<p>Ok. Well the first thing is as you would have realized, I don't have any stellar accomplishments like winning the IMO or the IPhO.. And plus I am an Indian living in India. So I already have such a bad shot.. All I have is- I have done research work in economics and I have managed to publish a paper as well.. That and regular volunteering work like teaching underprivileged kids basic English and environment practices...
Even my scores aren't good....</p>
<p>So my question is does MIT accept people similar to me? Who are passionate about and love maths (and in my case economics as well)?</p>
<p>We have had some (though not large numbers) of international admits post their stats on CC in the past few years, so you can look through last year’s results thread stickied at the top of the forum, which has links to the threads for the past several years. This will give you some idea, though not a perfect idea, of the range of international students admitted. Like domestic admits, international admits do not fit a single mold.</p>
<p>Still, international admissions at MIT are very competitive, even more so than for domestic applicants. There is a limit placed on the number of international students who may be admitted, and this cap makes the job of the admissions officers very difficult.</p>
<p>My belief is as an international applicant to MIT from a country like India, it is definitely a shot in the dark for nearly every good to terrific student. However, this doesn’t mean every student accepted fits a single mold, so you can still try.</p>
<p>I would spend most time considering more serious possibilities for what you can do in your future to better yourself, rather than sweat admission to MIT. That is, prepare yourself to be very successful in the most likely scenario.</p>
<p>For instance, perhaps this means (if possible at all) making some of those scores that you spoke of better, if this means you can have a better shot at more realistic schools if not MIT. A school like MIT does all kinds of things, but it’s also nearly impossible for any international applicant, especially from a country which is full of people crazy about it.</p>
<p>@mathboy98, Mollie- Thanks for the advice. I am applying to other colleges as well.
And those scores aren’t ones for standardized testing but are those of my school and since I am done with my schooling this past summer I can’t really change anything about them… </p>
<p>And yes here in India everybody seems crazy but in a weird way. Most of them want go to MIT simply because it is the “best engineering school” in the world!</p>
<p>I’m not affiliated with MIT in any way shape or form. But if I were to guess the international app reading process…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Are you an IXO medalist?
Probably auto-admit for gold, progressively lower chances for silver, bronze, hm, competitor.</p></li>
<li><p>Did you participate in math/science olympiads?
Will not help your application much, sorry.</p></li>
<li><p>Reputable research?
Gives a plus if A. published in a journal and/or B. wins research competitions. Be sure to send it as part of your app. Won’t help much otherwise.</p></li>
<li><p>Good standardized testing scores?
Seriously, they better be good if you don’t have a yes response to 1 or 3. Good test scores can’t even help you that much, but worse than good scores can tremendously hurt you.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Addendum to 4: Some leeway actually. But no lower than there recommended scores.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Good recs?
Again, if a no to 1 or 3, they better be stellar. Seriously.</p></li>
<li><p>Essays/Personal Statements?
Same as 4/5. Although leeway due to English language skills.</p></li>
<li><p>EC interview (assuming you’re not waived)?
Same as 4/5/6. You better tell a pretty gosh darn good story.</p></li>
<li><p>Grades?
You know the drill.</p></li>
<li><p>Talking about adversity/challenges?
That’s what 6/7 are for. Although I’m sure this is considered less in the international pool than domestic pool.</p></li>
<li><p>The Great (American) Admissions Songbook: Leadership, Extracurriculars not aforementioned?
No to 1 or 3, you better have some (in math and science!). Although unlikely to help by a significant amount in the international pool, unless they’re big. And even then, not that much.</p></li>
<li><p>Unusual cases with regards to education (acceleration/university dual enrollment/advanced coursework)?
