<p>@Ghastn - </p>
<p>Correct. </p>
<p>@texaspg -</p>
<p>Not sure I follow.</p>
<p>Hi.</p>
<p>I have the following questions:
- Does MIT group applications according to region, country or high school and accept the best individual?
- Are GCE A Level grades/scores considered for the admissions?</p>
<p>Chris - We have already sent all the scores to MIT. What happens with them since there is no application to go with them?</p>
<p>MITChris … I have the following questions … </p>
<ol>
<li><p>If i take TOEFL means that i don’t have to appear for SAT 1 ?? … And is SAT 1’s score payed more preference than TOEFL in application process ??</p></li>
<li><p>I have many been in many national and international olympiads, my SAT scores are good enough and even my academic results in school are quite impressive but despite all that i dun have much co-curricular up my sleeve and i even haven’t participated in many sports above state or even school level … Does this all counts as a drawback while applying to MIT ??</p></li>
<li><p>When m i supposed to take the interview ?? before or after submitting the application ?? How strongly will the interview affect my application ??</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hi guys!!
I just want to know:do we need to have an interview by december!!!
If so, i won’t be able, since i can’t travel to the US neither find an alumni??
So what should i do((IS skype or online chatting a possibility??))
Thanks!!</p>
<p>
No. Domestic applications aren’t grouped in any way – they’re just read by multiple readers. A reader might read multiple applicants from the same high school, or he/she might not, just based on the applications that are pulled from the stack. MIT might accept multiple people from the same high school, or might accept none. Each person is judged individually.</p>
<p>As far as I know, international applications are read by country, but only because it’s easier for the readers, given the many different educational systems in place around the world. There’s still no expectation that MIT is looking for a certain number of people from a given country.</p>
<p>
My recollection is that any item sent will open an application file. Standardized test scores are also sent by ETS electronically, so I doubt there’s any need to have a special place to store them. When the other parts of the application are sent, the system will match the applicant’s sent test scores to the rest of the application.</p>
<p>
If you take the TOEFL, you don’t need to take the SAT I. Both scores are acceptable to the admissions office, and one is not preferred over the other. You should take the test on which you feel you will do better.</p>
<p>
The interview is not required, and many international applicants aren’t able to have one due to a lack of interviewers in their area. When interviewers are assigned in early fall, your interviewer’s name and contact information will appear in your MyMIT account. If there is not an interviewer in your area, your interview will be waived, and you don’t need to do anything further.</p>
<p>If you are able to have an interview, and you choose to have one, it will happen in the fall. More information on the interview can be found in the first post of this thread.</p>
<p>Hi Chris:
Couple of questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>President Obama’s “Scientists in a Classroom” program invited the winners of “BioGENEius”, “ISEF”, “Intel”, “Siemens” to the White House Science Fair. Have you guys heard of the “BioGENEius” and “ISEF” Science contests?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it necessary to win at the National level in these contests to show passion, or continued and sustained participation and commitment enough to show that?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>-Jollie</p>
<p>I have a couple of questions:</p>
<p>1) I will appear for SAT subject tests in January (I intended to take it in Nov or Dec, but all the seats in my city, for Oct, Nov and Dec, got taken up within a few days of the registration opening). I know MIT accepts the January SAT, but does it put me at a disadvantage, especially if I’m also an international student?</p>
<p>2) How many A’s in O-level and A-level, on average, do successful applicants have?</p>
<p>
I don’t know about the BioGENEius, but MIT often holds a dinner for MIT-bound ISEF winners ([blog](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/mit_isef_reception_1.shtml]blog[/url]”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/mit_isef_reception_1.shtml)</a>), so a definite yes for ISEF. In general, the admissions officers are very familiar with a wide variety of awards and contests – they do see over 15,000 applications each year. </p>
<p>
No, you don’t need to win one of these contests to be admitted to MIT. </p>
<p>
No. The January SAT scores will arrive at MIT in plenty of time for them to complete the review of your application.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply Mollie.</p>
<p>The BioGENEius contest has really caught fire in the last 3 or so years, and its gotten super competitive to be able to get to the U.S. National BioGENEius contest. You have to go through multiple feeder science fairs to make it that far, and with President Obama honoring the BioGENEius contest as one of the “4-5 prestigious science fairs”, it is attracting the cream of the crop. There are only 30 or so kids who make it to the National level from the different states. I saw the U.S. National BioGENEius contest last year, and every single one of the projects was so far out there.</p>
<p>On a different note, what is valued more by Admissions folks:</p>
<ol>
<li>Sustained Commitment through several years (lets just say 4) of doing research and showing passion
(OR)</li>
<li>Doing it for a summer before the senior year and becoming an Intel/Siemens/ISEF/BioGENEius winner?</li>
</ol>
<p>From a holistic point of view, I would want to reward those kids who have comitted to science research so early on vs. those kids who go through one of these “factories” of science research before the summer year with the sole aim of becoming a semifinalist and making it look good on their App. What do you and Chris think?</p>
<p>@jollietk</p>
<p>No, as far as College applications are concerned, I doubt participating in a major science contest may exhibit your passion for engineering and stuffs like that as majority of the participants would say ‘I participated to have those new certificates in my resume!’ </p>
