They're going to bin my application, but I'd like to know for sure.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Or: Yet Another Chances Thread. Forgive me, decision-day is looming rather, and I'm slightly terrified.</p>

<p>Essentially, I'm an international applicant with no significant international achievements and a rather boring academic record (well, all academic records are by their nature boring, but I'm talking 'unexciting classes and grades' sort of thing. Mostly due to the country I live in, but eh.). Which isn't particularly optimism-inducing, really; I'm also female, fifteen and a half (there is a sensible reason for this! I started the first grade at the age of four-ish, so calculate accordingly. :D), a prospective math major, a British citizen living in southern India, and completely and utterly addled (that last may or may not be evident from my application).</p>

<p>Statistically: </p>

<p>SAT 1: 800 CR, 770 M, 750 W (8 essay, sadly)
SAT 2: 800 Math 2, 800 Physics, 790 Chemistry</p>

<p>Didn't take the TOEFL, although I believe I don't have to.</p>

<p>Grades and coursework: This is the sticky bit. Averaging my entire high school career out, I have approximately 82; ~90 in the ninth, ditto the tenth, but rather depressing grades in the eleventh and twelfth. The decline's more due to my school's insane grade deflation than any lack of effort on my part -- I'm second in my class of 32, school's tiny and competitive, it's not uncommon to see a test which barely five or six people pass (and thankfully, I haven't failed anything). CBSE syllabus, which I guess MIT will be fairly familiar with (math till some differential equations, physics mostly E&M, calculus-based for the most part, organic-chem and whatnot). </p>

<p>Academic awards: NTSE scholarship, which is (I think) a reasonably big deal in India; various sorts of national ranks on exams and whatnots; state and national ranks on olympiad qualifiers, although I've never made it to the international rounds.</p>

<p>The subjective bit:</p>

<p>Exctacurriculars are not especially outstanding, but they do exist. Math team, lit club, all the usual blab; also city-level awards for public speaking, and quite a few for creative writing as well. A bit of in-school volunteering for school plays and stuff -- I don't act, but I do rather a lot of behind-the-scenes work.</p>

<p>(continued. curse thee, word limits!)</p>

2

<p>Essays: </p>

<p>Long essay was written to the 'world I live in' prompt; I decided to forgo talking about my parents or school, and blabbed on a bit about India instead:</p>

<p>
[quote]
...I both love and hate this country, mostly because I never know what to make of it – it's nearly impossible to characterise it no matter how hard one tries, but if I did have to sum up my own affair with it (it is an affair, because any relationship one has with this country is strange and passionate and usually legally dodgy in one arena or another), I'd have to talk about the nation's collective obsession with education, and the shabbily-bound 'international editions' of famous textbooks (printed in black-and-white with slightly smudged type, but worth the approximately-seven dollars one pays for them), and the fluorescent, ragged pieces of paper glued to every lantern-post advertising 'coaching' for the entrance exam of your choice. It's a nation that can on one level by described by a hot cup of cinnamon-reeking tea and some slush on the road and eloquently mangled road-signs like 'Turn 100 Mettres', and 'Be Aware of the Dog', but on another level can't be described at all.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>(No, that isn't the whole thing.)</p>

<p>I don't have a copy of what I wrote for the optional essay, but it was essentially a sketchy outline of a novel I'd like to write, some day; bit of a combination of math-nerd-ness and Greek myth-plots, if I'm to be perfectly honest.</p>

<p>Short answer was writing-related (again, not the whole thing):</p>

<p>
[quote]
Sometimes, writing's a bit like curling up in armchair on a cold evening with a cup of hot chocolate, sometimes it's like lying on the grass looking at the stars, and sometimes it's like trying to solve an almost-completely-intractable equation, but it's never the same twice – and that's the charm of it, because it's changeable, enigmatic and often quite frustrating, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Recommendations were probably fairly effusive (teachers are inexplicably fond of me! :D) if not very literate. My interview went fabulously well, and I'm hoping that it might tip me into the 'admit' pile due to the sheer critical mass of its Awesome (I kid, of course, but it was really quite marvellous).</p>

<p>Basically, if you've sat through my formidably wordy post, do I have any hope of happy news on March 17?</p>

3

<p>definitely if you were a us citizen. prpbably as things stand right now</p>

4

<p>Hey Noldo.</p>

<p>Your SATs are great. Don't worry about GPA. All American universities take into account the grade deflation in Indian Schools. Besides you are a NTSE scholar: That speaks volume of your academic capabilty.</p>

