<p>It's not just about stats.</p>
<p>And Nocturne, you didn't do anything wrong -- you're being deferred to RD because your application is competitive for admission.</p>
<p>Nocturne, it's not over yet! Don't give up, there's still RD to look forward to. I know this must hurt a lot, but I'm a firm believer that if you really want something, and you work hard enough for it, you'll get it. You certainly did, so your time will come! And if MIT doesn't end up working out, you were meant to do great things at a different school. Hang in there! Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>That goes for all who got deferred! Get back up and enjoy the rest of your senior year. Congratulations to all those who did get in! And for those who didn't get admitted, you'll find the best match for you at a school that you'll come to love just as much as you love MIT now, I promise!</p>
<p>I look forward to seeing the new members of the class of 2013 at CPW! If you have any questions, feel free to pm me :)</p>
<p>Nocturne, your stats and profile are pretty amazing. Please do not feel disheartened. I'm confident that you will get into an excellent school. Don't give up.</p>
<p>Deferred (!)</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]</p>
<pre><code>[li] SAT: 2220 (800 M/670 CR/750 W)[/li][li] SAT II: 800 Math II/800 Physics/790 Chem[/li][li] ACT: 36[/li][li] GPA: 4.6 something on 4.83 tops?[/li][li] Rank: 1/480ish[/li][li] Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 97.5 AMC 12/4 AIME/5 on CompSci AB, Physics B, US History, English Lang & Comp, Calc BC, Chemistry[/li]</code></pre>
<p>[/ul]Subjective[ul]</p>
<pre><code>[li] Essays: Quirky-ish short answers/optional essays, main essay about how I gave up a huge opportunity and learned to create for myself many smaller ones.[/li][li] Teacher Recs: Pretty good, along the lines of "one of the top students in my career", though refused to answer the "how does this student respond to setbacks" because I had none??[/li][li] Counselor Rec: Probably great, he's advised student council and me for 4 years, know him well[/li][li] Supplementary Material: Recommendation letter from research advisor at Fermilab[/li][li] Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): nope[/li][li] Location: Illinois[/li][li] High School Type: Suburban public, rarely HYPSM[/li]</code></pre>
<p>[<em>] Ethnicity: White/Polish immigrant
[</em>] Gender: M
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid: Y
[</em>] Extracurriculars: Math Team, Scholastic Bowl, Science Olympiad, Student Council Treasurer, Newspaper, Soccer until recently, Varsity Tennis, Tutoring, NHS, Research in astrophysics at Fermilab over the summer, Stanford EPGY
[<em>] Awards: 2nd state compsci, AMC school winner, National Merit Semifinalist, Math Student of the Year (woo)
[</em>] Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: [/ul]</p>
<p>Well, I, for one, am ecstatic to have made it this far. My classmates are a bit disillusioned, as I keep getting text messages about how they want to burn MIT down (watch out for a short blond girl wielding a torch). :P This is great for me, though. I know there are a few places where I can show them that I can improve, such as USAMO qualification. I think it was the right decision.</p>
<p>EDIT: And please, no Panglosses here.</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2350 (CR: 800; Math: 800; Writing: 750)
[</em>]SAT II: Chem: 800; Math IIC: 800; World History: 800 (but probably doesn't matter)
[<em>]ACT: didn't take
[</em>]GPA: W:4.2something (our school switched to weighting last year)
[<em>]Rank: top 1% (no exact rank given)
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AMC 12: 107.5 AIME: 5; 10 APs w/ 9 5s and 1 4
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: the small ones were okay; the big one was pretty good
[</em>]Teacher Recs: should be great if not better
[<em>]Counselor Rec: again, should be great
[</em>]Supplementary Material: sent in an abstract of a paper
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): i guess i fit what they want
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: IN
[<em>]High School Type: large suburban public (~4k)
[</em>]Ethnicity: asian -<em>-
[li]Gender: male -</em>-[/li][/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: big leadership roles in 4 clubs and freshmen mentoring group
[</em>]Awards: NM semifinalist (so far), siemens regional finalist, state acs competition winner, usnco qualifier
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] best of luck to the deferred people and future applicants!</p>
<p>Accepted. I am truly humbled. Stats later, but they are not as good as many of you who were deferred.</p>
<p>Deferred</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2290 (M:780, CR:750, W:760, E:12)
[</em>]SAT II: Math IIc: 800, Physics:800
[<em>]GPA:3.9/4.9
[</em>]Rank: Top 5%
[<em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AMC:102.0, Calc BC:5, Env. Sci.:5, English Lang.:5, Physics B:5, US History:3
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[</em>]Essays: Diversity in my life (faced culture changes and racism, etc.) and band.
