Stanford vs MIT...Which is harder to get into?

oasis
Sun, 08 Jul 2007 05:02:51 +0000

It seems to me “paddle like ducks” is equated to “people who work hard”.



Just to clarify some things here. At Stanford (judging from the idea I get from talking with alumni, students, and parents that have connections there), people appear to be laid back and relaxed on the top and look all chill and stuff, but at night (or in the libraries), everyone studies like mad and works very hard to attain their goal. They just don’t talk about it on the surface. Of course, I’m not trying to stereotype Stanford here, but I don’t really like this feeling that I get (and this “paddling like ducks” thing had been supported by many, many students I talked to). I rather if everyone just comes out straightout with the amount of work that they’re doing, rather than appearing chill and calm when there’s actually a lot to be done. I don’t know, perhaps it’s California - but this was a slight minus in my considerations of Stanford.

I actually consider myself to be more well-rounded than just a regular science/tech person. I never qualified for any science olympiad (although I did write a research paper on mathematics and submitted it to competitions) - sure, I have good science grades and I guess some scientific aptitude, but I’m equally interested in the liberal arts (I’ve taken 6 Humanities APs - including all 3 histories) and music (I do vocal, cello, and piano). It was a really hard decision between MIT and Stanford because I seemed more “fit” for Stanford, but I knew from all the contact I’ve had with MIT (through Mathcamp, Summer Science Program, visiting) that I really enjoyed the campus atmosphere at MIT, not to mention the surrounding college “mood” in Cambridge and Boston. I think this is not something that could be replicated at Stanford (but Stanford does have its merits as well).

Even though I enjoy the humanities almost as much as the sciences, MIT is not utterly devoid of humanities - it’s just harder to put humanities down as your major. But I do know I’m not going to major in the humanities regardless, so I think that is a no-issue there. Besides, cross-registration at Harvard allows me to take Harvard courses, should I so desire (I doubt it - MIT always has a very comprehensive course listing), so at the end, this all adds up to MIT > Stanford for me.

I know a girl who turned down Harvard for Stanford, and another guy who turned down MIT for Stanford. Stanford does have its appeal (very little required courses, pretty much free direction of study, very nice location, good weather, “Harvard of the West”…etc.), but I guess it always comes down to what you value. Once you know what you value, research the merits of each school in that area and visit the schools (or talk to their current students). I guess you’ll have a clearer picture that numbers can’t immediately give you.

And just to explain the Stanford Likely Letter system:
Dec 15 - send out Regular Decision apps
Christmas - January? - initial read of the applications and singling out particularly strong applicants (academically or special talent)
late Jan-early Feb - send out Likely Letters (~100 per year. They go something on the lines of “Congratulations for your fine achievements so far! You’ve been identified as one of the particularly strong candidates…blah blah…Although your acceptance is not official, there is a very likely chance you will be admitted in April.” - colleges generally send this to attract the attention of students before other colleges can communicate with the student.
April - receive official letter of acceptance with other RD students.

So in sum, getting a Likely Letter is like admitted EA (since you know your decision so early), it’s just you don’t have an “official” letter yet. It is rather pleasant to know a college would take you at the end of January (especially if you were deferred Early), but I wouldn’t count on this because likely letters are generally rare. I was very surprised when I got Stanford’s letter.