MIT FAQ for application year 2008-2009

<p>This might not be the right place to ask, but I have a question about the scholastic distinctions since entering high school... (Part 2 of MyMIT)</p>

<p>I got a couple of pretty cool awards in various national competitions, but I won them in 8th grade. I'm wondering if it would be okay to list them, especially since the competitions were open to 9th graders, so we were competing against a high school age group, not just little 6th graders :P</p>

<p>Would this be totally unacceptable? My interpretation was that that the "entering high school" thing was most likely intended to keep us from writing down "Student of the Week" and attendance awards, but of course, strictly speaking, it might be seen as a falsification! >_<</p>

<p>Off the top of my head, I can think of several awards usually given to middle schoolers that are impressive enough to include on college apps. If you think yours is one of them, by all means, do.</p>

<p>i got an 800 from sat maths and some scores nearing 800 (790,780 etc) but because english is not my native language i only got 600 from english section.
So;
should send my toefl scores too ?(there is an option for international students to send their toefl scores instead of sat scores)
or are my scores are good enough to be admitted?</p>

<p>I would send your TOEFL as well as your SAT score. A verbal score of 600 is impressive for a non-native speaker. The scores are taken in context.</p>

<p>@ qazwsxe:
Definitely send in your TOEFL score to supplement your SAT. I agree with collegealum314 on how impressive 600 is for non-native speakers. From what I know from friends with similar situation, your score (even if you don't send in TOEFL) is definitely within the range for MIT non-native speakers (and I'm not talking about international).</p>

<p>hey,
do we complete the part 2 of the application once we pay for the application?
or a better way to ask is: is it alrite to complete part 2 after u've completed part 1 and alredy paid for the application ?
(phew!)</p>

<p>You can complete Part 2 of the application at leisure, just have to submit the completed thing before the deadline. Your Part 1 + your payment(or fee-waiver) opens up your folder at MIT. After that you got till Jan 1st(I think it is right ...) to complete your Part 2. Take your time! Give it your best!</p>

<p>For the "Describe something you have made" section, how technical should we get? I want the reviewer to have a good understanding of what I made, but I don't want it to be overwhelming.</p>

<p>What about attaching pictures or audio/video samples? Is that helpful/how is that done?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Pictures would be fine -- you could send them to the admissions office as supplemental material. I wouldn't send audio or video, because the admissions officers often read applications out of the office and far away from computers.</p>

<p>@ adrivit, thanks helpful buddy.</p>

<p>Mention not. I am in rather high spirits ... I think I have got on to my essay!!</p>

<p>Would a summer research internship at a university go in summer activities or ECs, or both?</p>

<p>It should go under Summer Activities, and I do hope that research is an EC of yours, so that they fit in.</p>

<p>"and I do hope that research is an EC of yours, so that they fit in."</p>

<p>What do you mean by that?</p>

<p>I mean that it would be nice if research has been an integral part of your life. Otherwise, a sudden internship at some University looks kinda odd. That my thought. People may differ. Somewhere in the app it has to come across that you love doing independent research.</p>

<p>Hmm. I've done a lot of DIY electronics hacking/tinkering/creating, but haven't done any formal academic research until I found out about and applied for this bioengineering internship. It is through a fairly large program that connects interested high school students and companies/universities looking for interns.</p>

<p>Would that look odd?</p>

<p>Thank you molliebatmit and adrivit for your advice.</p>

<p>I really dunno, but I guess nothing's odd. The internship sounds impressive enough. You really don't need to do "formal" research in that sense, any home-based research, as long as it's somewhat substantial is fine!</p>

<p>Oh and what's DIY Electronics? Google says its Do-It-Yourself ... did you mean you played around with those box-sets that kids play with? Sorry, but that's not research, I guess.</p>

<p>"did you mean you played around with those box-sets that kids play with?"</p>

<p>No.</p>

<p>I have two questions. First, if I apply EA and get deferred, I can send in a short essay describing a new job experience as a supplement, right? </p>

<p>Second, do you have to pay before you submit any parts of the app? Would you have to know if you are doing EA or not? And with the interviews, can you just schedule it as soon as you want, without having paid first or submitted the first part?</p>

<p>
[quote]
First, if I apply EA and get deferred, I can send in a short essay describing a new job experience as a supplement, right?

[/quote]

Yes, you can send anything you want as supplemental material before about February 1.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Second, do you have to pay before you submit any parts of the app? Would you have to know if you are doing EA or not? And with the interviews, can you just schedule it as soon as you want, without having paid first or submitted the first part?

[/quote]

You have to designate your application as EA or RD, but if you designate it as EA and later decide you'd rather do RD, you can just give MIT a call and let them know -- no problem. You can also interview before or after you submit any part of the application.</p>