I recently visited the campus and attended an information session there. When I told them my name, they put a check mark next to my name on a list and gave me a personalized MIT fact sheet. They did that for everyone who signed up in advance.
I looked at the recent 2016-17 CDS and it says that MIT doesn’t consider applicant’s interest. Then why would they check off people’s names and print out personalized fact sheets?
Why? I would guess that they gave you a personalized fact sheet to help you feel wanted. They checked your name off the list just because they could.
Demonstrated interest is not considered because it is not a discriminator in any way. With MIT’s reputation and ranking, just about everyone who applies has some form of demonstrated interest.
If you apply for admission, then you have demonstrated interest, and they will consider you, along with 30,000+ other applicants who have also similarly demonstrated interest. You will have about a 7% chance on average, vs. 0% if you don’t apply. That’s it.
I wondered the same. A person in the office checked off
the names of people who came to tour. It’s unnecessary and serves no function. MIT doesn’t consider demonstrated interest because that gives an edge to people who have the money to drive or fly there to visit.
They do want kids to know what they are getting into, so showing familiarity with the campus and the academic program helps. But I think it has to come through in your essays, merely visiting wouldn’t be enough.
Maybe they send mailings out and reminders about deadlines to those who demonstrate interest.
I have a problem with the concept of “demonstrated interest” in college admissions because it’s not clearly defined.
Are you demonstrating interest only if you visit campus and attend an info session? If so, then it makes sense that MIT doesn’t check that box in the CDS, because many families can’t afford to travel. To expect a campus visit, would skew admissions towards high SES families, and I don’t think that they want that at all.
But isn’t it true that – if you visit the MIT websites, familiarize yourself with the curriculum in your desired major, read up on the professors and recent research breakthroughs on campus – you are demonstrating interest?? Wouldn’t AOs expect to see in your application that you know the MIT mission and culture, and wouldn’t they favor an applicant that demonstrates interest in that way? Given two equally qualified applicants, wouldn’t they pick the one that has clearly shown how s/he can contribute to the incoming class and campus life? I bet that they do! So, in that sense, demonstrated interest is almost certainly considered in MIT admissions, and they really should check that box in the CDS.
Until AOs define specifically what they mean by demonstrated interest, you should not assume that it pertains simply to campus visits.
It is assumed that if one filled in his or her application, got recommendations, wrote essays, etc. – i.e., applied to MIT, and paid your $75 application fee unless out of dire financial hardship, that an applicant is interested. (Of course, if an applicant is too passive, and despite directions that indicate that it is the domestic applicant’s responsibility to schedule an interview, failed to do so or waited until the last possible minute to schedule an interview, that does not reflect positively.) Educational Counselors (like the Regional UK Chair) have noted if students didn’t try to schedule an interview until around Christmastime or if they completely fail to schedule the interview.
I always have contacted all assigned applications and prospective applicants if they filled in Part 1 or had any other part submitted (teacher evaluation, high school transcript) even if they merely need information.
Obviously many applicants would LOVE to study at MIT – many more than can be admitted.
It is thus hard to quantify the degree of an applicant’s interest.
“Demonstrating interest” thus, is not a factor.
Obviously an applicant SHOULD do his or her research like knowing MIT’s mission, culture (including values or virtues, anti-values), history, programs, majors, General Institute Requirements, the difficulty of academics, etc. An applicant should read as much on MITAdmissions.org as reasonable or possible. That’s just assumed to be basic – otherwise people are applying merely based on reputation.
To give analogies:
(1) You’re in a foreign country and looking for food.
(2) You’re taking a class.
It doesn’t show interest in the class or in the subject merely to do the above.
“Why? I would guess that they gave you a personalized fact sheet to help you feel wanted. They checked your name off the list just because they could.”
And because we need to know our rate of RSVPs/attendees to plan for space. Which, contra brassratter, is the function: to be able to make sure we have the capacity for each session by projecting accurately from RSVPs.
We don’t take demonstrated interest into account at all, for anything.