MIT FAQ for application year 2012-2013

<p>Alright, sweet! Thanks!</p>

<p>Thanks for the answer Mollie!
I was also wondering how strict the word-limits are enforced for the essays. From past years it seems like the individual essays are supposed to either be fewer than 100 or 250 words. Would it be bad to go to like 300 or 350?</p>

<p>Starting last year, the word count was fairly strictly enforced by the application software – as far as I’m aware, it wasn’t possible to submit an essay longer than the limit.</p>

<p>I just had a quick question about independent study (a little different from what I asked before)</p>

<p>For independent study should I provide proof of independent study? Like Guidance Counselor testimonies, notes, practices test I take? I know you said i can just list it would it help to provide proof?</p>

<p>How difficult is it for an international applicant from Canada to be accepted? I read on the stats site that acceptance rate for international students was 3.7%; is that number higher for Canadians?</p>

<p>^Why do you think it will be higher?</p>

<p>Sent from my SGH-T959V using CC</p>

<p>

No, you don’t need to provide proof.</p>

<p>

MIT has never released acceptance statistics by country, so it’s impossible to say. You can see how many Canadian students are currently at MIT (22 last year; fourth-highest after China, India, and Korea; [Enrollment</a> Statistics: MIT Office of the Registrar](<a href=“Statistics & Reports | MIT Registrar”>Statistics & Reports | MIT Registrar)), but not how many applied or were accepted.</p>

<p>Was the goal of last year’s essay topic on a significant challenge to gather a more complete picture of the applicant? How successful were applicants in their approach to this topic? There seems to be greatly differing opinions on the challenge/hardship essay when the question is broad enough to write about something else. It seems that most applicants are warned against writing it in fear of focusing too much on explaining the circumstances/events rather than on their character.</p>

<p>Hi! I go to a high school with relatively low funding and, subsequently, few course choices. Will the MIT admissions office look unfavorably upon my application for not including course rigor that wasn’t offered to me?</p>

<p>^Everything is taken into the context of your opportunities.</p>

<p>So no, they won’t.</p>

<p>Does son list one high school or two on the app.?</p>

<p>Son was officially registered at a local high school after completing middle school. However, as the high school year began, we moved and he had to register at another high school in another school district. When we went to the Middle School for his transcripts, they told us he was officially a student of the local high school, so we would have to officially apply for a high school to high school transfer and pick up his transcripts from the local high school. The transcripts were needed because son had taken high school Algebra I, advanced english, communication courses and foreign language courses in middle school that could transfer to the high school. Therefore, I applied for a transfer at the local high school picked up the transcripts and took them to the new school. So, in the interest of full disclosure, should son list both high schools or just one on the college application? Does he have to send transcripts from both high schools too? Thanks.</p>

<p>If I were to take a college course Junior year, at a very well known school(Think Stanford, Brown, Cornell), could I put that on my resume?</p>

<p>Do supplemental recommendations have to be on official school letterhead?</p>

<p>

If his current high school has integrated the information from the previous school (Algebra, foreign language) into its transcript, I would say it’s fine just to send/list the transcript from the current school. If not, it’s potentially worthwhile to send the other school’s transcript as well.</p>

<p>

Yes, of course. Any college course or self-studied course you’ve completed, no matter from where, can and should be listed in your application.</p>

<p>

I don’t believe so, although the supplemental document cover sheet will probably have more information.</p>

<p>EDIT: After reading the blogs, I see that supplemental recommendations have to be on official letterhead of some kind – school letterhead, if they’re from teachers, or company/university letterhead, if they’re from mentors you know in other areas of your life.</p>

<p>Hey, I just wanted to let everyone know that the online application is now available via the MyMIT portion of MIT’s web site. Good luck to all of the class of 2013 who will apply.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Does this still apply if the course was taken at a local college? If I took a course at a local college and it was integrated into my high school transcript, do you still need my college transcript?</p>

<p>Also, do I have to send any documentation to prove I am taking a course at a local college right now if that course doesn’t show up on either transcript?</p>

<p>Would it be unadvisable to send in two addition letters of recommendation (one from my principal and one from a scientist I’ve been working with)?</p>

<p>

It’s my understanding that you don’t need to send an additional transcript if the course is integrated into your high school transcript, but IANA MIT admissions officer, so when in doubt, the best course of action is to call the admissions office.</p>

<p>

Nope, no documentation necessary.</p>

<p>

You can send as many supplemental letters as you feel will help your application. Sending multiple letters in and of itself is not a problem, but if they don’t show different sides of you from what’s already accessible in your application, they won’t be helpful. In general, your application should be concise as possible, while showing as many sides of you as possible.</p>

<p>Thanks molliebatmit.</p>

<p>Three (or possibly five, depending on how you look at them) questions:</p>

<p>a)i) Can I put my IGCSE scores in place of O-Levels on the application, since the IGs are essentially international versions of the O-Levels?
a)ii) If yes to a-i, can I put my percentage uniform marks instead of my grades? [since I managed a few 100%s (in Physics, Chemistry and Biology and two other subjects), and that will look more impressive than just A*s]</p>

<p>b)i) Is the admissions office familiar with the 2-year IB curriculum, specifically the way it is different from the US system in that units of material (e.g. calculus) are not self-contained but rather taught and tested as part of a single subject (e.g. maths hl), and that the assessments in each term test the content of each previous term in addition to the current one, with the primary goal being the board exams at the end of two years?
b)ii) If yes to b-i, would the admissions office then recognize that the latest term score is most indicative of ability, and also the eventual final exam (and thus IB diploma) score, even if the first two terms (out of four) are relatively poor after stellar IG results.</p>

<p>c) Does the admissions office also take official IB predicted grades into account?</p>