<p>This is a report on the MIT information session ("central meeting") at the Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday 4 October 2008. </p>
<p>A big audience came to the second information session MIT has held in the Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis. The parking lot was completely filled by the time I arrived, which was still ten minutes or more before the event was scheduled to begin. People came in through all the doors in that large building, not just the doors where MIT alumni had put up signs directing people to the building's auditorium. My son knew his way in (he had been at the meeting last year with my wife) and led me to the front hallway where MIT alumni had brochures about MIT and MIT ballpoint pens. </p>
<p>We got into the auditorium near the back. There were a lot of people there, well over 100. MIT calls its alumni interviewers "educational counselors," or "ECs" for short, and the regional co-chair of MIT's ECs, Alice Campbell, got on stage to introduce the MIT admission officer. She mentioned she has been interviewing since 1981. MIT admission officer McGreggor Crowley was introduced as the number 2 person in the MIT admissions office. He said, "I direct the admissions process. I travel around the world and talk to amazing kids." </p>
<p>Mr. Crowley asked for a show of hands of how many students in the audience were high school seniors. Almost half of the students there were seniors. Almost as many were juniors, a few were sophomores, and there were one or two "pre-freshmen," students in eighth grade or below. [From here sentences in the first person are Mr. Crowley speaking of himself or of MIT as a whole, unless they are in brackets.] I've been at MIT since 1996. I studied biology and cultural anthropology. I went to medical school and I researched student resilience. </p>
<p>We have your best interests in mind, and MIT's best interests in mind. I grew up in the Philippines and Texas, and never saw MIT before my first day there as a freshman. [He began talking about slides projected on a large screen in the auditorium.] The great dome over Killian Court is a classic view of the MIT campus. Here is an engineering library, where students sleep in the daytime. [laughter from audience] William Barton Rogers was from the University of Virginia. In 1861 he founded the first iteration of MIT. In 1865 MIT built its first building, in Boston. </p>
<p>The urban setting of MIT attracts students and staff who don't regard barriers between disciplines. MIT departments are all interconnected. You can literally run into people from another discipline in the hallways between buildings. </p>
<p>I was in the course 18.01, meaning the first course in the math department. I had had AP calculus. I saw the first problem set--what we call homework at MIT--and I thought I could approach solving the first problem. The other problems looked tougher. You take your problem sets home, and then you meet classmates and work as a group. It's an awesome concept: collaborative homework. Professors ask you to list classmates you work with on homework. They expect you to work with classmates. </p>
<p>The problem sets encourage development of problem-solving. You take something seemingly insurmountable and divide and attack. MIT students take problem-solving skills into their careers. The MIT introductory biology class is taught by Eric Lander. Many students in that class have taken AP biology. He says to the class, "We're going to cover AP biology in the next two lectures." He wants to get into the deep ideas that are central to the subject and build research skills in his students. </p>
<p>MIT President Susan Hockfield has established five initiatives to have MIT tackle important world problems, all of them interrelated. They are on </p>
<p>energy
environment
cancer
poverty
education </p>
<p>The initiatives are well funded and open to all students. They are good opportunities for students interested in helping others. </p>
<p>You attend MIT a full year before you declare a major, which happens in April of your freshman year. About 50 percent of students change their minds about what they want to major in. MIT is organized in five schools--they are NOT stand-alone; they are all highly interrelated. The School of Engineering has the largest number of undergraduates. It is very hands-on. There are capstone courses for seniors. Twenty-one-year-olds get million-dollar budgets to complete their projects. The School of Science is very different from engineering. It provides a broad-based background and significant research, including experience writing grants. The School of Architecture is the nation's oldest architecture school. The Schoo of Management includes one of the most popular double majors. It is highly analytical. There is a new program, a fifth-year finance degree. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) includes linguistics, economics, and foreign languages. </p>
