Stop worrying, everything will be ok.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>To the incoming class of 2018 and beyond...</p>

<p>Hi there. I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the college admissions process and, as someone who has probably been in your shoes, give some broad advice going forward. I've never posted here before.</p>

<p>If you're anything like I was, you are a year or two away from applying to college, you're really concerned about some aspect of your application, and you're looking for confirmation that everything is going to be ok. You're also heart-set on MIT.</p>

<p>Really, all I want to say comes down to these three main points:</p>

<p>[ul]
[li] Do what interests you.</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Take charge of all the factors you can control.</p>[/li]
<p>[<em>] CollegeConfidential is just a terrible place, in general.
[/ul]
Though I didn't think it would happen, I'll be going to MIT next year. I applied with a GPA slightly under 3.8. After reading these forums, I was convinced this was about the worst thing since herpes. I mean, holy *</em>**, just look at those results threads! All those people with 4.0+ GPAs getting slaughtered in the admissions process!</p>

<p>Let me introduce you all to something called Sampling Bias. The people who post to College Confidential are, as a whole, not a representative sample of the applicant pool. Lurkers like you and me just aren't there - we're not a part of the community, so our voice isn't heard. Really, I think most applicants are more like us.</p>

<p>That just about covers point 3. Working backwards... Take charge of all the factors you can control in the admissions process. What does that mean? Do as much work as you need to and study for tests. Don't wait until it is too late and you need to get a 95% on your final to get an A- or A in the class. We've all been there before, but try to not let things that are in your control get in your own way. You know you're capable of it. I got in my own way my freshman year. In retrospect, I was pretty immature in that respect.</p>

<p>Do what interests you. Join clubs, and don't play a whole lot of video games to fill your time. Try to spend a few hours a week on a club that you're interested in, because I can guarantee you there is one. Be committed to something and mean it.</p>

<p>That's all. I just don't want you guys to fall into the same traps I did. On average this site kind of sucks for anything more than straight up factual information. Whenever you want to come to this site, spend that time working on something you love instead. I can guarantee you'll find it a hell of a lot more useful in the long run.</p>

<p>If you don't get into MIT, yeah, it sucks. I was deferred at first. A year later you won't be thinking about decision day any more. Because, after all, you'll be in college. :-)</p>

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<p>TLDR: HYPSM is a lottery unless you are URM, 30+APs, 4.00/5.00, president of at least 5 national clubs, internationally ranked athlete/musician, 2400, 36, 800 every subject test, and international every science/math olympiad</p>

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<p>

I would encourage more lurkers to post for precisely this reason. Don’t be shy – come out and join the conversation.</p>

<p>I can’t speak for the rest of CC, but I hope the MIT board is a source of both information and support for applicants. And I would hope that anybody who thinks this board is a terrible place would pitch in and help make it less terrible.</p>

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<p>OP: Lots of good input.</p>

<p>WRT to your negative comments about CC, what are the problems you have with it and how can it be improved?</p>

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<p>Hi Mollie & jpm,</p>

<p>I agree that the MIT CC board is actually pretty informative. It’s mostly things like “chance me” threads and trolls (like Jwen, above), that suck.</p>

<p>Sorry for speaking broad strokes - you guys, along with people like MITChris, PiperXP, and others are the models of the best parts of this website :-)</p>

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<p>Yay! :)</p>

<p>And agreed on chance-me threads and trolls.</p>

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<p>Thanks for that! Believe me, I needed that. I have felt terrible from just looking at this site, its insane. I have had so many people telling me how I will never get into MIT and really making me feel awful about myself. </p>

<p>Sigh. I’ll be applying in about a year D:</p>

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<p>To be fair, though, it’s probably better for the health and happiness of every applicant if he believes he will be rejected. Every year, we have a few people on CC who are apparently shocked that they didn’t end up on the good side of the 1 in ~10 applicants who are admitted, and I have to feel like that’s significantly more unpleasant than the result for people who figured all along that they would most likely be rejected.</p>

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<p>To an extent I agree, but I also think it’s more useful to have people make that decision logically, like you just described, than to think that they’re just not good enough. The fact is that MIT rejects a huge percentage of qualified applicants. It’s certainly healthy to know that being rejected is a distinct, likely possibility (I sure felt that way), but in my opinion it’s not healthy to think you’re somehow worse than those who are accepted.</p>

