News for Admitted Students by Matt McGann '00
Some next steps for those who received the good news.
Hello, MIT Class of 2015! Here are some things that admitted students should do, now that the entire class has been admitted…
Check out your MyMIT Portal: Over at MyMIT, you’ll find a bunch of stuff only available to admitted students, including:
- Campus Preview Weekend Registration: Please register for CPW by March 24 or when your travel plans are solidified, whichever is sooner. Also, when you fill out your CPW registration form, give us as much specific information as you can; this will help us make your CPW experience as good as possible. Finally, please complete the Medical Release Form.
Notes to the wise: if you’re flying in, book your plane tickets early. If your parents are joining you, have them book their hotel early (today or tomorrow would be very smart). I highly recommend hotels that are within walking distance (or easy public transportation) of MIT — driving and parking in Boston is not a good experience.
- Local Admitted Students Meetings: During MIT Spring Break next week, MIT alumni across the globe will be hosting gathering for the Class of 2014, as nearby campus as Providence, Rhode Island, and as far away as Singapore. There will be meetings in dozens of locales, including New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington (both the state — in Seattle — as well as the District of Columbia), Miami, Chicago, and many more. RSVP information is included.
- Class of 2015 Guestbook: Hundreds of your classmates have checked in to introduce themselves. Since only admitted students can enter themselves on the guestbook, it’s a good way to share your contact information securely with your future classmates, and to get emails and screennames to be in touch with fellow MIT 2015s!
- The MIT Reply Form: As soon as you’ve made up your mind for sure about whether or not to attend MIT — after you’ve received your financial aid package, come for CPW, or anything else that you need to make your decision — please let us know your decision through the online reply form. You have three choices: tell us you’re enrolling this fall (Yay! Welcome officially to the MIT Class of 2015!), that you’re declining our offer of admission (it’s okay, we know you’re making the best choice for yourself), or to request a deferral/gap year(s) before enrolling at MIT (for a gap year, military service, or other reason). Take as much time as you need to make your decision (and if we can help, please let us know), but be sure to let us know by May 2.
- Overnight Program Registration: If you can’t make it for CPW, don’t despair, you can still come visit through our Overnight Program. Please register at least two weeks in advance, and we’ll do our best to show you MIT.
- Link to the Facebook Group: Facebook is a great place to meet your future classmates and get questions answered by current students.
Ensure you have completed your financial aid application: On MyMIT, you can view your financial aid tracking. If you are missing documents, get them in ASAP so that you can get a financial aid package ASAP!
Webcast event on Saturday! Watch your email for details!
Await Financial Aid Info: I know many of you who have complete aid applications are eagerly awaiting financial aid information… don’t despair! Financial Aid packages will be mailed this week.
Finally, Class of 2015, what would you like to see us do blog entries on over the coming month or so? How can we be best helpful for you as you make your college decision? What questions can we answer for you?
Hello! First, I am so much happy and excited about MIT, that already feels like home to me. Also, I found the acceptance letter very sincere and sweet and thank you for that. I would like to see some detail as to where do mit undergraduates go after graduation. I really want to stay at mit for grad. school. Is it likely if I am an undergraduate already to stay at the department I did my major in etc. Thank you! I LOVE MIT! :D
Finally get to add the ’15…so happy
I too thought the acceptance letter was very sweet and characteristic of MIT’s unique style. Awesome as always!
Bwahaaaaa, not fair! No post full of heartfelt sincere warm loving encouraging condolences for the not-admits?
@Anonymous:
I’m sure some posts will also be directed at those not admitted (or rejected, if you consider it a euphemism), but after all, admitted students are those that actually have stuff to do and decide regarding MIT…
Also, if you haven’t noticed – a Q&A for those that were waitlisted was posted even before this post, so MIT clearly doesn’t overlook those that were not offered admission
Awesome! :D Will there be snail mail acceptance too? When will that arrive?
@ Chris:What happen if the number of the students who reject their offers is bigger than the number of waitlisted students?!!!, I know it is impossible. But you can rely on me if it happens, I never loose my hope! LOL xD
oops, sorry, I wrongly posted it here, I wanted to post my comment in not admitted students post…
About financial aid: on MyMIT it says I’m not currently a financial aid applicant, but both FAFSA and the PROFILE show I’ve submitted them to MIT. I sent an email to [email protected] about this a couple weeks ago, but I haven’t had a reply. Any suggestions?
I would like to know what classes I should take to get accepted into MIT? My school isn’t letting us double up on classes and I’ve only taken algebra 1, I’m taking geometry, I’ve taken earth and enviromental science, and I’m taking Biology all of them honors except my earth and enviromental science and algebra 1. What can or should I do because I’m willing to do anything to be accepted. I’m gonna try to get 100, 150, or 200 hours of community service, I’m gonna take classs at coastal that they allow for free, and I’m a sophmore, please help me and respond to this at my email, [email protected], please as soon as you can.
@adam Do the things you are passionate about, not things that you only want to do for college. Here is a great blog post that goes into more detail:
http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/the_selection_process_application_reading_committee_and_decisions/applying_sideways.shtml
I can finally use the ’15! Lol!
