Tips on "being yourself"

<p>I don't quite understand what MIT (or any other college) means by "being yourself"</p>

<p>When my son talks with the school's department Science head or with the Principal, he talks calmly, politely, etc, etc = " yes, sir, definately" type of thing. With his friends, he is a bit non-formal = "hey dude, sup" type of thing.</p>

<p>With indian accented men, my son talks with his indian accent. With his white friends, he is "American-ish."</p>

<p>Which part of "being yourself" does MIT want in interviews and essays?
The formal, or the informal? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>I would say neither, maybe in-between. Definitely don't use slang. You do want to communicate that you do have non-academic interests. My guess is that there will be a question to try to discern whether the student has non-academic interests. (This is probably because they don't want a student which will get stressed out and jump off a building.) A good answer would be to say something like that he enjoys "hanging out with friends" or something. Playing pick-up basketball, etc. That sort of thing.</p>

<p>Also, you want to communicate your "passion" for intellectual things. Like if he took apart a clock in his spare time or spent a couple of days trying to solve a mathematical problem that wasn't homework. </p>

<p>Also, if you're goal is to become a scientist or an engineer that would be good to talk about. I think they are trying to get an idea as to what is driving you. Ideally, you want to avoid looking like you have done well academically because you are supposed to. </p>

<p>The one danger in being too deferential is that you don't communicate your passion. Also, high achievers in math and science at age 17 tend not to be great at talking about their own achievements. One reason they do well is because they are hard on themselves and are focused on eliminating weaknesses. But it's something you should try to avoid in the application process.</p>

<p>Thanks collegealum. So basically show that you have non-academic interests . . . show colleges you have a weakness and you are not a perfect person.</p>

<p>^^well, I'm not sure what you mean about showing colleges you have a weakness and aren't a perfect person. </p>

<p>However, you definitely shouldn't try to give the feeling that you are TRYING to be perfect, that that is what's driving you. Those are the people that can't handle it if they get a "B" or something at MIT. MIT especially tries to figure out whether the person will crack under stress because of the rash of suicides in the 90's. </p>

<p>However, if you want to say that you enjoy spending hours working problems, that you become engrossed with it, then that's fine also.</p>

<p>oh, ok! Thanks collegealum! That makes more sense. Thanks.
Anyone else? comments? It's good to hear from more people too . . .</p>

<p>I would say that the interviewer is in a position to be respected, so your son should be polite; no "yeah dude" or etc. However, being too stiff or formal would also give the interviewer an impression that your son has no character. It is difficult to find the balance, but your son would do best to be polite while also maintaining a charming attitude; make a joke here and there, while still maintaining a professional appearance.</p>

<p>So I am guessing no indian accent, unless the interviewer happens to be indian? I once had an interviewer who was a senior at the college I was interviewing, and he also happened to speak Russian. So we occasionally switched into Russian while I talked about myself and etc, but I still showed respect by shaking hands and thanking him for the interview.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/interviews_educational_counselors_ecs/advice_on_how_to_approach_your.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/interviews_educational_counselors_ecs/advice_on_how_to_approach_your.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>^^advice on how to approach your interview by the director of admissions at MIT.</p>

<p>BTW, I wouldn't try to make a joke--it could come off sort of forced.</p>

<p>I felt my interview went pretty well. We didn't really talk about academics at all; I mean, they can see my academics on the application itself. The point of the interview is to show the OTHER side of you. The NON-academic side. So we mostly talked about my extracurriculars. I think mine went well because it really showed that I have other interests while at the same time exposing my personality in other ways. For example, I was able to joke (appropriately, of course), and laugh at myself (While talking about my theatre experience I told a story about this one time that I was supposed to play a sound effect of broken glass but I accidentally played a bird crowing, so the character threw a rock at a window and a rooster crowed. The cast was absolutely LIVID, but what makes it funny is that the audience THOUGHT it was supposed to happen). So I was able to show that a) I'm human, b) can deal with mistakes/failure, and c) have a sense of humor. :) Tell your son to just relax and behave how he feels is most appropriate. Stay comfortable.</p>

<p>Nice joke :)</p>

<p>Thanks you people! But what about essays? It it the same there too?</p>

<p>Being yourself means just that; be yourself! Don't overplan what you will do when you meet this person or that person, etc. You can't keep it up your entire life. Just let your son figure things out as he goes along. </p>

<p>Same thing goes for essays. Don't proofread them for him (except for MAYBE grammar)! Let him write his own essays and figure out his own stuff. Too many people are asking around about how to do the application the right way. Nobody knows how to do the application the right way! Maybe there is no right way! For every piece of generic advice you get, I can dig up hundreds of counter examples. By the time someone is 17-18 years old, they should be able to handle their own application process. If they mess up, then they mess up, and that's that, it's their responsibility, not anyone elses.</p>

<p>It's just like in science. You can't always worry about whether you are doing something the best way. You sometimes have to just do what you think seems right and move on.</p>

<p>"If they mess up, then they mess up, and that's that, it's their responsibility, not anyone elses.</p>

<p>It's just like in science. You can't always worry about whether you are doing something the best way. You sometimes have to just do what you think seems right and move on."</p>

<p>I don't think this is sound advice. This isn't like figuring out a math problem on your own. How you should approach a college admissions interview is not necessarily logical...It's not the same as how you would approach an interview for grad school in science or approaching a faculty interview. You wouldn't show up to a faculty interview and talk about how you like to hang out with friends. </p>

<p>Also, I will add that foreigners and 1st generation kids, particularly from Asia, are at a disadvantage here because the culture is so different. Professionalism on their part may be misinterpreted as being boring here in the U.S.</p>

<p>I would take a look at the website I provided above about how to approach the interview. My advice in earlier posts applies to both the interview and the essays. If you want to see what sort of thing colleges look for in essays, I would get a book of successful college essays. One caveat is that what MIT/Caltech wants is probably somewhat different from the other elite colleges as it is a very different kind of school. Obviously you want to write your own college essays, but you can get a feel for the type of style and content that is appropriate. "Being yourself" is a pretty inprecise term. What the OP is asking is which side of her son he is supposed to show admissions.</p>

<p>Another suggestion is conducting a mock interview with questions that are likely to be asked (again, see <a href="http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/...ach_your.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/...ach_your.shtml&lt;/a> ).
You don't want to memorize a speech, but it can make the interview process less stressful if you run through answers to obvious questions.</p>