<p>on Matt's blog, a parent gave this question as feedback:</p>
<p>"It would be good if you could talk about private vs. public high schools. Why do some schools send so many more students to MIT than others, even when a student from a nameless public school might have equal stats, more activities, and a much lower chance of having been polished by expensive college counselors? I've noticed that the admission process has become much more personality/character oriented, which I agree with, but why do so many of the kids at certain schools happen to have the personality that clicks with MIT? </p>
<p>I'm speaking as a parent of a child who goes to a high school where no one has attended MIT in many, many years. Not many apply, but when they do, even if they be great students and great kids overall, they end up rejected. I'm curious why some high schools seem to click with MIT, sending so many kids, while others simply do not."</p>
<p>I really have to wonder about this. I've always had faith in MIT's college admission system, since legacies, SATs and such aren't weighted heavily, but if the idea is to find matches in character, why does it just so happen that more kids with an MIT perspective and mindset happen to be at private schools and rich/well-known public schools? At the town next to me, which has the top public school in the state, tons of kids get essays written by college counselors. What's more, they all have research, because the school offers a four year research program that you just sign up for. And yet, they all get credit for having the initiative to do research.</p>
<p>I'm actually very curious to see how Matt responds.</p>
<p>As a student of one of those private schools, I can say that the college counselors really did help. And I think it would be really hard to see through.</p>
<p>They didn't write our essays. They did encourage us to think about what our essays would portray about ourselves, and to show colleges what we had to offer that would make sense at that college.</p>
<p>Moreover I would wonder if it's true they are looking for only the people with the matching personalities. Some experience is necessary in my opinion (I don't know if this is mirrored by their admissions process). Clearly a disadvantaged student should be rewarded far more for taking initiative, but (at the risk of coming across as an elitist), I would still argue there needs to be some baseline level of experience in place as well. I'd say there are a greater percentage of students at private schools who will have this experience.</p>
<p>Scores and legacy and such not being weighted does not, to me, imply that experience is not stressed. It may very well be not stressed; I don't know. This is just my little perspective.</p>
<p>I go to a private college-prep school, and even we find that MIT does not "click" with us so much either. For instance, I'm the first kid to be admitted by MIT in the last four years. That might not seem like a long time for some public schools out there, but it definitely stands out when we always send 3 students to Harvard, and 3 more to other Ivies [out of classes of about 100]. </p>
<p>The truth about private schools is that your college counselor will be able to advocate for you, tell you what teachers will write you good recs, and revise your essays. College counselors at private schools do NOT write recs or tell their students what to do. If they did, that would be very dishonest in my opinion.</p>
<p>The aspect about research initiative is a big concern in my opinion too. I have a two-year research experience during highschool which I set up by myself. I would like to think that this would count more than a student who signed up on a sheet and then played internet games in a lab for a year. I think it's even more troublesome when parents are researchers and feed their work to their kids. This is especially problematic for contests like Siemens and Intel. Even though I had worked on my project for a long time, I didn't even bother entering these contests. I knew that my project wouldn't stand up to real scientists' work vicariously assumed by students.</p>
<p>There are many concerns regarding app integrity and I think these are major issues.</p>
<p>now, my school isn't exactly motivating and we have (to say the least) had a lack of opportunities. Should I mention this in the additional information section" on the MIT app?</p>
<p>It depends, collegefreak. If your environment is drastically different from that of, say, 95% of applicants, then by all means, explain it (just ask "LSA"). You do want to be VERRRY careful when pointing out the shortcomings of your school system though so you do not come across as whiny or defensive or making excuses for yourself. I think that is a very difficult and very risky thing to do unless there is much more to it than simply "my counselors didn't help me at all" (yea? well mine either) or "my school is poor/in a ghetto/rundown and therefore I haven't taken any initiative to find any opportunity for exploration/my teachers suck/the principal is a druggie" (yea? well nearly all public schools in cities are like that). Just be careful of how you present it; if you do end up writing smething about your school system, be absolutely sure that you have a POINT other than one of those listed above - self motivation is good, success in the face of adversity is cliche but good, a well-written position paper on the loopholes of the no child left behind act is... appreciated... but probably not they're looking for.</p>
<p>One of my mom's acquaintances (not really a friend) hired a professional college essay writer for her daughter (who had just been in the country for 3 years at the time she applied to college) at about $800 per essay. She got into Columbia with a 1300 SAT score either last year, or the year before; my mom thinks they were impressed that an immigrant who had only been in the country three years could write so damn well. I was appalled, but it made me realize that as long as there are people who are willing to sacrifice their moral values - self worth, integrity, and pride - for a spot in a "prestigious" university, there will be always be the problem of fraud. We can only hope that karma comes back to bite them in behind sooner or later.</p>
<p>On the most part, I think that people underestimate the essay. It really is meant to give you a chance to tell the college about yourself. That's ultimately how admission people determine if you "fit" in. </p>
<p>And as for the "karma" issue, let me give you an example. We have a girl in our class who got admitted into Harvard this year. She had mediocre grades, a 1340 SAT,a big cnxn via volleyball, and a pushy mom who exaggerated her volleyball abilities. I was upset b/c I felt there were more qualified Harvard applicants in the class. I'm trying to be happy for her, but I can't b/c I don't think she deserved it. I know that there will be some cosmic justice though. IN the end, she'll be a misfit in the class, she won't be able to compare to her peers, and she won't be happy there.</p>
<p>if you get into college not on your own merit, it will come back to haunt you. What will happen when you have to write papers in college, take tests, etc, etc and you can't do it without your parents' help? sooner or later, they wont be able to keep up the work that is necessary. </p>
<p>I have old classmates who cheated their way through high school and now they're at an ivy league, suddenly they're having problems maintaining their grades. People who would die if they got an A- are suddenly ones who are hoping for a B. It's almost a pity.</p>