***Official MIT RD Results/Discussion Class of 2021***

Maggallina
Sat, 18 Mar 2017 18:14:36 +0000

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown): 34C, 35M, 35E, 34S, 31R
ACT superscore (breakdown): one sitting ^
SAT II (subject, score): 800CHEM, 800M2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): not sure
Weighted GPA: 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/770
AP (place score in parentheses): CHEM-5, APUSH-5, APWH-5, STATISTICS-4
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP calculus bc, AP physics, AP Language, AP micro/macro economics, honors government, required music
Number of other EA applicants in your school: none
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): some general stuff and awards in school

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): usually a starter for math team for 3 years, treasurer of a business club for 2 yrs, president of an engineering club, technician for national honors society for 2 yrs
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service: participated in numerous volunteer events such as walks, was also teacher’s assistant for two different locations, and I blog about issues that I believe are important.
Summer Experience: I did an internship for political figures I cared about

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: 8.5/10
good ideas, maybe poor execution. They were really honest answers because I earnestly thought I wouldn’t get in and said, “screw it.”
Teacher Recommendation #1: 10/10 He loves me and really wanted me to get in
Teacher Recommendation #2: 7/10 He probably used a template since he legit wrote a recommendation for everyone… I asked him late too since I found out very late that I needed a recommendation from a humanities teacher too. I was going to ask for one from my calculus teacher/math team coach and my chemistry teacher.
Counselor Rec: 8/10; generic and actually didn’t provide much insight on me as a person and my thought process even though I wrote for her a 20 pg autobiography lol
Additional Info/Rec: none
Interview: I thought he hated me and wrote a bad report on me. Maybe he did but I doubt I would’ve gotten in if he did. I still do think he thinks I’m not suited for the school and he was very stoic. He didn’t laugh at any of my jokes and he looked SO bored of me. My interview was only 45 mins long-ish and he seemed like he wanted to stop talking to me ASAP. That day, I was shellshocked because I was so sure I had bombed my chances at MIT. I did bring things to show him, such as my art pieces, but even then, he looked bored. I’m sure he wasn’t that impressed with me and I don’t blame him because I certainly wasn’t impressed with myself that day.
Art Supplement:

Other

Date Submitted App: Probably a day before the deadline… procrastination
U.S. State/Territory or Country: New York
School Type: Large public school that’s actually pretty bad
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: Middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): I’m a Chinese female first generation student that genuinely enjoys stem, I guess.

Reflection

Strengths: Scores and gpa, but then again, I’m sure the majority of the applicants met the academic requirements. My essays were pretty good, except for the “why this major?” supplement. I was extremely honest with them and I feel like that really helped.
Weaknesses: My ECs are not that impressive, two letters of recommendations were probably not that great, I didn’t do enough things in HS and I regret it. I’m also sure that my interviewer doesn’t like me and I really wish he did because I want someone I could go to for advice.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I was probably accepted because one teacher wrote me an AMAZING recommendation and because MIT really got to know who I am as a person. I didn’t BS my supplements and I was writing what I genuinely
What would you have done differently?:
Where else did you apply? Cornell (likely letter), Macaulay Honors program (Accepted) Caltech (rejected), RPI (Accepted), Swarthmore (accepted), JHU (waitlisted), Vanderbilt, Lehigh, Emory, CMU

**Other Factors: **

General Comments & Advice:
I was genuinely surprised that MIT saw something in me that I don’t quite see as of right now. I feel the need to email them and ask them if they are 100% sure they want to make this investment because I would advise against it. But jokes aside, I am truly blessed to be offered a position at this institution. I am a masochist because I can’t wait to suffer for the next 4 years. The next 4 years will be the hardest freaking years of my life but thinking about it makes me so happy.
One piece is advice is to just be honest. I poured my heart and soul out for MIT and they listened. Plus, it wouldn’t feel that great to be accepted by MIT only because you were pretending to be someone else. The feeling of shock and extreme happiness is unforgettable and I doubt I’ll ever experience it again in my lifetime, although I hope I will.