Analyzing the EA results

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
21

<p>The problem students face in this is that MIT (and the other super-slective colleges) have all the information and hold almost all the cards. A forum like CC is incredibly valuable because it reduces that information asymmetry a slight bit. Only a slight bit, but it's still way more information than students had previously. My main reason for the post was to encourage people to analyze the data to try to work things out from MIT's perspective. I'm sure others are much more able to do that than I, but no one seems to be doing it, or at least not sharing their findings.</p>

<p>I also think that Harvard and Princeton have the right idea in abolishing early admission, and I don't see how the MIT EA system is benefiting anyone except MIT.</p>

22

<p>Um....I'm Male...Asian...AND I GOT IN...</p>

<p>I'm not a..
Eagle scout...
Play any sports...
Siemens Semifinalist...
National Merit Scholar, or even commended...</p>

<p>So um...I guess I'm an anomaly....</p>

23

<p>tritium: high five on being asian male!!! (oops, i do play a sport...)</p>

24

<p>
[quote]
I don't see how the MIT EA system is benefiting anyone except MIT.

[/quote]

How so?</p>

<p>Personally, I don't actually see how it's benefiting MIT, except that it allows them to read a certain percentage of total applications early, reducing their workload in January-March.</p>

<p>EA applicants do enroll at a higher rate than do RD applicants, but IIRC, so do EA applicants deferred to the RD round -- the higher yield is not caused by being accepted early, it's caused by being the kind of person who applies to MIT early.</p>

25

<p>Actually, my son is an Eagle Scout and a varsity athlete with numerous awards and higher test scores than most of those who have posted that they were accepted. He believes he was deferred in part because he is an Eagle Scout, as part of being a Scout is reverence and belief in a higher being. He believes listing his Scout activities and church activities was probably held against him. He's even gotten a lifesaving award for pulling a woman from a burning car.</p>

26

<p>I doubt that would be held against him... at least I hope it wouldn't be, as my main activity is a religious one and my essay focuses on religion (anyone think this should be emphasized less?).</p>

27

<p>Guys, I go to a Catholic school and am going on 13 years straight of Catholic education. This means that every semester, I have some sort of religion class listed on my transcript because it's required.</p>

<p>Following your logic, I should have been rejected outright, but I wasn't.</p>

<p>I think you're fine.</p>

28

<p>crazy mom wrote " . . . He believes he was deferred in part because he is an Eagle Scout, as part of being a Scout is reverence and belief in a higher being. He believes listing his Scout activities and church activities was probably held against him. . . ."</p>

<p>Your son better report this deferral incident to Limbaugh, Hannity, Rove, et all. It's part of the great liberal conspiracy to force the higher power out of the US and all its institutions.</p>

<p>I guess "paranoid mom" was already taken for a moniker.</p>

29

<p>My S listed his religious involvement on his application, as it involves a significant time and learning commitment. He was accepted. Test scores were extremely good, too. Don't think we can generalize here.</p>

30

<p>There is a four page thread entitled, "Hey, hey, hey. How does religion affect MIT?" No one seems to know for sure. However, for those who think that Eagle Scouts and athletes are in, my son is proof to the contrary.</p>

31

<p>The constant questioning of the competitiveness of females in the EA pool is tedious. My daughter was admitted EA last year to MIT, and here's what her application showed:</p>

<p>*SAT scores: 760-760-800 SATII: 800 (math)- 800(physics-790(lit)
*National merit scholar (finalist at time of application)
*Valedictorian (perfect grades at time of application)
*State awards in science
*She had presented original scientific research at an actual science conference; her poster was accepted through peer review process (and she was the only high-school student there)
*National awards in math
*State and national awards in art and multimedia
*Teacher recommendations that raved
*Leadership in clubs; strong community service
*Varsity tennis</p>

<p>Don't tell me that most guys could present a stronger profile than that. I met her female classmates this fall, and they each were awesome.</p>

32

<p>Crazy mom - There is no way to generalize, or to know what goes on when the selection committee. There is a certain lottery element to it all, due to the excellent applicant pool vs. the number of slots. If you son went in thinking he would be deferred because of his religious beliefs, did that show in his app by way of an attitude? Also, his argument isn't very sound. By his logic he should have been rejected.</p>

<p>For the record, my son is white, and he is definite an I-like-math guy, with little else on his app but math, math and more math. Both his essays were about math. He was also accepted ea. That just shot down a couple of generalizations. </p>

<p>MIT gets so many applicant they could fill their class several times over. They get to decide how to cut the pie. They may mistakes, and turn down some great kids. But they still end up with a pretty awesome freshman class, from what I have heard.</p>

33

<p>Having seen the religious discussions before he applied, he did not want to hide who he was if he would be lookied down upon because of it. He is particularly interested in the stats of some very highly qualified females who were also deferred and were active in Girl Scouts and/or church activities. The logic to the deferral is that they will simply take a wait and look see as to who else comes in the door RD. But yes, unlike those who will repeatedly take the same test over and over agaijn to try to edge their way in with 10 more points on a Sat II or something, he has a take me as I am attitude.</p>