Matt could you be more specific about when you are sending the packages. Plus once this is done, will we also be able to view our financial aid info online? Thanks!
Are you guys talking about acceptance letters in the mail or the online ones?
Any canadian students here ?
1st of all,
Bhaskar, all that you talk of, we already know.you are sounding like someone who is mimicking the bloggers.if you know so well,you may well have been admitted.who are you anyway?someone from admissions staff?kindly reply.
ya val,i do agree that we are given the wrong idea and we are foolish to believe all that they write here.
“really admits students like him–that we were merely fooled into thinking MIT does.”—yes,its totally true,i had a student of mine who i think would be the next einstein,he really wanted to go to mit and frankly,i believe he is smarter than any of the blokes they chose and an amazing human being with extraordinary community service.his life story is something more than extraordinary. he is fighting poverty and he is a genius of true caliber.
maybe mit thinks they are the smartest admissions folks in the country(“we wont give further deatils for harvard to steal”) but even after all that and even if they do think out of the box,they dont end up choosing people who they talk of in their blogs.
yes mit,please do give us the info regarding the people you admit. else all your words count as nothing.
i have some data regarding the level of students they admit, and i was not fascinated,val!!
returning to my student, he was really disappointed and i reassured him saying that einstein didnt go to mit and he too was rejected from the finest institutions of his time.
let me know val,where your son ends up at finally.good luck.
Why are details about the admission process confidential? I cannot see why Harvard adopting the same process would put MIT in any worse position. If it truly is as magnificent as you say, wouldn’t the adoption of it by other universities be in the best interest of society? Doesn’t MIT pride itself on its contributions to society and the humanitarian efforts of its students? Seems a bit hypocritical.
@Val and Concerned Councellor
I could not agree more with you guys.. MIT made everyone of the 17000+ applicants believe that they were going to get admitted.. but now MIT is soo very much Biased in taking the students who is a relation of the MIT Staff first then to those who worked there and then who are acquaintance of Ex students in MIT.. so with this process almost 100+ seats get occupied..then the famous persons friends.. then the strong higher recommendation.. and then comes your Son.. competing with others…
Its good to know that MIT could Fulfill its Quota system which it said never existed…
PS: admin Dont delete it..
[parts of this post which disparaged another commented were removed; the rest which criticized our office were left untouched. -Admin]
I’m so excited to go to CPW and meet everyone! Congrats to everyone who was accepted, I’m really proud of everyone. =D
Qualche italiano? Dai dite di si XD
@ILOVEMIT
I believe that MIT does not allow its students to do both undergrad and grad–only one or the other.
this hypocrisy and foolery,if it is,maybe is what attracts many to apply(by the encouragement)..17000?just look at the money generated by application fee itself?even if 50% apply for a waiver….
@admin officers
please be kind enough to mention whether MIT really has such type of quotas. me and 4 other guys sitting next to me right now are international applicants and are thinking about taking another shot at MIT next year.
if such quotas exist as mentioned above please let us know so that we don’t take this huge risk.
we still love MIT though
@concerned counsellor
i dont think you can blame a College for its 17000+ applicants and the money they were ready to pay for playing this game of chance..
@admin: thankz for not deleting the complete post.. i would really love to know a breakdown of how many where applied and from where did they come from..
its was supposed to be How many were “admitted” and where did they come from…
@counsellor For your info I am not at all trying to copy the admission officers.They all have been very nice to me so may be it would have been sounding like that.They don’t have any problem with that abd are happy with this.Also I am not from the admissions office,I was just an applicant who got rejected and I figured out what mistakes I did.I took this decision positively without looking at it’s dark side.That’s all what I would speak in this(no offences against any one of you guys].
dear mit admissions staff,
many belive that it is an institution where they can come and make the world a better place. do them justice!thats all we ask.
please give us the info. wether you admit a ‘lukcy few’ based on what you write or the same applies for all.
it might be difficult saying NO to the former,but info would disprove our myths.
anf if it can be disproved, i guess its time to adopt a new admitting policy!
@peter Buddy if the comment saying about the relation with any admission staff,MIT affiliates or students was pointing towards me,I would like to say that None of my friends,family attended MIT.Also no one is related to me from the admissions office.I am just an applicant like other ~17000 applicants.I do consider them as my family,hope all of you also do. Just a clarification from my side,don’t take it any other way.
^^ what i actually said was different and the admin decided that it might hurt your feeling so he/she had to redact it.. And am not so interested in going back to it again…
How high is the percentage of someone from North Carolina being accepted into MIT?
Dear Concerned Counsellor and Others,
My son will study engineering at UIUC. He only applied to MIT and UIUC. He felt hurt simply because he thought he had a real chance at MIT. He is okay with UIUC and knows it is a fantastic program. I do know that he would have been a great fit for MIT as he has the intelligence and the whole package and even loves coming up with new cool ‘hacks’.
I thank you for your supportive responses. ‘CC’, I am sure your student will enjoy many personal successes and I wish him all the best and God Bless! Let me know where he goes and tell him we are rooting for him! Cheers to you, too!
