Perhaps this thread can provide clarification on MIT's Maker Portfolio option.
I am read contradicting statements regarding the number of items that can be included in the Maker Portfolio. The 2013 FAQ (http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/faq-for-maker-portfolios) states in question 6 to “pick your one favorite project to talk about in the Maker Portfolio.”
However, the 2016 application asks this question:
“Describe for us the kind(s) of thing(s) you make. This should be a general overview of your project(s); you will be able to submit pictures and video with specific descriptions later. Often, the most helpful explanations for Maker Portfolios emerge in the captions to the portfolios, where they can form a kind of narrative to help us understand how a project or projects unfolded.”
As you can see, it says “kind(s) of thing(s)” which indicates you could answer with more than one.
@MITChris, can you please clarify? Can an applicant submit a Maker Portfolio that covers several things or perhaps several creations of a single thing?
Hey! I actually had the exact same question and asked one of the admissions officers at my regional info session; the answer I got was that whatever helps to express you as a maker is what they are looking for - so while they recommend focusing on a single project (as in the blog post), I think other projects can be listed in the portfolio as well.
Some of the most interesting and technically complex things that I’ve made took the form of weekend hacks or side projects, but projects that matter the most to me are the ones I’ve been invested in for a while. And there’s plenty of space to mention both (25 media attachments allowed through Slideroom), but there is a short-answer question that asks you to name a particular one that is the most meaningful.
All this being said – the impression that I got was that they give greater consideration to the narrative the portfolio gives you as the maker and applicant rather than the individual details of the project(s) themselves.
2013 is out of date. you can focus on one project, but you do not need to
Thank you so much, @ethanlee. A narrative makes so much more sense than a single project. And thanks for the confirmation, @MITChris. Can you add any advice to Ethan’s comments?
Hey @MITChris I noticed that the maker profile video length is 120 seconds max… but it used to be 3 min. My video is 2:30 minutes long. Is this an acceptable length or will I have to shorten it???
Thanks
idk, see if the system lets you upload it
@MITChris Thanks for the response… it worked!
I have one more question: If I want to submit source code, can I submit a link to a github repository, or do I have to upload pdf files of the code?
Is it okay if upload PDF files of the code? I haven’t used GitHub (which is stupid of me and I should get used to it) so I think sending pdf files of the code would be easier for me, but I want to know if they would accept pdf files of the code…
@johntheman I uploaded a PDF last year when I submitted and it worked fine