<p>Mercury, your SAT is 1250, mine is 1260. We are away.</p>
<p>Though they sooooo often say about it, they admission officers don't see the person beyond the numbers..</p>
<p>But adcom did good job anyway. Good luck all!!!</p>
<p>Merc,</p>
<p>Wow. I'm stunned. My only guess(other than SAT scores) is that you showed that you're very passionate about computers and music, but not on science and math.</p>
<p>There's a subtle difference between 'hard' sciences and soft sciences. I'm a soft-sciences person (algorithms, ideas) rather than hard science (mechanics, theories). When I say computers, I don't mean writing payroll software, but things like audio compression, data transmission etc. (you know, the practical things). Engineering is all about creating useful, tangible products and services. That is why I wanted MIT, else I could have studied math theorems for olympiad and gotten in to Caltech or something.... I thought MIT was all about pursuing your passion, whatever it is.</p>
<p>I agree about math, I'm not a superstar (but definitely enough to get me through college, not a zero).</p>
<p>As for music, well, I guess one needs a formal qualification to be useful to a university (e.g. for the MIT orchestra). Plus, performing musicians are a more valuable asset than a composer/arranger like me.</p>
<p>Essay - there were two prompts and I selected one of them... I'd really like to believe it was the essay; getting rejected because of 3 hours of a saturday morning sounds ridiculous to me.</p>
<p>But whatever, I'm over it now. When my peers think I (and some other applicants) deserved it, that is enough for me. My mom's response was the best: She read the whole letter, put it back in the envelope, smiled and said - "So this is a closed chapter now! Wait for April."</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I thought you will get in merc :( Their loss that they didn't want you.</p>
<p>Or just before you were the best of the best of the best international applicants, that made your light glowing darker, relatively. :-/</p>
<p>I really, really don't know what to say. MercurySquad has been a huge asset to this board and the blogs.</p>
<p>
Essay - there were two prompts and I selected one of them... I'd really like to believe it was the essay; getting rejected because of 3 hours of a saturday morning sounds ridiculous to me.
</p>
<p>I think you're talking about the SAT on this one, but I don't know your scores. I remember matt talking about "in-range" for the standardized tests, saying how if your SAT scores start with a 7 or your ACT with a 3 you're "in-range" and it's a done deal (i.e. isn't brought up any more).</p>
<p>I see on this board that many 1500+ students were waitlisted or rejected, and all this has really lead me to believe is that the SAT doesn't matter as much as most of us like to think.</p>
<p>Merc- You tried, put forth your best, and I really admire you for that. I know everyone here was actively (and vocally) rooting for mit_hopefulgirl, but on the inside, I really think you deserve MIT more than any other.</p>
<p>MIT made a bad decision on this one merc :( and I wish you the best in your future.</p>
<p>lol thanks guys, but come on, it's ridiculous...</p>
<p>i'm out here jumping up and down like before and everyone else is consoling me and stuff... :D</p>
<p>Because you are no worse than most of admitees. They seek for solution of the problem. look , almost everyone here is a scientist, who like to solve problems :). :) :) :)</p>
<p>I thought that MIT computer department is the best in America. It's also science.
I don't think that to be a "computer wizard" is out of MIT interests.</p>
<p>hey merc- i was pretty stunned to see that you didnt get in. MIT probably made many bad choices this year, in the end it's all a gamble and you win some and lose some.</p>
<p>Good luck with everything else and I really hope you get into IIT!</p>
<p>**
Rejected
**
*Domestic *</p>
<p>Stats:
[ul]
[<em>]SAT I & II or ACT: 1550/800/800/690
[</em>]GPA, Class Rank/Size: 4.00, 6/156
[<em>]APs / other stats: AP Physics 5
[/ul]
Major awards/ECs:
Lots of band Stff
[ul]
[li]Lots of band Stuff[/li][</em>]I didnt list them well
[/ul]
Subjective:
[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Pretty Decent
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Good
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Fine
[</em>]Interview: Frustrating
[<em>]Hook (if any): None
[/ul]
Personal:
[ul]
[</em>]Location (State or Country): MN
[<em>]Ethnicity & Gender: White male
[</em>]Major strength/weakness: Dad has PhD from Stanford. Hopefully Stanford will work out!
