nickwasy

I agree with Dex: that was one of the most helpful posts I've seen on CC in awhile.

Inconclusive

T-bird,
Thank you, it is good that I misunderstood.

Mikalye

Absolutely. I am not aware of any EC's anywhere in the world out to "trap" candidates. To the contrary. I am looking for how the candidates come before me exemplify the traits that MIT is looking for, and how I can present them in their best possible light.

Even if someone really interviews poorly, offering monosyllabic grunts to most of my questions, then that does not mean that they should not go to MIT. Again, I am completely unaware of the rest of their application. I do not know that they (for example) have 6 patents and wrote their first solo article for NATURE at the age of 16, all I know is that they offer monosyllabic grunts, and are uncomfortable talking about themselves (or anything). That is not enough for me to write a letter suggesting that they be kept out of MIT. It may prompt a letter suggesting that they are poor verbal communicators, and that their application should reflect other strengths, but it does not prompt a "anybody but this guy" letter."

I have had to write several "keep them out" letters in my time as an EC. One for a candidate who could not name ONE SINGLE book that he had read in his time on earth that had not been assigned to him by his school, not one trashy novel or nonfiction work of any kind. This demonstrated a lack of intellectual curiosity that I considered to be inappropriate for MIT. One for a candidate who mentioned at interview that he had cheated on his SAT's and indicated that he had committed a wide variety of intellectual dishonesty offenses in getting through secondary school that far. He viewed it as a point of honour that he had so managed to game the system that he could achieve A's despite doing no work, but being a very good cheat. I again felt that he was an inappropriate candidate for MIT (note to other cheaters out there - this is a bad topic to raise as a source of pride at an interview).

Both of these are telling, as they would not necessarily have shown up anywhere else on the application but at the interview. Both of these were sufficient red flags that I felt that I needed to write a "keep 'em out" letter. Another application killer that I have personally never experienced but I have heard from a colleague was of a candidate whose English was only at the "See Spot Run" level, which is challenging if you wish to attend a university where almost all of the courses are taught in English. But application killers of this sort are also very, very rare.

Most of the candidates that I meet receive neither glowing testaments to their wonderfulness nor critical pans. Rather they receive a report that reads something like "this is a fine candidate who would be a worthy admit to MIT, admit them if the rest of the application is strong" There are many variations on this theme. It being MIT I need to provide evidence for all that I say, and I should note that MIT, particularly internationally, attracts a very high level of candidate. In most of the international pool, the "typical" candidate for MIT, should be admitted. However, given the realities of the numbers game (and a 3.38% International acceptance rate last year), many of the typically great students will not be admitted.

The point that was raised about the weak correlation between the interview report and admittance is still valid. There are hundreds of EC's out there, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Given that, and the wide range of great applicants, the interview matters most at the margins. If you really excel, or really screw it up, it can matter. For most candidates, it will not make the difference between getting in and keeping out. Nor, in my opinion, should it.

There are other exceptions of things that can come up at interview that can seriously affect admissions but the other way. About five years ago, I had a candidate who had achieved a wide variety of exceptional things, many of which they had not put on their application because they "did not want to brag". This was from a very self-effacing candidate, and it showed an ignorance of US university admissions procedures as opposed to those in her own country (which were almost entirely based on scores) as I rushed to assure them that if there was anywhere where it was appropriate to brag, then it was on a US university application. In that case, I pushed her to submit a supplemental note to the admissions office and I prompted them that they would receive it and why. Again, I do not think she would have known to do this without the interview.

An MIT interview is not a "normal" interview. The purpose of it is very different from a job interview or a university selection interview (such as those for Oxford) where the role of the interview is to decide who gets in and who does not. The purpose of an MIT interview is to try to take a picture of you as a human being, to provide colour and context for the application folder, so they have a sense of how to interpret your achievements, as well as to give the candidates a forum to get their questions about MIT answered. A number of the questions that come up on CC, also come up at interview, as most applicants have never heard of CC.