<p>To graduate from MIT, you need to be able to swim four laps, take one year of calculus, one year of physics, a semester of chemistry, a semester of biology, and eight HASS courses. Those courses are called the General Institute Requirements, or GIRs. In the GIR courses you cover most of the main pre-law and pre-med requirements. Students do well in graduate school placement because of faculty support and involvement in extracurriculars. Our staff works with any student who wants to become a medical doctor. </p>
<p>The motto of MIT is "Mens et Manus," "mind and hand." Our class ring is called the Brass Rat, or "the angry beaver." MIT has an undergraduate research opportunities program (UROP), started forty years ago. UROP is the biggest employer on campus. You can stay in one lab for all the time you're at MIT or move around, depending on what kind of student you are. </p>
<p>One-third of the students admitted to MIT are in the first generation in their family to attend college. We're a "majority minority" campus, with no predominant ethnic group. </p>
<p>The academic calendar includes an independent activities period in January. You can go home, but there are hundreds of activities; you can form your own student group, such as the "Laboratory of Chocolate Science." The undergraduate activities are run by an undergraduate student. </p>
<p>Athletics at MIT includes intramural teams and forty-one varsity teams, Division III except for crew, cycling, and fencing, which are Division I. The men's soccer team was undefeated as of the time of the Minnesota central meeting. Varsity team members, other students, and all staff members have the SAME access to the up-to-date recreational facilities on campus. There are lots of levels of teams. There are many walk-ons on the national championship fencing and shooting teams. </p>
<p>We look for scholar-athletes and scholar-artists. We have a great music program that would be well suited for a student like one who came to a summer program at MIT last summer who is both profoundly gifted in math and a performer in an orchestra. </p>
<p>All freshmen live on campus, but there are no dorms with only freshmen in them. After the first year, you can go to fraternities or sororities or to independent living groups. As an upperclassman, you can also go to the "other Cambridge," through the MIT United Kingdom exchange program. The MISTY program is a program of MIT students teaching high school students abroad. You can write a grant and get funds for a program you design. You can design new technologies and then test them overseas. </p>
<p>One of the dorms is called the "Sponge Bob" dorm. You get to choose your housing. MIT shatters stereotypes. One dorm builds a roller coaster each year, which even receives a city permit for operation and has elaborate safety precautions. Re-use of old equipment is part of the culture of MIT, so students can alter old computers to monitor washing machines in the dorm. MIT is the only college with cats allowed in college dorms. Random Hall has top mathematics students from around the world. </p>
<p>Hacks are a part of MIT culture. The dome over Killian Court has been dressed up like R2D2, and has had a police car and a fire truck put on top of it. </p>
<p>MIT received 13,400 applications last season and admitted 1500 students; the majority of admitted students came to MIT. We look for the match between the applicant and MIT: who will bring something to MIT and who will take something from it? Who will take advantage of MIT? </p>
<p>Hone in on certain areas to help your applications to colleges. The MIT online application allows saving and editing drafts. Inject your personality into your application. Has anyone here done any baby-sitting? [My son was one of the few students to raise his hand.] PUT THAT ON YOUR APPLICATION. Don't just write down math and science stuff. </p>
<p>An interview is not mandatory but is HIGHLY recommended; take an interview if a college offers an interview, whatever the college. It adds snapshots of the student for the admission committee to consider if you interview. Students who interview with MIT are SIGNIFICANTLY more likely to be admitted. </p>
<p>Admission is not about what you've achieved so far; its about what you are capable of achieving. </p>
<p>We are not regionally based in our admission process. </p>
<p>I downplay standardized testing. We look at both the SAT I and the ACT with writing. We require one SAT Subject Test in a science, and one of the SAT Subject Tests in math. You pick. </p>
<p>The best correlation to test scores is with family income. There is NO correlation between test scores and junior and senior grades in college. What does correlate with those is taking the toughest courses in high school. Most students have a healthy mix of A's and B's. </p>
<p>The admitted students have perseverance. They are students who love to collaborate. They have significant initiative and curiosity. Take challenging courses in high school. Risk-taking and failure are important. </p>
<p>MIT is very hands-on and looks for hands-on students. The humanities letter of recommendation writer can be a good resource; sit down and TALK with your letter writers. We're looking for balance--students who know when to put down their problem sets. </p>