All that true students [such as your student and my son]want from attending to MIT is the opportunity to apply themselves in a place full of opportunities where they have every chance to contribute and excel. They are living, breathing examples of success and the drive to succeed and who knows what they can accomplish with the right university. They applied to MIT because they believed they had an honest chance at admission.
I see that I am not alone with my disillusionment. Those of our opinion are waiting for the facts from MIT. Really, it would benefit your university MIT to admit a few regular geniuses! Good Luck to everyone and enjoy your university.
From the start, it was evident that MIT Admissions has worked hard to set a high mark for quality and caring. Admissions’ website was the most interesting and well focused towards high schoolers and their parents that I encountered when my son was doing his research and admissions.
Mr McGann conducted a very enlightening preview day at a nearby school and I looked around that auditorium and thought, “what an amazing level of talent all in one place! I love and think the world of my child but what on earth are the odds here?!!”
To those who are saying some negative things,we don’t have ANY connections, we are not scientists, and our kids went to a very small PK-8 school, then a public high school in a very average midwestern suburb.
But, it does happen. Miracles do come true–and good kids from regular towns who work hard and have no “connections” or prep school experience CAN get acknowledged and admitted.
We knew how hard the odds were and felt that the process was refreshingly pleasant, unique, thorough, and gave everyone a fair shot. I felt like Admissions actually cared very much about the applicants along the way, far more than any other universities of its caliber where, sorry to say, we got the feeling they were resting on their laurels and didn’t care too much about applicants as individuals.
Anyone reading this, if you are thinking of MIT next year, work really hard both in school, out of school and on your admissions process to show exactly who “you” are. Not only will you learn a lot about yourself going through the MIT admissions process, you might also be class of 2016! (Remember, if you don’t apply, you will have a 100% of not getting in, so GO FOR IT!)
@ adam johnson:the mit admissions team looks into your complete picture in order to make a decision.your challenges,achievements, and things which really make who you are one of the few things which help us to make a decision.it doesnt matter from where you are, but who you are.so your question cant be answered.(yes,it cant be actually,even if it was not bhaskar)
^^Truely awesome…
+1
@if I was Bhaskar- Thanks.I think I am pretty sure who you are..A choco pastry for you..Thank you again.
Love
Bhaskar
Why does anyone expect to get into MIT? I mean with college admissions reaching the level of competitiveness that they have, it really is counterintuitive to expect this. I personally expected to be rejected, and if that had been the case, I would have accepted it, however disappointing it would have been!
It is not an issue of qualification, a significant proportion of the entire applicant pool is qualified! It is the small things that matter! One cannot speculate on the the relative merits or demerits of particular applicants without paying attention to the entire pool. I am pretty sure that MIT could admit an entire different class without impacting its quality at the slightest. And by no means does a rejection by any of the elite colleges reflect on the quality of the applicant, but rather the quality of the pool!
A lot of people rejected by MIT are so qualified and brilliant that they will excel WHEREVER they go! They just have to accept that they are the sole determinant of their success! Of course I understand that the resources and atmosphere at MIT are particularly conducive to this aforementioned success, but now that this is no longer an option, live and let live.
This is coming from an African student who was admitted when everything seemed to point to the contrary. They really are genuine about their recruitment efforts. And of all elite schools, MIT does have the greatest transparency through these blogs. They tell it as it is. Just because your son/daughter/student etc did not make it does not provide any indication of their admission practices. It is only one sample out of sample set >17000!
Good luck to all wherever they end up.
@Nathan Please confirm if you indicated that you would like to alert the financial services that you will be applying for aid.If you did,then it may be because of some errr.Don’t worry about it.Send another email tonight to [email protected] or you can give tham a call at 6172534971.It would be sorted out shortly.Gud luck
I probably couldn’t say it better myself – Kimathi is quite right about everything he said.
Personally, I am now a very happy admitted student that comes all the way from Israel and just had this crazy dream of going to MIT.
I have no previous connections to MIT or anything of that sort, and frankly I was quite surprised that I was accepted.
Neither did I pay top dollars to have my essays professionally done – just had a friend look them over to look for typos and such.
As Kimathi said it – there are just TOO MANY qualified applicants and MIT simply doesn’t have room for all of them. Not to mention that they look at other things besides your grades, such as extracurricular activities, life story and much more so just being smart is not enough for them.
And come on people – sentences like:
“MIT made everyone of the 17000+ applicants believe that they were going to get admitted”
are simply absurd. It is common and public knowledge that only around 1500 students get accepted, so one must be ready to face such results and not a single person can be guaranteed admission if he applies.
And one last thing – how will releasing admission statistics help you believe MIT if you don’t believe them now?
what will stop you from claiming the stats are simply fake or made up?
If you believe MIT – good. If you don’t – there are plenty of other schools that you/your son/your student can apply to that will be happy to admit you/him/her.
