Son was In such a hurry to send in his grades on February update form that he forgot.....

to let them know he was just named a NAF! Also his interviewer has not done his part yet either and interview was three weeks ago. I didn’t see the form, so I don’t know if there’s a place to say anything about those two things? Do schools get the National Achievement lists another way? Does MIT even care? I notice second and third tier schools are now offering him full rides after making finalist, but I wondered if NAF was anything notable the admissions folks would consider in his application.

My son is adamant about not contacting MIT outside of the form, as he tells me that’s what the rules are.

I’m a conflicted parent!

I don’t think that MIT is nitpicky about rules. He should call the admissions office and tell them that he forgot to include something. The February update form isn’t even due yet, so which rules is he concerned about. That’s my advice, but I don’t think that you can really do anything about it, it’s all up to your son.

Yes hope he does the right thing. He said he read somewhere not to contact the admissions office but to use the February updates form. I think these kids are so ready to see check marks in every section they don’t realize hey that form is for all updates. At least I think it is for more than grades. I haven’t seen what it looks like.

Admissions are very nice. He should call them and ask about the interview report going from a ‘C’ to an ‘I’ and ask about how to handle the NAF notification. He should not purposely disadvantage himself. No one is keeping score, really!

Yes, the form is for grades and anything you’d like to add since the application. He can also just email the admissions office ato let them know he omited something by mistake.

Thanks all. I’ll encourage him then to contact them.

There are some 4300 educational counselors (interviewers or EC’s), and not all of them are as diligent as others. The important thing is to ensure that blame is appropriately apportioned. As long as there is a “C” (interview conducted but no report received code) then the admissions office knows to blame the EC. Depending on the case, the office will respond appropriately. In a worse case, when despite admonitions, phone calls, and the like the EC simply does not write the report, then MIT will treat the student as if their interview was waived, which should not disadvantage the applicant in any way.

I applied early and I emailed the office with updates a few times. Your son should really email them if he is serious about getting in. As competitive as MIT admissions are, that one thing could keep your son from being admitted. From one applicant to another, email them. They will not look down on him, they realize that applicants to MIT are humans that make mistakes.