<p>My son will be applying to MIT this year. Since the school calendar for most Australian universities starts in Feb/Mar, were wondering if its OK for him to start university here while still waiting for the MIT admission decisions. </p>
<p>That way, he could withdraw from university as soon as hes accepted or just continue if hes not accepted. Do you know if this will violate any MIT policy for freshman applications? Does he need to obtain approval from MIT?</p>
<p>My feeling is that it does – students who enroll in a degree program at a college are not able to apply for freshman admission to MIT, but must apply as transfer students.</p>
<p>I’ll bet they have a policy on this, since all applicants from the Southern Hemisphere would face the same issue, and MIT has to get a few hundred applications/year from that half of the planet. Furthermore, I would speculate that the policy is that what the OP suggests is OK – that MIT would not tell that whole class of applicants that they have to delay starting university a year in order to pursue their (1-in-20 or so?) chance of an MIT acceptance.</p>
<p>Yes, Mollie is right about the transfer acceptance, the question is timing. As I understand it, if he applies to MIT in the autumn of 2009, and at the time of his application he has not started university, then that is fine. He is applying as a freshman. This is true regardless of whether he might start at an Australian university in Feb 2010. If however, he started at an Australian university in February 2009, then if he applies in the autumn of 2009, he is a transfer applicant, which is much more competitive.</p>
<p>This might be a little late for your son, but I know someone from Australia who applied a year early with the intent of deferring for a year if he got in. He did get in, finished high school, and then enrolled a year later. However, I don’t know if MIT encourages this or not. Your best bet is to email and ask about their policy.</p>
<p>Just got this email from MIT Admissions about this.</p>
<p>You are welcome to apply to and even attend university in Australia for one semester and if you receive admission to MIT (announced in March) you may have completed one semester of study. We do not guarantee acceptance of your college classes, but some may transfer.</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure about what they are trying to say in that last sentence.</p>
<p>This is true of most colleges, in general its pretty hard to get credits to transfer to MIT.</p>
<p>However, even if your credits don’t transfer, if you feel confident in what you’ve learned you can choose to take the ASE (advanced standing exam) for the corresponding subjects. This is an exam, offered during orientation and a couple other times during the year, that gives you credit for classes you feel you know without actually taking them at MIT.</p>
<p>You cannot enroll at a school and also wait for MIT decision. Either wait for the decision or apply as a transfer student for the following year</p>