Have a good day, and remember that after all – MIT is just one school, not the whole world
So take it easy! (perhaps sounds lame from someone who was accepted, but I can’t do anything about that)
@admin officers
please be kind enough to mention whether MIT really has such type of quotas. me and 4 other guys sitting next to me right now are international applicants and are thinking about taking another shot at MIT next year.
if such quotas exist as mentioned above please let us know so that we don’t take this huge risk.
we still love MIT though
@bhaskar
@bhaskar
sorry, you cudnt get in.
best of luck
and thanks for answering my questions on and off
@K
Are you sure this is true? It’s the first time I am listening to smth like that…
How about a blog entry on where/how the MIT bloggers found their MIT friends?
I am disheartened by what I perceive to be an angry tone being expressed by some towards the admissions’ personnel. I can understand expressing disappointment or sadness, but not anger. My son was honored to be an ’09. My daughter was not admitted to the class of ’14 even though she was accepted by all the other great engineering/tech colleges. Angry, no. She ended up at Wellesley, an outstanding liberal arts college. A great surprise. The match has been perfect for her and she is thriving. I love MIT, but there are many other schools out there for students to be loved by. Swallowing the bitterness you may feel will help your student feel better and enable him/her to be happy about their future.
@Val: I understand being disappointed. But I do not think that the size of the high school has anything to do with the admissions decision. I attend a large public high school, and the only effect its size has had on me is that the counselors are overworked and advise everyone to go to in-state schools because each of them is responsible for 600 kids. My high school is not well-known to any university except the local state college, and I come from a state with an education system that ranks consistently in the bottom five nationally, so I know what it is like to feel disadvantaged in education.
To me, it seems like the application is all about expression, which can seem arbitrary or subjective, but is the best way I could think of to admit people. The relatability and expression of essays seems very important–what your student made of his experiences, not just that he participated in a lot of activities.
I don’t wish to be confrontational; just offering an opinion that may help to clear the anger I see on this issue.
[I don’t work for MIT. Not related to anyone who does. I just like the place.]
@midwest parent.
Sorry, but I doubt you are from the real midwest since Matt was conducting a preview day in a school ‘nearby’ to you. Also, you fail to mention your town’s size.
Reading comments here shows that the real regular (non-elite, non-connected) people want answers, and I feel for Val and the Counsellor’s students and others who were purposefully disillusioned. I am from Missouri, ‘the Show Me State’, so I would like to see hard facts about admissions. I know I was disturbed that early on we were told that MIT admits no more than X amount of its Freshman class from EA, but then it admitted far more EA this year!?!?
I have been following the blogs this year to get a head’s up before my daughter applies to the class of ’16. Now, I wonder if it is even worth it for her?
Regarding fair shots to all, MIT admissions kept saying, “Do not send in extra materials, write a joke for the update, etc.”; however, all the admitted bloggers keep raving how they sent in volumes of material.
I am not surprised that international students are admitted in large numbers (I am guessing) as these will be elites in their society to join the other East coast American elites at MIT which is sadly what I see MIT as fostering instead of promoting a brain trust. And I thought Stanford had an odd culture.
Come on Admissions, let’s see some real stats, including geography in USA, school size, hometown size, percentage of foreign admits, etc.
@Val, “concerned counselor”, PeterParker, “truth seeker”, and others who share their opinions:
You have no idea just how hard Admissions works on balancing all the factors that create a strong class at MIT, and how much it pains them when they have to reject highly qualified candidates because there is not nearly enough room to take everyone who is qualified to go here.
I understand you’re disappointed. You have every right to be disappointed. But it’s incredibly unfair to claim that you were prejudiced against, quota’d out, or anything of that ilk. With the exception of the fact that at most 8% of the class can be international, MIT doesn’t use quotas, nor does it engage in the kind of nepotism of which several insinuations have been made. On the contrary, based on the people I know here, I’d say they do an excellent job of accepting people from a wide swath of the country and the world. It is refreshingly not just the “elite”.
But why on Earth should Admissions release the detailed statistics of their incoming class that you’re asking for? This is not a “hide it from Harvard” issue. This is a not the point issue. As long as you’re focused on the numbers like that, you’ll never understand what Admissions is actually doing, and why their job is so very, very hard.
Go read It’s More Than A Job. Then maybe you’ll start to understand.
(Just to be clear, I don’t work in Admissions.)
@ColoringwithCrayons
I am not angry he didn’t get admitted. I am disillusioned and feel misguided. When one gets Deferred to RD, one’s hopes are heightened as one feels they have a good chance to be admitted or at least wait-listed. This is what we were led to believe in the blogs. I am also interested in the question posed by @truth seeker regarding how many supplements an applicant has to submit in order to get admitted. We respected the advice not to overload the application and just send in something light for the update. Am thinking we were misled here as well. I think it only fair that applicants get a more realistic insight into all this so they can make an informed decision about whether to apply in the future or not. Thanks.
Never implied my offspring was merely a lister of accomplishments. Like most other applicants, he is certainly 3-dimensional if not 4!
@Val – If an applicant is kept from EA to RA, it means that they are qualified and competitive. This is not a guarantee of admission or waitlisting. It is a chance to be evaluated with the full RA pool. I’m sorry that you and your offspring are (understandably) disappointed, but misguidedly attacking Admissions is not reasonable.