Wild card. Could possibly help more than expected.</p></li>
</ol>
I would strongly disagree with all of these contentions.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>International admissions at MIT are very competitive, but ultimately they are not substantively different from domestic admissions at MIT. Medals in international olympiads are neither necessary nor sufficient, and research is a great thing regardless of whether it wins prizes or is published.</p>
<p>MIT is looking for the best students in the world, and those admitted certainly have compelling resumes. But it’s not this easy to break down the process.</p>
<p>Ok I just came to know from someone that the majority of Indians accepted to MIT this year were all IPhO/IMO finalists… I really don’t know what to do…</p>
<p>You can’t change history, but you can cast yourself in the best possible light. Undoubtedly you have done things that MIT and many other schools would appreciate. What is your passion, what have you done to pursue that and learn more? What have you been doing during your gap year You have this time to be doing things that show you have amazing talents and interests and knowledge to contribute or even that you’ve been working to support your family and save money for your pursuit of education.</p>
<p>Everyone has a story. What’s yours? Write great essays and share your story and let admissions know who you are.</p>
<p>@crazymomster- Thanks a lot for the advice! But I am just worried that even if I manage to impress the adcoms there are just so many highly qualified people applying to MIT from India that they’ll have no choice but to reject me…</p>
<p>BTW how did you know that I had taken a gap year?</p>
<p>^ You said you finished school last summer… and you are not in school now, so there is the gap year :-)</p>
<p>The odds are against you in MIT admissions, almost regardless of qualification. You can just do the best you can do. Some people DO get admitted, but not even all olympiad medalists get admitted, and in their place, non-medalists DO get admitted. </p>
<p>Just do what you can do, and don’t worry about what you can’t.</p>
<p>A quick question: I’m not sure about the definition of “getting published”. Does that mean your research must be printed in a magazine? If I have a paper published in my Physics club’s website, how much credit do I gain?</p>
<p>@lucazzz- I am unsure about what will the adcoms think about getting your work published… Mine was published in a journal and I had to present it and stuff… BTW what was your research on?</p>
<p>It is very simple. If MIT is your dream school, apply, because it is a shot in the dark for nearly any international student from a country with lots of talent. Sure admissions doesn’t admit 100% international medalists, but those are amazing achievements, and will most likely support those candidates a ton. Nobody should count on admission anywhere so competitive of course, because ultimately you don’t know what will happen.</p>
<p>My advice is to better yourself and not worry about getting in vs not when the competition is this bad - it simply is too unlikely to change the outcome.</p>
<p>@mathboy98- Thanks for that. And yes even though I have a very little shot I’m still going ahead and applying to MIT… If I won’t be applying I would be making sure I have no shot at all…</p>
<p>BTW to all those who are at MIT, how much weight does the interview carry? Is it considered to be more important than the essays? Because I had mine yesterday and since it was my first I became too nervous and forgot to mention few things about me. I did mail him and frankly told him I was nervous and then mentioned those things about me. Overall it went decent enough…</p>
<p>The interview is similar to a recommendation letter, in that the person who interviews you pretty much writes a recommendation letter to send to admissions. It has the added bonus of your interviewer having some insight into whether or not you’d fit in socially at MIT, having gone to MIT themselves. I don’t think the two can really be compared, but the interview is probably less important than the essays, since the essays have your voice attached to them. Also, some small percent of applicants who don’t interview are accepted, while no applicants are accepted who don’t submit essays. :p</p>
<p>As an interviewer, we expect candidates to be nervous. I try really hard to make the people that I interview feel less nervous, and to relax and enjoy the process as much as possible. Don’t fret about being nervous, nor about getting answers that need some correction. </p>
<p>There are caveats to this of course. Nervousness is no excuse for factually wrong answers, nor for dangerous or disturbing answers. So if I ask “So, what do you dream of doing?” [I accept that this is a really crappy question and it is not one I would ever dream of asking at interview] and you reply “I dream of taking a gun and shooting all of my classmates and teachers” or some equally horrific answer, then this is not something that you can fix in an e-mail later with a “What I meant to say was…”</p>
<p>heyy phr34k … even i m from India and applyin to MIT this year though my intentions of applyin are very very different from what you mentioned in you first few replies … and I simply understand what you mean … i mean even i have doubts regarding that … like if we apply from the same country we will be at a disadvantage competing against our own kin … since of course 5-10 will be an IXO finalist (even i m a IJSO finalist but who cares that doesn’t even counts) … and acc. to a source 33 of the approximate 1000-1200 applyin from India are selected … and that’s my question i mean even though we may lack in some kinda academic qualification from our own fellow Indians , but we may be better than them in many many other ways … and not even to them we may be better than other international applicants … but being an Indian is our application judged to that level … i am not criticizing the admissions office in any ways … i simply mean that does being a part of a large applicant pool just render us prone of straight rejection while competing in our country itself ??</p>