MIT application in RD round - when to complete part.1

Hi,
I am planning to apply for MIT in Regular Round with Jan 1st deadline. I was told that it is better to complete the part 1 of the application as soon as possible so that they could schedule interviews (even though I don’t yet complete part.2 of application yet). Is this true or is it any advantageous to complete part.1 so early?

I will be working on my essays and hoping to complete part 2 only in December. Earlier, I thought of waiting until my essays are ready to submit both parts 1&2 together; but the advice I got from a current student is to do the part.1 asap so I get a better chance of scheduling for interview. any advice from alumni/interviewers is appreciated.
TIA.

It’s up to the interviewer to contact you if you have only completed Part 1. We are asked to make contact after Part 1 AND 2 have been submitted. So if your EC follows the norm, then only completing Part 1 just puts you in a holding pattern until you submit Part 2. I only contact applicants after both sections are in. My personal advice to anyone who really wants to go to MIT is to shoot for Early Action. Hope that helps.

@espressomac - thanks for the info.

About the EA - I am struggling to decide if its better to do EA vs RD in my particular case. The only reason I am not doing the EA is that my grades in 11th grade suffered a bit (couple B’s). Thought I could improve my app a wee bit better by doing the RD (by progressing more on a research work that I am doing and having better 1st semester grades). If I apply EA and they defer, there is no harm done; but my fear is they might outright reject (because of my junior grades). any opinion on my specific case? and why you advice on EA.

MIT will tell you there is no extra to be gained by going EA. From what I see, the obvious applicants are either accepted or rejected based on which end of the spectrum you are at. The rest, meaning the majority, are just defered to RD.

ECs do not get your info until you submit part 1 of your application. For me, I’d prefer to get a person’s interview scheduled as soon as I can. With the new system last year, it was a real rush to get all the interviews I had to do scheduled and completed at the last minute.

@clgApp20
My thoughts are that MIT doesn’t reject you just because of a couple of B’s (unless they are in Math and Physics) just like they don’t admit you just because you have straight A’s. It’s understandable if you feel you’re strengthening your application by waiting, and it seems like in your case it’s more than just a couple of B’s. Heck, I had a C in 9th grade French (I got put into a class far more advanced than I should have) but I showed steady improvement that year and then in 10th and 11th grade French. Rest assured that MIT looks at the whole picture. In the end, ‘do what lets you sleep at night’. Hope that helps.

In terms of EA vs RD, the odds are bit in your favor with EA. EA had an acceptance rate of 7.4% last year vs RD admission rate of 4.0% (including those that were deferred.) Why? Your guess is probably as good as mine.