MIT is interested in the whole person. But whole people do not apply to university, rather applications folders do, and MIT is not just interested in solely in how candidates look on paper. Ideally, the admissions counselors want to learn about the real person - their interests, their secret ambitions, the things that make them laugh - all things that don't come through in the test scores and transcripts. That is the purpose of the interview, and all of that is good stuff, but it should not be scary stuff. Relax, be yourself, and the interview should go fine. Most EC's that I know work very hard to put their candidates at ease, because it makes for a more pleasant as well as a more useful interview. Most candidates report that they were nervous before the interview, but that they found the interview fun. And it is fun. At the end of the day, all the EC's that I have ever met love to talk about what made their MIT experience memorable and why it was ultimately their choice. At a basic level we are there to sell the MIT experience. The admissions office regularly hears from students who say that talking with their EC was when they realized that MIT really was a place they'd like to be.

Sorry for the long post, but there is such confusion and misunderstanding about the interview process. The EC's are there to help. The interview should be fun at some level or we are not doing our jobs. I can only point you to Kim Hunter's blog posts on the interview at the MIT site for more information, and I will continue to try to answer questions here, but of all of the myriad parts of the application, the interview should not be the part to spend time worrying about.

Mikalye

You contact the admissions office, probably Kim Hunter or Kathy Breland, and they will put you in touch with the Regional Coordinator for wherever you end up living. The RC will then talk you through what being an EC is and if you are still interested, sign you up. Each RC may also do other things to find EC's such as reaching out through the local MIT alumni club in an attempt to recruit as many ECs as their region requires. Of the 4 new EC's in my region this year, only one came through the Admissions office.

Inconclusive

Mikalye,
That is very helpful

T-bird

I just had my interview this afternoon and I thought it went well. I don't think I stood out as exceptional or anything, but my interviewer was very nice and made me feel comfortable, so I relaxed and was myself. In retrospect I might have answered questions slightly differently - I'm not sure I really highlighted my passions because honestly there are too many of them to cover to fully cover them in an hour. Unlike other stories I've heard, my interviewer did stick to the time she told me, so the interview wrapped up in about an hour, but I don't think that's a problem. I've resolved not to think about the interview too much though, because I know if I relive it too much I'll figure out all these tiny things that I did wrong that probably don't matter so I'll just be glad I got it done and that it went well. My EC told me I should feel free to ask her any questions that I come up with after the interview, and I think I will.

Inconclusive

lool

Probably the interview was some thing like this

Mikalye: And when it comes to establishing your world view, what kind of book do you read.

The kid: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the authors.

Milkaye: But what ones specifically? I’m curious.

The kid: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.

Milkaye: Can you name any of them?

The kid: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our books.
lool
I think, it sounds that you met our future president!

Inconclusive

T-bird,
Congradulations

Mikalye

Actually it was worse. It came up when the candidate mentioned that he had really enjoyed a particular novel by a popular and prolific author when it had been assigned at school, and that the author was one of his favorites. Since this novelist was very popular it was not a particularly surprising choice, and since they were very prolific I asked which other books by their favorite author they had enjoyed. At this point he looked at me strangely, and explained to me slowly and carefully, as you would explain to a small child, that "no other books by this author had ever been assigned". At that point I pushed a bit further, determined that he had never read any non-assigned works, and had never looked at or investigated anything that was not assigned. MIT highly values intellectual curiosity. I have still never chatted with ANYBODY, not merely any candidate, who showed less.

ChargerFans

My son was asked by the coach of his sport that he is being recruited by to apply early. He has called twice to set up his interview and the EC has said "they aren't ready yet". He wanted to get this completed as he's going to start his official visits soon. He's going to be traveling a lot the next couple of months. He's going to MIT the end of the month on a recruiting trip and would like to have it done before he goes. Any advice?

nk9230

Im not sure if this has been posted, but is there really a way to prepare for an MIT interview?

kiruyama

Just received a reply from my EC about a time for interview. She says I can dress casually (as in, after-school casual) so I'm already relieved. She seems friendly, so I'm looking forward to meeting her.

An0maly

I scheduled mine for this Tuesday. Wish me luck!

T-bird

Good luck to everyone!

serendipityyy

i emailed my interviewer over 2 weeks ago, but she hasn't responded. should i email her again? or contact MIT?