<p>Um, this is a totally random question, but I think it's really important.
In school, my best friend is applying to MIT this year. Something tells me that he has a great chance (first USAMO qualifier of the school's history, national merit scholar, taking math and sci courses in cc college because of finishing calc bc as a junior).
Assuming he does get in: I will be applying to MIT next year (Im a junior). However, I will only be finishing calc bc as a senior and I don't think I can barely even make it to AIME. I think I have a good shot for national merit . . . I do have other distinctions, but still, my friend is tons smarter than me. Would I be compared to him when I apply to MIT? Would MIT think I could have done much more like my friend and I didn't make use of what I had or something?</p>
<p>Assuming he didn't get in: I would not apply to MIT, period. If he couldn't break in then I have no chance.</p>
<p>I'm no expert, but I really really doubt you would be compared to people from other years in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Also, each person's accomplishments are looked at in comparison to the opportunities available to them. Don't give up on MIT just because somebody who you think has a better chance than you doesn't make it.</p>
<p>Getting into MIT doesn't need USAMO medals. That's been clarified by many MITians here. So, don't worry ... keep doing what you love. You won't be compared to your best friend or neighbor or anybody. They will see your achievements in your context and evaluate you. Just keep doing what you love sincerely.</p>
<p>But the two of us go to the same school. We are from the same context and area right? That means we have had the same opportunities, right? Unless that includes our pre-high school lives . . .</p>
<p>I do not think admissions officers generally use people from past years as benchmarks, and it's unlikely that they'll remember an admit from the previous year down to the nitty-gritty details.</p>
<p>The year I applied, one of my friends also applied. He had taken several college math classes and more APs than I had, had a better class rank than I did, and I generally thought he was much more qualified and brilliant than I was. We were both admitted. </p>
<p>Although you're evaluated in the context of your background and opportunities, you're still considered as an individual. There's no explicit benchmark for admission for anybody.</p>
<p>Ya, that makes a difference. If he is a rich dude and you ain't, and you made the most of every lill opportunity you got, you have an advantage.</p>
<p>Um, My mom doesnt work, but my dad went to IIT and he had a hard time finding a good job for many years, but or the past two years, he works at Yahoo as an architect. So we are like lower-mid middle class?
I dont know about my friend . . .</p>
<p>See, don't worry about these trivial matters. If you believe you made most of every opportunity you ever got, made a difference no matter how little, did something unique etc etc ... you stand a chance, irrespective of your friend.</p>
<p>How should the teacher evaluations be given back to me? Should I tell my teachers to give it to me in a sealed envelope, in an envelope, or just return it to me, and I will mail it with my Part 2 stuff?</p>
<p>It's up to you how to handle the logistics of mailing -- for example, you could give your teachers stamped envelopes addressed to MIT admissions, and they could mail the letters themselves. If they do give them back to you, the envelopes should be sealed.</p>
<p>i wonder, can i mail in a research poster (1 page) of the project i did with a MIT professor over the summer to MIT admissions? Should I include something more with it or not? please let me know and thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, you can mail in the research poster as supplemental material. It may be useful to also send a short note describing (in layman's terms) what the research was about and what you gained from the experience.</p>