[<em>]Teacher Recs: One really good, the other probably so-so.
[</em>]Counselor Rec: Just the generic...
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Maybe taking College Calc?
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: NC
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Multi
[<em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Band (Section Leader), Tri-M (VP), NHS (Treasurer), Community service at church
[<em>]Awards: Calc BC Achievement Award, AP Scholar with Distinction, All-County Band, NM Semi-finalist. I don't know if I included all those though.
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Eh.[/ul]</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>still can't believe I'm in..</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2250 - CR, M, W 750
[</em>]SAT II: French750, Lit 700, MathII 780, Bio 740, Physics 650 (fail)
[<em>]ACT:36
[</em>]GPA:4.0UW, 4.4... W
[<em>]Rank: 1/269
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): PhysicsCMech4, French Lang5, Eng Lang 5. Six APs this year. Not well on AMC at all...
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Main essay about my cultural rift and I really liked it. It talked about my status as an immigrant and how I found my own identity. Cliche, but it works. Umm.. the short answers were fun. I wrote a sonnet for the "what do you do for fun?" question and talked about my passion for genetics. I did one additional essay and talked about a physics project I did last year. :]
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Phenomenal. They adore me.
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Great! She made me stand out from a lot of others and I felt like the rec had soul.
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Music (piano) supplement, Rec from Summer program teacher
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): maybe minority? Idk, I am not special or eventful at all. I still can't believe it!!
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Western MA
[<em>]High School Type: Public - Large and downright awful
[</em>]Ethnicity:Russian/Turkmen
[<em>]Gender: XX
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Hahah... I do a tonnn of stuff. Band concert and marching, Key Club treasurer, Best Buddies president, Foreign Language Club officer, Mathletes, FIRST robotics, NFHS, NAHS, NHS treasurer, Tri-M treasurer, A lot of volunteering, art club
[<em>]Awards: RPI medal, AP scholar. All school things and nothing major. I am completely uneventful
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] Umm.. I still can't believe this is happening!!! I feel like had a moderately strong app and a really good interview. I never did intel or anything but I went to SSP and did a bunch of summer programs and school science programs. I skipped precalc and french four. I took VHS/dual enrollment and got the best out of high school. I guess MIT is the only school I felt I belonged to so maybe its meant to be?</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]</p>
<p>[li]ACT: 35 (E: 35, M: 36, R: 36, S: 34, W: 12)</p>[/li]
<p>[li]SAT II: 780 Math II & 790 Chemistry</p>[/li]
<p>[li]GPA: 4.0 Unweighted (4.22/4.33 where A+ is equal 4.33)</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Rank: School did not provide rank</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP Statistics 5, IB Spanish B SL 6, (IB Diploma Candidate)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective[ul]</p>
<p>[li]Essays: A mash of a tiger, a priest, and me being gay. Other was about calligraphy, but centered on the idea of failure / creating from seemingly insignificant experiences (I think). They were entertaining to write. I am not sure how "amazing" they were, however. I also wrote an MIT sonnet; it was a lot fun to put together. I just tried to convey my quirky sense of humor, if you can call it that</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Teacher Recs: Psychology Teacher and Chemistry Teacher (MIT PHD Grad). They both have helped me find myself and my passions.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Counselor Rec: I happened to know my counselor well, so I am sure he was kind to me.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Supplementary Material: I sent in an additional recommendation from my Principal Investigator. I am guessing he was effusive, since he is one of the most incredible and caring guys I have ever met.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Personal[ul]</p>
<p>[li]Location: Maryland</p>[/li]
<p>[li]High School Type: Private / Parochial</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Ethnicity: Hodgepodge of European ancestry, aka a mutt</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Gender: Male (I feel so heteronormative filling this part out…haha)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]</p>
<p>[li]Extracurriculars: Main / Almost all extracurriculars centered around LGTB Activism/Activites. Also did research in a lab with some absolutely fabulous people. I really just did what I loved and believed in. </p>[/li]
<p>[li]Awards: Mostly school and state awards, some poetry awards, LGTB Awards, Tennis - nothing fancy. Some of you all's awards are simply breathtaking. I am taken aback when I read some of these incredible accomplishments. </p>[/li]
<p>[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I wish everyone the best : )!</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]</p>
<p>wow what is this? Open season on asians?</p>
<p>"Ria," it looks like we both wrote sonnets. How hilarious! : )</p>
<p>Deferred</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2330; CR 800, M 790, W 740
[</em>]SAT II: CH: 800, Math IIc 790
[<em>]ACT:n/a
[</em>]GPA:4.0 UW; 4.35 W
[<em>]Rank: 12/424
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Calc. AB, Chem, Phys B 5, USH 4
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Good
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Excellent I hope; Did not read
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Excellent I hope; Did not read
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Rec. from Research mentor who is developing an AIDS Vaccine.
