Read This! by Snively '11
All those questions you needed answered
That title is just a lazy excuse for not being able to come up with a good title. Oh well, that’s life.
I’ll start off by saying that I’m writing this from the train on the way to work. Please heed my advice: When settling in for an hour long T ride DO NOT eat a McGriddle right before, the grease does weird things.
Anywho, on to the stuff that actually lets me keep my job as an admissions blogger. There are a lot of things that come along with the roll of admissions blogger. We blog (duh), are asked to admitted student meetings, help dole out prefrosh for CPW, sign Valentines and Christmas cards for admitted prefrosh, scrub spam off of our entries, and sometimes go to fancy hotels and talk about blogging. Another very large part of our job is knowing all the ins and outs of admissions so that we can field all of the questions we get. Every time somebody comments on an entry the comment is e-mailed to us, this way we get to see every comment, even ones that appear on older posts that we otherwise may have missed. I’ve been reading these comments for a year and half now and have divided the types of comments into several distinct groups:
1) Numbers (First! Second! . . . Twentieth!)
2) Entry Response
—> Short, one or two words (Nice job, good entry)
—> Thought out
3) Comparison of entry to the reader’s life (Something like this happened to me once . . . )
4) Response to another comment. (@_ _ _ _ _ _ _ , lorem ipsum dolar sit . . . )
5) Question about previous entry (Whatever happened with . . . )
6) Completely unrelated question about admissions (Hey, quick question, . . . .)
7) Annoying and spammed to all the front page entries question about admissions (I have a _ _ _ math and _ _ _ verbal, what are my chances . . . .)
Number one isn’t so much of an issue with a bunch of bloggers *cough*Keri*cough* because we have this awesome button that says “Mark as Junk” that ends up being used in these circumstances. Number two, entry responses, are fine because that’s what the commenting feature exists for. Number three is ok too. Number four can be dangerous because that’s how bad information can get out there and can also cause huge tangents in the comments. Number five is totally legitimate because it keeps us on our toes and makes us follow through with things we’ve written. We can be scatter-brained and sometimes forget that we’ve started a story but never finished. Number six happens quite frequently and is also fairly legitimate. When the questions are unrelated to the post it can be hard to answer them. We don’t know everything and usually blog the stuff we do know. We’ll do our best, but sometimes it takes a while and a bunch of Google searches. Number seven is just dumb. No offense to anybody who’s done this, but don’t do it ever again. The blogs and the bloggers would love to help you through admissions, but we expect a little work on your end too. Actually, it barely even counts as work, we just want you to have at least read an entry or two, maybe explored the website a little. When I go to the blogs and see that the most recent comment on every front page entry is “Hello. My name is ___________. I am a high school student and want to go to MIT. Tell me how to get in.” I just write it off and never think about it again. Sorry, “How do I get in” is a question whose answer doesn’t really exist, at least not in the form you’re more than likely looking for.
In addition to all of the comments, you’ll notice that each blogger has an e-mail address listed on the top left of their entries. This enables one-on-one interaction with bloggers for help answering questions or to say things that are a little too private for the blog comments. You’d be surprised at how many people take advantage of those e-mail addresses.
Now for the real reason this post exists: E-mail FAQ. I get a lot of very similar questions via e-mail that never really pop up here. Some of them are things that could be very helpful so I’ll put them here. Ready? Ok here we go —
“I am an international student and don’t know what tests to take, please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
— No disrespect (I mean that) but why do e-mails from India always have a ridiculous amount of extraneous punctuation? Is it a cultural thing? In any case, the application for international students is exactly the same as for domestic students but with the following exceptions:
1) SAT I can be replaced with TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
2) Mid-Year grade report isn’t necessary
3) Teacher and Counselor recommendations need to have a translation with them if they aren’t in English.
4) You can’t apply Early Action (this means your application is due by January 1st)
I took all of that information from this website and it’s always what I send to people who ask that question. Look around a little bit, this site is FULL of information, bloggers use it all the time to get information to answer questions.
“Are there sports at MIT?”
