<p>My feeling is that if there is something that you feel is critically important for the admissions officers to know about you, you should send an update (and probably as soon as possible). I can't get any more specific than that -- every situation is different, and you have to decide what would improve your application vs. simply make it more wordy.</p>
<p>Hey guys. This is the third time I'm typing this because the first time I typed this up I ran out of time ("my session timed out" or something like that) and then the second time I tried typing this I got a message saying this: "Your reply action is illegal." Boy I hope I don't get arrested by the police for helping other people! Maybe MIT Admissions has eyes on the Internet...</p>
<p>Seriously, if I have to type this again, I'm gonna jump up and scream like a hyena. </p>
<p>Anyways, here's MIT's reply:
[quote]
Hello,</p>
<p>We apologize that we do not open attachments. Please send your supplemental essay in a
message, as plain text, in the body of an e-mail . You are also welcome to send your essay via
post mail to the Office of Admissions, or FAX to (617) 258-8304. Thank you.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>MIT Office of Admissions
[/quote]
</p>
<p>When I say extra essay, I mean typing up something that lets more of my personality shine through ... something that my other essays didn't show or something that my recs wouldn't talk about. The essay would help the admission committee know me a bit better. I'm not talking about a braggy essay like "Oh look at what I've done," because they probably get enough of those anyways. (Not that I have alot to brag about ... compared to some overachieving CCers like those ... ahem ... International Olympiad medalists) </p>
<p>^molliebat: Yay! Another Latin student! Salve! Aww I'm so dissapointed that your username isn't in Latin (ok mine isn't either but..) It's just when I saw the -ebat ending I thought of the past perfect/imperfect verb ending. Even today, latin verb conjugations still puzzle me. It's okay. Don't be too hard on yourself. People here on CC are usually so serious that it's hard to tell if they're being sarcastic or not.</p>
<p>maybe if it doesn't go through the first time, you should copy and paste your reply into a word document before you post it, especially if your reply is long =D</p>
<p>I would assume that a lot of people do send in "Oh look at what I've done," essays because it's just natural: 1. applications are like the only place where you'll use they (And you won't forgive yourself if you don't put them on else you would feel like you did all that work for nothing) 2. essays are really the only place where you can put them, unless you want to send in a resume (which would be a worse idea if your resume is simply a list).</p>
<p>I guess a lot of applicants want to put emphasis on their achievements, namely by writing additonal essays on them and perhaps sending in resumes, because that is what could set them apart, you know what I mean? We all just do that just because we know that anyone could write essays on personalities but not everyone could write "I won so and so competition and wrote 100 research papers", even though admissions may prefer the former, am I correct? </p>
<p>So I just want to confirm: Whether they read optional essays (like outside ones you send in outside the application) is up to them, right? Like if they don't have time, or they just don't feel like it, they probably won't read it, right? Anyone know how many of the essays they actually read?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Whether they read optional essays (like outside ones you send in outside the application) is up to them, right? Like if they don't have time, or they just don't feel like it, they probably won't read it, right? Anyone know how many of the essays they actually read?
[/quote]
It's not that they're choosing whether or not to read your essays, it's that your application, if complete, may already have been read by one or more people by now. If you send an update now, those people will not see the extra material you're sending, and if you send it much later, your application may already be through all of its readers.</p>
<p>but Mollie, I heard that International student applications are read last, like in late Feb or March?</p>
<p>My "update essay" was originally like 900 words. I'm having difficulty getting it down to 600, but then I think I'll send it.</p>
<p>mollie, could you explain the importance of multiple readers? doesn't the committee have the final say? </p>
<p>but im thinking they do this so more ppl can argue for or against an application to prevent bias.</p>
<p>
[quote]
but Mollie, I heard that International student applications are read last, like in late Feb or March?
[/quote]
Right, international students aren't read until just before international selection. International students will probably start to be read in about a month. So what I said in post #24 only applies to domestic applicants at this time.</p>
<p>
[quote]
mollie, could you explain the importance of multiple readers? doesn't the committee have the final say?</p>
<p>but im thinking they do this so more ppl can argue for or against an application to prevent bias.
[/quote]
The readers are part of the selection committee. So yes, the committee will decide the status of each applicant during selection, but all of the applications have to be read and summarized first. MIT does this by giving your folder to a reader, who takes a nice fat stack of folders to his or her favorite reading spot and reads them all. When he or she is done with the stack, the folders get passed on to other readers, and when all of the folders have been read, all of the readers come together and pick the incoming class.</p>
<p>As far as I know, there's no really deep reason for multiple people to read each application -- it's just easier during selection if more people are familiar with each case. But it is a good way to prevent bias, though the readers are pretty carefully trained to prevent bias during reading in the first place.</p>
<p>Do they wait for mid-year reports for applications to be considered "complete"? Or are they reading without that info?</p>