Frankly, I am disappointed that my son was not admitted, but I am mostly disappointed because I think MIT never really admits students like him–that we were merely fooled into thinking MIT does. He is the smartest person his high school has *ever* had AND he was homeless one year as well as many other challenges and his GPA is still over 4.2/4 plus TONS of activities! I think that you only put students from small schools (towns of under 5000 people) on the deferred list initially to make some artificial quota to show that you did have tiny school applicants. Sorry to say but it seems only children of famous scientists who did all their science projects, etc. get admitted. We were foolish Midwestern hopefuls. If you have any, where is your information to the contrary and where are your stats to disprove this? Thank you for your reply. I think many wish to ask this question, but are afraid…
@ VAL
That isn’t true, and I found out first hand by myself. I grew up in an impoverished family. I didn’t go to the best schools possible, but I was the smartest student at my school here in Brooklyn. My SAT Scores weren’t the best (1870), but I demonstrated, through my application,urces my dedication and my ability to succeed even when odds were against me. I participated in Extracurriculars that meant something to me; I didn’t have a long list of ECs, just a short list of meaningful ECs. Additionally, I showed that even though I didn’t go to an excellent school, I went out of my way to find other resources and exhausted all resources I could possibly find to push forward. I have witnessed first hand that the MIT admissions committee is more than fair.
Why did the admitted blog turn into an attack on the Admissions office? I don’t think MIT was ever an easy school where being deferred to RD meant you were most likely admitted or waitlisted… I think it’s unfair to the Admissions office to accused them of fooling students or adhering to a quota.
Btw: Congrats to those admitted!! :D
@Val – You’re saying that Admissions misled you. As for your obsession with stats, please go back and read Josh ’13’s response.
@ Val and concerned Counsellor:
I am a senior at MIT and being here has been the best decision I have ever made. I was accepted to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc and I do come from a lower social background than some of my peers. I chose MIT rather than Harvard and Yale because I have personally met many students that have been to what your son has been through. MIT does the best into admitting from a diverse group. Everyone here is so different and not a rich kid whose parents are top scientists. I understand you might be mad that your son didn’t get accepted, but you may need to ask how many students who applied have been to the same or even worse things in life that your son and still have an amazing GPA. Almost everyone who applies here has the GPA, scores, activities, leadership….Don’t get me wrong, your son might be smarter than some of the kids here, but MIT does the best they can into admitting students from a diverse group. Given the population of students we have, I think MIT is really diverse (racially and economically). If you son dream is to become part of this great institution where dreams do come true, encourage him to apply next year. As well, you must also understand that most students get deferred to regular decision because they would like to compare these students with the one that apply during regular decision. I haven’t met any institution that helps students so much. If you really need the help, they will give it to you. MIT paid for my tuition, personal stuff, room and board, books (which many institutions don’t), and even my LAPTOP.
@ concerned counsellor: You will be SURPRISED on how many students who come from GREAT SCHOOLS and have the BEST GPA in their respective high schools, end up getting an F on their first chemistry, physics, and/or calculus EXAM. MIT is not for everyone and this place is really hard. The exams are extremely hard and even harder when you get into an engineering major. I was ranked 1st in HS of 800 students senior class and I still struggled. Please please don’t take this the wrong way, but with some many applicants, even some great students need to be rejected.
@ILOVEMIT
In truth, I have not actually seen it in writing. But when I interviewed with a PhD candidate at MIT, she told me this was the case. Perhaps it may be on a departmental basis, but is not uncommon for schools to have such a policy. Some schools want their students to learn from a variety of teachers and mentors, which is completely understandable.
@Can this blog be for the admitted students instead of an unfair attack on the Admissions office?
Your name says it all.
MIT really does admit applicants from Midwest rural, MIT really does admit applicants from Midwest rural, <10,000 population, at-least-eight-hours-away-from-any-real-city, small towns. Honestly I have no idea why I was admitted, and your kids sound extremely qualified and deserving and I’m so sorry to hear about your disappointments. But, it does happen – and I really hope it happens for you somewhere equally amazing.
*last post did not complete?
MIT really does admit applicants from Midwest rural, less than 10,000 population, at least eight hours a way from a real city, small towns. Honestly, I have no idea why I was admitted, and you and yours sound extremely qualified and deserving and I’m so sorry to hear about your disappointments. But, it does happen – and I hope it happens for you somewhere equally amazing.
To all expressing doubts/concerns/etc. about the admissions process:
I, too, am from a small(ish), non-descript midwest town- too big to be cute, too small to offer the number of AP courses everyone seems to think are contingent for admission to MIT. After 5 months of waiting (EA deferred) I figured I would easily be forgotten in a sea of new RD applicants and I was ready to accept my spot at UIUC and make the most of it. That being said, I never gave up on MIT. I know it’s tough to not be admitted (I was waitlisted elsewhere), but, in the words of a mentor of mine: “I know you will find a different way to get where you are going even if this doesn’t work out.”