–Again, answered on this site, but yes, MIT has more NCAA sports than any college in the country.
“Will I have free time to do anything but study at MIT?”
— Very much so. If all you did was study then you would go insane. Insanity in moderation is fine, the type of insanity constant work would cause is bad. There are hints that you’ll be doing things other than work in the application. “What do you do purely for fun?” is a subtle check to make sure that you’ll be able to let off steam once you get here and won’t have a mental breakdown. Answer that question truthfully, it’s very important. MIT’s motto, after “Mens et Manus” and “IHTFP,” is “Work hard play hard.” We play very hard, there’s no better way to relax, you’ll have plenty of time to not work.
“Is MIT stressful?”
— Depends on who you ask. If you ask Maddie ’11 then no, MIT isn’t stressful. I’m pretty convinced that Maddie was born with rose tinted eyeballs though. At times I find MIT quite stressful, but those times are infrequent. It’s stressful because the amount of things that pile up. You could be coasting along, doing great, when all of a sudden you realize that everything is due in 4 days and you don’t actually have time to do any of it. This is stressful no matter how you slice it (unless you’re Maddie) but it goes away and you get on with your life. MIT scares you into getting your work done sometimes, but it works and makes you better for it. You learn to appreciate free time and the amount of work you’re capable of.
“What SAT score do I need to get in?”
This is SO easy to answer. If you get something that looks like (where the spaces are any number you want)
MATH: 7_ _
READING: 7 _ _
WRITING: 7_ _
then your SAT scores get a check and will no longer factor into your decision. Seriously, if you get above 700s then you’re good. A 700 looks exactly like an 800, I swear (I’m not lying, as much as you may think it’ll help to score higher than a 700, it won’t!)
If you have scores lower than 700 it’s not the end of the world. Balance it with an amazing application, but it’s much easier to sit tight at 700+ for your SATs.
“What are the people like?” or, from the comments of my last post, “What is a quick and concise definition of MIT culture?”
— I’m not sure why people are so against stereotypes. Maybe they feel unjustly accused of something if stereotyped with others? In my opinion, stereotypes are extremely useful tools that allow a quick and dirty explanation of things. Stereotypes wouldn’t exist if there weren’t some kind of shared trait amongst a group of people. This is why, despite the bajillion “You are SO wrong”s I’m going to get in the comments, I’m going to use stereotypes to describe the types of students at MIT and how I interpret the culture here.
While everybody is different, there are certain things that almost all MIT students have in common. They are:
1) Friendliness
2) Desire to help
3) Curiosity
4) Humility
5) Thinking without bounds
6) Accepting
7) Smart
Try this. Come visit the campus and ask an MIT student for help with something. I give you my word that they will do their best to help you and with a smile on their face. That’s the way people here are, no matter how hosed or miserable, we love helping people. MIT students are very accepting of each other as well. This is not a local community school, there are people from countless states, countries, and religions all in one big melting pot. If we weren’t accepting then there’d be a coup and MIT would rip itself apart.
MIT students never stop at what’s required, they’re always thinking of new things to do with an old idea or trying things that have never been done. Their curiosity, while sometimes dangerous, leads to more exciting discoveries and excellent stories than I can possibly imagine. An MIT student isn’t limited. In no way do we feel like there’s such thing as taking something “too far.”
You want to invent something?
Invent it.
You want people to know about it?
Get it on TV.
How?
Be creative!
You want it in National Geographic!?
Take it to Africa!
MIT students are smart. Spend a day on campus and you’ll figure that out, but they’re also very humble. They know that as smart as they are, they are much less smart than hundreds of others here.
Everybody is on the same playing field, nobody is super special because of their intelligence, no matter what they may think. MIT students can be goofballs and complete bozos around each other, all in the name of good fun. Smart, humble, and silly are three things balanced by all MIT students and, if I do say so myself, balanced expertly.
“Will you show me around campus during my visit?”
— Absolutely. Just let me know when you’re here and we’ll meet up. I love showing people around.
