Official MIT Class of 2016 RD Discussion Thread

mystory
Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:40:45 +0000

MITChris-

My perception is based on what I have read on the blogs and the people I have known who have been accepted to various colleges. It is quite evident that colleges prefer students that have won these awards. A student who has been part of a lab doing research for which data will not be available for a few months is unable to participate in these competitions. Therefore this student would not have “externally verifiable evidence” besides a recommendation letter. That is exactly my point. The reason I have brought this up is because we need to find a better way to understand the capacity of a student. The goal is to make this world a better place and create the next generation where people teach each other. What many of these competitions are doing is for students to somehow get ahead and the whole purpose of research is being lost.

For the opportunity to participate in Stony Brook a school can nominate three students (if I am correct). There is one teacher from my school who nominated students and unfortunately some students never had that teacher. This example is just to prove my point.