So I was waitlisted last week and I’m trying to understand how MIT decides who to take off the wait list. Do the people who get admitted generally send in very strong updates (major awards, new LoR, etc.)? Or does what you’ve done between January and May not matter as much as what gaps are created in the admitted class on May 1st?
It’s not either, exactly – in May, when the admissions officers know how many students they can accept off the waitlist, they will hold another committee meeting and discuss all the applications on the waitlist. To the extent that you have updates that you can send, it’s great to send them, but they aren’t necessary.
AFAIK, “gaps” in the admitted class aren’t a big factor, although certainly the admissions office will try not to admit forty girls named Jessica from Kansas who play the bassoon from the waitlist or anything like that.
Gaps may matter more for internationals. Given the cap, if the yield amongst the international pool is high, then I would expect that they will not look to take any internationals off the waitlist. But apart from that, @molliebatmit is right as always.
@molliebatmit what do you think about an additional LOR from an Alum who is also an AP Stats teacher and wrote on the student’s AP Stats Award that he “really hopes she gets into MIT because they can use some students like her.”
Asking for a friend.
Extra letters are great, and are definitely something that people send in – by all means, ask for the letter.
Similar general guidelines exist as for the earlier rounds, in that you don’t want to send redundant letters*, and letters are particularly useful when they say something about the applicant that isn’t obvious from other letters or other parts of the application.
*In the immortal words of Bryan Nance, former MIT admissions officer, “Remember, we’ll read everything that you send us. Don’t abuse this. If I read a letter from your milkman saying that you like strawberry yogurt, I’m gonna be pissed.”
Is there a portal for wait list confirmation similar to other schools? Got one from Rice and a couple more. The MIT decisions page states they will provide more information in early April, so perhaps on its way, but wanted to check with you all.