Yes, you should call the number at the bottom of the admissions webpage. Any documents that serve as green card stand-ins for the purposes of the government will almost certainly be fine for MIT, but it’s good to give them a heads-up.</p>
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Yes, you can take the SAT whenever you want, until January of the year you apply.
If you’re a junior now (and you graduate next spring), you would enter MIT in fall 2013. People apply for US colleges during their final year of high school, or the year before they want to enter.
No, you can take the test junior year and apply to college senior year. You can’t start working on the application until the year you intend to apply.</p>
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If you’re not intending to do the college match, my feeling is that you should apply through MIT’s application only. It’s not really possible (or sensible) to submit two applications.</p>
<p>Does the question on cultural background and identity in Part 1 count as an essay? Or is it just something where we can just be really brief or whatever?</p>
<p>Sorry about this if it’s a question someone else has asked before, but is there a place to send in a scientific paper? Caltech has an email for just that purpose, but does MIT want a full paper, an abstract, submitted as a supplement, or no paper at all?</p>
<p>and for the essay question about our most significant challenge or something that went wrong and how we managed it. Can we talk about how something going wrong influenced us now? or would that not work?</p>
You can answer it (or not) in whatever way works for you. It’s not really an essay question, just a space for you to provide information if you want.</p>
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An abstract is preferable. It’s also useful if you talk about your research somewhere else in the application, as MIT is interested in your work, but also in your experience of the work.</p>
It usually happens by the end of September. At this point, you might want to call MIT and ask when the previous year’s applications will be purged.</p>
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From the details you’ve provided, it sounds like it would work to me. In general, the short answer questions are meant to be broad, and you’re free to interpret them as you see fit.</p>
<p>Son was not allowed to take the SAT test because the photo on the ticket was not suitable in their opinion. </p>
<p>I am very disappointed because many kids were admitted with tickets without any photos at all. Son, had a US Passport to verify his ID and school ID, so was at least as qualified as those without any photo at all. In addition, College Board had a month to look at the ID photo and let us know if it was not acceptable to them, before he showed up to take their test. I am very upset because this is the Oct date and son was supposed to be taking the SAT Subject Tests in November. Any suggestions on how to proceed from here?</p>
<p>the website states that one must take the required tests on or before the November test date for Early Action.</p>
<p>So is it okay if I register for November TOEFL test date? But the score will be sent later than November 1. I’m just worried if they won’t accept it.</p>
The College Board, like God and Bono, moves in mysterious ways. </p>
<p>Is he re-taking the tests, or taking them for the first time? If either set is a re-take, I’d suggest taking the lower test in November for EA, then optionally sitting the January date for the other test if he’s deferred EA. All things considered, scores aren’t the most important aspect of an MIT application, and if the scores are fine, they won’t make the difference between acceptance and rejection.</p>
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True story: “on or before the November test date” means that November tests are fine. The scores will arrive at MIT in time to be reviewed for EA.</p>
<p>If we did research over the summer, where should it be on our app? The space for summer activities isn’t large enough to list publications, awards, etc. Should research be listed in the extracirriculars/hobbies/projects section with an abstract enclosed in the optional essay, or should everything related to research (including awards, etc.) go in the optional essay? Thanks!</p>
<p>What exactly is the optional essay? Is it the optional section on page 9 of the application? I though that this was more of a section to include anything else that was missing rather than an actual “essay.” Can anyone explain how to fill this out if we chose to?</p>
<p>Sorry, another couple of questions. I know that there is a section to write down our AP scores, but are we supposed to send an official score report? Also, if we haven’t gotten our subject test scores yet, should we wait for the scores to come so we can fill it out or will the official report be fine?</p>
<p>I’ve gone through the previous posts and at one point it was mentioned that your guidance counselor should send your standardized test scores to MIT. I have already designated MIT as a recipient for my October Subject Test scores (along with my SAT Reasoning test scores from earlier dates). Is this sufficient? I’m not even sure that my counselor has access to any of my scores other than the PSAT. If she DOES have my scores and she DOES need to submit them, in what format should she do this? My transcript (to my knowledge) has no designated locus for standardized tests. I hope that I’m not coming across as frantic.</p>
<p>I have another question: How long does it take to process teacher evaluation/letter forms?
