Odds of getting into MIT differ based on gender

Sleepy_willow
Sat, 16 Mar 2019 19:30:26 +0000

I just felt compelled to debunk some of myths, which have been debunked millions times before. Numbers fool you if you don’t understand the context.

1st, MIT is known as a tough school, many kids dare not to apply. Girls mature earlier and tend to be more realistic. Many boys are following peers to apply for tech schools. It is just their thing. That creates the difference of gender in applicants numbers.

2nd, the girls who applied MIT (and a few other top tech schools) are self-selected bunch. They are against all odds, often labeled as not popular, not cool, nerdy. Their love for math, devotion to science, and pursue of their passions are unmatched by most boys. Girls overall/average quality of applicants pool is just simply higher than boy pool.

3rd, USAMO is a great achievement, but not a determining factor. MIT has tons of applicants with IMO/MOP, ICHO, IOI, Regeneron, Siemens, and many other top STEM competitions. It would be ridiculous to fill classes purely based on USAMO. (There are 500 USAMO kids each year, filling a class of 1150 with all of them?)

4th, comparing with other schools, MIT has the most upright, unbiased, caring admission staff. It takes no legacy, no backdoor donation for admission, no political power influence. MIT doesn’t play tricks. Most kids from powerful and wealthy families go for the school next door. (I.e. daughters of US president and Chinese president, CEO of Huawei … It is a country club there.) Those kids don’t come to MIT because they would not survive MIT’s hard classes.

5th, MIT is one of the most compassionate school. Read @MITChris blog after RD, what he said to those not admitted showed how much comfort and encouragements he gave to them. I was in tears. (At 1990, I was admitted to MIT grad school, but as a poor international student without financial aid, I could not afford $21K cost. Looking back, I did well in my life after graduating from a top state school. Thank you MIT, you inspired me back then!) His blog reflects MIT’s class above all others, why it is the best college in the world.

I attach it below. So for kids who are not admitted, please get up and start pushing, never stop trying. For parents, please stop wasting time on this useless data analysis, enjoy every moment of the next few months while your kids are still at home. They are leaving.

“If you are among the many stellar students to whom we are not offering admissions, then all I can remind you is that success is not always a straight line. That your path isn’t something MIT sets you on, it’s something you make yourself. And if you spend the next few years trying to make wherever you are as amazing as you can (as you already are), then someday you’ll look back on this Pi Day and realize it all worked out okay.” – @MITChris