<p>No potential academic excellence, no MIT</p>
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<p>I’m not sure I understand this phrase. Can you tell us more about these not-so-smart geniuses?</p>
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<p>… what? I said not just being smart.</p>
<p><a href=“SlashGear | Tech, Cars, Gaming, Science, & Reviews”>SlashGear | Tech, Cars, Gaming, Science, & Reviews;
<p>teeheee:D</p>
<p>I went to MIT, there were some pretty smart people, there were some really smart people. I never met a genius, and I’m not exactly sure what that means.</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that MIT is full of geniuses now, although I’m sure they are nice smart kids who are really happy to be in a place full of other people who love technology, just as the students were 30 years ago. I, like yorker, am
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<p>Getting into MIT isn’t some seal of fabulousness or anything, it’s just an opportunity to go to a great, fast-paced tech school. You still have to pass the hard classes. And most kids that don’t get in ALSO have terrific personalities and are wonderful people. They will go to other schools that are also really fun.</p>
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<p>If you don’t know what “genius” means, you might be operating under a different definition than I am.</p>
<p>I’m not talking about “that one Einstein in a century”. I’m talking about creativity, innovation, hard work. Coming up with amazing things in labs, or making an amazing startup, etc. Passion for the interesting and out-there.</p>
<p>I am not saying that these qualities only exist at MIT - far from it. But MIT has the luxury of thousands of very smart people to choose from, so why not select for a class that will inspire each other?</p>
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<p>I don’t disagree. MIT doesn’t disagree either - Admissions says every year there are so may people they’d love to take, but simply can’t.</p>
<p>But it still helps them narrow the field down. Everyone here had academic smarts in high school, that’s a given. The opportunities that we have here are amazing, that’s a given. But there are other things that make this place truly great.</p>
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<p>Personally, I find academic excellence inspiring, but that is just a matter of taste. My favorite professor at MIT was low on charisma, however he explained things so clearly, with such precision, it was breathtaking.</p>
<p>But the reason not to go on and on about the “superior personalities” of MIT students five days before decisions come out, has nothing to do with the definition of genius, etc. It has everything to do with how you are making high school seniors feel bad. Like their impending rejection is extremely personal.</p>
<p>… are you reading my posts? I don’t appreciate the strawman arguments you’re setting up.</p>
<p>(1) Nowhere did I say “superior personalities”. MIT has goals, and this can be accomplished by a strongly academic class full of all sorts of people. As you said, inspiration is a matter of taste, and people who inspire each other don’t come in just one flavor here. That is a far cry from saying, “If you don’t get into MIT you have an inferior personality.” It’s all about the fit.</p>
<p>See also: </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/pulse/the_match_between_you_and_mit/[/url]”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/pulse/the_match_between_you_and_mit/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/770701-guide-chancing.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/770701-guide-chancing.html</a></p>
<p>(2) I said, “Admissions says every year there are so may people they’d love to take, but simply can’t.” Nowhere did I say that people who are rejected from MIT are inferior human beings or should take their rejection extremely personally.</p>
<p>Yes, perhaps I’m stupid and can’t read. But that is not important, you’re not making me feel bad. Trust me that many high school students read these posts the same way I do, that MIT admissions is not about academic excellence, rather some vague “awesomeness.” If you just hold the hype for about 10 days you’ll spare them a lot of hurt.</p>
<p>… I never said you were stupid or can’t read.
… I never said MIT is about awesomeness instead of academic excellence. I am saying in addition to.</p>
<p>It seems to me that there’s a cycle here on CC. While students are applying current students are encouraging and factual; between submission and decisions they should be calming and supportive; and after decisions come out and all but the admitted students have cleared out, they can be wildly, hyperbolically enthusiastic about their school. So be as awesome as you want. I just think it would be much cooler to wait ten days or so to have at it.</p>
<p>I’m mainly here to respond to questions and correct misinformation. I’m not particularly bothered by the fact that certain questions will bring the enthusiasm I have towards my school out :)</p>
<p>CAdream, you are seriously misunderstanding the point. Academic excellence to a certain extent is assumed when one applies to MIT. Everyone knows that you must have a very strong high school career to be admitted to MIT. They don’t need to tell everyone what they already know and make it seem as if they are only looking for 2400 SAT/36 ACT/4.0 UW/ etc. They try to emphasize the other types of things they look for in an applicant that will set them apart from all the other academic superstars. This does not mean “awesomeness”. They are simply looking for people who have done something different so they can create a diverse class. MIT would not be a very interesting place if everyone did the same thing. You must also be a good fit for MIT. They want to see if you are the type of person who will thrive at MIT. This does not mean they are looking for “superior personalities”. MIT is very different from most other schools, but this does not mean it is better, it is just better for certain people, and MIT looks for these people. If you are not one of these people, you are no better or worse than anyone else, you are just not a great match for a school like MIT. With that said, you may be a great fit for a school like Harvard or Yale, which some would argue are “better” schools than MIT, but again, this is only a matter of personal preference.</p>
<p>@Handala92: my tracking system is no more available, either. I think this happens to all freshmen applicants, as indicated in the message.</p>
<p>Damn! My net’s been down for like 4.5 days. Whats new?</p>
<p>Nothing much just that decisions come out in 4 days!!!</p>
<p>3 days … 
Well less than 4 days not really 3.</p>
<p>Anybody want to make the RD decisions thread? I think the format from this year’s EA decisions thread worked well (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/829483-official-mit-ea-decisions-class-2014-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/829483-official-mit-ea-decisions-class-2014-a.html</a>) – it’s just copy-and-paste, so your local overworked moderator does not have to go back and edit everybody’s post when they don’t know BBCode and forget to remove the spaces in the template.</p>
<p>If somebody makes it, I will lock and sticky it. Send me an email (address in username, please add “alum.” between at and mit, and, of course, “.edu” at the end).</p>
<p>^ Done. 10 char</p>
<p>@molliebatmit</p>
<p>one’s up already… but those spaces… seems like you will have to do a little bit of tweaking xD</p>
<p>Post # 100000000 (at least in binary… :p)</p>