That’s all for now. I hope that helped. I know it’s a lot of writing but sometimes these blogs need writing to balance out the YouTube ; )
Very thoughtful, Snively- only that it would have done me a lot of good if I had know this before I applied. I would’ve had fewer wierd dreams………..
Very thoughtful, Snively- only that it would have done me a lot of good if I had know 700=800 before I applied. I would’ve had fewer wierd dreams.
Chris!
This comment goes in category 2!
/self-reference
Don’t freak out if your scores are not in the 700s. I had a 690 in reading and still got in. It is just that if you are exactly the same as another candidate except their score is 700 they will take another candidate. It is possible to get in with lower scores.
THANK YOU for posting that bit about the sats. my friends have all been freaking out because they “only got 23_ _” on their sats and are taking them again, and I can’t convince them that it’s ridiculously useless, and that they should be thrilled with their scores. Now I have actual current-MIT-student proof.
Third!
@FIRST!: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Anyway.. Nice job, good entry.
I felt like all of these were obligatory .. now hopefully the rest of the comments can be legitimate (we will see though ^_^ )
~Donald
With regard to the “If I reapply for admissions will they look at my old application too? Does reapplying hurt my chances?”
At the time, I really wanted to be “Neel ’11” not “Neel ’12” but I ended up being waitlisted and then not taken off the list last year. I didn’t try to pretend I didn’t apply last year (there is a specific question on the app “Have you applied to MIT before?” or something like that). I actually mentioned it specifically more than a few times in my app, and, in every aspect, I tried to highlight what was different about me this year as opposed to last year and emphasize what I had accomplished in the intervening time.
So, don’t be discouraged! There’s certainly a realistic chance the second time around! Good luck!
Hey. I think this was your best entry ever, because it was informative, but most of all, kind. I mean, at least in your description of the things MIT students share.
Seriously, it’s entries like these that really make me more comfortable about potentially applying to MIT.
(By the way, you forgot spam comments :D)
23_ _? Lol, I got a 21_ _.
I didn’t get 7xx in writing. *cries*
Anywhoo, lorem ipsum dolor sit amet FTW! Awesome memories from yearbook during my senior year =D
Hey, about India the only guys who add extraneous pronunciation are the people who don’t know English that well not every guy is an intellectual.
The Indians who add a little too much of pronunciation are the people whose English is not too good not every Indian speaks the way they do.
Totally random but in the URL for this blog post, I noticed that its in the topic ‘qanda’. Whats a qanda?
I’ve definitely noticed the whole #6 & #7 thing. I think that, perhaps, first-time readers may not know exactly what suffices as an appropriate blog comment. Maybe there could be a statement about the purpose of the blogs, or something else to deter applicant-specific questions?
Fine, fine, I won’t complain about lousy 79_’s… I’ll definitely shed a few tears if my score’s a prime number, though. XD
(I’m joking. Seriously. Don’t glare at me like that. I’m more worried about oversleeping on test day, or about having a nervous breakdown during the test, than about the exact score I get. Don’t want to take the test again, though, so I suppose I’m hoping for good scores. Now I’m rambling — and stating what I am doing at the moment. But, hey, who am I to let pertinence have its way?)
Now, a Class-VII question (though this, in a sense, is related to the topic): If a person (i.e., me) lives in Puerto Rico, and their transcripts are written (mostly) in Spanish, would they have to translate them? If so, is there a certain procedure involved (e.g., do we have to send a translation certified by a licensed translator)?
wow, thanks for the bit about the SAT scores. I’m taking my SAT this saturday and I’m a little bit stressed about how well I need to do, as it seems like everyone who gets into MIT has a 2250 or better
@Kevin X “Whats a qanda?”
question and answer, aka “Q & A”
@Snively: “Read This!” is possibly one of the best blog titles ever. Have you ever thought of going into marketing?
@José: First off, if you manage to get a prime SAT score, you deserve to get into MIT.
Secondly, as to your actual question – your original thought was correct. Your transcripts, recommendations, and any other documents written in Spanish (or any other foreign langauage) must be officially translated into English. Both the translation and the original must be sent to MIT. I believe this is true for just about all colleges; MIT’s policy is explained here.
