<p>gerian, I’m not answering it because I don’t know the answer – the admissions office is familiar with a very wide variety of science/engineering programs, so my money would be on them knowing what it is, but as for the relative “goodness” of various programs, I haven’t the foggiest. If you’re concerned that they might not be familiar with the program, you can always put a description in the box on the application that asks for “anything else” the admissions office might want to know, and you can include the abstract of your paper if you’d like. Generally speaking, almost anything that gets you into math/science/engineering and makes you happy is a very good thing in the eyes of the admissions office.</p>
<p>
The admissons office’s statement on affirmative action is thus:
Functionally, the admissions office focuses on recruiting minority students to apply, then encouraging them to come once they’re admitted. URM applications aren’t read separately or held to different standards than non-URM applications – everybody is read and selected as part of the class as a whole.</p>
<p>hey guys , do all the accomplishments that i have made so far need only be listed in the application form ??? …
and to teacher rec’s has to be filled in the form supplied by the MIT site or another one would do … if yes then what has to be written in them ??
and will good essays and rec’s help overcome my SAT score if i scored above 2100 but m not a 2400 scorer ???</p>
<p>About 80% of MIT students officially participate in UROP (the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program), and I suspect that the number is actually quite a bit higher, since there’s no reason to submit paperwork to the UROP office if your lab job pays you from the lab’s own funds. Research opportunities are plentiful, and if you want a lab job, you’ll be able to find one.</p>
<p>I know that I read once that 20% of MIT undergraduates are published (but whether this is overall publication from UROP work or whether it’s publication by time of graduation, I do not know). That number isn’t broken down by percentage of students applying to graduate school who are published vs. other students.</p>
<p>Mollie - I have seen a parent claim on CC that his kid at MIT was making close to $7000 a month in summer doing an internship. If MIT is finding them these kind of internships, is nt it hard to get them to do UROP?</p>
<p>Thank you Mollie. I study in Europe therefore I am not eligible to participate in UROP. I am thinking of applying to MIT EE graduate program. Do you happen to have any insights into international applicants’ research experience? I have read your post on grad school admissions ([MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: “Grad school admissions”](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/topics/learning/life_after_mit_careers_grad_school/grad_school_admissions.shtml]MIT”>http://mitadmissions.org/topics/learning/life_after_mit_careers_grad_school/grad_school_admissions.shtml)) and, if I understood you correctly, vast research experience and solid references are the most important merits while applying to the graduate program. As a European I have very limited knowledge of US graduate schools and I am having a bit of trouble looking for a school matching my experience and my extremely specific field of instrest.</p>
Well, UROPs aren’t unpaid, generally. I made $4500 per summer at mine, which paid me $10 an hour. I would have been unlikely to find a job in industry that paid substantially more – internships in biology aren’t that lucrative. If I had gone and done a summer at Goldman Sachs, I suppose I could have been rolling in the dough, but that wouldn’t have helped me get into grad school.</p>
<p>At any rate, UROPs aren’t just for the summer, so it’s perfectly normal to go off and do a summer internship, then come back to your UROP for term-time research. There isn’t really a problem with the UROP program on either the supply side or the demand side – people want to do UROPs, and there are plenty of positions available.</p>
<p>
Yes, I’d still say those are the most important factors for international applicants, although it’s tougher, because many US grad schools in science and engineering fund incoming students mostly through government money, which can only be used for US citizens. </p>
<p>I found my professors to be very useful sources of information and advice concerning the type and caliber of programs to which I applied.</p>
<p>
If paying the fee would cause you significant hardship, you should apply for a fee waiver. If you are awarded a fee waiver for the SAT, you can use that form to apply for a fee waiver from MIT.</p>
No, there are plenty of head-in-the-clouds theoretical types at MIT – there need to be some crazy souls to fill up the School of Science. (I’m in this group, so I’m allowed to poke fun. :))</p>
<p>Ohk well after talking to many of you around i came to know that being a part of and international olympiad team would boost up my chances of being accepted … well i have been a part in IMO and IJSO but in neither of 'em i got Gold medal or something like that … does that leave me nowhere in the race ??</p>
<p>Does MIT look at unweighted GPA or weighted GPA? Also do they look at GPA including senior year 1st semester (if applying RD)?</p>
<p>How about the class rank? How much weight does that carry? Our school does not rank nor give out deciles for a student. In that case how would a college decide where a particular student stand in context of his high school?</p>
<p>I will graduate from HS this August (as is the case in my country). So what do I have to fill in the Mid-year Report, if ANY, since I will have completed my HS during the mid-January?</p>
Yes to both of these questions. MIT looks at both unweighted and weighted GPA, and RD applicants are required to send in a mid-year report in January listing their final first semester grades.</p>
<p>
Class rank is usually a factor that’s considered, but if a school doesn’t rank or give any ranking information, then MIT will use other information to determine your relative standing in your school. Often the counselor’s recommendation or teacher recommendations are useful in this regard.</p>
<p>
Typically the mid-year report is only for students in US-based school systems. But certainly, if you’ve sent your final grades already, there’s no need to send new grades mid-year.</p>
<p>Quote:
Originally Posted by Shahariar
I will graduate from HS this August (as is the case in my country). So what do I have to fill in the Mid-year Report, if ANY, since I will have completed my HS during the mid-January?
