No International Olympiad Medal , Bye Bye MIT ?

pertussis
Sun, 12 May 2013 02:28:37 +0000

Honestly, why or why not? Either way we end up becoming some or the other statistic right?
But here’s some advice, MIT is NOT the ultimate goal/dream. Sure, it’s great if you get in and all. You can tell roughly 2^10 people who will tell roughly another 10 people each about 'that kid who got into MIT…". So you’re famous. Bam! No. No one gives a darn, and all you will really get a million unsolicited calls for help/advice, and praise and affection laced with the greenest envy. Or you’d just become a FIITJEE(or whatever coaching class, if you do go) legend. That isn’t going to help you get anywhere really, and probably will serve as a meaningless ego bomb.

And some more advice, if you want to really get in anywhere (wherever you want to go), don’t post questions, especially like this one. Sure you will have a couple of good souls answering this, trying to help and all, but the vast majority of answers WILL come from recent high school graduates(many who applied and didn’t get in themselves). They don’t really have a right to claim sufficient experience because one application does NOT amount to experience. Sure, most of the people who get in are Olympiad medalists, but that is because that seems to be the only honest form of external validation they are going to get. Almost every applicant these days goes to one of those ‘counselors’ who ‘edit’ their essays multiple times, and lead the applicant to believe that they are being absolutely honest and do most of the hard work. There are way MANY applicants who inflate their grades. Why shouldn’t they take people who have international validation? And knowing India(and college confidential, by the way), they probably know that thousands of applicants are just going to work their backsides off trying to clear olympiads for the sake of that admission. That isn’t passion. IMHO, glorifying a cause to justify the means doesn’t get anyone too far.

So it really doesn’t matter, whether it is HYPSM or whether it is a community college. Successful people are a product of hard work, luck, instinct and circumstances.
And no matter what you do, don’t look at domestic applicants or racial minorities and diss their admission. It’s all about the most of what you make. And they aren’t obligated to finance a hundred foreign students anyway.

So if you’ve worked hard, worked honestly, maybe if you are innately ‘smart’, and of course if luck favors you as well, you WILL be successful in the long run. Look up Einstein’s quote about geniuses and judging a fish by it’s ability to climb a tree. It’s NOT about IIT or MIT or Clown College, New York. It’s ALL about you.

So go ahead, weigh your chances and do as you please. The world’s a stage and you’re a mere actor. Millions of people have essayed your role. If you are successful, keep a level head and humble heart. If you’re not, discard bitterness or envy(after a few days of course!) and move on, taking it as a life experience and a learning lesson. Don’t regret your choices, and if you do end up applying, consider it an investment for experience again.

And most importantly, stay off College confidential unless you have a very SERIOUS question. Otherwise you’ll probably get worthless/incorrect/confusing advice or a meaningless philosophical rant like the one I just spewed.

And all the best. You’ll probably do great whatever you do!