Q&A catchup by Laura N. '09

Well, I got my wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday afternoon, and I’m happy to report that I feel much better now. I was seriously out of it until yesterday morning, and even then I almost passed out a few times. As of right now, the corners of my lips are raw, and I still look like a chipmunk, but I feel much, much better.

So, now that I’m coherent again, I thought I’d respond to the questions that have been piling up over the past week.

Responses to Comments:
Jalpan Dave asked: Is there any way I can get a copy of the detailed syllabus for the GIRs so I can start preparing in the summer hols. I am doing AP Calculus BC and AP Physics C besides my IB but thats not enough is it?
Well, considering there are 17 GIRs, I’d say no, that’s not going to cover it. =) AP/IB/transfer credit can get you out of some requirements, and you can take advanced standing exams as well. Check out The First Year At MIT for details. There are links of that page that lead to more details about picking freshmen classes. Keep in mind that this is only current for the Class of ’10, so the details are subject to change for next year’s incoming freshman class. Also, it’s not remotely necessary to pass out of any of the GIRs, so don’t feel pressured to do so.

Anonymous asked: I’m confused on the CI-H stuff. Are you required to take 2 or 4? Is the CI-M required (for, say, Biological Engineering) or just a suggestion as a way to fill the CI requirement while helping out with a major?

Daniel W said: You’re required to take two CI-H/CI-HW courses. You are also required to take two CI-M courses. I’m not sure about the other courses, but when I was planning out the course 6 classes I wanted to take, I found that my selection satisfied the CI-M without any modification. It seems that most of them are lab classes.

For your freshman year, I suggest that you try and take a class that’s a HASS-D and a CI-H each semester. This completely knocks out your CI-H requirement, as well as 2/3 of your HASS-D requirement. All you need to do after that is a HASS concentration and another HASS-D, and all of that can be satisfied by 3 or so more classes.

Daniel is exactly right. You’re required to take 4 CI classes- 2 of them must be CI-H (Humanities classes) and two of them must be CI-M (major classes)- each major has at least two classes designated as CI-M, and they’re obviously just part of the requirements for that particular major. I’m not sure what the CI-M are for Biological Engineering, but I’m sure you could figure it out by digging around the department website or course catalog. Also, as Daniel mentioned, a lot of majors knock off a couple of requirements in one, by designating their lab class as a CI-M. For example, the required Course 2 lab class (2.671) is also a CI-M.

Anon said: Could someone enlighten me about this whole wisdom teeth thing?
Well, they usually don’t fit in your mouth and start to screw with your teeth so you have to get them pulled. (Not everyone does, but most people do.) And it’s not really pleasant. Although I can close my mouth all the way now. =)

HALY asked:Is it hard to get into M.I.T.
Yes.

pennutty said: Hi,
Iam a 11th class student from kerala…I would like to join in mit for aerospace engineering on year 2008…But i don’t know what to do…I decided to clear SAT mathe matics level 1 and SAT physics and TOFEL…But i dont know how to prepare for these exams…Can you please send the topics for these exams and what i have to do after clearing exams for the admission..
You can visit The CollegeBoard’s Website for information about the exams, and all of the information you need about applying to MIT can be found in this very website. Just look through the “Apply” drop-down menu, which has all the information about requirements and applications that you’ll ever need.

Jennifer said: I LOVE LOVE LOVE Veronica Mars! I’m so happy that you guys are watching it.
Question, if you’re watching the third season:
Logan or Piz?
Well, in terms of a boyfriend for Veronica, I vote Logan all the way. Piz seems like such a nice guy, and he should totally date someone really sweet (like Mac! How awesome would it be for Mac to get a cute, sweet guy in her life like Piz?) I mean, smashing in the cop car just to get landed in the jail cell with Mercer to beat the you-know-what out of him is beyond hot. Piz just can’t compete. As for my personal preference, Logan is a much more intriguing character, but I’ve already admitted to having a fictional character crush on Piz. He’s just so funny. “Hey guys, what’s the word? Is it avuncular?” Hee. If I were in the VMars world, I’d totally want my fictional character to date Piz. =)