<ol>
<li><p>for the application, is it already assumed we have a scientific and/or mathematical interest? I'm doing the personality essay, and I wanted to put something besides "sense of curiosity" even though I have that as well, I wanted it to do more with people</p></li>
<li><p>Is it pretentious whatsoever to say your favorite personality trait is your charisma?</p></li>
<li><p>For the word limit, ex: 250 words, does it actually mean 250 words or 250 spaces? For example, if i wrote powerful would it be 8 "words" or 1 word by MIT's definition?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it ok if teacher recommendations do not include personal anecdotes? For example, "Juan is very helpful, he always helps those who don't understand the lesson"
instead of saying "Juan is very helpful, everyday in class he helps Lisa, and Ben..etc,etc. and go on for a few paragraphs" </p></li>
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<p>Does the former still have some worth even if vignettes aren't included?</p>
<ol>
<li>I imagine that would be fine, but you should make sure your passion for math and science comes through clearly somewhere else in your application, even if it’s your interview.</li>
<li>If you do it with a self-effacing sense of humor, you’re fine. Otherwise, I would be careful. I’m sure you could pull it off. I would ask an older person to read your essay and tell you if it sounds pretentious.</li>
<li>Ideally your teacher recommendations will tell the admissions officers something about you that they couldn’t glean from reading the rest of your application. I don’t know that vignettes are necessary for that. I wouldn’t worry about it–your teachers probably have plenty of recommendation letter writing experience. If not, they might find this web page helpful: [Writing</a> Recommendations | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs]Writing”>How to write good letters of recommendation | MIT Admissions)</li>
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