Please remember that MIT is not the final step for anyone, it’s the next step. I know that no one person who applied to MIT wasted 4 years of time and effort for a school that openly admits that students have a 1 in 10 chance of getting in. Not being admitted does not diminish the accomplishments of any applicant- everyone is amazing in his/her own right. I wish the best of luck to everyone who applied- keep doing what you love!
@anony You are very much welcome.
How, with a clear conscience, can you accept admission to and attend MIT? With MIT’s clearly unfair and discriminatory admission practices how can you live with the fact the a large percentage of the 17000 rejected actually had better grades and SAT scores than you. How can you build a career and a life based on an education that rightly belongs to someone else?
I dont understand why people here are still fighting for the truth…
MIT has clearly stated that they prefer a wide variety of students for their class for which they are ready to chuck out the truely qualified ones…
So by a variety of classes they mean that no matter how good you are ..your quota is over.. so next year and write a blog of how bad they feel about this unwritten law of quota system..
So to all those people planning to apply next year… you have a good chance of wining a Bingo rather than applying here…
@Val and CC… Nevermind.. they just admitted that the system exist and they even admit that ur applicants were equally awesome.. next year try encouraging students from poor strata with lower scores that they can fill in the “Variety of Student” class for MIT…
And who decided it “rightly belongs to someone else”? You? Who appointed you to be on MIT’s admission committee?
MIT clearly states on its website and in the blogs that just good grades and high SAT scores will not get you into MIT, but rather a range of various personality traits, and only one of them is having good, solid grades.
Simply having good grades doesn’t necessarily make you (or anyone else) a good match for MIT since MIT is more than just a “grade factory” but rather an institute with a living, breathing spirit of its own and, although perhaps quite shocking, not everyone will be happy there.
So please, instead of trying to ruin everyone else’s college experience focus on finding a suitable college for yourself (or your child, or who ever it is close to you that was denied admission) so that you/him/her can thrive and make the best out of the next 4 years.
As a famous Chinese proverb states:
“Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up”
So please, do yourself a favor (and yes, it is only for you, for everyone else will carry on with their lives, regardless of what you write here) and pick yourself up and continue down the road called life.
@nanu Go onto the fb group and lets stop trying to convince these people otherwise. Their mind is made up and their are being adamant about their views. I do not think we are going to change that anytime soon.
To all the haters, good luck with whatever! I apologize for taking your spot.
@nanu ’15
Saying you’re going to break a law doesn’t mean its okay to break the law. When MIT says that grades and SAT’s won’t get you in they’re saying, point blank, in front of God and everybody, that they are NOT going to judge you on your merits. MIT judges you on your race, where you live, and how much money your folks have – plain and simple. MIT can’t have destitute Native Americans on the commons; that’s why nobody (NOBODY) from South Dakota gets in.
Only the privileged and the white need apply; shame on you for participating …
@Kimathi:
I’m already there… will be glad to hear from you!
@m_quinn:
I will not share with you my entire life story or my family’s circumstances, but just know this – you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about
And about South Dakota:
look here:
http://web.mit.edu/bloggers/www/cristenc10/
During the years where there is data for there was an average of 4.8 students from South Dakota. Perhaps that isn’t very much, but it certainly is something.
This just means that a year with zero students is purely a statistical anomaly, and not the norm.
So which is it? A statistical anomaly or a conspiracy against all non-whites?
I’m not on the admissions committee, but I do give them at least some credit.
Besides:
Ethnicity:
African American 8%
Asian American 28%
Caucasian 37%
Mexican American 7%
Native American 1%
Puerto Rican 2%
Other Hispanic groups 3%
Other/no response 6%
International citizens 8%
Only 37% are Caucasians and the US population has about 65% Caucasians… so how do you figure only white people get in?
stats taken from here:
http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/admissions_statistics/class_of_2010_profile.shtml
Haters, could you please stop flooding this thread? I know you’re disappointed, but can you allow the admitted students celebrate for a while and rise important questions? Seriously, if you have issues about the quality of the admissions process, email the admissions office and be classy. Anger will not change the results and not accepting that your son/daugthter will not study at MIT will be even bad for him/her. You should support him/her wherever he/she goes to and no matter what happens.
@nanu ’15
Didn’t “During the years where there is data” have any special meaning for you? African Americans make up about 13.6 % of the US population; the 8% reported, if you can trust it ( you can’t ) falls pitifully short.
Since we are exchanging philosophical quotes, I have one I like. There is a bar in Anchorage Alaska that has a large exterior sign that says “We cheat the other guy, and pass the savings on to you”. Well I think MIT should adopt its own variation; something like: “We cheat the poor, the minority, the unconnected and pass the privilege on to you”. What do you think?
Here’s a fun thing you can do at home … Next fall, when those web sites that maintain graphs which plot GPA vs SAT/ACT scores get around to using this years data, do this:
(1) find your green (accepted) dot;
(2) located all red (rejected) dots which lay to the right and above;
(3) get out your hanky and weep because all of the step 2 red dots represent students who have been cheated and should have had your seat at MIT.
