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

oasis
Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:02:50 +0000

Oh, I didn’t know Stanford’s finaid was need-aware for internationals. I did a quick search online and came across this article: http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/3/14/internationalStudentAidLacks




according to University officials, the admissions rate for international students requesting financial aid was three percent.

The low number of foreign students on financial aid reflects the University’s inability to extend its need-blind admissions program — which all American applicants enjoy — to the international community.



This seems rather harsh - but I guess I am not adequately informed about international finaid to make an authoritative statement.

I know for a fact though that the 3 international students admitted into MIT from Taiwan this year (I’m not an international student) all enjoyed impressive finaid packages from MIT. I think MIT has a very generous finaid program to its international admits.


I think you should mention your AIME/AMC score on your application, if you even qualify for AIME. At my school, people put down AIME qualification even though they might not be able to do a single question on the AIME. Getting into the AIME signifies that you are at the top 5% of the contest pool, and although MIT/Caltech might not be super excited about it, it does demonstrate mathematical ability to a certain degree.


You can’t qualify for the USAMO if you are an international student - but if you are one question away from getting the threshold needed, I think you would have gotten higher than my 4s (which I had for a few years). I looked up stats online and a 4 on the AIME generally puts one in the top 1,000ish scorers on the AIME - so I don’t think it’s a bad idea to write the score down.