<p>The cost of an MIT education is $80,000 per year, but the sticker price is about $50,000. MIT costs many times what some other colleges cost. MIT's large endowment allows paying much of student tuition; 19 percent of students have no expected family contribution. For families with incomes under $75,000, MIT is tuition-free. Home equity is not considered part of a family's ability to pay. Don't worry about your family income being $75,001; financial aid is awarded on a sliding scale. </p>
<p>MIT has a need-blind admission policy. We guarantee to meet full demonstrated financial need. All financial aid is in the form of grants. There are no merit scholarships. Cost should never prevent you from attending the college you want to attend. Help us understand your context. You can email the director of financial aid. </p>
<p>[The Q & A period began with introductions of the several MIT ECs who attended the Minneapolis central meeting.] </p>
<p>One of the educational counselors took off a formal shirt to reveal a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and said, "BRING YOUR PASSION" to your MIT interview. </p>
<p>Parent Q: How to schedule the interview? </p>
<p>A: Your MyMIT account gives contact information. </p>
<p>Parent Q: I heard that the interviewers mentioned what schools they interview at. I heard a lot of suburban schools mentioned, but does anyone interview students from inner-city schools? [Sabathani Community Center itself is in an inner-city location, near where I used to live when I was last a student, and is built to serve low-income minority students.] </p>
<p>A: All students who want interviews can have interviews. Some schools have many students apply each year, but all students can get an interview. </p>
<p>Student Q: How many Minnesota students are accepted each year? </p>
<p>A: I won't answer that question. We don't have region-based admissions. </p>
<p>[I think I missed a couple of the next questions to answer a cell phone call outside the auditorium.] </p>
<p>Then I asked my own follow-up question: I heard you say that MIT doesn't read applications regionally, so how do the admission officers know the high school context of each applicant? </p>
<p>McGreggor Crowley: There are staff devoted to this. We use your high school profile, even down to how many students get what grade in what courses. All of our admission process is general geographically. Everyone gets files from international applicants. </p>
<p>Alice Campbell: Only educational counselors speak MIT; they can help establish a student's context. </p>
<p>Parent Q: Is there credit for college dual-enrollment study or for AP? </p>
<p>A: On a case-by-case basis. There is some placement for AP scores, received after admission. There are also placement tests. </p>
<p>Courses have different flavors. MIT has several calculus courses. An IMO medalist took the calculus with theory course, the most challenging single-variable calculus class in the United States. </p>
<p>Student Q: How much time do students spend doing research? </p>
<p>A: I spent from noon to 5 or 6:00pm every day for my thesis; it's on a sliding scale, so some students may only do research part-time on Fridays. </p>
<p>Student Q: How to visit campus? </p>
<p>Crowley: Log on to MyMIT and set up an overnight visit. All classes are open. There are lab tours for electrical engineering and computer science. Contact professors ahead of time. </p>
<p>Campbell: Visit during the school year. </p>
<p>Student Q: Can MIT students take Harvard courses? </p>
<p>A: There is cross-registration with Wellesley, Harvard, and the School of Arts of the Museum of Fine Arts. The most common course is Arabic. I took three Harvard Medical School courses as an MIT student. </p>
<p>Student Q: Are you looking for well-rounded students or for more focused students? </p>
<p>A: We're looking for both. Stuart Schmill's essay </p>
<p>[I think that's </p>
<p>MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: "Reflections" </p>
<p>but I could be mistaken] </p>
<p>is good. There is no real modifier for all of our students. It takes a number of different students to make up a class of more than 1,000 students. </p>
<p>Student: Does MIT have ROTC? </p>
<p>Crowley: Yes, thanks for asking. Graduates of MIT usually get their first-choice military assignment. </p>
<p>EC: My husband was an MIT student in ROTC. </p>
<p>Student Q: Are there various flavors of biology like there are various flavors of calculus? Is it possible to take a biology class without dissection? </p>
<p>A: There is no dissection in MIT biology classes. We don't have organismal biology. We have molecular biology. </p>
<p>[After the meeting was dismissed, students spent quite a while outside the auditorium meeting alumni interviewers in the hallway and eating the refreshments they provided. I saw several local friends, and spoke briefly with the EC who interviews homeschoolers. I saw him again a few days later at the College Night of the University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program, where there are MIT alumni every year.]</p>
Sometimes I think it would be nice to work with zebrafish or worms, because you would not believe the kind of trouble it is to remove the brain of a mid-gestation embryonic mouse.</p>
I also won’t get a chance to go on campus until the third week in june (for the InvenTeams Odyssey).</p>