@junior: Not everybody.
Hahaha, you would think that, after all the times I’ve read the website, I would notice things like that. Then, again, I’m oblivious to many things… >,>
Thanks, Paul.
@Paul: I love you for that link (no homo). THANKS!
Question about blogging: To apply to be a blogger next year, do we need to already have our own blog? And if so, how long should we have been blogging for?
(I’m thinking of applying, but I don’t have a blog yet…so just wondering if it’s too late…)
Not sure I agree with this
MATH: 7_ _
READING: 7 _ _
WRITING: 7_ _
I was
Math 7__
Reading 6__
Writing 5__
I like to think that the math/reading are what they like, and the writing is just there to make sure you’re not a complete disaster…
love your blogs =D
Interesting entry!! People new to this blog should probably read this first…..hehe….
Anyways about the punctuation, I’ve observed that myself as well, and I think the exact reasons for that may only be known after some post-doctoral thesis which could then be nominated for the IG nobles….lol
BTW, about this entry…Its very encouraging till you get to the SAT scores…..I mean I got a 770 on both reading and Math…but only a 690 on writing…and now im going to have nightmares about that 1 question or 10 points ruining my chances…..*cries*
NOTE TO SELF: use less of unnecessary punctuation!!
I always tell my friend who tries to get like 800*3 this:
For a lot of amazing schools, like MIT, they don’t see your individual score x, they see f(x), where f(x) = min(floor(x/100),7)
The 7 traits of your average MIT student is especially helpful! Why are so many people bent on proving that MIT is filled with people who are unsociable and nerdy to the point of dysfunction?
“Climb out of your holes, people!”
Well, here’s a category 6–
Were you looking for anything particular campus-wise when you applied to college? I loved the people, work ethic, and tradition at MIT, but upon visiting campus. . .well, it wasn’t the arboretum I had always envisioned whenever I thought of college.
Here’s the flaming you were expecting but never got:
You said: “I’m not sure why people are so against stereotypes. Maybe they feel unjustly accused of something if stereotyped with others? In my opinion, stereotypes are extremely useful tools that allow a quick and dirty explanation of things. Stereotypes wouldn’t exist if there weren’t some kind of shared trait amongst a group of people.”
Well, yes, that is why people are against stereotypes. You said it yourself–stereotypes are dirty; they often mislead people who don’t know any better and usually only highlight the negative aspects of who/whatever is being stereotyped. Stereotypes by definition include some kind of bias, because if people weren’t biased against each other in some way we wouldn’t need stereotypes to succinctly describe that bias. Your “quick and dirty explanation of things” usually gloss over some very important nuances and are in many cases racist, sexist, or flat out untrue. For example, the way you stereotyped East v. West campuses at MIT an entry or two back only mentioned positive aspects of West campus and mostly negative aspects of East campus. Why? Because you’re biased for West campus because you live there. Let the prefrosh/parents/whoever find out about MIT culture and life, or anything for that matter, on their own terms and don’t force your beliefs on them.
To all you juniors out there applying in the fall… shoot for the SAT score that makes you happy not the one that you think will please admissions officers or others around you.
I did. And I got in early.
@above: What if a 2400 makes me happy? ;D
@Harrison
False. What I said, verbatim, was:
“West campus is where you live if you want to continue with the rules, order, and cleanliness of when you lived at home. East campus is where you live if you say “screw it, I’m doing what I want” and don’t care about all of that stuff you learned at home.”
Nothing about that is negative. To somebody who loves the way they live at home then West campus looks like a great choice and EC maybe not so much. On the flip side, people who want to branch out and try things differently from what they’re used to at home may not want to live on west campus but, based on the description, may love EC.
I think the real issue here is that no matter how anybody from west campus tries to describe east campus, it will always be wrong in the eyes of an EC resident. I’ve gotten over this and just describe it anyway, knowing that I’ll catch crap.