<p>MIT places a great emphasis on essays. From what you have posted i think it's quiet interesting[Mind if i take a look over the complete essay?]</p>

<p>Don't worry about the ECs; they are perfectly all right. Not everyone needs to be a rockstar to get into MIT.</p>

<p>From the personality that comes out of your Post and Essays[Geeky:D], i think you have pretty good chances.</p>

5

<p>A chances thread from you? Ah well, I don't really know how to respond. You've got a chance, as good as it's possible to predict, but really, you'll get nothing on this forum (as I'm sure you know) but possible consolation or encouragement for the next 11 days. It's MIT, insanely competitive, but as you'll be in the UK pool, you have a pretty good chance. Frankly if your kind of essays can't get you in, I'm not too sure what can. :D</p>

6

<p>"state and national ranks on olympiad qualifiers, although I've never made it to the international rounds."</p>

<p>Can I get the details about this... They generally don't give ranks... only some Top 250 are selected, right?</p>

7

<p>noldo, chill! :P</p>

8

<p>I love "Be Aware of the Dog".</p>

<p>Your rank explains your GPA just fine. I wouldn't worry - stat-wise you are fine for MIT. It's all the intangibles now. Did they like your essay? Did the recommendations convey an extra spark? How did the EC strike the admissions committee?...</p>

9

<p>Like people said, a LOT of emphasis is placed on the essays and I think you should concentrate on making the essays about YOU, and what you're excited about, what kind of a person you are, and not necessarily what your opinions and feelings about various things are. For example, your essay about India (I know it's not the whole thing so I might be wrong). While you can certainly talk about India, make sure you focus on how India has affected you and your aspirations, and not about what your perspective on India as a country are. The goal is to jump out of the page with your personality as a real life person, and that requires you to focus on writing about <em>yourself</em> on a deep and sincere level</p>

<p>For example I wrote one of my essays on how much I was fascinated by writing/testing computer graphics code and scripting animations. I wrote the essay about my personality through the lens of computer graphics - not an essay about computer graphics that had fleeting references to my peronality</p>

<p>Again, I don't know how the whole essay is like, but it seems to start off with a focus on India and not yourself.</p>

<p>Hope that helps</p>

10

<p>Thanks, everyone. Much appreciated!</p>

<p>In no especial order:</p>

<p>tachobg -- I am aware of that, and the essay isn't completely India-oriented; I actually received very similar suggestions to yours while I was drafting it, so I attempted to make it as 'about me' as possible without sacrificing the ideas and the fun of it. Admittedly, I'm not especially enthralled by the prospect of saying 'And this is how X has affected me, and this is why Y says I'm a better person, et cetera', so everything's probably very indirect, but it's there. </p>

<p>Also, that isn't the beginning of the essay. :)</p>

<p>mathmom -- thanks! I wish I could claim credit for that sign, but it isn't my invention -- I spotted it while road-tripping around here, and promptly took a photo of it and committed it to memory. </p>

<p>Abhi -- what, you don't have to be a rockstar? That's a terrible pity, I was looking forward to covering some Floyd. :D (Yeah, I am being ridiculous, I'll shut it.) Will PM you with complete essay. </p>

<p>Shrivats -- heh. Well, I'll just hold on to the thought that it is theoretically possible for me to be accepted, especially if the admission officers have been introduced to some alcohol pre- the reading of my app. ;)</p>

11

<p>Well, if you get in and my D. gets in I think you'd really have fun together. She applied and is getting cold feet now about whether she really wants to go there or not or whether it would be too nerdy.</p>

12

<p>Hopefully, your daughter and I will both make it, Mombot! ;) (From the admittedly small sample space of MIT students I've actually met, a lot of them are nerdy but not only nerdy. Can't make a snap judgment on that much information, though.)</p>

13

<p>You might want to check out this link:
<a href="http://web.mit.edu/registrar/www/stats/geofinal.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://web.mit.edu/registrar/www/stats/geofinal.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>As of 2006-2007 academic year, 16 students are from India.</p>

14

<p>I'm well aware of that, thanks. Not particularly thrilled about it, but I do know it.</p>

<p>And that is by citizenship, not by residence, so I'd actually be in the UK pool (as far as I know). Which admittedly contains even fewer students, but that's likely because even fewer apply. As far as I know, there are no fixed quotas for a particular country.</p>