<p>The worst optimism can do is leave people disappointed. I think you can be optimistic while still harboring realistic expectations.</p>

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<p>Go out and be awesome! Unfortunately for MIT, they can’t accept every awesome kid out there. So be realistic and know that you will likely be rejected based on the number of applicants. Then apply! </p>

<p>Steps to becoming awesome: Explore and figure out what you love and then go and do your best in those areas. Be genuine, kind and generous. From the students I’ve met so far that attend MIT, it is clear that MIT does not only values high grades. They value nice people! </p>

<p>Have a goal of scoring 700+ on your exams and then just be awesome. I promise you if you follow that advice you will be happy no matter where you end up going to college!</p>

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<p>Spacebears, you are my new favourite person.</p>

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<p>

I don’t disagree at all, of course.</p>

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<p>I’ve been heartset on MIT for years, my stats are “up there”, but nowhere near the caliber of even the rejected CC users. Like my scores and grades and all that fit the middle range for MIT and I have some good ECs, but I’m not the president of 5 million clubs or an internationally ranked superstar intel finalist. Thank you for this! I’ll be applying EA in a few months.</p>

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<p>Love this!!!</p>

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<p>Wonderful! Glad I read this before I started my college application journey.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>This is actually what it feels like to me right now, as an Asian senior applying to MIT…
Heck, I have not even won any <em>regional</em> competitions - I have tried at our mathematics club but, to no avail (this one school always takes the top 20 spots every year :confused: )</p>

<p>I have started my own clubs (which I love!) but I have started them this year… I wish I “discovered” myself earlier, took initiative earlier… interesting to see what some of us could have become if we put <em>just that much</em> more effort… so close, yet so far…</p>

<p>Agh, the pressure. I have had my passions and heart set in science, yet it is sad knowing that my inability to do well in competitions, coupled with my mediocre 34 ACT score, and “negative” affirmative action both racially and economically will probably do me in. I have always wanted to help forward humanity through research and science… Maybe, by some miracle, my ideals and passions will shine through my mediocre application…</p>

<p>I guess it’s best to accept that, statistically, I probably have the least chance of the people who apply to Ivy’s and more competitive schools to actually get in. When the result comes, I might not be <em>as</em> disappointed.</p>

<p>To people applying in the future - take advantage of EVERY opportunity you have. More likely than not, you will not have “another” opportunity - ever. I waited too long. I realized and figured out my mistakes as I approached the second half of 11th grade; I am now a senior. Hindsight IS 20/20, and now I wish I had a time machine.</p>

<p>TL;DR videogames are bad and will probably ruin your career</p>

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<p>Not sure about video games. I actually think that they are somewhat unproductive, but personally they affected me positively. Video games introduced me to many cultures, arts and sciences. I learned programming in C++ and I was introduced to designing and many things that I thought I’d never know about. Actually, my first experience in electronics and computer science was me trying to fix a console when I was young, and for the first time I got to mess around with the mother board to fix the GPU; reballing the lead parts that got affected by overheating. </p>

<p>I also want to note that I had some kind of mental barrier toward competition and sports, as I thought I lacked the dexterity and mentality required to be competent, however, playing some competitive video games removed that barrier somehow and improved my pattern reading abilities, and it gave me the confidence to try and be competitive at sports and chess; it introduced me to profession and high level aspects of competition. </p>

<p>That aside, I am worried about mentioning that in my application/essay. I also didn’t focus that much on video games and computer science because my goal is to get into research and theoretical physics. As a result, I didn’t invest time into making a project like a video game, AI, programs and electronics, however, I will do it this semester after joining some clubs. </p>

<p>I think that Electrical Engineering is ideal for my interest in such topics. What do you guys think about that? I always thought that top colleges think of video games as unproductive.</p>

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<p>[Princeton</a> Review names MIT a top school for video game design - MIT News Office](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/princeton-review-mit-top-video-game-school.html]Princeton”>Princeton Review names MIT a top school for video game design | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology)</p>

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<p>Sounds good. I will do my best this semester grade wise and in research/extracurriculars, and I will dedicate myself to the subjects that interest me.</p>

<p>As a side note, I will research more on taking a minor or double major with Electrical Engineering; But E.E is already a demanding major.</p>

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<p>You can’t get a minor in EE at MIT, though you can certainly take classes in it.</p>