Most FAQ about admission at MIT - Page 10

Mgccl · 03-03-2008, 07:19 AM

relativity and quantum theory are just theories, not laws. God don't play dice.

Economically speaking, people suppose to do what they do best to be most economically benificial.
I have a limited amount of time, I should spend on what I do best right now.

Olo · 03-03-2008, 09:19 AM

You can't do what you do best AND get good grades?

Mgccl · 03-03-2008, 10:06 AM

Olo:
It's too late for me to do good on everything now.
It's already in my Junior year, and I never thought about college until like a months ago, because before my Junior year, I always thought, "it doesn't matter, I can just go to our state colleges". I regret I only thought about that I have the ability to go to better schools in the last few months. It's just too late.
Even if I work my best, I can't improve my unweighted GPA to something higher than 3.5.
3.2*2.5 + 4*1.5 / 4 = 3.5
That's all about cost and benift. If I do my best can only improve like 0.3 points on my GPA, maybe it's better for me to learn something else.

Olo · 03-03-2008, 10:09 AM

Mgccl: Even if you can't bring up your cumulative GPA, it would be *immeasurably* helpful for you to completely kick ass this term.

I don't know what to say except that I was exactly where you are. Even if you do perfect, it will far from guarantee your admission. Having said that, you need to look at your life and determine if the extra work for a term or two is worth the effort. I can't make that decision for you, I can only tell you it will help.

Mgccl · 03-03-2008, 02:44 PM

Olo: you are right. If I do that maybe admission will see me as "I have the ability".
I will think about it.

CradleOfFilth · 03-03-2008, 08:27 PM

Is there any limit that MIT wants to get a student from one country?

molliebatmit · 03-03-2008, 09:00 PM

No, there's only a quota on international students in general, not international students from any particular country.

CradleOfFilth · 03-03-2008, 10:37 PM

Oh really, Thank you. Little bit relieved

CShuck · 03-04-2008, 08:08 PM

Hello,
As a junior in High School I am immensely interested in MIT. I come from a relatively small school, one that does not offer the majority of AP courses, and that often does not have enough students to have courses such as Physics II or any truly advanced science courses. Is there a way that I can explain this on my application?

Also, as I mentioned already, the area I come from is extremely small. We do not have nearly as many activities (much volunteer work, school programs, etc) that many larger schools offer. Currently I am in many of the activities that relate to math, science, and leadership, but there are only a few of them. Would the fact that I’m from a smaller area hurt my chanced of getting into MIT?

molliebatmit · 03-04-2008, 08:12 PM

MIT considers each student in the context of his or her environment and the opportunities that have been made available to him or her. Your school background will not hurt you.

Often your high school counselor will send a profile of the school (which APs offered, etc) when he/she sends your counselor recommendation. If this is not something your counselor plans to do, you may explain this in the section on the application that asks if there's anything else you'd like to tell MIT.

phurley93 · 03-05-2008, 01:13 PM

hey I don't know of anyone asked this but is there a specific date set for RD notification? Is it online or by snail mail or both?

mootmom · 03-05-2008, 01:29 PM

There is no date announced yet for RD notification; watch Ben's and Matt's blogs for the official news.

In the past couple years on the date specified, it was possible to login to https://decisions.mit.edu (which currently just redirects to the Admissions website, but where in past years you signed in using the same account and password used for your MyMIT) to view your decision. Decisions will always also be sent through the mails. The blog entries announcing the decision date will have instructions about this process.

Last year Ben announced on March 12th that decisions would be released on March 17th, so expect a few days' notice anyway.

(And yes, someone has already asked this.

)

WAMOM2 · 03-14-2008, 04:31 PM

I've often heard in the admissions blogs that once you hit a certain SAT score (say 750) you've shown you're smart and the difference between that and an 800 say are incremental so not worth worrying about. In other words, it seems that you've met some threshold, and your admission will depend on other factors and you won't necessary be at a disadvantage versus other students with higher scores.

Is this true with GPA as well? Is there some point at which the difference between say a 3.7 or a 3.8 and a 4.0 (unweighted and assuming the most rigorous courses) is not meaningful and admissions will be based on other factors (let's assume SAT scores are very high)?

WTBSAlumni · 03-14-2008, 04:52 PM

Regarding GPA, I think they are looking for consistent grades, and likely they also refer to the information provided by your high school. Once you're in the 3.7~4 range then I don't think there is much difference.

However, regarding SAT scores you should note that some scholarships might use a difference between 770 and 800 as a deciding factor. So it won't hurt to take the SAT again to try and hit 780, 790 or 800, and it might help with scholarships.

CShuck · 04-01-2008, 09:32 PM

Hello again,
I have two questions this time:

1) At my school, as I mentioned earlier, it’s pretty small, so getting into classes is quite the challenge. I am currently taking Physics I, but am getting a “B” in it. The reason for that is because I had to switch into the class mid-year in order to fit it into my schedule, would that hurt my chances of admission/is there a way I can convey this on my application?
2) Being that my school is small, I am actually working to start a Debate Club for the school. Would this be a positive to put on my application, if so, what else can I include to further explain the situation I face while at a smaller school?

Thanks so much for the help,
Chris