Typically the mid-year report is only for students in US-based school systems. But certainly, if you’ve sent your final grades already, there’s no need to send new grades mid-year. </p>
<p>Thank you for your reply. It does not, however, ward off the confusion. Does that mean we (HS grad) do not have to submit it?</p>
<p>For instance, X (HS grad) took 18 units of a particular course last year and this year X has taken 6, then which one must X use in the mid-year report, or may X refrain from submitting it?</p>
<p>If you’ve already graduated from high school and haven’t taken any courses since submission of the original application, then there’s no need to send a mid-year report. The mid-year report is for updates on the original application, and if there’s nothing to update, there’s nothing to send.</p>
<p>Further, non-US students don’t need to submit the mid-year report.</p>
<p>Would you be so kind as to ‘settle’ some confusion which I have witnessed on this and other CC school bords? </p>
<p>Do colleges receive actual PSAT scores with the student’s name/address from the College Board’s SSS (Student Search Service)? Or a students name if they score over a certain level/range?</p>
<p>I ask as we hear about students getting mailings from top schools inviting them to apply based on their outstanding scores. But then reading the CB’s website and calling them, I am informed they do NOT share scores with colleges via SSS – only names, addresses, gender, ethnicity and potential major.</p>
<p>Thank you, in advance, for your reply and candor. Your posts are very helpful and that you are so kind as to spend time on them is appreciated.</p>
<p>You know, I’ve heard about high school students, who have not yet officially sent any of their scores to any colleges, getting these letters of ‘invitation to apply’ from all kinds of colleges – even the top selective ones – that say something like “based on your achievements, blah, blah, blah, and SCORES”. Yet this contradicts privacy as described by the College Board below as well as precludes your own control over who you (pay to!) send your scores to (let alone Score Choice control). </p>
<p>I understand how the SSS info might generate college correspondence to select students based on AA/diversity recruiting goals or targeted marketing for specific majors or geographic outreach, but I know of many students who don’t fit those parameters who still get these solicitations. Is it all really a generic attempt to increase selectivity ratings and garner more application funds or do colleges have score info of which we are not aware? *** I really hope MIT Chris can clear this up, thank you! ***</p>
<p>"We send your information to colleges, universities, scholarship programs and nonprofit educational opportunity organizations that are looking for students like you.</p>
<p>The following information will be sent:</p>
<p>Name
Address
Gender
Birth date
High school code
Graduation year
Ethnic identification (if provided)
Intended college major (if provided)
E-mail address (if provided) </p>
<p>The following information will NOT be sent:</p>
<p>Your scores
Social Security number
Telephone number "</p>
<p>We don’t receive scores from students. The way SSS works is that you can buy students names who appear in certain bands of scores - say, every student who scores over a 70 on the math - who also match other criteria (GPA, major, etc, etc). </p>
<p>So we don’t know students scores, but we know that they have cleared a threshold. This is how colleges use SSS - to target students they think would be good academic matches for their schools. </p>
<p>Hi, random question. What are the chances that any given admissions officer “understands” computer games/the making and running of them? I have spent a lot of time coding and administrating online games and I’m not sure how many people understand the sort of work and dedication it requires- I wouldn’t want to alienate my audience but I don’t want them to feel like I’ve been wasting my time for the last couple of years. I’m a little apprehensive of being confused with a run of the mill basement creature if I write an essay about computer games.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is there any point for international students to compare themselves with admitted US applicants? Or is international admission so competitive that reading CC results threads is useless? </p></li>
<li><p>From what I know (unless my information is incorrect) MIT considers different circumstances (like the state of the applicant) in the case of US applicants. Is the same true for international applicants? Or maybe the recognition of the country I’m from is the most I can count on? And in the eyes of admission officers I’m standing in the same line with applicants from the capital and other big cities? (for example)</p></li>
<li><p>SAT II results. Are they an important factor during admission process? (it’s one of few ways I can show my academic capability, so I would hope so…)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you in advance (hope, I was clear with my questions…)</p>
(hope, I was clear with my questions…)</p>