However, never expect an entry about different dorms from me. Ever. It’s something I won’t touch with a 10′ pole because writing an entry specifically designed to describe EVERY SINGLE DORM is just not something I’m qualified to do. If you want to learn about the cultures of the different dorms and aren’t satisfied with my one-line descriptions then I’d advise digging around for the dorm websites and read their own literature.
Final note — I’m not against EC, I promise. At the beginning of the year EC sketched me out, I’ll gladly admit it, but I’ve gotten better and am constantly telling prefrosh to check out both west and east campus. I made people go over to EC during CPW when they told me they hadn’t been there yet. I’m not out to get you!
@anon:
Then go for it and don’t stop till you get it. I’m just saying shoot for what you want. Not what other people want for you or say you need.
@’12
I’m not sure exactly how picking new bloggers will work this year since Ben probably won’t be doing it (I could be wrong) but in the past there has been a “Call for Bloggers” about a week before you get housing decisions. There is an application and in the past it has asked things like —
What activities are you planning on being in?
Where are you temped?
What major are you considering?
Then there are essay questions. My essay questions were:
Why do you want to be a blogger? What do you feel you could bring to the table?
Who is more addicted to Facebook, you or Jess Kim?
Laura physically injures herself so she has something to blog about. Would you be willing to do this?
As for having a personal blog, yes, you’ll need to submit one. It gives admissions a sense for your writing style, frequency of posting, and, well, writing style. It’s not too late to start one now, as long as you’re (quoting Ben Jones) “incredibly prolific” during the summer. Paul did this and it worked out ok for him.
I’m not sure how many people apply (pretty sure it’s dozens) but you can’t be a blogger if you don’t try!
I LOVE MCGRIDDLES!!!!!!!!!
Wow. This is the most helpful entry I’ve read in a long time
The whole bit about the SAT scores I already knew, thanks to other blogs on here, but it definately is reassuring to read it again. Especially since I’m taking the test this Saturday :/
Ah you people who keep one blog =P. I blogged on Myspace, then Facebook, then Blogspot, and switched my blogspot around 20 times. Or five. My counting isn’t that good.
Anywho, indeed, the world is more than east and west. Many people would be happy in, say, Random, but not happy in Bex. Others would be fine in either EC or BC, but maybe not Senior Haus or Next. This is why people need to check out both sides of campus – while many people may fall on one side or the other (in where they’d prefer to live), other people have tastes that completely ignore Mass Ave.
Thanks for this, it really helped.
@ Paul –
“I personally wouldn’t have it any other way.”
You tend to say that, a lot. =p
Just sayin’.
@Oasis: Maybe I am just mostly happy with the way things are, okay?
(Also, you’re keeping track? Stalker! :D)
DEAR HONORARY MICHAEL J. SNIVELY,
Please be informeds that I has read your blog post and being from glamorous country of India i oppose its use of “!!!!” as being profound. It is simply that some people, not all from India,
Are you a racist against Indianians? Because it sure felt so reading your blog entry. Why can’t you take of happy humorous cap and put on informative cap.
..
btw you forgot about stalkar comments LOL!
West campus is where you live if you want to continue with the rules, order, and cleanliness of when you lived at home. East campus is where you live if you say “screw it, I’m doing what I want” and don’t care about all of that stuff you learned at home.”
ummmm dorms on the east side are pretty clean, i wish you wouldn’t keep spreading that stereotype. when i was a prefrosh, people on the west side told me that east side dorms had bugs and stuff, so i did not even go there. unfortunate.
i also don’t think “forget all the stuff you learned at home” is accurate. we shop for food together. we cook together. (hard to do in dorms without kitchens.) i would emphasize the art, the projects, the traditions, the culture. bringing all what we learned from home, and continuing to learn together.
I want to make it clear that I was using MIT’s dorms simply as an example and not as an issue that I wanted to bring up. Also after rereading what I wrote I want to clarify that neither Snively nor the stereotypes he talks about are racist/sexist/foo, but that many stereotypes in general are.
Hey Snive, they actually do keep the old apps on file. I dunno if they bring it up specifically, but they’re still there.
