MIT FAQ for application year 2011-2012 (with answers by MITChris)

<p>Hi Chris! the mit website instructs students to include their MyMIT number with email submissions for their art supplements. Do you know how and where can I find my MyMIT number? Thanks in advance for your help!</p>

<p>Hey Chris! Thanks so much for this thread.</p>

<p>On the website it says you must have a science and a math SAT II. Can you tell me waht the lowest SAT Math II score could be for admissions?</p>

<p>You should email <a href=“mailto:admissions@mit.edu”>admissions@mit.edu</a> mitisthebest. </p>

<p>@wisdom - </p>

<p>No, because we don’t have a minimum cutoff. But we urge students to aim for the 700s.</p>

<p>Sending a resume is discouraged, correct?
It was difficult only choosing five activities/awards, and I don’t think I listed the ‘most’ important because there wasn’t enough room to fully explain.</p>

<p>Quick question - I know the Early Action Updates blog post says you’re understanding if teacher recs “come in” after Nov. 1st. What that seems to suggest to me is that you’re fine with them arriving after the deadline… I gave the form to my history teacher over a month ago and to my knowledge he still hasn’t written my recommendation (or any of the recommendations for any early action/decision applicants…) So does the statement in the blog post mean you’re understanding if they’re submitted late, or only if they’re received late? I’m going to mention it to him if it doesn’t show up on my tracker soon, but of course the next day I have school is the day before the deadline.</p>

<p>Okay, so maybe it wasn’t such a quick question. Heh.</p>

<p>Approximately how long do you spend reading/debating each applicant’s application in each reading?</p>

<p>

MIT is understanding regarding arrival of teacher recommendation letters, whether they just arrive late or whether they are sent late. They understand that it’s largely outside your control when your teachers send the letters. </p>

<p>Give your teacher a gentle reminder on Monday, but as long as the letter is at MIT by mid-November, everything will be fine.</p>

<p>

You can read the archives of the admissions officers’ blogs to get several different perspectives on reading. One I like is from [url=<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/visualize_whirled_peas]Matt[/url”>Visualize whirled peas | MIT Admissions]Matt[/url</a>].</p>

<p>Applications are read by several readers during the time between when applications come in and when the admissions committee goes into selection. For EA, this means that reading goes on during November, mostly. In early December, the admissions officers come together for about a week of full-time selection committee, where they will discuss each application individually and decide whether to admit, defer, or deny. The process repeats for RD with reading taking place in January-February and selection occurring in early March.</p>

<p>And a sidenote:

And your local grouchy CC mod could not be more happy about this development. Brevity! It is the soul of wit, etc.!</p>

<p>If you think writing a 250-word college essay is hard, wait until you have to write a five-year, $1.25 million research proposal (including figures) in twelve pages.</p>

<p>I see that someone asked this earlier, but no one appears to have responded.</p>

<p>For the art supplement, it requires us to email our portfolio with our MyMIT number. Where is this number? I swear I’ve looked everywhere - on the MyMIT website, in my emails…</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>If you download the MIT Supplemental Document Cover Sheet, there’s an MIT Record Number listed on it. </p>

<p>I’m not sure if it’s the same thing, but I reckon it could be.</p>

<p>If I’m emailing my art portfolio in, do I still need the cover sheet? (I assume I attach the cover sheet as a PDF?)</p>

<p>For the summer activities section, do we include activities only from this summer or from all our previous summers?</p>

<p>I qualified for the US National Chem. Olympiad National round this past school year, and i’m listing it as one of my academic honors. However, I’m not sure exactly how to word it. I tried saying something like “qualified for national round of us chem. olympiad”, but i’m afraid that admissions might think that I qualified for the national study camp, which I did not. I passed the local exam at my school and took the next round at a local college.</p>

<p>And would this be considered a regional or a national distinction?</p>

<p>THanks!</p>

<p>In the additional info section, I plan to link to a site where I published a math lecture and a google document with a research proposal. Is it fine to do this? Will the admissions officers actually look at the links?</p>

<p>we make every reasonable effort to look at links.</p>

<p>Is Part 2, Section 9 an appropriate place for putting an extra (optional) essay?</p>

<p>@ tomdead - did you receive honors or high honors on the USNCO? If not, I would not mention it.</p>

<p>Is there a way to email a recommendation to MIT rather than a Fax by a research mentor?</p>

<p>For extracurricular activity descriptions, should I focus more on what the activity is or what I’ve accomplished with the activity?
Take math team, for example. I’d assume that MIT knows what math team is, so aside from noting a few competitions we participate in, should I describe my accomplishments and the team’s accomplishments?</p>

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<p>You are required to use the MIT coversheet for faxing in supplement materials, and a faxed file reaches MIT as a PDF file, ready to go into your application folder. I remember Mollie said something like that.</p>