am I a Good Fit??

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>Hello CC members.. </p>

<p>I have a question with regards to applying to MIT but "it is not really the chance me question" as that what seemed to be common here but more of a good fit . </p>

<p>I am currently a Senior Mechanical Engineering student used to be in a school in the top 10 undergrad engineering programs at U.S news .. started my first two years with a high honor then my grades went down the road to a mearly above 3.0. "my issue with the school was that there wasn't much of a back up for international students" ..there wasn't any promotion for diversity in the school, there wasn't an international admission person until I left the school. There wasn't a single international student picture, or anything related to international students even on the international students webpage for the university. I created the international club, changed what I got changed and decided to transfer as I felt I wasn't fit for the university and decided to transfer out. Applied to MIT and to a local public university. </p>

<p>I got rejected from MIT and got accepted from the local public school that I'd say around average to a little above average in competitiveness .. and since then I got my life back together and pushed my GPA back to a consistent rate a little below 4.0 while being a resident assistant "and getting started with being a research assistant as well but haven't chosen the area of research as I am planning on doing so after getting a very solid idea on what research I would like to work on when I go to graduate school. </p>

<p>I intend to be a professor, and looking for a school that have similar environment as MIT. Where I would learn from the students as well as from the professors since I am a people person not as much as a tech savvy person. </p>

<p>I have read previously on couple posts that Graduate admissions is very different from undergraduate and that it depends on the departments.</p>

<p>My questions are:</p>

<p>-If there were wasn't any work experience involve and about a year and a half in research experience "at best scenarios" what would be the likelihood that I would be a typical applicant in Engineering or Physics M.S degree program. </p>

<ul>
<li>I am planning on delaying my graduation for a semester to have about two courses left so I would have time to fill applications during the fall and to visit all the colleges I am applying to, as I am looking for new experiences at my graduate degree through being part of different education systems.</li>
</ul>

<p>-and going to the first question, am I a fit? .. would you see graduate students at MIT with less of technical tendencies/strength?.</p>

<p>note:
I am international student, and my scholarship request me to take my degrees back to back without work experience in between</p>

<p>I apology for the long message,</p>

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<p>You say this is a “fit” question, and yet you don’t indicate what you want out of a school, which makes it sound more like a chance-me thread. Would you mind expanding?</p>

<p>Your history is slightly confusing. Did you transfer out, or did you pull your grades up at the school you were currently at? Why were your grades originally lower - because you were confused about some things due to being international, or you didn’t have the support system that you wanted?</p>

<p>From my understanding of graduate admissions, you have to apply to the department (pick an area of research) beforehand. Research is definitely a plus.</p>

3

<p>Hello PiperXP,</p>

<p>Thank you for the quick response, </p>

<p>The reason I stated its not a chance question is that I will apply to school if I saw that it will help me go hand in hand with what I am planning for as a professor (and I am more into the teaching side rather than the research side). I am not asking if I would get accepted or not as I will leave that to the admission process. as far as for now, I would like to know the environment of education … mainly on the two fields physics and engineering. </p>

<p>I am not sure of how to state it, my question goes more into : is there personality (I mean passion by that) factor in graduate admission not only stats. </p>

<p>Yes, I have transfered to the public school and then go the GPA up afterwards. </p>

<p>with regards to the reasoning for transferring “it was the lack of support system” including the lack of an international office.Talked to many faculty, some agreed and some said that they didn’t notice that, and some just didn’t bother but haven’t seen any action until I and several international students transfered out as one of the faculty I talked to became the international students advisor.</p>

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<p>

Most of the graduate programs at MIT have organized visit days for admitted students in the spring, where the department sets up meetings with professors, makes current students available to answer questions, and provides information on living in Boston and life in the department. These visit days are tremendously more helpful to prospective students than visiting the department alone in the fall, and they’re sometimes paid for by the department, as well.</p>

<p>

I don’t believe the physics department offers a master’s degree program, and most physics applicants will have extensive research experience (several years) prior to applying to the PhD program.</p>

<p>The engineering master’s programs are also filled with people who did extensive research and internship work as undergraduates, plus people who have been working as engineers for a few years before going back to school.</p>

<p>

It’s certainly not only stats-based, but “passion” is less of a factor than demonstrated promise as a scientist or engineer. It’s certainly important in the graduate admissions process to be dedicated to what you do, but you must provide evidence that you are one of the best scientists or engineers in the world in your field, through your previous research/design work and through stellar professor recommendations.</p>

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<p>Thank you Mollie!!</p>