@anonymous Yes we should celebrate.I am with you even if I am not admitted.
Hey guys,
If you’re interested in chatting with current MIT students (or each other!), you can join this AIM chatroom.
http://blast.aim.com/join/bWl0MjAxNS0wYWl1cWVpdWlAYmxhc3QuYWltLmNvbQ
Note that this is completely unofficial/student-run as opposed to being hosted by Admissions in any way.
Does anyone know anything about the school of math and science?
@Piper
I am not attacking anyone. I was merely expressing disappointment and suggesting that super intelligent applicants from rural, small town America don’t really get admitted. Interestingly, several others have shared this sentiment here in the blog. I do not think it is wrong to ask for facts to shed light on the truth of the matter. MIT is a great school with a unique approach to education. One only hopes it arrives at its pool fairly. BTW, most thorough applicants did read the wealth of material and admissions blogs and heartfelt articles. It is boorish of some to suggest we did not.
Congrats to the new admittees. It is unfortunate to see some of the adverse comments lodged against the Admissions Office. As most of you know from applying at the top competitive schools, it is all a numbers game. Sometimes it is a crapshoot. While you might get rejected, you could very well be admitted to Harvard, Yale and Stanford.
My point is that the admission process for each school is not based strictly on GPAs and SATs. But as we have all read and heard from others, the process looks at the individual applicant to see what he or she can bring to the institution. I don’t think any school wants clones–individuality counts a lot.
Good luck to all the posters on this blog.
I was wondering if anyone knew for sure when the financial aid packages were mailed out/if they have been. Has anyone received theirs yet?
dear paul and other students accepted who are supportive of mit:
@ paul: well then, there IS a flaw right?mit doesnt choose the right students.students from GREAT SCHOOLS AND WITH GREAT GPAs ARE NOT GREAT.mit only belives?then why the contradiction paul?there is a big confusion.sometimes people from mit say that they dont believe mit believes in marks and the same people boast of students with great academic records ALONE.PLEASE SEE THE POST WHERE I ASKED IF THE PROCESS GOES FOR SOME LUCK FEW OR ALL?CAN SOMEONE ANSWER THAT?
@ all: please keep in mind that i dont have anything personal against mit. we know its a good institute but i am talking about the admissions process.its not the first time i have felt this way,but as val put it,many were afraid to ask.so this is the first time i am speaking up. it is quiet understandable that you admitted will obviously not understand.
all would like to see:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/revisiting-the-value-of-elite-colleges/?scp=1&sq=elite colleges&st=cse
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/degrees-of-influence/
@’15 The fin aid package is mailed with your acceptance letter if you sent your fin aid docs before 15 feb deadline.If you sent them a bit late,then you may receive it a few days after you get your acceptance packet.
Is anyone on I have to talk about MIT and some other issues and questions about confusion.
Is anyone on I have to talk about MIT and some other issues and questions about confusion.
Well the question is I really like math and science, and I might be able to get into the school of math and science, and I’ve seen alot of information on this but, what classes would be good to take to be accepted into MIT, and I’m going to talk to the counceler about taking calculus BC advanced placement online my senior year? If you want or need to know my classes I’ve taken or am planning to take next year let me know please.
@adam Forget it! MIT judges you on where you live, your race , and how how money for parents have. Good grades and SAT don’t matter. MIT doesn’t dare articulate the REAL admission requirements – that’d unleash years of embarassing litigation – instead you get vague estimations like Bkaskar’s.
@quin: good grades and SATs don’t matter MUCH to MIT. They always said that they admit people not numbers. (If you want to be in a college JUST based on numbers, try something else. For your knowledge, recent research shows that SAT scores are not always good indicator of ‘intelligence’.)
They ‘judge’ on where you live and your surrounding to understand that given those circumstances how much did you achieve – which all colleges should.
If you want exact prediction, apply to a college where robots work and admission is just based on formulas. MIT admits humans, which have unlimited experiences that can’t be framed with any EXACT rules.
@ m_quinn
my dear m_quinn….
you are such a kid! what are you… 8 years old?? 16000 other applicants have been rejected.you make just 0.00625% of the lot. stop sulking. MIT is just one great school. the whole world is waiting out for you.relax and let go…stop blaming MIT….if you really wanna show them down, reapply next year and dont fill in your race, ethnicity section or any other section regarding which you are criticizing MIT. then see how it turns out.
in my opinion its time to let go… OK
best of luck for your future endeavors and dont take this post/comment in a negative way…
Does it matter if I take calculus BC?
@adam Being very frank,no specific class would get you into MIT.Taking those classes would help you enhance yourself,so do that.If you are very much interested in maths and science,theny ou may produce some research work of your’s.That would be beneficial for you.Keep trying !! Good luck.
@adam It doesn’t matter.It would help you.Take what all you want to.
@m_quinn I really don’t know what kind of person you are.If you can’t trust your institution right from the beginning,how can you do that after you are admitted? Then if you don’t do well in exams,will you say that MIT professors don’t want you? I have nothing to explain to you,because whatever number of times we will boost you up you will get against us.But I will tell you a few weak points of your’s-
1.You can not tolerate your criticism.
