<p>I recently came across a post about medals and its importance in international admissions stuff. I have lived in the US for quite some time and I've never even heard any of the USAXO/IXO Olympiads until about 2 months ago on CC. How does MIT consider the context of a US international applicant compared to an overseas one? Are they both compared equally, because if so, then I have nothing truly outstanding to offer other than my personality. (I have a few medals from local Olympiads if that matters... but nothing on par with a particularly extraordinary extracurricular or USAXO/IXO)</p>
<p>i am assuming that the post was mine … and i know some people are really gonna kill me about it … well i am in the same boat as urs but from “overseas” acc. to you … well i think if u r applying as an international … stakes are pretty high … and the medals hold quite importance as well …BUT … admission process is holistic and medals is not everything … they show ur academic qualification in the field of science or maths but they do not showcase ur passion so it is the whole app what MIT is looking for … ur essays, recs etc. matters a lot more than essays … i am an applicant as said before not any way associated with MIT till now … but i have learnt these facts from my thread which i am assuming u have read …</p>
<p>If you are living in US, you are admitted as a local and are compared against students in your school and the overall pool of US applicants. </p>
<p>It is much harder to get admitted as an international since they only have about a 100 seats.</p>
<p>There are not separate standards for international and domestic MIT students. It is simply much harder to get into MIT as an international student, because only 10% or so of the class can be international. </p>
<p>As for whether or not you are international:</p>
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<p>[How</a> To Apply To MIT | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/international/howto]How”>International applicants | MIT Admissions)</p>
<p>You are not compared to the raw achievement of other international students in the pool. Instead, what you have done is compared to what you could’ve done given your opportunities. Don’t worry about not having certain medals - even for an international student, they are not necessary. They are a reflection of what opportunities a student has had and taken advantage of. If you did not have such opportunities, that won’t be held against you.</p>
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That is totally wrong. Just because he lives in US doesn’t make him a domestic applicant. He HAS to be a US citizen or Permanent Resident, in order to be recognized as a domestic applicant.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies guys</p>
<p>@PiperXP do you know how MIT tends to analyze the opportunities given to an applicant? because I live in the suburbs of Philadelphia and attend an average/below average high school. I took the advantage of most of my opportunities there yet I don’t see how MIT will be able to view that. (I’m the first MIT applicant in my school history I believe…or at least in the last few decades).</p>
<p>I guess MIT works differently from Ivy league which admits people in US without checking their status.</p>
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<p>Not true. just like MIT, Ivy league schools do not handle non-resident aliens living in the US the same as resident aliens. Most Ivy League schools are also need-aware for internationals which includes international applicants living in the US.</p>
<p>I dont agree with Ivies treating people as internationals. Harvard and Princeton do not want to know your social security number because they want to treat illegals on par with everyone else in the country.</p>
<p>umm people … i dunno about you but i am still waiting for the answer of the question asked by mwongburger …</p>
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<p>Essentially the counselor for Philadelphia area is aware of what opportunities are available to the students in that school.</p>
<p>I think international students living in the US have more resources and opportunities than international students living outside the US. Because of this difference, international students living in the US may be considered in a different context.</p>
<p>Yea, I also wonder if internationals living in the U.S. are put in a different sub-category than those living overseas. Since I attended my entire high school in the United States, I got used to the American system and way of doing things. For example, I engaged myself in American competitions rather than in my own country’s standard competitions. Thus, my application looks like that of the average United States Applicant. Because of this, I think that my application looks weaker than those of overseas international applicants but of a same level, if not stronger, than those of United States applicants (I am not saying that Americans are less competitive but rather indicating that they have it less rough than internationals [correct me, if I am wrong]; hence a more diminished competition between themselves than internationals). So, I would be thankful if somebody could tell me how international applicants are evaluated in general. Also, are internationals compared by region, country, continent, or all together (i.e. Indians, Chinese, Europeans, and South Americans compared with each other)?</p>
<p>@texaspg, I don’t think you understand how it works. Harvard and Princeton do actually request your SSN if you are a domestic(USC/LPR) applying for FinAid. If you don’t apply OR if you aren’t a USC/LPR, it isn’t required.</p>
<p>Harvard’s case is a bit special although, this might be the cause for confusion. Harvard doesn’t receive your SSN on PDF. But instead they retrieve it via secure data export. So the reader doesn’t see your SSN but the college can still access your SSN.</p>
<p>p.s: the quota on international students isn’t just up to the university. US government is the final authority essentially. they don’t give too many visas to schools, otherwise colleges would be filled in with internationals and why would citizens vote for the government?</p>
<p>^bump</p>
<p>I also want to hear the answer to Grinver’s question</p>
<p>Phoestre - since you understand it so well, can you explain how illegals are going to Harvard and Princeton on full aid without a social security number that they only accept through this special process?</p>
<p>has MIT had any problems with illegals?</p>
<p>why is it considered a problem? They are only policies pursued by different schools.</p>
<p>You are the one saying illegals are going to Ivies, why am I supposed to prove your point?
I can see no way other than forgery.</p>
<p>Phoestre - they are already there and there is a process Ivies use to admit them whichi is by not asking them for a number if they choose not to add it. </p>
<p>I am asking you why you believe without a social security number or proving you are from another country, you can’t get in. </p>
<p>There is a group of people advising the students which schools are not going to ask the question about legality and how to file the paperwork to those schools. I went to my kid’s high school and they said anyone without a SS number, please leave and talk to this other person who can tell you how to handle the application and financial aid forms for those schools that will provide the aid. There was a kid last year from San Antonio who was detained by ICE while trying to get on a plane to Boston to go to Harvard and they let him go. Princeton had a student graduate 3 years ago and go to Oxford and Clinton was writing letters to get him legalized.</p>
<p>Based on their presentations, both Harvard and Princeton admit first and then check where they are from and so they do not cap internationals (may have an internal cap of 10%). At that point they determine the need. So they are not need aware for anyone and don’t care where a student is from. Other schools do determine how many to admit with need if they are internationals (MIT provides full need but they cap the international seats).</p>