<p>Please forgive me on my double posting but i really have to sort this out ... please tell the truth anyone/everyone who post a reply guys because if the undermentioned is true to its word then actually i am doomed ... </p>
<p>
[quote]
This is advice from a Cornell student to an applicant.</p>
<p>Hello! I'll get straight down to business. First of all, I'll need to know your ICSE marks in detailed in addition to everything you sent me. The ICSE is a key aspect of your application, and is used by American colleges to compare you to your peers. I scanned through your resume and your scores, and everything looks pretty good. Now because I've gone through the stage you're going through now, I'm gonna list some key facts you need to know as you head into your application process. Read them carefully. I'll forewarn you though, you're not going to like many of them and are probably going to think they dont apply to you. While I can't help that, I strongly discourage it. Here we go.
1. The MIT Disillusionment
Six Indians got into MIT this year. All six were participants of International Olympiads. I went through your resume, and I know, and hope you do too, that the Cyber Olympiad and Science Olympiad aren't official Olympiads. I have had the privilege of personally knowing three of them - Aakanksha Sharda, Keshav Dhandhania and Akashnil Dutta. Aakanksha learn French during her ICSE and got a 98, was the only Indian female to ever make it to the International Physics Olympiad and one of the only Indians to go to the International Linguistics Olympiad. She came 17th in the IIT. Keshav Dhandhania made it to the International Informatics Olympiad a few times and the International Mathematics Olympiad. Akashnil Dutta has been making it to the International Mathematics Olympiad ever since he was in class 10. The point I'm trying to make is that MIT looks at its international applicants a little differently then other colleges. All the admits are geniuses and true to the word. These applicants don't care about the admissions process or which college they get into because they know they're the best. I know you, like me, are smart. But we're not at that level yet. Thousands of people try to make MIT and get rejected every year. While I'm not discouraging you from trying, because it involves a separate application, I strongly urge you to not take on the additional burden and stick to the other colleges. Take it from me: you won't make MIT.
<p>Cornell and MIT have a bit of a rivalry… This guy is trying to talk you out of applying…
Your best bet is to ask either an actual MIT student or someone in the admissions department. I’d ask someone from the admissions department if I were you. They’ll be the ones with the most up-to-date facts</p>
<p>first of all i will please state the fact that the letter is not to me and not from anyone known to me either … having said that - </p>
<p>@bananafreak2u … thnkss maan !!! much appreciated … i hope u r right about that …</p>
<p>@feemoz … well i appreciate ur thoughts … but i know for a fact that the stats provided in the letter are true … only medal winners got in from India and i dun think there will be anything denying the it even from the admissions office … </p>
<p>@Doener … it was never about applying or not applying pal … the question is that if the aforementioned is true in any way is there any sense in applyin ?? i mean i am a programmer a die heart fan of computer science that actually builds up two non deniable facts … a.> i m not that much into Physics or Chemistry to earn a medal … b.>there are not international olympiads for CS to earn a medal … so that leaves me for only one thing ?? … apply to get rejected right ??</p>
<p>is it ?? does only a medal decides am i a genius or not ?? i am not talking about the fact that i am applying or not or whether should i apply or not or all similar questions related to the keyword “applying” … the question that remains that is the above mentioned fact true or not … if is it then i think u r not worrying much cuz u r one of the medal winner and if u r not one and u r someone like me applyin as an international, acc. to the statement quoted, no one would make it to MIT … (especially the non medal winners ) …!!!</p>
Whether or not only IXO medalists were admitted from India last year (and I don’t know whether that is true or not), that does not imply that only IXO medalists will be admitted this year, or next year, or the year after that.</p>
<p>MIT has a holistic admissions process, and there is no one qualification that is necessary or sufficient for admission to MIT. It is not necessary to have a medal in an international olympiad to be admitted to MIT, whether one is an international student or whether one is from a certain country.</p>
<p>Still, it’s undeniably true that international admission to MIT is incredibly competitive, and virtually all international students who apply will be rejected.</p>
<p>The problem with international applicants – especially from China, for example – is that the US domestic colleges have a hard time sorting through all the cheating that goes on. In lots of countries, for example, you just pay extra $$ and you get into the best schools and you pay extra $$ and you get the best grades. This is why objective, international recognition matters more for international students – it sets a standard that can’t be gamed and that the admission office can rely on.</p>
<p>^ i normally do that thanks for the advice anyway mate and hearty congrats on gettin Stanford …!!!</p>
<p>@mollie … thanks for sharing that piece of information and i hope u r right but what exactly stands above Medals in view of admission officers ??</p>
<p>@placido … ohh i see … mann really thanks for that i never knew of it !!! but i have a question i mean if a country like mine have a national board of education which MIT knows thoroughly about and i know for the fact that it is one of the most reliable thing will that omits looking for a mention of medals in an application ??</p>
<p>why WOULD they accept someone without an international medal? If there are 5 spots and at least 5 qualified international medalists, what would make MIT take someone without this recognition?</p>
<p>exactly my point too jshu755 , but as mollie said the admission process is holistic in every nature and sumthin like that … but i dun think there is any fact backing it up … is it ??</p>
<p>^ Not everyone has the same opportunity. MIT wants people who will take advantage of opportunities around them, not choose only people who had the privilege of having more opportunities. This is not a difficult concept.</p>
<p>COOOOOL … so acc to you a child with less SAT scores, no medals, and less or no national awards but all this due to a weak financial or uncertain parental circumstances is more probable of gettin selected than a person with 800s in SATs, medals etc. etc. but with strong financial background and all the privileges that a student can get ?? is it ??</p>
<p>Hypotheticals are tricky. Again, you have to look at each individual case by case, so there is no clear answer to your question.</p>
<p>But to give you a personal perspective, I was admitted as an international applicant even though I never made it to any of the international olympiads. Of course, I had other credentials, but the point is that you cannot focus on just one thing on a person’s application. Again, it’s a holistic process.</p>
<p>maan awesome , so what “credentials” according to you are capable of overshadowing the presence or absence (most importantly absence) of a medal …??</p>
<p>^ Why are you assuming that medals are the end-all be-all to be overcome? Again, this is about what opportunities a student has and how the student has used them.</p>
<p>because whatever you suggested in ur last comment is not commonly be seen anywhere else, ask anyone, if they find out that an applicant like me who doesn’t have a Medal and is applying especially being an international and from a country that provides almost 20 Medal winners then the chances of me qualifying for the admission process is almost umm what … 0.000% … precisely … Good to hear from you i still have a 0.001% chance … THNKXX !!! :P</p>