<p>While a ‘real passion’ does not await participating in a contest or exhibition. ‘Real passion’ is something that you do just for fun and that you hardly dislike doing all day. For example, real geniuses (people with real passion) such as that bearded Leonardo, shy Newton (considered a dunce at class), and shocked Einstein (failed in a math test), did not have such honors but it’s their true passion for learning and discovering that took them that far. And in college context, my cousin who went to Harvard (got accepted at MIT also) did not win any major competitions, to say frankly, he didn’t take part in any of those. As far as I know, he just wrote the college essays (that’s the thing that brandished his true passion), did a community service, could play one musical instrument (I bet you will run out of the house when you hear him play that!) and and and was good at being a good student (without any world highest distinction—but he’s a really good student, and I respect him for that).</p>
<p>Jollietk PLEASE don’t take this reply is meant for you only as it’s also meant for me and others, who take the college admissions as a pain-staking process as to take part in many renowned competitions and I hope the colleges understand this too (of course, they do or why the hell would they accept my elder cousin!).</p>
<p>Heyy I have a question …</p>
<p>Does my participation in several Olympiads will play as help in my college application holding the fact that my co-curricula accomplishments aren’t that strong ?? … Or do this lowers my chances ??</p>
<p>@Kamehameha</p>
<p>Did you take part in ‘several’ Olympiads? If your co-curricula (academics) aren’t that strong and you show a wealth of accomplishment in the Olympiads, however, that may raise adcom’s suspicion that you payed more attention to the Olympiads than to your usual high school academics and thus may question your academic versatility. If you are still in high school, you have enough time to boost your grades up if you want to build a strong application. :)</p>
<p>@jonathanhale</p>
<p>It would hurt your chances because there would be many such applicants having the very problem. And what if they present a complete report illustrating academic rigor and also the brave stories of handling such matters without hampering their studies? Your application would be lost in the crowd! So there’s a slim chance with that reasoning. :)</p>
<p>@shassan … hey thanks for the reply but i think i was not able to make myself much clear … I said i participated in various Olympiads but my co-curricular aren’t that strong … These includes theatrical various intra school competitions ,instrumentation etc.etc.etc. … But i m pretty good in academics … well we don’t have the Grade point system in any of our schools save 10th grade ( in which i achieved GP 10 in Maths , Science , English along with social science ) … but if we consider percentage score … i achieve above 90% almost every time … therefore my academics are pretty strong ( the rest of the analysis obviously lies with u guys ) but my extra curricular accomplishments are weak (as mentioned above) … and also my accomplishments in sports are like so i mean i have never played any sports above school level cuz i was not that interested in sports as academic !!! … so what would u say ???</p>
<p>@kamehameha</p>
<p>Oh! I took that to be academics. 
</p>
<p>Besides Olympiads are considered scholastic distinctions and are much a part of academics as you would find in the MIT application.</p>
<p>About extracurricular activities, you do not need to win major competitions (world cup, regional sports competition, etc.- just kidding) nor do you need to achieve the individual distinctions (player of the year, Golden boot, :)). What you really need to do is play some sports and other that you may find interest in. It’s futile and hazardous to say: ‘i have never played any sports above school level cuz i was not that interested in sports as academic’ as no Ad-com would ever want to admit any zombies (good word to substitute ‘nerd’) as they need to maintain a varied student body that is always capable to take any challenge may it be academics, sports or cultural and community activities.</p>
<p>I hope you understand the matter now and I also hope that I don’t sound harsh in my reasoning. Thus utilize your time! Go out into the field it’s not necessary that you play for your school or nation, go play for yourself, go on make a new team (register it for your school if you can!). Go listen to some music (I bet you’ll find an instrument that really begs your attention to learn it). Get out of the box, get real! </p>
<p>I hope I am able to explain myself.</p>
<p>Is shassan part of the MIT group?</p>
<p>@shassan</p>
<p>hhahahahahhahahah , thank for really gettin the reality in front of my eyes and dun worry it was never harsh but was actually what i really wanted from this thread … well i do play sports that includes basketball,badminton,football,lawn-tennis,rare enough but even table tennis and baseball too , sometimes cricket,swimming,billiards and in extreme conditions when none of the above are available i even play some classroom games … Well i didn’t say the fact that i have never played any sports above school level cuz i was not that interested in sports as academics because i m not good at them (instead i m pretty much good than many of my school team players in the above mentioned first four sports) but because going in the field of sports at various levels require great sacrifice on the study part which i was not at all willing to do because engineering and science is my passion and dream just like MIT is (well MIT is way above what u can call dream or passion or other earthly words for me) … that’s the reason i never payed too much attention on them (sports) …</p>
<p>And yes i m very much keen on learning Piano and violin but there no such profound institutions found around my neighborhood to help me with that … so i have learned something at my own level but that is seriously something only … </p>
<p>And yes you were crystal clear on every point u wanted to tell me and i hope that even i m makin myself somewhat clearer by now … so by now you have almost 40-50% about me … so u think i fit in for MIT ??</p>
<p>@texaspg: :)</p>
<p>@kamehameha:</p>
<p>Good to hear that I was successful in my attempt to clear your confusion.
Now, Question : so u think i fit in for MIT ??
Answer: I can’t say! Well, you are academically fit, took part in many extracurricular activities and know how to create music (better than I do!), however, there are many more points that come to play in answering this question. The Ad-com may need to look at your standardized test scores, need to know you in person via your essays and MUST know what interests you and what challenges you went through in your walk of life. He then have to see how you changed the lives of others (the letters of recommendation) and and and judging your candidacy on the words of people, who once attended MIT (right, the alumni interviewers). Now you see, it’s not that easy to answer the question.</p>
<p>Hassan - I am serious about my question since you don’t show any affiliation and you are answering questions. Are you representing or a student of MIT?</p>