<p>Does it matter if the ECs that I put on the application are not engineering oriented (like sports)?</p>
<p>OEOP party! I hope you guys are applying to MIT so all the E2/MITES/MOSTEC kiddies can have a reunion XD.</p>
<p>I echo what blizzardchill said, the scores varied so much that it’s impossible to predict admission based on scores. I submitted a 216 PSAT superscore. </p>
<p>lax8294- I didn’t have any engineering/STEM ECs. I wrote about Girl Scouts and community service.</p>
<p>Would having engineering/STEM ECs hurt your chance?</p>
<p>XD</p>
<p>Kids got in with significant STEM ECs. Kids got in without significant STEM ECs. Kids got in with 220 PSATs. Kids got in with 21 ACTs. Valedictorians got in. Non valedictorians got in.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I can say this about all programs, but MITES is one of the programs where it is really, really, about the kid and the story rather than the scores/list of achievements. 
That’s how they get such an awesome mix each year!</p>
<p>Haha ok thanks this is sounding more and more awesome</p>
<p>I wrote my earlier post in a hurry so I’ll elaborate more–
They are definitely not looking for a bunch of kids that fit an “ideal” description-if everybody was a 240 scoring, robotics club, math olympiad champion, MITES would be smart, but it would be boring and miss the diversity and rich backgrounds that make MITES MITES! </p>
<p>They don’t have a profile in mind while reading applications, they pick the kids they think will make the most interesting class. Which is why essays are so important and it is near impossible to “chance” anyone for MITES the same way people do for college applications.</p>
<p>With that said, you <em>must</em> show signs of interest in/talent for STEM, through a combination of class selection, grades, ECs, essays, scores.</p>
<p>A strategy I personally used for the essays was to examine myself as a person and write about what I felt most strongly about-regardless of it having to do with STEM. Think about yourself and what you value and what you want to accomplish with those values. I was a pretty average applicant and did not think that I would ever in a million years get in. So with that, take your time and let your insides pour out all over the essay!</p>
<p>Los,
The vast majority of people I talked to had no idea how they got in either… Disclaimer-I still think my MITES essays were <em>horrible</em>(They were the first of the summer programs I completed and submitted, so it was pretty much the first time I ever wrote a serious application.) I read them today and they still make me cringe. x) Most of the others felt the same way about their essays. The career goals I chose to wrote about have completely changed(I wrote about biomedical engineering but am majoring in mechE, partly as a result of my MIT experience.)</p>
<p>It’s definitely a self-discovery process. All five essays will eventually be asked in some form in your college applications(the 4th is nearly transplanted straight from the MIT app) so it pays to think and work hard on them to the best of your ability.</p>
<p>Sorry guys I don’t feel like doing the research, but is MITES a minority program? Isn’t it oriented towards URMs? What are some similarities and differences between MITES and RSI?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>MITES is a minority program and oriented toward URMs/low income/first generation students. That being said, you don’t have to be one to apply/be accepted/attend. I believe it has an even greater value for students who are exceptions to these categories in terms of breaking boundaries/stereotypes. </p></li>
<li><p>MITES and RSI are very, very different. Similarities: They both take place on MIT’s campus, are at around the same time, and both students sleep in Simmons dorm, but that’s about it. Differences: 1.) RSI isn’t run by MIT, it’s run by CEE. 2.) It is research based instead of course based like MITES(you take Calculus, Physics, Humanities, another Science, and a project course). 3.) It is not URM oriented. 4.)It has a completely different selections process–you HAVE to have extremely high scores, grades, etc., and a lot of students have prior research/STEM competition experience.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Got it, thanks AmaranthineD.</p>
<p>Does anyone have information on what colleges MITES alumni end up attending? Someone here said 80% acceptance rate to MIT but that seems really high and I’m wondering where he got that info.</p>
<p>It was from a book about MITES and they also told us at the actual program. Although it might not be 80%, MITES has a <em>huge</em> acceptance rate to MIT/Harvard.</p>
<p>Here is a partial list of where last years MITES kids got in/are going. (the first column is where they are going).</p>
<p>A MITES alumni linked it. They used to have names but have been removed.</p>
<p><a href=“example MITES 2012 College Acceptances - Google Sheets”>example MITES 2012 College Acceptances - Google Sheets;
<p>MITES 2013 checking in. Hi guys! :)</p>
<p>Background info:</p>