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Lots of Research work; Community Service; Awards
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: OH
[<em>]High School Type: Suburban
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian Indian
[<em>]Gender F
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Singing, MUN, SciOly, Math League,
[<em>]Awards: Tomorrow25,Alexandar Hamilton Citizenship, Bausch & Lomb, NMSF, AP Scholar with Honor, State Science Fair 1st Prize.
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Hope for the best.[/ul]</p>
<p>Accepted but will not be going. Penn '13 XD. Oh well, that's 2/2 and I'm done. Peace out.</p>
<hr>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2360; CR 760, M 800, W 800 (superscore)
[</em>]SAT II: Chem: 800, Math IIc 800 Spanish 750 bio M 730
[<em>]ACT:n/a
[</em>]GPA:3.93 UW;
[<em>]Rank: top ten percent
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Chem, AP US 5
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: one about moving, one about art, two about cryptography
[</em>]Teacher Recs: great i guess?
[<em>]Counselor Rec: fabulous
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Rec from community service director
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): fluent in multiple languages, skipped a grade
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: MA
[<em>]High School Type: public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Russian Jewish
[<em>]Gender F
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: exchange program coordinator, capt of math/science team, tennis...
[<em>]Awards: Natl merit semi, USAMTS award, school math award
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I am flabbergasted[/ul]</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't understand what I did wrong, or failed to do right for that matter.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Nothing.</p>
<p>To those of you who got deferred...I know that many of you are disappointed that you didn't get in outright, but you have actually been given something useful here. You have been given a clear signal that MIT read your application and considered it competitive! If you had actually done something wrong, you would have been rejected.</p>
<p>EA is a way to admit a small set of people that, for whatever reason, MIT <em>knows</em> it wants (often people that, for whatever reason, it particularly wants to recruit). That doesn't mean that it doesn't want you if it didn't accept you right now (deferred EA applicants are just as likely to get in RA as RA applicants), especially since MIT puts a cap on the percentage of the class that can be admitted EA. In fact, MIT may very much want you - there are always some deferred EA applicants that they are pretty confident about admitting RA - but they can only take a small number right now.</p>
<p>Deferrals are very much <em>not</em> a "polite rejection".</p>
<p>To the rejected folks: Don't get too down about it. Different schools want different things. I was surprised, last year, at how few schools my sister got into, but she ended up at a top-20 school and is having the time of her life. If you've done well in the academic world up to this point, I suspect your college admissions will work out one way or another.</p>
<p>And to the accepted people: Congrats! MIT decided that it wanted you enough that it was going to use one of its few EA slots on you, in the hope of getting you to come. This is quite an honor for you!</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: CR- 710, Math- 790, Writing- 750
[</em>]SAT II: Biology- 780, Literature- 710, Math II- 750, Chemistry- 690
[<em>]GPA: W 4.69 (don't know UW)
[</em>]Rank: 2/300 something (technically my school doesn't rank, but I know I'm 2nd)
[li]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP Bio- 5, AP Chem- 4, AP English Language- 4, AP US Hist- 4</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: I wrote my main essay about my FIRST Robotics team. I wrote about the research I am doing for my Research in Molecular Genetics class and elaborated on all the leadership positions I've held on my robotics team for my optional essays.
