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

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You can send updates to MIT at any time, but their preferred method of updating is the MYR. If you do plan to send an update, it should be done immediately – they typically start selection committee around this time of year.</p>

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I can’t answer technical questions about the financial aid application – this is beyond my area of expertise. If you have questions about the application, you should contact the financial aid office as soon as possible.</p>

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If necessary, the information for the current year could be an estimate. But does the tax year end on March 31, or is that when taxes are due? In the US, taxes are due April 15, but those are taxes for the previous calendar year.</p>

<p>Thank you for the reply mollie. And yes I am in the process of getting in touch with my SFS counselor.</p>

<p>Also, as per what my dad told me the tax year ends on march 31st and the documents that the SFS office requires arrive sometime in June-July. So, only an estimate for this tax year can be provided.</p>

<p>One more question, I don’t have any mid-year grades to report and neither are there any significant updates. So, my mid-year report is completely empty. Should I submit it as it is? What do I put in the box provided for Mid-year updates? Is leaving the box empty okay?</p>

<p>Isn’t there a financial aid FAQ I could refer to? I’ve emailed the SFS but haven’t heard from them yet so if anyone here can answer my questions please do…</p>

<p>How do I get a copy of the College Board International Student Financial Aid Application for my non custodial parent?
Does my non custodial parent have to send the annual income tax form and salary statement as well?</p>

<p>I sent my grades via MYR in January – I can’t access the link for updates as it is a PDF now. Can you help?</p>

<p>Uhh my financial aid tracking system has vanished off of mymit? I want it back…</p>

<p>^I have the same issue. What happened…?</p>

<p>I know it’s probably way late, but how many updates is too much? I sent in my MYR a while back then a major update came along I sent as well-now I have another update and maybe two this week…is sending too many updates detrimental? Will it have any effect at this point in time?</p>

<p>I’m an international.
I believe I’m a perfect fit for MIT.
And, adcoms will be able to see that.</p>

<p>However, I lose sleep over the fact that just because I dont have an olympiad medal dangling and because there’s no real international stage on the school level for what I do best and am most passionate about (quizbowl <3)…14th March fills me with dread :/</p>

<p>Re: questions about the financial aid tracker, I don’t know anything, but I’m sure the financial aid office will be working to get the tracker back up after the long weekend – tomorrow’s an MIT holiday.</p>

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Leaving the box empty is okay.</p>

<p>

There’s no limit on the number of updates you can send – as long as you think the information is helpful to your application, you should send it. But the admissions officers are already in selection committee, so any updates you send from this point forward aren’t guaranteed to be seen or used.</p>

<p>CIE Results in MIT Admission Evaluation
There appears to be one query about this that MITChris missed in answering. That is: Whether CIE exam results are employed to assess international applicants under the British Education System for MIT admission purposes, considering the varying levels of GPAs issued by schools in different countries? In fact, in almost all commonwealth countries, CIE results are generally more acceptable, as a core benchmark, than schools GPAs in gauging students’ performances for their uni entries.</p>

<p>Yes, we put quite a lot of weight on students who achieve (for example) multiple A*s in STEM disciplines.</p>

<p>Thanks, Chris.
STEM means science, technology, engineering and math?</p>

<p>That is correct .</p>

<p>Is it true that you guys place the most emphasis on personal qualities/character? It says on the collegeboard profile for MIT that for admission, personal qualities are more important than SAT, GPA, extracurriculars, etc.</p>

<p>^ That’s partially correct. You do need to show academic qualification somehow. The thing is, about 80% of people who apply to MIT are academically qualified. That doesn’t mean that they all have 4.0 GPAs and 800’s on all their exams, but they show enough competence to get through MIT.</p>

<p>Personal qualities/character differentiate the 80% into people MIT actually takes. (MIT still can’t take everyone they want, even using these characteristics, but it gets the number lower than that 80%.)</p>

<p>Like piper says: </p>

<p>PQs matter because they differentiate. Everyone who is competitive for MIT has good grades in tough classes and good scores. Things like PQs, leadership, match, etc differentiate the well-matched from the well-qualified.</p>

<p>Does sending a new update at this point help me at this point? Are the final decisions already made? I heard that the final decision is made after Feb15, so it might be already over till now.</p>

<p>Decisions are being made right now, but nothing is final. You can send an update, but the admissions officers are very busy in selection committee, so there’s no guarantee they’ll see the update.</p>

<p>Are there quotas on the number of people selected from a state/country? I know people generally SAY that this is not the case, but it seems to be following a general trend for MIT in past years…</p>