2.You don’t have patience.
3.You can’t cope-up with failure.
Now it’s your wish,you accept it or you deny it.
@Bhaskar
Kinda bad time for a LEGACY to pop up -‘eh Bhaskar?
@Bhaskar:
Okay here’s your chance …
If grades and SAT will not get you in then WHAT WILL?
Now I don’t want vague references to EC’s and the quality of my jokes. I want an explicit articulation of just WHAT WILL GET YOU IN MIT.
Then I want an explanation of why places like South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana get completely snubbed some years. Why is that? How can that possibly be if your admission process is fair?
I am a parent of a class of 2015 admit. Full disclosure: I am also MIT Class of 1984, and I am an Educational Counsellor in the Southern Colorado area. I am not employed by MIT. I am a volunteer. I would like to invite all off-topic conversation be taken to this QuickTopic that I am hosting: Off-topic of News for Admitted Students MIT Class of 2015. Remember Matt’s original questions that are the topic of this thread: Class of 2015, what would you like to see us do blog entries on over the coming month or so? How can we be best helpful for you as you make your college decision? What questions can we answer for you?
Hey everybody and congrads! I have a question though… When will international students [like me] receive news on the financial aid application? I am really anxious about this. Thanks!
@random_admitted_student:
admitted students in the US have began receiving them already, so I can only assume that ours are on the way…
@m_quinn:
get a life. or at least go bother CalTech or something.
Does anyone mind me asking what the average SAT, ACt, PSAT, and GPA and community service hours/scores for the people that get accepted into MIT?
(international student)
SAT I – 2180 [CR:650, Math:800, W:730]
SAT II – Math II:800, Physics: 800, French: 740
@m_quinn
It’s impossible to say one thing will get you into MIT…as for grades + SAT scores, everyone has them and they don’t matter after a certain range…(I know that getting a 2400 is difficult, but it doesn’t really mean much after a certain point…) Some ppl have lower scores b/c they don’t have access to resources they can use to study and so on…Except for exceptionally qualified people (ex. ppl w/ published research), I personally think that there isn’t much of a difference in the academic preparation that students have. After that point wouldn’t it be how you demonstrate your interest in math/science? This process is far more complicated than you think…
@nanu’15
Please don’t say that about Caltech…
@a
Look, MIT can get temperatures down to a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero (sorry, saw it on NOVA),but, for some reason, cannot articulate just what qualifications are required for admission. Say what?
I’m not going to accept “It’s impossible to say” as an excuse …
@ m_quinn
my dear m_quinn….
you are such a kid! what are you… 8 years old?? 16000 other applicants have been rejected.you make just 0.00625% of the lot. stop sulking. MIT is just one great school. the whole world is waiting out for you.relax and let go…stop blaming MIT….if you really wanna show them down, reapply next year and dont fill in your race, ethnicity section or any other section regarding which you are criticizing MIT. then see how it turns out.
in my opinion its time to let go… OK
@anonymous
Getting a little too uppity am I?
@m_quinn
Can you imagine what would happen if MIT posted a list of qualifications required for admission? You will end up with thousands of people obsessing over checking those things off the list… somewhere along the way all these people will forget about passion and will focus on being the perfect “candidate” for MIT.
Also, someone very smart once told me that if you are truly capable and your passion is genuine, you can do whatever you want to do …well…basically anywhere in the world…
Good luck!
I dint get selected though I did have great scores, great application including the essays, extra curricular work, recommendations and much more than maybe MIT blogs mentioned.
But this doesnt mean that MIT admissions process is unfair.It just means that there are atleast 1500 people who have an even better application.
I really understand that getting rejected is very difficult.Its heart throbbing , frustrating and depressing as our dreams are shattered.
But blaming MIT is not the solution.Especially I would say when each one of you cool down you would certainly realise two things
1) That yes u r damn passionate as your great emotions are certainly refelcted
2) However, you still lack the attitude to be one of the best rather the best. Because accepting failure no matter what the reason is very important.How many times do we see the MANUNITED or the Chelsea lose games due wrong refreeing decisions. But if they worry about it all season they lose more than they could gain.
And nowhere here do I mean that the MIT decisions were wrong
If any1 of us thinks that MIT was unfair to us, I believe we are being unfair to MIT as we are just believing and posting our assumptions.
Moreover, we are being unfair to ourselves.I would say not to take this as a missed opportunity but another opportunity to build on your skills, talent, attitude and follow your dreams (If you wanted to be a great engineer follow that dream, if you wanted to be a part of the MIT reapply and no matter what your dream chase it again).
And learn to have faith.And moreover question it when you believe that MIT was unfair to you, not when you feel MIT was unfair.There is a huge difference.
From a Not Admitted(but not rejected) Student
(Thanks.Please interpret what I wanted to convey in a right way.I really know it hurts, but take it the right way with the cool mind.)
Correction:
*And nowhere here do I mean that the MIT decisions were wrong
*I would say not to take this as a missed opportunity but take it as another opportunity
whats the SAT II?