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Very Good (AP Bio teacher/XC coach/Academic Decathlon coach, AP English teacher, and an extra one from my Robotics Coach/MIT Alumnus)
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Very Good
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Just the extra recommendation
[li]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): my research, I have held a lot of big leadership positions</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Personal[ul]
[<em>]Location: NJ
[</em>]High School Type: Public
[<em>]Ethnicity: White
[</em>]Gender: Female</p>
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: US FIRST Robotics, Marching Band, Cross Country, Academic Decathlon, Science League/Math League, National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society
[</em>]Awards: PFO Science Award (10th grade), National Merit Commended Scholar
[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Just be yourself. [/li][/ul]</p>
<p>My son's results:</p>
<p>*Accepted *</p>
<p>Stats: **[ul]
[<em>]SAT: CR 770 Math 720 Writing 690
[</em>]SAT II: Physics 760 Math2 770 Literature 730
[<em>]ACT: 35 (36 Math subscore might have helped) (Science subscore definitely did not help)
[</em>]GPA: 3.7ish unweighted
[<em>]Rank: 1/30
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): APMEH 4, AP Eng. Comp 4, AP Physics 5, AP Calc AB 5
[/ul]Subjective*[ul]
[<em>]Essays: creativity of his unusual family and neighborhood; the hoverboard he made; why he wants to be an engineer
[</em>]Teacher Recs: told they were good and spoke in a holistic way about him
[<em>]Counselor Rec: same
[</em>]Supplementary Material: music supplement, link to hoverboard video, contacted the coach of a club sport, lol!
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Don't think so, but who knows if his unusual family or interests appealed to them?
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Midwest city
[<em>]High School Type: small private, sends a few kids to selective schools but usually not MIT
[</em>]Ethnicity: White
[<em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]Other*[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: nat'l and int'l piano; state cycling and speedskating; a little service through youth group
[<em>]Awards: NMSF, AP Scholar with Honor, school awards
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] Good luck everyone! This process is a mystery, but it has definitely taught us how many excellent schools are out there. There were probably 5 other schools that would have made him really happy, even though MIT was his first choice.</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: M: 800 CR:800 W: 730
[</em>]SAT II: Math II: 800, Physics: 790, Math I: 780, Bio: 750, World History: 700
[<em>]ACT: 35
[</em>]GPA: 4.0
[<em>]Rank: Top 2%
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AMC12: 105 AIME: 5
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: My experience in the North Reading Community Band; I liked it... :)
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Should have been good...
[<em>]Counselor Rec: No clue, but I think she likes me?
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Bassoon recording; didn't do the supplemental essays
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Bassoonist
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Boston-area
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: White
[<em>]Gender: Female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras for 4 years, Math Team for 3 years, NEC Youth Symphony/Philharmonic for 2 years, NRCB for 10 years, Cross country/track for 2 years
[<em>]Awards: District, All-State, All-Eastern on bassoon, other school awards, AP Scholar, NMSQT Commended
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I honestly am stunned. I was not expecting it at all. AND MY BEST FRIEND GOT IN![/ul]</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>SAT: CR 730, M 760, W680.
SAT II: Chem 640, MathII 680, Lit. 740
GPA: 3.93
Rank 3/43</p>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<p>Essay: Personal Background. It didn't blow me way but I liked it.
Teacher Recs: Awesome.
Counselor Rec: Awesome
Supplementary Material: None
Hook: None, I think.</p>
<p>Personal:</p>
<p>Location: Puerto Rico
School: Super small. Only one other student has ever applied to MIT and he got rejected.
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican
Gender: Male</p>
<p>Other:</p>
<p>ECs: NHS VP, Science Team captain, Math Team Founding member, Mathcounts Assistant Coach, Robotics Team Student Mentor.
Awards: School Science Fair 1st place three years in a row, National Merit Semifinalist, National Hispanic Scholar, Puerto Rico Mathematical Olympiad, second place at a robotics competition.
Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Can I get a 'Hell Yeah!'?</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 800 Reading/800 Math/690 Writing
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Chem/800 Math II/750 World History
[<em>]ACT: 35
[</em>]GPA: 3.91
[<em>]Rank: Top 10%, my school doesn't rank besides deciles.
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: One Good, Other Great
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Good?
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Good?
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Extra Rec from my boss @ a web development summer job
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Working on a website to automate the diagnosis of melanoma.
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Ann Arbor
[<em>]High School Type: Suburban Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: White
[<em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Ocean Bowl, Science Fair, Soccer, Politics,
[<em>]Awards: ISEF 4th Place Comp Sci, ISEF Artificial Intelligence 1st Place, Siemens Competition Semifinalist, numerous other science/math/language awards
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] Just Have FUN! It doesn't matter too much where you are next year.</p>