34

<p>Crazy mom- why do you come on here to pout that your son was not accepted? My parents would never come on here and complain; they'd be happy if I went to a community college or MIT perhaps you should do the same. Your accusations are way off base. 9% of MITs students for the class of 2011 came from religious secondary schools. I assure you that is far higher than other schools of MITs caliber. To give you a quick reference: Dartmouth was 3% and Penn was 2%</p>

<p>Furthermore, 10 points on the SAT II or w/e means very little. If you don't believe me than take a look at the broken down admission statistics for various scores. After you have gotten into a certain "zone" testing means very little and the other parts of your application are examined. </p>

<p>Oh ya, and I didn't shove my religion under a rug while applying either</p>

35

<p>I was deferred, despite high test scores and grades and good ECs, including temple youth group treasurer for 4 years, Hebrew School teacher, temple volunteer, and Girl Scout Gold Award. However, I don't think that any of these activities or the associated values are what got me deferred. MIT is a very competitive school, and I was somewhat lacking in the research/prestige departments; that was probably what sealed the deal. However, I still have hope for RD, as should your son, crazy mom.</p>

36

<p>Crazy mom - why are you assuming that the pool is full of kids who take the test over and over? again, you are looking to denigrate a fine group of kids to feel better about your own son. You should not let a deferral from MIT define you or your son.</p>

37

<p>I think the focus of this thread is wrong. I do not think lacking research or prestige or Eagle Scouts or sports or anything like that will get you deferred or rejected from MIT; lacking a real INTEREST and LOVE for what you do, however, might.</p>

<p>I am REALLY STEREOTYPICAL for MIT applicants, I think - play piano (and it's my only instrument), do math, do a little bit of research that I love (independently, not with any prestigious college or program or anything - I got rejected from RSI, for the record), founded math team, and try really hard to go beyond my limited public school for education. I took SAT and SAT IIs once, and only took three SAT IIs.</p>

<p>I think prestige, awards, do not matter as much as what you have done in relation to what you have. If I went to a high school ~20 miles away, that offers a LOT more opportunities, and presented the same application, I probably would have not gotten in. Why? Because I would not have to had worked nearly as hard to get those same achievements. But If I went to that school 20 miles away, I probably would have better achievements to speak of. It's all relative.</p>

<p>I agree 1000000000% with niceilike's thread about getting into MIT. It is all about showing that you match - they tell you EXACTLY what they're looking for on the website. If you think you fit, make sure every single reason you think you fit is on your application. </p>

<p>And I think one other mistake that happens on applications- from what I have seen from reading friends' essays, anyway- is that people try really hard to write a riveting, creative story for an essay. But these riveting, well-written stories sometimes do not show anything about who they really ARE. If the prompt asks you about a time in your life that felt like the end of the world, maybe they just want to hear about a time you got over intense frustration, grief, etc. and ended up growing as a person. It doesnt have to sound like a crazily creative topic that nobody would ever write - I thought mine was probably a pretty standard story. It just has to MEAN something to you - the sincerity and quirks of your own writing style can say much more than any creative topic without true meaning to you could.</p>

<p>Heh, so my two cents: Don't worry about prestige and awards so much! Worry about being HONEST and at the same time being COMPLETE, so that they really know why you match. Maybe I'm wrong, but that was my policy while completing my application, and it seemed to work.</p>

38

<p>and other than that, maybe it's just a little bit of luck. <em>shrug</em></p>

<p>I have no idea how they choose out of so many amazing applicants, really.</p>

39

<p>I've commandeered my son's account to post on this thread. I've read several of crazy mom's posts, and I agree there's been a lot of sour grapes - though she's entitled to be disappointed with her son's deferral. I'm certainly glad my son was accepted EA, but in no way do I think where he goes to school next year will ultimately define his worth as a person; he's an amazing, talented kid who will likely succeed wherever he atttends, and I'm sure that's true of most of the kids accepted, deferred, and rejected at MIT. Parents need to support their kids in this process without defining success or failure by where the child is accepted. I have four children, and I'm just as proud of my son who was accepted two years ago ED at our State school.</p>

40

<p>Crazy mom -- please don't make arbitrary speculations as to what components of the application influenced your son's college decisions. It's rather insulting to the admissions committee to claim that they are not taking him EA because they view him negatively for some reason. Admissions keeps reiterating that the process is about pulling a few hundred perfect matches from thousands of great matches, not mercilessly culling the weak ;p Anyways, be optimistic; a good percentage of deferred kids get accepted RA.</p>

<p>my $0.02 on test scores: None of my friends who got in (or me!) ever retook or substantially prepped for an SAT. They have better things to do.</p>

<p>For me, that not-really-crucial xx point variation on the SAT1 was just due to how incredibly bored I was by the end of the 5 hours, and admissions people are probably aware of this factor of standardized testing :P Thus score differences within a certain range are negligible. I mean, I've seen people freak out over a 780 and relinquish all hope of going to their top choice college. Seriously, it's just one bubble on the scantron.</p>

<p>

Then there should be no complaints, yes? :)</p>