<p>Double minority (Native + African American) + Caucasian, 1st gen, lowish income from CT.</p>
<p>I submitted an SAT score of 2040 (720/650/690), class rank of 8/264, 99 W GPA, had Bs in all of my math classes except for CP Algebra II, and A to A+s in all of my science classes (honors/AP). I also had zero math/science extracurriculars and didn’t know much about math or science in general, aside from what I had ‘‘learned’’ in my classes.</p>
<p>Honestly, I probably got in because my essays were killer and my math/science teachers both wrote amazing recommendations. I also fit all of the “hooks” except for one, if I recall correctly.</p>
<p>I’m not naturally a math person (although I would say that I am pretty talented in science of the non-MITES caliber), so I was really surprised when I saw that I was accepted. I actually mentioned this (that I’m more of a humanities person than a STEM person) in my “Why MITES?” essay because 90% of the reason that I applied was because I wanted to be immersed in that sort of STEM environment in order to get better at these subjects (the other 10% was that I knew I was going to meet some pretty amazing people).</p>
<p>So, the main point, cliche as it is, is be yourself. I thought I was doing everything wrong and telling them everything that they didn’t want to hear, but I was still accepted, possibly because of, rather than in spite of, these differences from the “traditional STEM kid”.</p>
<p>@Moniii, if your first name starts with a “D” then I remember you from the MIT Applicants page. XD I’m pretty similar in that I used to consider myself more a liberal arts person than a STEM person. But then again the purpose of the program is to encourage talented students who might not have been considering STEM to consider STEM. So what sort of degree are you planning to pursue, STEM or otherwise?</p>
<p>Thanks Amarinthine, looks like MITES alumni certainly go on to excellent schools.</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore interested in applying to MITES next year, but I hardly have any ECs, at least when it comes to school clubs. I’m an editor of my newspaper (hoping to be editor-in-chief) and I joined the computer club this year, but that’s about it. All of the math/science clubs meet on on Thursday (math team, academic bowl, computer club, aviation club, engineering, robotics meets three times a week including the day the newspaper meets).</p>
<p>The only ECs I have are the newspaper and community service. However, how do you think they’ll view independent things? Freshman year I discovered I love CS and programming, have a lot of books on different languages (Java, Python, C and C++ I have right now) and I’ve been coding different programs and small games. Me and a couple friends have been thinking of starting a game programming/modding club, and I can be VP. Do you think essays/recs are extremely important in the app? People call me an amazing writer, and I’m thinking of submitting several short stories to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.</p>
<p>@raedwulf.
- My ECs were mostly Girl Scouts, service, and piano, so you’re wayy ahead of me. I know it’s been beaten to death, but seriously just do what you’re interested in and what works best for you. That your school has a math team AND aviation club AND robotics club AND engineering club is seriously awesome(SERIOUSLY! I want to go to your school! My school has none of that and I really wish it did.) but if you’d rather do the newspaper, I encourage you 1000000% to do the newspaper. Can’t you make it to the other clubs part time?</p>
<p>2.)The other kids had a huge variety of ECs both team/“official” and independent.
They let you write an essay about whatever you want and it’d be fine if you wrote about programming. That game programming club sounds awesome and good luck starting that, that would look good on apps but more importantly it just sounds awesome and a way to learn about programming and have fun.</p>
<p>3.)Essays/recs are the most important thing(maybe not for colleges, but probably for MITES). You have the best assessment of your own writing skills so only you would know how good your essays would be, but other MITES alumni and I will definitely work with you on them if you want.</p>
<p>I submitted two short memoirs to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards this year(both honorable mentions :/)</p>
<p>Do we get to see the recs our teachers/counselors write us? lol</p>
<p>As with your college letters of rec, you waive your right to see them which means you don’t get to see them unless the teacher shows them to you…I’m not sure why you would want to though XD.</p>
<p>Checking in to see how those apps are going ;)</p>
<p>FYI, the MITES/E2 alums are kicking butt in EA/ED so far. For E2, we’ve had one QB to Caltech, two people ED to Columbia and Hopkins, three EA to Harvard, and 11 to MIT. 2/3 were deferred from MIT, including me 
The MITES alums must be doing even better. My friends from E2 are like the only people I know who are actually getting in XD</p>