application ?
And I was hopping of applying for early action. Since I live far away, by when should I send my scores ? Thanks a lot !
Well, a few doesn’t mean none, does it?
Also, scores in the SATs are not the only thing admissions people look at when makeing a decission. Other things like passion also count and having an interview is very helpful.
I’m also an International Apllicant and don’t know exactly why, but I feel pretty confident about my chances of being accepted, heh.
Oh, and I googled my EC, I haven’t contacted him yet but yeah, and he seems to be someone important over here, so hey! Good things are happening from all of this, so I could not be more enthusiastic.
I lost.
Thanks for the server upgrade!
If anyone from the admissions office is still reading the comments in this entry… I see there’s going to be a n information meeting with MIT people here in Mexico City too… Anyone can attend those meetings? who should I contact to get further information?? Oh, I’m excited
all this blog has been great!!!
I am visiting TOMORROW!!!! the 10 AM tour.
I can’t wait too see MIT after reading all these interesting blogs.
However, the 3 hour time difference from California is still a bit weird XP
btw
i lost (or apple lobster )!
anyone also play with the “Moo!” rule?
@ Isshak: That sounds great, I figured you’d be on top of things.
I wish I could go to Paris!
Having your interview in Paris is an interesting idea. Email [email protected] explaining your situation and see what they can do for you.
Are there any like hands-on courses, such as design for courses 1 or 2 in freshman and sophomore year? I saw that there was a product design class, but there seems to be a lot of prereqs. Anyone know?
Ok I will (I just sent it). Thanks again ! I hope I’ll get in MIT, I have a feeling it’s the only college for me, I feel good when I imagine myself there, I can’t explain it (and no I’m not weird, but I really think I’m a “MIT student”. Well, I’m off studying for SAT.
@ Farhad: Sad to say, I have indeed by seduced by the idea of being one MIT’s (in)famous admissions bloggers. Guess we’ll just have to see what happens?
@ Isshak: Like Farhad said, a few definitely isn’t none! However, make sure you take the right SAT II’s as well as the regular SAT. Not having any SAT II’s is very, very bad. (SAT II = SAT Subject Tests.) You can read more here.
As for talking about your creations, by all means go for it! Unfortunately, international applicants can’t actually apply “early action.” But that doesn’t stop you from submitting your (completed) application as soon as you feel ready.
@ Becca: There’s loads of “hands-on” work to be had at MIT! Apart from classes, UROPs can be a great opportunity to build crazy stuff. To give just one example, I actually got to meet this guy when I was on campus for CPW. I didn’t even know he was famous then! There are also many freshman-only seminars that focus solely on getting down and dirty building stuff.
Er, don’t mean to be rude or anything, but did you give me the right adress ? I received a notification telling me that it wasn’t sent like the email is not right.
It looks like they have some pretty cool options for the seminars. How do those work? Like how many people are in them, how do you sign up, how many can you take type of thing? Thanks!
I think the right adress is [email protected] Try it.
Ok thanks a lot ! I’m waiting for an answer now. Thanks a lot you guys for your support.
Sh1fty, remember you have that 30min period after someone has lost the game before you can lose the game – it gives you time to forget =)
Oh we can’t apply early action ? I didn’t know that.
Do not worry I am planning to go to France to take the SAT subject (I’m thinking about maths level 2 and physics) because it’s not available in my country. And is there a way to have an interview in the period of time I will be in Paris ? How can I do that ?
Thanks again for your information !
@Isshak – You have to be prepared both ways, though. There’s no harm in applying to MIT, and certainly your SATs won’t keep you out if your application is amazing otherwise. Plenty of amazing students, though, do get rejected every year – MIT just doesn’t have the room! I definitely understand falling in love with MIT, but keep an open mind to other schools. It’s not only about where you go – it’s also what you do with it!
Ahh I’m dumb sometimes…sorry about the typo, it works correctly if you click it though. Thanks for catching that Farhad.