[li]Your thoughts on your decision: No biggie. MIT not my first choice. It would be nice to be accepted, but I personally think that MIT is not for me anyway.[/li][/ul]
Any other comments: No comments.</p>
<p>REJECTED
International </p>
<p>SAT I 700M 620V, 2C 680, Phy 670, Wri. 550
TOEFL 287</p>
<p>IB Diploma Candidate 39/42 predicted points</p>
<p>Awards
Scholarship to study the IB Diploma in the U.S.---- Awarded only once every two years.</p>
<p>EC's</p>
<p>American Red Cross certified first aider
Member of Search and Rescue Team
Wilderness Leadership Program
Soccer...lots of it
lots of community service , etc </p>
<p>Essays were excellent
Recommendations were very good/excellent</p>
<p>How do I feel??
MIT didnt realize the long way that I have come nor did they value it. It's ok though, I will have a great education somewhere else- I really liked Boston tho.</p>
<p>Hey international86, your stats are pretty similar to mine. I also do the IB and we have similar SAT scores. I was also rejected. What country are you originally from?</p>
<p>
[quote]
I see on this board that many 1500+ students were waitlisted or rejected, and all this has really lead me to believe is that the SAT doesn't matter as much as most of us like to think.</p>
<p>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Look cosely and most of them are internationals</p>
<p>All MIT Applicants</p>
<p>It is not about beating the system. It is about knowledge. And making the most of the system, even if it has flaws.
-Chetan Bhagat, in 'Five Point Someone"</p>
<p>Ive been thinking, for the last couple of days, if it would be possible to somehow recreate atleast part of the MIT environment. Since MIT is clearly out of bounds for 8500 of us, is there any way for us to exploit the benefits of an MIT education. For obvious reasons, there is no conceivable way in which we can even hope to match the kind of funding MIT has, or even the research opportunities or the kind of faculty they have. But there is one important factor which is usually overlooked but is probably the most important factor of them all, and that is the kind of people that are there with you. </p>
<p>As someone once said to me When you put together a thousand of the best and the brightest, it does not matter if there is a teacher or not; it does not matter if you have funding or not; it does not matter at all if they even bother to use the right text books; the power their combined intellect is enough to give them the best possible education there is. Perhaps by doing so, we can in part compensate for the loss of the other factors involved above. </p>
<p>What I propose is this : Start some sort of a group, perhaps a google group or something, wherein the members are applicants to MIT anyone can join in, regardless of his/her application outcome (we may not get many admittees, but hopefully few of them will help out). Together, we can overcome any inadequacies in our respective education systems. The appetite grows by what it feeds on. We can discuss ideas and thoughts can flow freely. We can help each other out in numerous ways from understanding physics lessons to asking someone out on a date. Maybe it would be possible to undertake collaborative research and we can fully exploit (I use the word exploit as a positive term) the research capabilities of the various institutions we study in. Perhaps we can help people like Shabin realize their dreams. As the years progress, we can end up with 40,000 people spread across 4 years, 10 times larger than MITs strength. Members who complete their undergraduation can stay on to help out their juniors once in a while. </p>
<p>Anyone who is with me, email me at <a href="mailto:shashank.chintalagiri@gmail.com">shashank.chintalagiri@gmail.com</a> and maybe we can make something out of all this. </p>
<p>It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. It is wisdom to recognize necessity, when all other courses have been weighed, though as folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope.
- Gandalf the Grey, at Elrond's Council at Rivendell, in J.R.R.Tolkien's 'The Lord of The Rings'
</p>
<p>Haha Shashank now you're spamming :p</p>
<p>No, merc, I think great idea!</p>
<p>I put so MUCH effort in applying, I put 16 years of my difficult life, and I will never, never forgive rejection.</p>
<p>merc, you said your thread dint gain enough momentum. Im trying to avoid a rerun of that</p>
<p>Idea is good, but he posted this message on 10 different threads.</p>
<p>not 10, merc. 5 maybe but not 10</p>