I agree with senior haus resident. The bathrooms at Senior House are pretty decent compared to others I’ve seen. Not even during Steer Roast were they filthy, which surprised me. I think a more accurate way to describe our side of campus is that there’s room for experimentation and we encourage individuality. I think everybody on our side of campus is different and it makes for a very interesting culture.
Are there any dorms suitable for someone with [pseudo-]OCD? XDD
simmons?
@Harrison/Snively: In my observation, the qualities that unite MIT students are far greater than the differences that exist between “East” dorms and “West” dorms. I wish more people would realize this.
At the same time, I do recognize each of MIT’s living groups is very different – and I personally wouldn’t have it any other way. Over the past year, I have made friends from all across campus; and I sincerely feel my experience at MIT has been enriched because I was willing to explore and build friendships with people outside my own living group.
@’12: Yes, you need to have your own blog, so that the selection committee can get a feel for your style of writing (among other things). However, I doubt that it is strictly “too late” – I started the blog I submitted in my blogger application on June 11, 2007, shortly after I graduated from high school.
That being said, I created that blog because I felt the time was right for it – not because I wanted to be an MIT blogger. I had previously thought about making a blog (and I kept a private journal for most of high school), but I didn’t think anyone would really be interested in my high school exploits.
So I waited until after I was accepted into MIT and had started my summer job.
Sorry if this is long, but I hope it helps.
But Simmons is asymmetrical! xD
I’m pseudo-OCD and I’m doing fine at EC =D. I obsessively straighten things. Seriously. Like, staplers need to be at 90 degree angles from the edge of my desk and stuff.
… and now you all think I’m 20x weirder =D.
Nah — I now think you’re 20x cooler. XD
I think the only thing that I don’t give much “order” to is my room: it’s pretty messy right now, and has been for quite a while. I’m not really OC (I’m not ‘compelled’ to clean at all times), but I do enjoy straightening and organizing things — every once in a while, for example, I sort my clothes by type, formality (casual, semi-casual, semi-formal, formal, etc.), hue (ROYGBIV!), and brand. Not that I want to brag or anything.
@José: Then you may have a problem with Stata, my friend. :D
Ok… That was unfair. You can’t judge India by the small amount of emails you receive from Indians…
What whould be the ACT equivalent of 700s on the SAT? I have only taken the ACTs should I take the SATs also or will either work?
Sometimes — only sometimes.
Actually, Stata’s pretty symmetrical… y’know, if you draw enough axes, take into account the curvature of space-time, and squirt a little lemon juice (ok, a lot of lemon juice) on your pupils. xD
I love the post!!!
As for the SATI: I got a 610 Writing and 620 CR… So not always do you need a 700+… Although I DID take TOEFL and got a 114 there… Hmmm… I wonder if that cancelled out my SATI English scores…
I suggest taking both the SATI and the TOEFL to all internationals. And, no matter what scores you end up with, send them both to MIT… a)They see you care enough to take both b)they take the better score of the two…
Third, the description you gave of MIT students… I haven’t met any face to face, but from what I’ve seen on fb and so on, the description is 100% accurate =D And that’s one stereotype no one will protest against (I would assume) nice job
Oh my god….thank you so much for posting the SAT bit; it made me feel approximately 314% better about my scores [I am a stinky test-taker. I made 740 math even though I finished BC Calc by the end of Junior year and am about to take classes like MVC, Theory of Analysis and Abstract Algebra this year. Then I got a 35 on my ACT and my counselor told me to stop worrying and not waste time or money retaking the SAT].
Also, I wish I had read this before my visit to MIT back at the beginning of May. I might actually have gotten a hold of you and taken you up on your offer :D
“Read This!”!, i love this post:)
All the people who go to MIT look like they never regretted it and they’re very happy to be there. I think that has something to with the kindness of the students you described…
I love you guys, i hope i’ll see you next year during campus visit, and i hope i’ll get in…
@Kim
I’m not so sure it applies to SAT II as well because of how they’re curved. Just do your best!
Quick question: is the 7xx rule applicable to SATII scores, too? Because that would make me feel a LOT better XD