Isshak, I’m glad I was able to help you a little, it was no problem! I hope everything works out the best way possible!
Yeah, Wings’11 you choose the right words, “falling in love with MIT”, but it’s more like “finding a perfect home in MIT”.
Well, I’m off to some more SAT practice.
Oh, I forgot to say in my last post something :
those who are in MIT, I hope you know what you’re in touch with, all the ressources, the informations, the technologies. My school doesn’t even have a proper library, and the network is dead because of huge lack of protection (viruses everywhere you can’t even dream about plugging you usb key in it). So I hope students there get the maximum out of them, because always remind yourself, there are schools where you can’t count on the library to find information, but by your own means.
Hey Isshak nice going, if you need help with prepping for the SAT you should consider ordering a review book, for instance Kaplan or Barron.
Cheeers!
I know exactly what you’re talking about, Isshak… In my school we don’t have many resources either… But that makes it more exciting, looking for those options somewhere else I mean!
Just a point of view.
I know ! I share the same point of view ! Just thinking about the ressources available here (and my favourite, nanotechnology research!!!!!) makes me shiver.
Thanks TC I’ll try to order one, but for the moment, I found websites that offr entire SAT tests so I’m doing them for the moment. But thanks a lot!
Ben, when wil bloggers find out the rseults?
This server change has helped me with my Internet problems
There are some sites that always display the same error message when I try to visit them. Now the Admissions server has changed I encounter the same problem.
Is there any way you could put me in contact with someone who knows the details of the new server. I know this is a little weird but it’s the only lead I have on this issue.
Thanks, Angus
Thanks anonymous, just lost the game again
Now I lost the game too! my school is amazing so I don’t have trouble with finding information
there are teachers(over 20 different fields of electronics/computing/robotics) and a few system and network admins so it’s not hard to find someone to learn from 
still, most of my friends don’t even realize how great our school is…
Can someone give me the example of an international student or more then one with 570 sat math, 500 sat critical reading, and average score for SAT level 2 and got in MIT ? If yes, then MIT isn’t about the numbers. If no, then it’s just a fake image.
Well, It surely isn’t about the numbers, it is about passion, intereset, being able to do the hard work and many other things that the different components of the application show. So even if you had 800 on each of your SATs, there many other things that also count.
I think 800 is the top score anyone can get… Not sure.
*there are many other…
Woah! I’ve never posted that much on a blog entry before… I feel the dark forces pulling me!
In Part 2: Essays, Activities, and Tests Form;
does reading count as an activity
Again, if Ben or anyone from admissions is still reading the comments… I already have a MyMIT acount, but I have not submited the App 1 form because of one doubt… There’s a field that says ‘Last Name’ Of course I know what does it means but, here in our passports, our official names have two last names, the father’s one and the mother’s one… So, should I put them both in that ‘Las Name’ field?
Ben and Paul,
Yes this page http://my.mit.edu/ But I was at work that day when trying to register as a new user. I’m at home now and it works fine so it could have been our server at work. I didnt’ have time to mess around with it that day.
Thanks for trying to drop me an email but I forgot I had to switch the prefix so the address I gave you before was wrong. Should work this time if you need to contact me again.
I will sign up today and take a look around. I’m looking forward to learning more about MIT and hope to visit in the future.
V/R
Kevin
@ Isshak: Sending that in is probably not necessary. MIT doesn’t need to see everything you’ve done, just finding the right place on the application to talk about it can be enough.
@ Julien: As I said before, I’ve never pretended anything or tried to give anyone false hope. Hopefully, one day you’ll realize that MIT actually has one of the most transparent, honest admissions departments around. That’s really all I have to say about the matter.
@ Kevin: Glad to hear it’s working now. Good luck and I hope you can visit soon!
Okay I will find a place for it on the application. Thanks!
@Julien
You need high scores to get into MIT, period. It’s one of the top schools in the country, scores matter.
When people say that scores aren’t everything, they mean that people with 800’s (perfect scores) won’t always beat people with 700’s. Your score needs to be high, but once it is, there are a ton of other factors that matter.