My Evaluation B teacher submitted her forms via Docufide on Monday and wanted to know (I do as well) when they’d be processed. Presently, the PDF link is still working, meaning they are still not registered as complete. </p>
<p>Thank you very much for all of the very helpful information in this thread.</p>
<p>The last SAT was more than a year ago, before the PSAT. </p>
<p>Those scores were sent to MIT as a free report. It was a SAT 690 math and 690 verbal, corresponding to a PSAT score of 690 math and 740 verbal that earned him NMSF (219 on the PSAT). </p>
<p>(I never did thank you, by the way, for your blog on taking the SAT before the PSAT, bless your heart. Thank you) </p>
<p>These days, he is closer to 800 on math. He has taken three SAT practice tests in this year and scored 2400, 2400, 2380. All taken without any prep.</p>
<p>As far as the SAT IIs go, he has a 750 math ii, but no second score. He was planning on taking Physics in November. He will probably be re-taking the math ii in November too, since he feels he will do better.</p>
<p>Do you really think he should apply without letting MIT see much higher SAT scores?</p>
Either way is totally fine. Honestly, there’s no wrong way to do it.</p>
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It is a section to include anything you want to include. Some people write an additional essay, some list self-studied courses, some explain awards or courses that aren’t well-described in other parts of the application… many don’t use it at all. There’s no “how” to fill out the section – you can fill it with anything you feel the admissions office should know about you, or with nothing at all.</p>
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No need to send an official score report.</p>
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The official report will be fine.</p>
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Yes, this is sufficient. I have to admit I have not personally seen the instructions for guidance counselors, so I don’t have first-hand information to suggest that GCs are instructed to provide scores. Just send the scores via College Board, and you’ll have done your part.</p>
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Don’t worry; my PhD thesis is due on Friday, and I have been working twelve-hour days seven days a week for the past six weeks, and I have lost the ability to detect franticness. </p>
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Based on the number of times I’ve seen this question or a variant of it come across the MIT admissions email list in the past week, I’d be willing to bet that they haven’t started updating tracking information yet. </p>
<p>At this point in the cycle, documents are probably being processed fairly quickly, though they may not yet be updating the tracking information. A few weeks from now, there will be a several-week backlog, as the mail room staff deal with opening the mountain of mail, sorting it, matching it to application folders, and updating the MyMIT tracking. At any rate, you don’t need to worry about application pieces that haven’t shown up on the tracking until one of the admissions officers posts that they’ve processed all the mail, which is generally around mid-November. </p>
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Yay, SAT score twins! (I also got 690M/740V.)</p>
<p>I do understand the anxiety – standardized tests often feel like the piece of the application package that’s under the applicant’s control. I wouldn’t call your son crazy if he wanted to wait and apply RD with better SAT I scores under his belt. But I don’t think it’s necessary for him to do so, either. </p>
<p>A 690M/740V is not going to get an applicant rejected EA, and someone with those scores who does get rejected EA would not have been saved by a great score on the SAT. And if he gets deferred EA, as most people do, he can retake in January if he still wants to. And if he gets admitted EA, everybody wins!</p>
<p>Thanks molliebatmit! We really appreciate that you’re still able to take time out of your busy schedule to help us out. Good luck with your thesis!</p>
<p>Wow! Actually, you got him by 50 points on the SAT. His 690/ 740 is a PSAT score. So does that make you guys dizygotic twins? Thanks again, it was very reassuring when I told him. </p>
<p>PS: You do not have to answer, certainly until Saturday. Good luck on the Thesis.</p>
Is it a positive sign to get one of these application guides with a EC name and email to contact for and interview or does just about everyone get this packet that forwards on their ACT/SAT scores and transcripts to MIT?</p>
<p>I was excited when this came in the mail thinking if there was no hope they would not bother sending it out, but my son dismissed it saying ‘everyone’ gets the invite and tossed it in his pile of college marketing junk mail. He mentioned one of his nerd herd friends received the silver envelope even though he sent nothing to MIT (although he probably aced his PSAT).</p>
<p>Now I am thinking anyone in the test score and grades ballpark gets the application invite as MIT would be happy to take in another application fee from a wide eyed hopeful.</p>
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