<p>Okay, this has been bugging me since early September: in part one of the application, where MIT asks for your parents education, is it okay to put "B.S. and M.S." under "degree"? Both of my parents received their degrees from Moscow State University, I'm just worried that the date that I put will be confusing because it is unclear whether or not it refers to the B.S. or M.S.</p>
<p>Also, for the professional or graduate school, is it okay to put Ph.D. in ______ or is it better to just put ______?</p>
<p>I'm trying not to leave much to blame in case I get rejected come March.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Your parents education and date of degrees will have no impact on the decision made about you, the applicant :-). Don’t sweat the small stuff!</p>
<p>OK, I’ve tried twice already to give you advice on how to proceed, but without the form, I’m useless :-).</p>
<p>“Your parents education and date of degrees will have no impact on the decision made about you, the applicant :-). Don’t sweat the small stuff!”</p>
<p>This is slightly wrong. First generation does make an impact, all be it a small one. And also, if both of your parents have like Ph.D.'s, adcoms will have a better knowledge of your environment, how your parents supported/pushed you, how they could help you with admissions/academics and such.</p>
<p>If you write “BS and MS”, you should write the date of the highest degree (the MS). But if your parents have PhDs, it would also be fine not to write MS, and just put the date of their highest terminal degrees, the PhDs.</p>
<p>Overall, as long as you write something that makes sense to you, it will almost certainly be fine. This is not the most critical section of the application, as crazymomster points out.</p>
<p>Hi. Both my husband and I have graduated from institutions in the former Soviet Union, and our daughter had to answer the same question on her application. Our 5-year degrees were evaluated in the US as MS, and I know for a fact the Moscow State University has a 5-6 year programs that are equivalent to MS. You can put “combined BS/MS degree” on your application with a single graduation date. That’s what my daughter did. Can’t advice you on PhD, though.</p>
<p>Good luck :)</p>