I won’t say anything anymore, but you will see when he will receive an email saying he wasn’t accepted. They won’t even spend time on his app, they’ll just see his scores and forget about him. And you know why Ben and Matt aren’t answering ? Because they work there and know it’s true.
@Julien –
If you look at the MIT statistics for admission, there are indeed people with 500s. MIT is a top school that can only accept people capable of handling its courseload. This proof can come in a variety of forms – one of which is SAT scores. If someone has low SAT’s, he/she must show through other means a capabiliy to handle the courseload.
International admission is extremely competitive (there are only about 100 slots alloted), with plenty of students who have high scores matched with high passion.
I think the basis for your “challenge” is just wrong.
Thanks for posting the fall recruitment travel schedule.
http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/mityou/fall_recruitment_travel_schedule/index.shtml
I look forward to the information session in our town. I’m not sure if DW or I will go with our son; I’d hate to miss it myself (MIT information sessions are FUN), but I’d also hate for her to miss it.
P.S. Yes, admission at MIT and at most “peer” colleges is not strictly by the numbers, because applicants are not put into a strict rank order by the numbers. As another reply has said, sometimes a student with 700s is admitted while a student with 800s is not. Multifactorial admissions looks weird to persons from lots of other countries, but that is the way things are done in the United States. Strong problem-solving ability in the testing room is a proxy for other forms of problem-solving ability, and it IS true that MIT students have to come in the door with a capacity to develop strong problem-solving skills, because the education at MIT is all about problem-solving.
Clearly, SAT scores matter. If they didn’t matter, MIT wouldn’t use them. And yes, the ideal applicant to MIT is going to have fairly high scores.
But I still believe that scores are not everything. They are important, as are academic success and strong extracurriculars. But the Admissions Department has publicly stated that they have no cutoff scores, and I choose to take them at their word.
I’m not dumb, and I’m not trying to give anyone false hope. I can read the admissions statistics just like any of you can, I can see that higher scores are correlated with higher admit rates. I know that it is damn hard for an international student to obtain admission to MIT, no matter what their scores are, and I try to be as honest as I can about that.
You can call me naive, an idealist, whatever. But I am not going to flat-out tell someone who doesn’t even have their final SAT scores yet that they shouldn’t even bother pursuing their dream.
Make back-up plans, yes. Apply to other schools, yes. Prepare to deal with the possibility of rejection, yes.
But abandon a dream? Never.
Yay for Paul!
Well, I’m glad Isshak has the right perspective on this. Julien, I don’t quite understand what it is you’re trying to accomplish here.
You guys just give fals hope. Even if Isshak score are not high, and even if they do get higher let’s say 50 points, they are still low. He has no chance of getting in. NO CHANCE. Even with extarcurriculars activities involving “helping people” like you say a million times on your website, even if he has “passion” for something, u wont let him in, because of his SAT score. So stop pretending.
Nothing more then trying not to make another student cry. I know how it feels to be rejected by the college you dream about and only see yourself there, and going to another one, maybe as good, but not having the feeling you wanted to have.
“And you know why Ben and Matt aren’t answering? Because they work there and know it’s true.”
Actually it’s because we’re both on vacation and, contrary to public opinion, don’t spend *every* second hanging out on this site.
I’ll respond to the thread soon.
You see your not even answering, because the truth is you must have high scores to get in, and I know I have no chance of getting in, just like this Isshak doesnt have ANY chance at all of getting in, international student with low SAT scores, ha!
Julien, I know I have the lowest chance possible for an international student applying, but at least I won’t say to myself all my life : what if I had tried?”, even though I already know the answer to that. Anyway!
I worked in an american NGO and we made 4 magazines about safe sex and I used Adobe In Design to make them. Should I send them the pdf files of the magazines to show MIT what I made ?
If you’re so sure you won’t get in, then what’s the point in asking those questions?
And about that last thing we’ll see.